Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Obama Joins Foursquare

Foursquare has just gained its highest-profile user yet: President Barack Obama.

“The White House is now on Foursquare, a location-based social networking website, which is the latest way for you to engage with the administration,” The White House said on its blog. “There are over 10 million people already ‘checking in’ around the world, and now you’ll be able to discover ‘tips’ from the White House featuring the places President Obama has visited, what he did there, plus historical information and more.”

The White House says that it will be posting tips about the president’s visits around the country as he embarks on an economic bus tour across the Midwest. The White House will also be creating checkin locations for different presidential events. The White House posted its first tip on its page on Monday, revealing that the president delivered a speech in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, where he discussed ways to grow and strengthen the economy.

Obama joining Foursquare comes just hours after the geosocial network unveiled Tip Lists, a feature that lets users and brands bundle and curate their best tips into easy-to-follow lists. It seems that the White House will be using Tip Lists as a way to track the president’s visits across the country as he begins his campaign for reelection.

The addition of the president to Foursquare’s 10 million-plus users could be a watershed moment for the mobile service, especially as the 2012 campaign kicks into high gear. Expect a lot more people to join Foursquare very soon.

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