The social media scene observed the third annual Foursquare Day on Monday, or as the Foursquare community dubs it, 4^2. This celebration of the young but robust geolocation social media service takes place each year on April 16.

For the mathematically challenged, four squared is 16 and April is the fourth month. Clever.

In 2010, Nate Bonilla-Warford, a Foursquare early adapter, started the celebratory trend. Since then, Foursquare’s loyal user base and the company have embraced the social media holiday.

At Syracuse University, the alma mater of Foursquare co-founder 1998 alumnus Dennis Crowley, the momentous occasion was not overlooked. While the average Foursquare user ended the day with at least a 4sqDay 2012 badge, Foursquare fans on campus celebrated the app with a bit more flair.

The SU Foursquare Campus Ambassador team appropriately leveraged Foursquare to offer prizes for the holiday honoring the app. Joshua John, a senior economics major, and Shira Berg, a senior public relations major, are two of the three students.

Berg said students who checked into the Quad with three other friends received four floor tickets to Block Party. They also awarded students who checked in with a friend with the chance to win a free T-shirt.

But this day offers a larger take-home message than concert tickets and T-shirts. On Monday, the company announced that it hit 20 million users. For a start-up born on a kitchen table in the East Village in 2008, the growth since the app’s official launch in March 2009 is staggering.

A Foursquare user for more than two years, John believes the app changed the way we communicate and even how we form decisions on where to grab a coffee or what to see when visiting a new city.

‘I don’t explore new places on a limb anymore,’ he said. ‘I read peer reviews and make sure I know what I am getting into before I go there.’

In the past three years, Foursquare has grown not only in number of users, but in services offered. What began as an app meant to bring friends together is rapidly growing into something greater.

Since its creation, Foursquare not only stays ahead of trends, but it also sets them. Since 2009, Foursquare has offered the creation of lists that users can make on their own to decide where to go and what to do. We’ve seen the emergence of the ‘radar’ feature that picks up on your location and finds places that may end up on your ‘to-do’ list. And we’ve seen the marriage of financial incentives and the check-in.

Despite Foursquare’s innovative creations, the game aspect of the app remains one of its most alluring characteristics. Berg cites the ability to garner more points than her friends and earn coveted ‘mayorships’ as some of her favorite features.

‘I really love reading the tips and recommendations when I check into a restaurant,’ she said. ‘I’m a big foodie and always looking for something new to try.’

It’s a tribute to our times that an app in its toddler years is changing the social dynamic of a society. As much as Foursquare has achieved in the past three years, the growth and innovation we see in the future will outshine the tremendous leaps thus far.

So happy 4sqDay to you all. May your check-ins be abundant and your mayorships secure.

Jessica Smith is a senior information management and technology and television, radio and film dual major. Her column appears every Tuesday. She can be reached at jlsmit22@syr.edu.

Published on April 16, 2012 at 12:00 pm