Gaining an edge as perks spark battles for Foursquare 'mayors'

The battle to be the "mayor" of a local store or restaurant on the popular location-sharing service Foursquare is heating up as Pizza Hut begins to offer Mayors a free order of bread sticks, starting August 10th, joining the collection of retailers offering their most frequent customers a reward. As the real world benefits of being a virtual mayor become more tangible, the competition, and tools to be on the top, are increasing.

For those unfamiliar with Foursquare, the mayor of a location is the person who has visited a venue the most in the past 60 days. So, if you were to check in with Foursquare at your local Pizza Hut more than any other Foursquare user, you would become the mayor and earn free bread sticks. The title can change as soon as someone else checks in more than you which can lead to back-and-forth battles for control of a favorite local watering hole, pizza shop or retail outlet.