Olympics badges and recommendations on local eateries, attractions, 
shopping and nightlife form the basis of the Foursquare / New York Times
partnership announced yesterday.

Foursquare and The New York Times have teamed together to produce special badges and features for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, making the newspaper the latest dinner partner hoping to cash in on a Foursquare meal ticket.

As reported yesterday in the newspaper's Technology Bits blog, The Times will be "offering recommendations to Foursquare users on restaurants, attractions, shopping and nightlife in Vancouver, Whistler and the town of Squamish"  – all fed by The Times’s travel and entertainment coverage.

Foursquare users who check in at one of the suggested venues will earn a New York Times Olympics badge.

How Foursquare works
Foursquare is a mobile application (for iPhone, Blackberry, Android and Palm Pre; other phones use the mobile website; no browser phones use a SMS short code) using GPS to show a list of nearby places. Users "check-in" from restaurants, airports, parks, bars, museums, etc.  To check-in, you select from the locales available, or add to the listing.  You can earn points and unlock badges - and If you've been to a place more than anyone else Foursquare will crown you the "The Mayor."  But the challenge is someone may always usurp your title. Some locales offer special deals for their Mayor, and Foursquare actively solicits suggestions for new badges.

Once considered an application for bar-hopping hipsters, Foursquare appears to be positioning itself as the Mayor of online real estate aggressively amassing "Location, location, location" in strategic partnerships that  will put the squeeze on competitors like Yelp, including:

- Zagat: In a deal also announced yesterday, eating at Zagat-rated restaurants will earn users  "Foodie" badges. The service will also provide restaurant ratings and reviews from Zagat. See ZAGAT + Foursquare = Foodie Love.

- Bravo TV: Announced last week, Foursquare users can Download Guides by Bravo to get Bravolebrities' picks from stars of  shows like Top Chef, Miami Social, The Millionaire Matchmaker and The Real Housewives of New York City for the best restaurants, bars, and stores in their city, then start earning Bravo badges!

Check out the stats associated with "checking in"
With these new ventures  – and a growing user base (190,000-plus as at end of 2009), expect Foursquare traffic to spike. But with this Jan. 10, 2010 Tweet, one wonders if what next record-setting  level is possible: "Yesterday was our Biggest Day Ever™ We've been averaging *more than a checkin per second* over past 24 hrs. This is amazing - thanks all!"

At publication, Foursquare had 30,780 Twitter followers with 2,983 listings and  6,242 Facebook Fans.

For more information:
Foursquare Signs a Deal With Zagat
Foursquare Goes Mainstream, Teams With Bravo TV
Foursquare's Twist on Facebook: A Reward for Checking In

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Alison Cummings is a Web Strategy consultant and Social Media blogger based in Montreal. You can find her on Twitter @alisoncummings and Facebook.