All the while, collecting valuable points or “badges” as they travel about their hometown. The fun, new app allows people who are already keen on announcing to the world that they are doing something daring like ­––I don’t know––“I’m sitting in a Starbucks eating a muffin” to earn points by shouting out these mundane activities to all their friends. Brands like Pepsi see Foursquare as just another cutting-edge means to reach out to these new digital consumers. “From a broad strategy point of view, there's a huge potential with the ability to connect people to promotional experiences,” says Bonin Bough, PepsiCo's Global Director of Digital and Social Media. Here’s how it works. People "check in" at their location––a store, a bar, club or restaurant, and store up badges with titles like newbie (for a first time visit), bender (for consecutive nights out) and, yes, the coveted douchebag (for checking in some place deemed too darn snooty). Co-founders Dennis Crowley––who sold his last venture, Dodgeball, to Google––and Naveen Selvadurai see the app as a promotional bonanza for marketers.

Cable network Bravo is the latest big brand to test an ad program with Foursquare. The partnership includes network-branded badges that users earn when they visit a Bravo venue, such as a "Top Chef" restaurant or a "Real Housewife's" favorite store. Become a Foursquare “mayor”––another “badge” of honor– and you win a shot at their buffo Bravo sweepstakes. Foursquare clearly has marketing potential for the right brand. "Alongside brand building and couponing, you're able to identify where a consumer is and drive them to experiences or into stores," continues PepisCo’s Bough. I guess you can’t argue with that. So, is Foursquare really the hottest new ticket for today’s savvy marketer? Just like ambitious Julius Caesar, many big-name brands are queuing up to find out. Of course, last I heard, things didn’t exactly work out that great for Julius.