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Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade gets its own badge

33

By on November 22nd, 2010

Ever since I was a kid, one of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving was the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was a great way to start the morning while were preparing the feast for later in the day. This year, it gets even more special with its own foursquare badge.

Users who check in to the parade festivities will unlock the Macy’s Parade 2010 badge. The design features the Macy’s logo on one of the parade’s signature big balloons. The unlock text reads:

You’ve checked into the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade®! Enjoy this week’s excitement featuring great bands, musical acts, mischievous clowns & awe-inspiring floats! 5-4-3-2-1…Let’s Have a Parade!

I’m envious of everyone who’ll be in New York on Thursday to unlock this badge!

UPDATE (10:23 pm): According to Macy’s here are the dates and times you’ll be able to earn the badge:

  • Celebrity Rehearsals: 3pm-11pm on Monday 11/22 or Tuesday 11/23 — Herald Square
  • Giant Balloon Inflation: 3pm-10pm Wednesday 11/24 — 77th & 81st Streets between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
  • Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade: 9am-12pm Thursday 11/25 — Anywhere along the parade route: http://bit.ly/hdUIpL
  • http://www.allankintz.com ack154

    Awww… :(

  • http://twitter.com/SpamSpam Spam

    Anyone care to guess if even 50% of the people who get thus badge will be doing so from Manhattan? ;)

  • Rudy

    Boo, sucks I am in Texas though. Damn.

    What is more hilarious is the fact that many Indonesians will be unlocking this badge and the sheer irony of it all is that Thanksgiving is entirely irrelevant to them. In the mean time, I will be stuffing myself into a food coma in order to drown the sorrows of not being able to unlock this one.

  • http://4sqnorway.wordpress.com/ Tecfan

    USAsquare

  • http://www.npyskater.tumblr.com Gregorio Feliciano

    Aw would be epic if we could unlock it here in Florida at Universal Studios for their Macy’s Holiday Parade!

  • Sal Cano

    Doesn’t matter if you’re not in Manhattan. Anybody can still get the badge…

    • Rudy

      As much as I would love to check-in, that negates the principle of my reason for using Foursquare.

      • http://twitter.com/oneramjac JR

        +1

    • ducky

      how can you unlock it if you’re not in Manhattan? I thought the badge is for the NY Macy’s parade?

  • Michael

    Wish it were more just a tie-in with Macy’s. That’s something everyone can do. Not that there aren’t enough Foursquare Black Friday activities popping up every day.

  • http://www.ravenouskitten.com kat

    I march in this parade every year so I am very excited about this badge!! I had a hopeful feeling this would happen!!

    I’ll be handling the Kung Fu Panda balloon, reppin’ foursquare!! :)

  • Gabriel

    Sorry, but if I am a consumer of the event, I’m obliged to partake in earning its badge. Consumer being a consumer of Macy’s as well as a rating-addition to its telecast. I’m an American, but just because Thanksgiving is unique to the States, doesn’t mean that outsiders cannot appreciate the spirit of the holiday.

    It’s like the term ‘American’ is all of a sudden becoming more exclusive now in 2010. I remember when the American spirit was nothing but inclusive.

  • http://www.jonesydesign.com Christopher

    I think it should be based on a shout out like “I’m watching the Macy’s Parade” or something. It really blows when you have no chance of getting a badge (without cheating) but you can still watch it on TV. That’s kind of like being there, right?

  • Gordon Werner

    This badge is now unlocked … you can get it here:

    Check in to Macy’s Parade Celebrity Rehearsals On 11/22/2010 or 11/23/2010

    Check in to Macy’s Parade Balloon Inflation On 11/24/2010

    Check in to Macy’s Day Thanksgiving Day Parade On 11/25/2010

  • http://robert.aitchison.org Robert Aitchison

    I suppose people could try to rationalize it and say that they saw the parade on TV. Of course I arguably did the same thing when I used the sanity/fear app to check into the Stewart/Colbert rallies from California.

