You’re where? Where did you get that? Oh my gosh, are you really checking in?

Those are a few of the things that I get asked almost on a daily basis. Following me on Four Square or Yelp can be an interesting study of my habits. I check in everywhere and I mean everywhere. The reason being is so that I can document my own habits.

I promise I will try to limit the posting on Facebook. I don’t do it normally and I only post on super special occasions.

My habit for checking is because I want to know where I go and what I do most often. I think a lot of us kind of know what we do almost daily but I really want to know and have the numbers and documentation for it. Call me a geek but I love those things. I’m curious to see where I go and how often. I always thought it would be interesting to see the pattern. I’m still working on getting a plot of each data point on a map. And it is seeing this on a map is the reason that I check in anywhere. In all honesty I don’t do it to share what and where I eat but rather to show myself a pattern.

Here’s some stats so far:

Four Square
8 Mayorships
90 check ins at my place of work
Food & Drink is my most checked in category
14 times I’ve eaten at a burger joint
41 Four Square badges

Yelp
2740 Check Ins
24 Badges
34 reviews

The fact that I’m a foodie and a traveler has help me gain a reputation among friends of the people to ask about food and where to take visitors. I like to be able to do this because first, I get to help them find and discover new things and places they haven’t been before, secondly it keeps me motivated to keep continuing to explore and try out new things.

The fun thing that I have enjoyed about the checking process is that you do get a title if you happen to check in often. With four square it is Mayor and with yelp it is Duke. Yes, those are just bragging rights and they don’t really get you anything special except bragging rights. But I do see them as a achievements because you do have to frequent these places and keep up with each individual location. In one way it helps you build relationships with the owners and people that work there. And over time you can build that into a good friendship. And from these friendships you can get some interesting opportunities that you would have otherwise.

So I encourage you all to check in into places and explore your surroundings. Get lost and discover because you might be surprise on what you might find.