The threat of dishonesty in Social Networks
Foursquare is one of the social media platforms of recent months that actually does have a recognisable business model. Brands are getting in on the act, local businesses are taking advantage of Special Offers, championing and rewarding their Mayors, and there’s talk of being bought by a slightly larger competitor. It’s a platform that’s in its infancy but is already a success story. But the problem is that where there’s easy money to be made, users learn to game the game and less salubrious applications of the platform appear.
I’m talking about WeReward, an app that lets you earn money for check ins. You can also complete tasks set up by local businesses – “tell your friends what you think of our mojitos!”
Social Networks in their infancy are pure, uncontaminated by clumsy brand interaction. Without an incentive other than to share what you like, people do just that, share what they like. Members are honest and the community thrives. It was the key difference between MySpace and Facebook. On Facebook you cannot lie – you have to be who you are. That’s what people want – you, the whole you and nothing but the you. But on MySpace users and brands can hide behind personas. And we know who has come out of that race in the lead.
WeReward flies against the honesty of going to a venue for the sole reason that it’s worth going to. On Foursquare your do your thing and you let your friends know about it with a checkin. With WeReward, it’s the reverse. You are incentivised by money to go to a location. If a friend checkins to a deli through WeReward, they’ve gone there to earn points, not because they’ll get a great sandwich. And what does that say about the deli?
Of course this assumes that users are even where they checkin in the first place. Foursquare are keen to ensure you cannot cheat the system, but there really is no reason for them to fix this greater than the reason to leave it open. Without the ability to check into a location remotely, the Wall Street Journal would not have been able to tweet the terrorist attack from Times Square. Bravo TV stars would actually need to be at venues to check in and comment on them. Zagat would actually need to go to each restaurant it gave tips on. The ability to checkin remotely actually works to Fousquare’s advantage. And whilst they have announced that they are “going to be *constantly* tweaking the rules that determine whether a checkin is “accurate” or not”, it may not be in their interests to restrict this for the brands and users who are giving the platform the investment it needs. Especially with the fast approaching Facebook storm on the horizon.
If WeReward users can checkin remotely to earn points the honesty behind checkins and comments is at question. If you feel a venue is being ‘cheated’ you can always fill in a form. But shouldn’t we just trust the system in the first place?
We’ll be keeping an eye on the start up and whether Fousquare users will take up the offers, or maintain the integrity of the platform.
