Adventures in Social Media: Harvard Partners With Foursquare

“Adventures in Social Media” encompasses a series of recurring posts about all things social media from the perspective of a gal who likes to keep all her profiles private.

This installment takes us to Harvard, the bastion of intellectual supremacy (and the university that my mom still wishes I went to, but whatever). Harvard is one of the first universities to capitalize on location-based social networking site Foursquare. This new partnership enables Harvard students to explore their campus and nearby locales while providing tips and to-dos to other students.

By partnering with Foursquare, Harvard has given their students and professors the ability to explore their campus and surroundings while playing a game against one another for mayorships and badges. This is all well and good, but I know that you are all wondering what the big deal is. I think the best part of this partnership is that it makes the campus tours that all the lowly freshman and prospective students have to go on much more interesting and engaging. I can remember all the dull tours that I was a part of during high school in which they showed me the library, the courtyard and cafeteria and pretty much sent me on my way after that. Not to mention, I also had to do a sleepover at a certain California university in which I sat in a dorm room and waited for my “guide” to get home from her “study date” only for her to tell me how lame that school is and that I should really look into community college. I digress. Making the Harvard campus a starting ground for location-based game play makes campus tours much more fun and a lot less taxing. Prospective students and incoming freshmen can check-in at Harvard Hall and read a tip about how it was burned down during a nor’easter in 1764 (which I find very interesting BTW). They can also compete to be the mayor of Harvard establishments which fosters repeat visits and helps students get to know these locales much better than if they just happened to be there one day.

Now I would be lying to you if I said that Harvard is the only university smart enough to tap into the Foursquare craze. The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC) and Columbia University have both been experimenting with Foursquare for some time now. For example, UNC Charlotte has been offering students dining coupons for checking into their campus dining venues. If you happen to become a mayor, you receive deeper dining discounts as a reward. This promotional tactic brings students to university dining venues by offering a savings incentive in addition to game play.

I venture that it won’t be long until other colleges and universities integrate Foursquare into campus life since social and new media have become a significant force in the educational field. With numerous technological advances in online education, and campus communication, it was only a matter of time that schools make campus life a part of their students’ online social personae. I’m just a bit peeved that Foursquare wasn’t around when I was in college, I could have totally avoided that lame sleepover and just stayed home watching Dawson’s Creek.