First, there was MySpace. Facebook and Twitter followed. Now, adding to the bucket of popular social media sites is foursquare.com (no, I’m not talking about the ball game you used to play at recess). It’s a location-based social search site that allows people to socialize with local businesses in a game-like way of rewarding users for visiting. Foursquare calls its site “a cross between a friend finder, a social city guide and a game that rewards you for doing interesting things.”

Basically, you can use foursquare to “check in” to places, which tells your friends where you are. People check in to stores, parks, restaurants, bars and much more. Checking in has its rewards, which are called “badges.” If you do this the most at a particular location, you become known as the “mayor.”

It’s a game and local information source for the user. But for the local business owner, this can be a great way to bring in customers. Local businesses are using foursquare to provide offers to people who check in the most, are mayors or add to-do items on their personal pages.

As someone who likes to frequent the local Milwaukee taverns, it seems only poetic to show you this example:

AJ Bombers is using foursquare to reach local consumers. Its page has three special offers:

1. A free P-Nut Bomb for every check-in
2. A free burger if you can dethrone the mayor
3. A free cookie by adding a trip or “to-do” on your page

This information can also be shared through the top social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook. AJ Bombers has decided to include its Twitter link, while other companies include both. Foursquare seems to be the next notch on the local-search belt. In fact, Hitwise tweeted that U.S. visits to foursquare increased by 50 percent between December 2009 and January 2010, and were up 200 percent overall since November ‘09. Foursquare has even captured the interest of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, who has decided to invest his own money in the rapidly growing site.

I look forward to seeing what effect foursquare will have in the world of social media.