  • http://www.npyskater.tumblr.com Gregorio Feliciano

    JR :
    +1

    Same here. Anyone notice though how it shows what event it is that’s going on in your history now at event spaces? How does it do that?

  • Bekah

    Now why not offer the badge to everyone attending any Thanksgiving day parade?? This is why people get annoyed with 4sq. It’s a bit too New York focused. I realized this is a Macy’s sponsored badge but how hard it is to offer a 4sq version for the masses? They did for Halloween…

    • Mike

      Yes NY and California focused. I’m in Miami which is a pretty worldly city and nothing …

  • Mike

    I agree, I watch the parade on TV every year. Just cause I can’t go to NY to actually be there doesn’t mean I’m a fan.. I’m getting the damn badge just for that… all the way from Miami that is :)

  • http://www.allankintz.com ack154

    Tecfan :
    NYCsquare

    I fixed that for you.

  • http://www.antdogs.com/ Anthony

    i live in manhattan!! i work in times square so i took the train one stop to 34th st! and got the badge awwwwweeesomeee!!

    http://foursquare.com/antdogs/badges/4ceb24a3f69f6a31bc552b3f

  • http://www.sonic-boom.com Chris

    As it so happens Portland, OR also happens to have a Macy’s Day Thanksgiving Parade, so I have zero qualms attending that parade while checking into the one happening back east in NYC.

    http://portlandor.about.com/od/shopping/qt/Macys.htm
    http://pdxpipeline.com/2010/11/22/macys-portland-thanksgiving-day-parade/

  • comment

    Badges are just additional prizes when using 4square. The main objective of using 4square is to locate your current location on the map. If we say Indonesians are missing the point of playing 4sq and are cheating in getting badges because they are not on location is not quite right. If you play 4square just to earn the badges, you already missed the entire purpose of playing 4square regardless whether you really do the check ins. Say I know for the fact that iPad has not been released in Indonesia, so no one should own an iPad in Indonesia. But the fact that so many are using iPad in Indonesia cause they ordered iPad from overseas and had it delivered to their home, is that considered as cheating? Likewise in 4sq, they can’t get to the locations but they can earn the badges. At the end of the day there’s no harm done to anyone and nothing against the law. So everyone just have fun and enjoy what you do.

    • Bekah

      I have to disagree. I think the longevity of 4sq will be seen with offering badges to the masss. Once you’ve checked in for a few months, earned the mayorship of your usual spots, what else is there? The badges keep the game interesting, especially those that act more like a scavenger hunt in order to obtain them. They’re a fun surprise when they pop up, like the Zagat badge I got a few months back.

      • comment

        When Indonesian get their badges, everyone was saying Indonesian missed the whole point of 4sq. Why worried about people getting badges? It’s not the main point/purpose of 4sq. Why worried about not able to get the badge because you refused to check in using mobile site? Badges are not the point/purpose of using 4sq. Maybe Americans prefer to say “using 4sq” and the Indonesians prefer to call it “playing 4sq”.

  • anonymous

    @Indonesians – if you want to play games go get a PS3, XBOX360, Wii or play them on your PC. I don’t think you understand what “geo social networking” is. You want to play games on your phone? Go download Angry Birds or something.

    You’re all devaluing the meaning of the badges.

    And you’re right. You’re “playing” 4Square and you’re not even following the guidelines and rules created by 4Square.

    You want more Indonesian badges? Ask your local companies to partner with 4Square.

  • Alex Bob

    How did they get the event to show up in history?????

    http://tinypic.com/r/2vnjk9y/7

  • Jason

    I was at the parade checked in 3 times and it kept telling me I was too far away for the badge. All my friends I was with got it except me stupid blackberry

  • Pingback: Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade: Foursquare Badge Offer : Online Social Media

  • Deenis

    I got the super duper and epic swarm badges too.

  • Pingback: A call for Wisconsin @foursquare badges « Dan Polley

  • leslie

    Why All The Recomen Venue When I Check In Much Say Litter far from me ? if like that how can we unlock the third party badges from another country ?

    • Chris Thompson

      You can’t. Please stop asking.

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