New service adoption

Getting people to add a new (personal) online service to the list of things they already use is one of the hardest things to do. If I’m already on Twitter, why do I need to use something that lets me see what my friends are doing? If I’m already on Facebook, why do I need to join a new social network?

I think the key to Foursquare’s rapid adoption is that it behaves a lot like a Twitter client, and piggybacks on behavior we have already established.

When I check in on Foursquare, most of the time what I am really doing is Tweeting, and using Foursquare as a way to conveniently meta-tag my tweet with location and friend information. Eventually of course the “check-in on Foursquare” behavior will become natural and routine, and they will have entered the space of “apps we already use.”

That’s a good way to do it, I think.