Confessions of a Check-In Addict

Without fail, my New Year’s resolutions are always the same: get fit, quit smoking and get out of debt. But this year, I’ve added a new one to my list: stop oversharing.

Let me explain. I’m addicted to checking in. I check in to my favorite Chicago haunts on Foursquare, our weekend movie picks on GetGlue and the most buzzworthy restaurants on Yelp. For me, it’s all about being recognized by my favorite brands. After all, I drank a lot of skim lattes to become a Mayor of Starbucks and dealt with a hoard of feisty tweeners to secure my limited edition “Twilight” sticker. The surprise and delight discounts and special offers are just icing on the cake (and, yes, I resolve to stop eating so much cake next year).

My friends who follow me, however, aren’t so amused. Upon receiving my “Finale” badge for watching the season closer of “American Horror Story,” Doug, my college buddy in Maui commented, “We’re so proud of you, Peter.”

The sarcasm did not go unnoticed, even on Facebook. After all, do my friends and family really need to read this?

As Jamie Young notes in her blog on Twitter etiquette, there comes a point when sharing becomes oversharing. And nobody likes an oversharer. Social networking is about engaging with interesting people, not an automated stream of updates. Thanks to Jamie and Doug, I will now keep my check-in addiction to myself and use Facebook and Twitter for meaningful conversations with people I love and admire. This is one New Year’s resolution I think I can keep.

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