When I finally got around to my voice mail, I figured it would be from an issue that I already took care of. Instead, I hear this:

“Um…this is kind of a random request but….”

On the other end was a reporter for the Des Moines Register. She was doing an article on Mega Bus – the discount bus service that I often take around the NY metro area. You see, I recently became the mayor of the Mega Bus on Foursquare and she found my name, did a little investigative journalism, and ended up tracking me down.

I didn’t get a chance to be interviewed – I took much too long to return the call – but I thought it was a revealing story about how our broadcast culture is changing things. A reporter half the country away needed help. She needed someone with experience using a business that was coming to the local community. A google/twitter search later, and she found me. This was not possible a few years ago…

As Twitter gets their archives pushed into the Library of Congress, we are starting to gather millions upon millions of data points that will reveal something about human behavior. My migratory patterns – where I check in on Foursquare – are revealing about who I am, what I do, and many behaviors associated with it. Taking that to a macro level, you can’t help but ponder what sociologists, anthropologists, and other -gists will be able to glean from that information. I think it’s pretty exciting.

On a related note, today is Foursquare Day (4 squared = 16. So 4/16 is Foursquare Day). My girlfriend Alana and I are hosting a Foursquare Day party at Faegan’s in Syracuse NY. If you’re in the area, I would love it if you can join. The Eventbrite link is here: George and Alana’s Foursquare Party.