Foursquare Day? Tampa man promotes big day for social app

A global online social medium that spawns "swarm parties" and barroom "mayors" is getting a boost from a local devotee, who says he is amazed his 2-week-old plan to create a worldwide day of recognition has become such a cyber sensation.

Foursquare, a cell phone application, began last year and has a half-million people participating. It allows people to communicate through texts with the idea of going out and meeting, either for dinner, at a bar, at a mall or at any other event or locale.

If enough people show up, it's called a "swarm party." If a participant frequents an establishment, he or she may be named "mayor" of the joint.

Now there is a push is to establish a Foursquare Day across the nation and around world each April 16, or 4/16. Four squared is 16, see?

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, an Westchase optometrist and social media wonk, is the epicenter for the Foursquare Day movement. His cyber vision: get disciples of Foursquare to hit the streets April 16, swarm businesses, restaurants and clubs, and share the love of social media and networking.

The movement is bigger than all of its living, breathing parts, he said. He came up with the idea two weeks ago, posted it and from there it took off. It's a monument to the power of the electronic media, he said.

"All of this is a way to show the social-medial curious, 'Look what can happen in two weeks if you use the right tools' " he said.

Businesses are reluctant to get involved, he said, at least now.

"We want to show them this can be done. This is not scary. This is fun," he said.

Bonilla-Warford, 36, said the movement has become global over the past two weeks. Two cities, Manchester, N.H., and North Andover, Mass., are planning Foursquare Day festivities. The mayor of Manchester is scheduled to sign a city proclamation recognizing April 16 as Foursquare Day.

"This did not exist a month ago, and now it's global," said Bonilla-Warford, who owns Bright Eyes Family Vision Care in Westchase. "To me, it's as viral as it gets."

He got the idea sitting at his desk at work.

"I know I'm kind of a numbers guy and am amused by prime and perfect numbers, and it seemed so elegant - four squared," he said. "It caught my eye, and I put it up on Internet and it simmered for a while."

Then it caught on, he said, even prompting communication with Foursquare Lab Inc., the app's New York developer, which endorsed the idea, he said.

Foursquare's Facebook wall is full of comments about the proposed day, including one poster from London who wants tips on how to organize it there.

Bonilla-Warford said his movement is blooming without direct input from Foursquare Labs.

"They're so excited about what we're doing they put it on their Facebook and Twitter," he said. "We are not on their payroll. We don't listen to them, and they don't respond to us directly."

Foursquare followers are social and local and want to meet people in the areas they live who also are signed up to the network, he said.

Meeting face to face "is really the point of it," he said.

And that's what will happen April 16 in Tampa, he said. Foursquarers will go to their own eateries, pubs and stores around town. They also may go to the Lowry Park Zoo, The Florida Aquarium or Museum of Science & Industry, he said. A scavenger hunt is being organized.

"At night is the swarm," he said.

Hundreds of people - at least - will amass in downtown Tampa. As word of the event worms its way through other social networks, more people could show up. Initially, the swarm was set up to meet downtown at the Hyatt Regency Tampa, but there may be too many people, he said.

"We don't know how many will show," he said.

Even without any publicity, 100 have responded they will be there and 100 have listed themselves as possible attendees. This week, messages went out to 2,000 businesses about the gathering, he said.

"Theoretically, there could be a lot of people," he said. "This is a big moment. I don't believe there has ever been a social media holiday."

The beauty of Foursquare, he said, is that if the locations change throughout the day and night, new locales can be relayed on a moment's notice to everyone with a cell phone.

Some critics say there is a downside to letting the world know your real-time whereabouts at any given moment during the day - from burglars are on the lookout for an empty home to stalkers intent on harassment.

Proponents, like Bonilla-Warford, say it's a good thing. People of like minds gather, meeting face to face and not texting or e-mailing each other; businesses prosper and get free advertising while offering specials to Foursquarers.

The beauty of Foursquare, he said, is its simplicity.

"Ninety-nine percent of what is on social media is total gibberish," he said. "But the 1 percent that appeals to you, you can't find anywhere else. The goal is to find that 1 percent. Find that 1 percent, and it unlocks doors that are unimaginable.

"You have to filter out lots of garbage. When you connect with people with like-minded ideas and use the tools, there is literally no stopping it."