I had a Foursquare account. At first it was fun, checking in everywhere I went, tracking where I had been, competing with friends to be ‘Mayor’ of a location. Harmless fun.
Then I started to take notice of something unexpected; almost as if I were watching myself as a third person. Checking in everywhere was getting in the way. Getting in the way of talking with those accompanying me to each location. Getting in the way of ordering food at a restaurant. Getting in the way of watching the movie I had paid to see, or at least the credits beforehand. Getting in the way of playing in the park with my son.
Getting in the way of being present.
I made my last check-in on Foursquare in December of 2011 at my favorite place to eat, and I don’t miss it one bit.
Sure, I’ll still ‘check-in’ every once in awhile. If I’m sharing a picture from Instagram or Google+ I may turn on the location feature if I think it adds to the output. But this is now the exception rather than the rule.
Now I concentrate more on the experience at hand. And being present.