Foursquare Seeks to Turn Nightlife Into a Game

Mr. Crowley and Mr. Selvadurai created 16 badges that are awarded after a certain number of points are collected. Trek to the same nightspot several times in a week and you’ll find yourself crowned mayor of that particular spot. Check in during the wee morning hours several times in a row, and you’ll be rewarded with a badge proclaiming that you went on a bender. Eventually, Mr. Crowley said, he hopes to open the tools and enable users to build their own badges and challenges for each other.

In addition, the service encourages users to create to-do lists, track their favorite spots, and post recommendations and tips for watering holes and eateries. The application will list those tips and recommendations. Like any good game, Foursquare has a leaderboard keeping tracking of users with the most adventures and points.

“The whole point is to encourage people and reward them for trying new things,” said Mr. Crowley.

South by Southwest was the perfect playing ground to debut Foursquare, said Mr. Crowley. The hoards of tech-savvy geeks that descend on Austin arrive overloaded with agendas, parties, panels and dinners for the weekend. It quickly becomes maddening to locate your friends and track down the after-hours spot that’s still jumping. Foursquare, Mr. Crowley said, could be the perfect remedy to that.

To add to the revelry (and hopefully, capture the attention of the influential convention-goers), Mr. Crowley created a special set of badges specifically for South by Southwest that players will have a chance to win over the course of the weekend.