perhaps they didnt realise what they had?!

agree with Location based advertising tie in. with the push notifications, its quite good. i really like the tips part of it and seeing who else has been there. it helps you discover new venues.

also, i reckon 4sq should limit your ability to add and check in if you are not with geographical range.

to me, the best aspect of it is the gameplay and the badges.

Here are the things that I like about Foursquare:
* the Rewards Program, ‘Mayor’ and Badge features add a ‘fun’ factor to social media not found in the likes of Twitter
* it integrates nicely with Twitter, within a few minutes you can be Foursquaring with all your Twitter peeps. Downside, the auto-posts to Twitter have annoyed a few Twitter users
* the Tips offered by nearby venues and businesses, once utilized is a feature that I will make good use of – and hopefully pick up some discounts/specials from time to time (early adopter rewards)
* the Foursquare team appear to have a well thought-out roll-out plan, the application appears to be regularly changing for the better

Congrats to the Foursquare team for realising a gap in the market and producing a largely useful and fun(!) location based social media app.