How Foursquare has made me fall in love with Duane Reade, my neighborhood and everything ever.
FOURSQUARE IS A MIGHTY POWER OF AWESOME THAT SHINES DOWN NUGGETS OF GEO-POWER AND BRIGHTLY COLORED FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS ON ALL THOSE WHO USE IT.
Now that that’s out of my system, here is the deal: I just moved from Manhattan to Brooklyn, and despite the fact that I am an video-game-playing, twee-listening twenty-something, have had an office here for months now and even once offered a spoof tour of Williamsburg for Japanese tourists, I know remarkably little about the area.
Probably also related to the fact that I am a video-game-playing, twee-listening twenty-something, I can’t really cook and/or fend myself, so would probably live on pizza and french fries for all time if my body wouldn’t kill me before reaching ‘for all time.’ Moving to a new neighborhood means not having any idea where to eat, which for me, means being really hungry (though shout out to seamless web for keeping me from starving in moments of delivery desperation.)
However, one click on any nearby venue’s Foursquare notes and I am THE COOLEST, MOST INFORMED KID ON THE BLOCK. Why yes I DO want to catch a dance party while eating Thai food after 10pm by checking out SEA Thai. VICTORY! AND I knew in advance to BYOB to La Nonna Pizzeria by getting a bottle of red down the street at UVA before bringing my date. HUZZAH AGAIN FOURSQUARE!
What’s MOST awesome about Foursquare and my new neighborhood, however, is captured in the above glorious image. There is a dual-floor Duane Reade down the block from me. Yep, that’s awesome enough in itself, but not the point. As I was leaving there yesterday, I noticed on my phone a $10 gift card for all check-ins. I sighed to the clerk helping me with my departure movie rental that I was one hour, two floors, three baskets, and $100 too late to use the discount and he promptly opened the cash drawer and handed me the above bill with a smile and a shrug.
I WAS PAID $10 CASH FOR USING FOURSQUARE. TALK ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA PAYING-OFF, PEOPLE. Plus, I’m about to frame this photo and kiss it before bed every night, so Duane Reade won, too. They won my heart. They are now my boyfriend. They proved it by sending me a foursquare friend request later (I accepted that thing so hard.)
ILU, Lil Duane.
xo,
Mallory