UPDATE - Du has responded to this blog post through its Twitter account noting that, "We're aware of this flaw, but there's nothing we can do about it since it's the way @foursquare works :)"
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Du, the UAE's favourite monosyllabic telecommunications operator, is running a pretty interesting campaign trying to get people to visit its FIFA World Cup viewing tent in Dubai Media City with a savvy marketing campaign.
People visiting the tent can
, the latest social networking darling that uses mobile devices' GPS units to identify where you and your friends are at.
More importantly, du has signed a deal with foursquare to let users who are checking in around Dubai Media City that there is a "special offer" to check into the operator's branded tent for a chance to win an iPhone. The "mayor" - the person with the most check in's by the time the first whistle is blown at the World Cup Finals - wins the big prize.
Aside from a funky shwarma shop in Dubai Healthcare City, this is the only other foursquare deal of note to land in the UAE and a positive step in getting more businesses using social networking to promote their business.
But, here's the thing, you don't really have to be inside du's World Cup tent to qualify for the iPhone.
Because GPS chips aren't 100 per cent accurate, foursquare allows people to check in to its service within a certain radium. I don't know what that radius actually is but it is probably around a few hundred metres.
Foursquare also allows you to check in to the same location multiple times as long as there is a significant time difference or you, say check into a nearby location and re-check into the tent.
So, if you really want to win that iPhone, you could probably sit inside Vapiano or in your office in the Thuraya tower and keep checking into the du tent until you've got that mayor title locked down.
While the offer may seem flawed, hats off should go out to du for being an early adopter of foursquare. Next time, though, it would be a better idea to give people free food or a gimmicky du branded football than losing a couple thousand dirhams on a mobile that anyone with a keen interest to win without really trying.
