add it up.

Ok, let’s be honest, my number one life goal at the moment is to find an awesome job at an innovative, creative agency or corporation. Nevertheless, I have an entirely different subset of goals that relate to the geo-location game of Foursquare.

When I first started playing Foursquare (back in October or so), my main motivation was to grab as many mayorships as possible. And I did, seeing as how I was maybe 1 of 10 people in the Athens area using the app. Over the past few months, I’ve seen my mayorships dwindle from about 9 (so close to that Super Mayor badge…sigh) to my current total: 1.

Thus, I’ve decided it is time to reevaluate my use of Foursquare. The pursuit of mayorships in Athens is futile, given that I will be relocating in about 5 weeks. My new goal in Foursquare is to collect as many badges as I can get my hoarding, iPhone carrying hands on.

Firstly, currently I possess these shiny badges:

Thanks to The Kruser, I was able to research all the badges I’d plan to obtain in the coming weeks:

Jetsetter

Requirement: 5 Airport Checkins
Strategy: I believe I have 4 checkins right now. I’m going to New York City next weekend, so a checkin at LaGuardia should accomplish this.

Far, Far Away

Requirement: Check in above 59^th Street in NYC
Strategy: While in NYC, I’ll be staying with a friend who lives in the 70’s, so a checkin about 59^th should be cake.

Barista

Requirement: Check in to 5 Starbucks locations
Strategy: I can believe I haven’t accomplished this yet. I must frequent the same Starbucks far to often. Branching out.

Bravo Newbie

Requirement: Check in at a Bravo rated location
Strategy: Not sure. I doubt I visit anywhere classy enough to warrant a Bravo ranking. In NYC, I’ll stroll down 5^th Ave, but I’ll probably get shunned.

Jobs

Requirement: Check in to 3 Apple stores
Strategy: Another badge I can’t believe I haven’t obtained yet. Oftentimes I visit Apple stores just to gawk at the pretty things I cannot afford. More window shopping, I suppose!

Zeotrope

Requirement: 10 checkins at venues tagged “theatre.”
Strategy: This one is a stretch. My wallet restrictions don’t allow me to see as many movies in the theatre as I would like. Too bad there isn’t a Netflix badge.

I’m on a Boat!

Requirement: Checkin at a venue tagged “boat”
Strategy: Hrmmm….

Now that I’ve laid out my plan for badge domination, I’ve realized that this post is also an indicator that I have entirely too much free time on my hands.

This is a post I wrote for the Engauge Blog recently:

At Engauge, we constantly investigate the latest trends and emerging technologies, including mobile media technology. We’re interested in mobile applications across all platforms – iPhone, Android, Blackberry, and everything in between. However, the Apple App Store has recently seen an influx of branded iPhone applications; a phenomenon which, by comparison, is lacking in the Blackberry and Android application stores.

Despite their high adoption rates, iPhone applications are relatively new (the app store opened July 10, 2008). I was asked to conduct some research on how brands are using iPhone applications. Brand use of iPhone applications is steadily increasing, and the applications they are creating range anywhere from the functional to the whimsical and fun.

I delved into the 100,000+ applications of the app store and pulled out a handful of unique brand applications. On Friday, December 18th, I presented to the Atlanta office and was broadcast to all other Engauge offices via UStream.

Still, for those who missed it, I’m writing up this quick blog recap. A few key points:

– The Apple app store currently boasts over 100,000 apps and 2,000,000 downloads.

– Brands across all industries are developing iPhone applications, including airlines, grocery stores, clothing retailers, automakers, and restaurants.

– Only 20% of free applications downloaded are used the next day.

– Sports applications offer the best short-term retention rates.

– Over the long tem, entertainment applications offer the highest retention rates.

– There isn’t a lot of information on how beneficial app development is for brands, but a lot of brands are getting on board.

If you’d like to learn more you may view the presentation slideshow below: