More Games for Foursquare

Just in time for the 2010 Olympic Games, The New York Times is partnering with the mobile application Foursquare to bring “2010 Olympic Tips” to the fingertips of those attending the games in Vancouver.
From The Times’ Foursquare page: “The New York Times is celebrating the 2010 Vancouver Olympics by sharing tips on what to see and where to go in Vancouver and Whistler. Follow The Times on Foursquare to receive recommendations on dining, nightlife, shopping and attractions. Check in to two recommended venues to unlock our Olympics badge!”
So far, The Times’ travel and entertainment writers have added over 40 tips to the network. Recommendations range from the fun “@ General Motors Place: Canucks fans call this place the Garage” to the fact based “@ Cypress Mountain: The 22-foot halfpipe here is the largest one to ever appear at the Olympics” to the very useful “@ Core: Try the nightly Climb & Dine program for kids — three hours of supervised rock climbing, as well as a pizza dinner.”
What a 10.0 score for Foursquare. During a time of such rapid growth, partnering with a name such as The New York Times will add further clout to the platform. It should also bring about increased visibility and somewhat of an international introduction for the brand. Kudos to The Times, too. It is great to see a newspaper nimble enough and brave enough to experiment with a young social application while also providing a nice space for The Times to test Foursquare.
It should also be a hit with the Olympic’s attendees. I don’t have specific research, but I’m willing to bet that the majority of attendees carry smartphones. Foursquare should not only be useful to them but also bring a fun element of competition and gaming to those attending “the games.” Sounds pretty win/win to me. And I don’t know about y’all, but I’m ready to fly out to Canada to unlock some spiffy new badges!