Guerilla Foursquare: A digital archaeological appropriation of commercial location-based social networking.

Andrew Dufton @jadufton (Brown University)Stuart Eve @stueve (UCL, L – P : Archaeology)

● Archaeological data● Digital capture or

dissemination● Academic, professional

and public audiences● Research and discovery● Mobile technologies!

Digital Archaeology?

● Museum of London, History Channel, Brothers & Sisters Creative Ltd.

● £48K development cost ● 50K+ iphone downloads

within 2 weeks of release● c. 2.5K Android

downloads (May 2011)

Museum of London – Streetmuseum

● Roman London only● Archaeological finds● Roman city plans● Additional media

Museum of London – Streetmuseum Londinium

● 15+ million users● Location-based social

networking

“Keep up with friends. Discover what's nearby. Save money. Unlock rewards”

Introducing Foursquare

● 2900+ GLHER entries● 48 selected sites● 4hr walking tour● 200-character tips● 9600 total characters● 120+ 'points' for

@jadufton #winning

Foursquare warfare?

● 48 sites● 7 broad categories● Existing 4sq sites● New 4sq locations

Results – site categories

● 2200+ total check-ins● 35+ checkins/day● Obvious conclusion 1:

Foursquare <> historical!

Results – total check-ins

● %sites / %checkins● Obvious conclusion 2:

> traffic = > checkins

Results – check-in ratio

● History Channel (MoL): 192 done tips

● London 2012 (MoL): 38 done tips

● TimeOut (MoL): 7 done tips

● BBC World Service (Fleet Street): 4 done tips

● Guerrilla Foursquare (total): 2 done tips

● Obvious conclusion 3: more clicks = bad

Results – Tips

● History Channel: 300K+ followers

● Guerrilla Foursquare: 3 followers

● Higher tip placement● Pop-up exploration

notices● Obvious conclusion 4:

Affiliation adds legitimacy

Results – Lists

● Value-added services● Crowdsourcing● Data re-use● Platform reappropriation● Discovery-based learning● Gamification

Foursquare of the future?