Starbucks Addiction Pays Off on Foursquare

Coffee giant Starbucks has joined forces with mobile social networking site Foursquare to offer its customers rewards and gain feedback about its service. According to The New York Times, Foursquare users who frequent enough Starbucks coffee shops will gain a 'Barista' badge on the social-networking site. Thankfully, this doesn't mean you'll have to become an actual coffee slave. Instead, the badge, which you earn after visiting five different Starbucks and sharing the locations via Foursquare, earns you unspecified rewards. We'd assume a free latte or pastry, but knowing Starbucks, we'll be lucky to get a cup of tap water.

"It's where the intersection between digital and physical starts to get interesting," Starbucks vice president of brand, content and online Chris Bruzzo told the Times. He also said that the company would use feedback from Foursquare to evaluate what services and products customers like and dislike. However, we doubt any amount of lobbying on Foursquare will curb the high price of a Grande Iced Cafe Mocha or those delicious red-velvet cupcakes. [From: The New York Times]

Tags: coffee, foursquare, mososo, socialnetworking, starbucks, top, web