Foursquare Hopping

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As part of Seven Days' sponsorship of this year's South End Art Hop Juried Show, we set up a venue on Foursquare for the show and encouraged visitors to check in there and leave tips about their favorite art.

We didn't really know what to expect — Foursquare, a location-based service, is still a relatively new kid on the social networking block, and its user base in the Burlington area is small but dedicated. But more people checked in than we expected — 37 people, in total. The sculpture "Au Pair Bot" by John Brickels is the favorite among people who left tips.

Here are some of the tips people left:

Jonah S.: Check out The Flow by Samantha Castonguay

Will S.: Check out Jonathan Black's type sculpture

Amanda W.: Make sure to have a look at John Brickles' Au Pair Bot! His gallery is definitely worth finding and spending time in, too.

Andy B.: The robots by John Brickels are amazing. He has some other work at Shelburne Museum too. Don't miss it.

Heidi S.: Love Breana Einsing's "Untitled." Beautiful composition and it really embodies the charm of fall color.

Foursquare is nothing without mayorships, of course. So congratulations to Michael Hayes, the Foursquare Mayor of the Art Hop Juried Show. We'd give you a "RESERVED FOR MAYOR" parking space at next year's Art Hop if we had the power to do that.

I was curious to see if one could use Foursquare to find out the must-see spots and coolest parties on Friday night, since it tells you when venues nearby are popular. But check-ins for other Art Hop sites were few and far-between — a couple at the Maltex building, some at the <em>Seven Days</em> party, but Foursquare hasn't quite reached the critical mass necessary to uncover the hip, tucked-away spots at Art Hop. (After determining this, I put away my phone and focused on hopping. It is more fun to look at the art on the walls than at your mobile screen.)

Thanks to everyone who checked in on Foursquare for taking part in our experiment. And thanks to all who "checked in" to the Art Hop, in a physical sense, for supporting local artists.

If you missed the Art Hop Juried Show the first time, fear not — most of the work will stay up through the rest of September.

Comments

[Bob Bolyard]

YES! The major galleries... The Soda Plant, Maltex Building, 404 Pine Street, 180 Flynn, Flynndog, Burlington Subaru and many others are open the next two Saturdays and Sundays, 10am-2pm...