Foursquare released its growth figures from 2010 today in a huge infographic with lots of tasty data nuggets. The check-in service signed up its 6 millionth user last week and tallied a total of 381 million check-ins last year. The biggest event? The Rally to Restore Sanity with just over 30,000 check-ins.
This Foursquare chart explains where people are checking in throughout the day. You might think it’s all nightlife, but that’s only a narrow slice of it.
MTV was Foursquare’s most popular brand page in 2010, with 118,370 followers. Bravo was close behind with 114,202, and the History Channel has 101,352. (The History Channel provides location-based historical factoids, which are pretty cool.) WSJ, which has been an early adopter on Foursquare, has just over 60,000 followers.
For media companies, it’s safe to say that Foursquare is still largely an experimental social platform. MTV and Bravo, for example, partnered with Foursquare for promotional efforts, creating custom badges tied to TV viewing. Some newspapers are posting restaurant reviews as “tips,” and WSJ has posted news alerts as tips, as well.
While many still struggle with the return on investment, if Foursquare can keep growing at this pace, many of these experiments will inevitably turn into more concerted efforts this year. But a few big questions remain: the impact of Facebook Places, how to keep users coming back when badges get old, and whether Foursquare can scale its advertising/specials model in the face of companies like Groupon.
Plus: Foursquare now valued at $250 million, says co-founder
