Literacy on foursquare is pretty easy - there is a short learning curve. Most of the language is colloquial, modern, and commonplace (venue, friends. Even words like "check in" have become common from other sites like Facebook using the same feature). Users quickly become familiar with the meanings of words such as mayor (the user who has checked in more days in the past sixty days than any other user) and how the point system works.
My biggest challenge with the literacy of the app came about because I missed an app update. The point system was instated after I had begun my participation for this project. I was earning points for my check-ins, but I had no idea why. After I updated my apps, the leaderboard feature cam up (the way the points are calculated and displayed) - a pointless feature (but fun for the competitive spirit in me).
For the most part, foursquare does not have hard-to-understand language, and it is very user-friendly. The "explore" feature (kind of like a venue roulette) seemed like it would be confusing to use, but the app gives users suggestion that teach them how to use the feature. For instance, under "nightlife," it will prompt "Try 'margaritia'" in the search bar. Once the user types in margarita, foursquare generates nearby(ish) venues that either advertise their margaritas or have specials for them (during happy hour, for isntance). So users learn by example, making it very simple.
Considering that foursquare doesn't really have much of a literacy requirement in the classical sense, would it be fair to say that it has a sort of "jargon" that one has to pick up in order to use it to it's fullest? I've noticed that most sites with their own subcultures seem to all have little in-jokes, acronyms, and made-up words that aren't necessary for use but tend to differentiate the newcomers from the regular users.
ReplyDeleteI'm doing Foursquare too, and I felt that your conclusion about the learning curve was a really good one. Not only does it not take very long, but users can navigate the site relatively well even before they have a real grasp of what's going on. Because of this, I think the site is well-suited for users of all kinds. People who are into social media of many types (Facebook, Twitter, tumblr, etc) are just as likely to be able to navigate the site and enjoy the app as those who are relatively technology-challenged. The site sort of pushes new users to understand, too, I think, by giving new users a badge just for checking in and encouraging earning points.
ReplyDeleteI would argue that while there might not be a huge learning curve, you could possibly narrow the who actually has this technological literacy to even use these types of apps on their phones. On a basic level, what is the demographic of who is using these? I know that my parents would find this very complicated and probably could never check-in anywhere. I'm sure you mentioned it in your paper but users of these apps need to have some competence in using phones and the Internet.
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