Not everyone can play FourSquare

Foursquare is my new digital obsession.

Brief rundown: Go places. Check in. Get points. You can link it to Twitter/Facebook and it will send a message like, "I am at 'blank.' You can add friends and see where they are. You can leave tips at different places you go. (Oh, and no, the points don't really matter. But they are fun anyway.)

But something happened yesterday that really, really angered me.

I got a friend request from Atomic Cowboy.

A bar. A bar that I have never even been to. And now have absolutely no interest in going.

I get that Foursquare is new and cool and marketers want to take advantage of that. It happened with Twitter, it happened with Facebook, and I'm not complaining because without those I wouldn't have a job. But Foursquare is different. Making yourself a profile and friending everyone in Saint Louis is not good marketing.

What is good FourSquare marketing?
Give deals to users. For example, if you are the mayor of a place (i.e. you have the most check ins there) you might get a discount.
Or even make yourself your own profile and leave tips about how great the place is. Or better yet, just ask your friends to do it.

Bottom line: I do not want my Foursquare turning into something like Yelp. And no, 'Atomic C.', I will not be your friend.