Why Foursquare won't kill Twitter

As I was just checking in on Foursquare at la cucina del puerco (good Mexican in Bellevue) I realized why Twitter will never kil Foursquare: because 4sq is actually just another portal/interface to Twitter.

Why do I check in? It’s not for the points, and I don’t really care if I’m the mayor unless the mayor gets a discount. I check in so that I can share my location conveniently with my friends on Twitter.

With Foursquare, I navigate to the venue, compose my tweet, and it comes pre populated with a host of geo information about the *venue* - not just about me.

So really when I use Foursquare I’m just using Twitter, enhanced.

I also suspect that a significant portion of 4sq’s value is tied to Twitter right now, because they don’t have a great built in “stream” audience (yet). Who knows whether they’ll be successful in creating that independent community.

But as long as Foursquare is providing an enhacwd interface to Twitter, and driving use of the Twitter network, they won’t kill Twitter.