I know a ton of people in the Bay Area that actively check-in. Please speak for your own experience.
But that doesn't really matter, because we can resolve the dispute with a simple question: if check-ins were a mass-market thing, would Foursquare (and everyone else who tried them, like Facebook) be running away from them?
The answer is no, obviously. If they worked, companies would be piling in, not checking out. But they don't, so they are.
No, it's not. But neither is
> After the novelty wears off, nobody wants to check in. Nobody. Like those stupid plastic awareness bracelets, check-ins were a fad that flared briefly and is now completely, 100% over.
</Hacker News>
On a similar note, I could list the reasons why checking in is, in fact, nothing like "those stupid plastic awareness bracelets". But that would be a waste of everyone's time.
But since my use of hyperbole (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbole) clearly touched some deep vein with you, how about this:
"An insignificant number of people, too small to provide a VC-backed startup with even a minimally acceptable exit, want to check in anymore."
Feel free to mentally substitute this version for my earlier, more-fun-to-read-while-still-making-the-same-point version whenever you browse this thread.
You're welcome.
"Literally" also had a second meaning of "figuratively" for the last century or two. So your attempt is, once again, ambiguous.
'Coz there's a huge difference (inasmuch as the Valley might want to forget this).