The guests had badges checked and 200 police maintained a discreet presence to guard against violent protests which have punctuated the heated debate on the measure over the last few months.
Update: I'm waiting to get into the Droid X announcement, and just saw some folks with Adobe badges check-in and go straight to the demo room to get prepped.
"Dragon*Con is a private membership event that has expanded in size consistently since 2000," Carroll told me regarding the decision to institute the badge check policy.
He added that the times and locations of these badge checks will be expanding in 2012.
Sounds like another quirky marketing stunt by Foursquare, the geo-social startup that gives you points and prestige (okay, badges) to check in everywhere.
And even special badges for checking in and completing certain tasks within a certain time period, such as (Checking in THEN writing a review on the place you checked into-True Yelper badge).
Badges are checked periodically, and the degree of exposure of the film indicates the cumulative amount of radiation to which the wearer has been exposed.
Foursquare, the social networking app that helped popularize the gamification idea, gives people virtual badges for checking in at a local cafe or restaurant.
A few months ago, the restaurant, already an avid user of social media like Twitter and Facebook, adopted Foursquare, the geolocation service that allows customers to claim special offers and earn badges by "checking in" to certain locations.
Facebook has worked with Foursquare and Gowalla to fully integrate their services; it allows badges and check-ins to be imported – not only from Foursquare and Gowalla, but MyTown and Yelp too.
Through badges and check-in specials, Foursquare is beginning to focus more aggressively on loyalty.
