Ever since I heard about FourSquare, I’ve been wondering what it might mean to become ‘The Mayor’ of a service project.

If you haven’t heard of it, FourSquare is a smart phone application through which you “check-in” at places you visit.

When I open the program, my phone’s GPS system locates me and suggests nearby businesses.  Then I select the one I’m visiting and “check in.”

Once checked in, my friends can see where I am and join me if they are nearby.

If it happens that I am the person with the most check-ins at a single location, I become ‘The Mayor’ of that location.

Some businesses offer special discounts or deals to the reigning Mayor.  For example, The Mayor drinks free at a local watering hole.

My behavior on Foursquare also earns points and badges.

I receive points for checking in at new places, checking in multiple times in a day, etc.

I can’t figure out what my points are accruing towards, but somehow I like earning them anyway.

Sometimes my check ins  “unlock” merit badges.

You might say that you “don’t need no stinkin’ badges,” but FourSquare, has attracted more than 500,000 users in just over a year and they disagree with you.

Badges are in, my friend.

It is somehow thrilling to check in at a location and learn that you have unlocked the super explorer badge, though I can’t put my finger on why exactly.

[I'M A SUPER EXPLORER!! HUZZAH!!]

Sometimes users can unlock special, location based rewards.

At the  SXSW interactive conference, a friend checked in at a bar that specialized in Macallen scotch and unlocked a free 18 year old malt.  To redeem her reward, she simply held her iPhone out to the bartender who touched the “redeem” button on the screen and served her the drink.

As I’ve been experimenting with FourSquare, I keep thinking about what applications it might have for volunteer organizations.

Again, what might it mean to become The Mayor of a service project?

Could volunteers “unlock” badges such as “Social Innovator” or “Community Hero?”

Could volunteers earn rewards generated through cause marketing corporate partnerships?

Volunteers who check in five times at the local foodbank earn a free latte?

Obviously there are some types of service projects that don’t fit with a geo-locating software.  Some locations are secret for a reason, but many are not.

Could the growing FourSquare trend enhance volunteer recruitment?

Because I can easily add text to my check-ins and synchronize these posts with my Facebook and Twitter accounts, I wonder if adding “we still need five volunteers” to my service project check in message would draw more assistance in real time.

And what if FourSquare check-ins could be integrated with volunteer management databases?  Could check-ins then serve as confirmation of volunteer attendance at a project?  If so, could volunteer organizations more easily track participation and calculate overall impact with the assistance of this tool?

Potentially, FourSquare could enhance volunteer recognition, volunteer recruitment, project management and evaluation…

Quick! Someone get me on the phone with ! () and help  me to pull together a team of crack pro-bono developers to build a  FourSquare volunteer management plug in!

And while you’re waiting for my new app to launch, you might consider integrating FourSquare into some of your existing events.

But proceed with some caution and read these safety recommendations related to using foursquare and other location based technologies.