Park Fun Squared
The mayor of Marion Square. The check-in queen of Hampton Park. These titles can be yours on the hot social media tool Foursquare. In the last few months, all 120 Charleston parks and green spaces have been added to Foursquare, a free social networking program that allows people to use their smart phone to check in at various locations, share tips with their friends and earn points and “badges.”
Retail shops and restaurants are using Foursquare as a way to reward customers and let people know about specials and discounts. But we immediately saw how this would work for the parks. When you check in, you’ll see information about the parks and their amenities as well as details about upcoming events in each park.
If you’re not already using Foursquare, create a free account at Foursquare.com and download the app to your smart phone. Then, head to your favorite Charleston park and check in. You can connect your Foursquare account to Facebook and Twitter so all your friends can see what an awesome park person you are.
Just in case you need a tad more convincing, here are our top five reasons to check in to the parks on Foursquare:
1. Each month, we randomly pick a park mayor (the person who checks in the most in the last 60 days) to receive a prize – anything from a water bottle to a T-shirt.
2. You can leave tips for other park users, such where the best picnic spots are and how fast you can jog around Colonial Lake.
3. Show off how much time you spend in downtown Charleston – it will make your friends in Moncks Corner jealous.
4. People will think you’re super athletic because you’re always walking the parks.
5. It’s hip to be square!
Want more info on Foursquare? Here’s a great video that gives you the basics: