Or also entitled, How I Embarrassed Myself on Twitter.
I am completely obsessed with getting more badges on Foursquare. Give me a game, and I’m all over it and completely enthralled. I’ve even spent less time on Facebook and Twitter, just to learn more about Foursquare and how to get these BADGES! Yes, I’m obsessed.
So yesterday, I thought that I had figured out how to unlock the Foodie badge. It’s simple, 5 check-ins at Zagat rated restauarants. Well, certainly that was simple. In fact, why didn’t I have it already? Well, I let that slide, I didn’t have it because I just became a fan/friend/follower of Zagat’s account. Above all else, this is step one.
After I announced to all of Twitter that I was helping my friends become Foodies, and asking my friends to tag Zagat locations, someone from Zagat Ryan Chalres @ryenyc got back to me on twitter. He is :
ZAGAT guy. Leading Mobile & more. Android, iPhone, iPad, Kindle App, Pre, Augmented Reality & Mobile web. Also I married Foursquare & Zagat
Web: http://zagat.mobi
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ryenyc
But the real problem is that Foursquare doesn’t have Zagat extended to Washington, DC. Say word? I mean, we’re the capital of eating out. Where do all these power lunches take place, after all.
RyeNyc suggested that I let Foursquare know I want the Zagat promotion to be extended to Washington, DC.
So, I checked the official announcement. On their blog, Foursquare:
announced a partnership with Zagat aimed at rewarding foursquare users for discovering and experiencing Zagat Rated places in their city. If you’re in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago or Boston you can now “follow” Zagat on foursquare to unlock insider tips about nearby restaurants. And of course, we’ve added a Zagat “Foodie” badge that can be unlocked by dining at some of these Zagat Rated restaurants.
So, all the tagging I did of Zagat rated restaurants in DC means nothing. Unless Zagat somehow adds DC to the list. Long story short, Zagat and Foursquare are giving DC users the short end of the stick. I should have had this badge months ago. I’m a foodie, whether I admit it or not.
Maybe I should talk to Tristan Walker, Standford MBA student and director of “business development” at Foursquare.
The 25-year-old Foursquare exec — who doesn’t have an official title but simply “runs business development” — is striking deals between Foursquare and big partners like Bravo TV, Zagat Survey and The New York Times.
Read more: http://www.nrn.com/article.aspx?menu_id=1368&id=380212#ixzz0lkUcZBW2
Zagat is going the extra mile as well. It wants to hear from users. The New York Times reports:
Zagat also plans to run a series of “Meet the Mayor” interviews on its Web site, featuring Foursquare users who have checked in enough times at a particular location to earn the “mayor” title.
In addition to offering a special badge for Foursquare users, Zagat will begin piping tips and recommendations into the Foursquare system, which already doubles as a user-generated city guide. Foursquare users can submit their own suggestions for activities and dishes to order at a particular restaurant, which will pop up when their friends “check in” on Foursquare from that venue.
But the Zagat partnership will add a slightly different layer to the content by incorporating recommendations culled from the company’s repository of reader reviews. For example, users who check into a Zagat-ranked restaurant will receive suggestions about great dishes or the best dessert on the menu.
Read more: Foursquare Signs Deal with Zagat
So who’s with me on a petition to make DC and Zagat Foodie compatible so that supereagerusers such as myself will get that Foodie badge? Please leave a comment. I’ll forward to Zagat & Foursquare.
I feel your pain! I’m only in New York for a few months so I’m working on a plan to capture as many badges as I can. I think there are a few glitches in the system though – I just found out that there is a badge for the 140 Conference, which I attended and checked into, but I didn’t get a badge! I just asked them on Twitter what’s up!
I’m a fellow foursquare addict, frequently found among the top 5 “point scorers” on a weekly basis here in DC. Like you, I’ve been to score the foodie badge by dining in a number of the user-tagged Zagat venues, and like you, I recently discovered that it’s all for naught. The only places that “count” are those recommended by Zagat on their foursquare page. I guess we can find some solace in the fact that there are plenty of places to score the History Channel badge here in town — though I have yet to do that. I accidentally earned the Bravo Newbie badge a couple of months back & have been wondering lately whether or not any of the other Bravo-sponsored badges can be earned in DC. I’d love to see some promotions based in other cities (and not just time-sensitive, conference-oriented ones)…I’m sure there’ll be more brass rings to chase in time.
Thanks for reading, and for your comments. Still no foodie badge for me. I did get that Bravo Newbie badge at one of the most unexpected places. As far as the History Channel badge, I’m with you, I’m close to dozens of historic locations that should get me that HC badge, and I’ve received tips upon checkins, but still no badge. It’s tourist season, let’s see what I can do. Happy Badge Hunting.
Don’t forget to check the Badge Chasing page here on my blog, as well as this resource
Yeah Ian, I happened to look up high scorers in DC, outside of just my friends, and I was AMAZED at your score. Way to go. I’m honored you stopped by my blog. Please visit again.
THIS KILLS ME! Being a badge-obsessed foursquare user that I am as well as a current DC resident, this comes at both a surprise and a big bummer. So far I think I’ve done a fairly good job of finding fun badges in DC but this is pretty discouraging, hearing that my city is not being considered worth the time or branding effort of a lot of foursquare partners… I hereby will start crossing my fingers and a flood of suggestions.
On the Historian Badge issue, I happened upon it while checking into the Washington Monument, so it can be done in DC, promise.. Not sure what other venues are accommodating though!