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With Foursquare<\/a> seeing fast growth<\/a> and starting to be embraced by elements of the mainstream (like their new deal with Bravo<\/a>), it might be decision time.<\/p>\nA popular part of the gaming element of the service is gaining badges, virtual tokens that show you’ve done a certain task on the service. Most of these are clever, like the Photogenic badge when you check-in to three different places with photobooths. But some are a bit more risqu\u00e9, like the Douchebag badge. As Foursquare keeps growing, will there be pressure to get rid of these?<\/p>\n
Increasingly, this issue is being brought up\u00a0on Foursquare’s Get Satisfaction page<\/a>. As one user wrote yesterday<\/a> in the forum:<\/p>\n Has it occurred to the too-cool-for-school hipsters at foursquare that unlocking a “douchebag” badge for your fans because they check in at places like Barneys might: Total FAIL, guys. Who are you to judge what your customers like and don’t like?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Another user follows that up with:<\/p>\n I agree, it is also offensive to me and I suspect many others. What’s next, “Asshole” and “Dickhead” badges? At a minimum, users should be allowed to delete\/block such an offensive badge in their profile.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n A week ago, another thread<\/a> was started raising the same issue:<\/p>\n I’m surprised to have unlocked the “douchebag” badge by checking in to a trendy hotel and must admit that I find the badge name rather offensive. What’s the point of it and why use such a crude name?<\/p>\n Editorial comment: If you’re trying to build a service that’s going to be appealing to more than just the uber-geeky among us, don’t y’all think that, just maybe, you should screen some of the words involved with the service?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n That actually ties in very well with what Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley<\/a> told Bits<\/a> today while talking about the Bravo deal:<\/p>\n Bravo\u2019s shows really overlap with our users and a new mainstream audience that we want to reach. I don\u2019t think check-ins are a nerd-only experience. It\u2019s about sharing content and experiences with others.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n While the Douchebag badge may have been fine for the “nerd-only” crowd, they’re clearly starting to move beyond that, and some users are getting upset about it.<\/p>\n And while you might not see why this is much of an issue, coincidentally, I ran into this issue last night. I have my Foursquare account set up to auto-tweet out when I unlock new badges. Last night, I happened to be at a bar tagged as a “douchebag” bar, so when I checked-in, I unlocked the badge and it automatically tweeted out<\/a> to all my followers.<\/p>\n For the record, I think the Douchebag badge is hilarious, and could care less that it tweeted out. But I certainly can see how that could be an issue for some people. To a lesser extent, the same is true with the Crunked badge (4 or more stops in one night, implying you’re drunk \u2014 which is probably true) and others.<\/p>\n Also, what happens when a venue doesn’t like that they’ve been tagged as a “douchebag” place?<\/p>\n This brings up an interesting dilemma for Foursquare: do they abandon some of the fun, quirky things that made the service what it is, in an attempt to go mainstream?<\/p>\n [thanks malachi]<\/em><\/p>\n\n
\n1. Be insulting to your users, especially if have chosen to share their badges with friends and
\n2. Might also be insulting to your future customers and business partners like Barneys?<\/p>\n\n
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