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Image credit: FoursquareDevices like smartphones and GPS receivers have gained unprecedented popularity in the consumer market. The Apple iPhone revolutionized the smartphone industry and set the stage for the development of smartphone applications. These factors have inspired many developers to create exciting games and apps for mobile devices.
Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai are among these innovators. Crowley, with his background in web applications, developed a mobile service called Dodgeball. The premise of Dodgeball was straightforward: users would text their location to the service, which would then notify other Dodgeball users nearby. The concept was designed to help people reconnect with old friends or meet new ones while out and about.
In 2005, Google acquired the Dodgeball service but eventually discontinued it. Undeterred by this setback, Crowley teamed up with Selvadurai to create a new platform: Foursquare. While it shares some features with the original Dodgeball app, Foursquare introduced its own unique attributes.
Foursquare does more than just share your location with others. It's a game that combines real-life activities with virtual rewards. Users collect badges by visiting different places, and if you frequent a spot enough, you become its mayor. Foursquare also allows you to connect with others, discover who’s nearby, or challenge fellow users in your city.
Foursquare Essentials
When you launch Foursquare on your Android device, it presents a list of nearby businesses for you to explore.
Image courtesy of FoursquareBefore signing up for Foursquare, it's essential to check if your city is supported. When Foursquare first launched, it was available in just 12 cities. Although the founders have since expanded to include more cities, the app will be less useful if your city isn't on the list.
If your city is included, creating an account is simple. Visit the Foursquare website and fill out a quick online form to sign up for a free account. You can also upload a profile picture to serve as your avatar. And just like that, you're ready to start using Foursquare!
How you interact with Foursquare depends on the type of phone you own. iPhone and Android users can download a dedicated app to manage everything. The founders plan to release apps for other smartphone systems, like Palm's WebOS or BlackBerry OS, in the future. If your phone doesn't support the app but has internet access, you can use Foursquare's website. Even with a basic cell phone, you can still use Foursquare by texting the SMS code 50500.
Let’s say you have an Android smartphone with the Foursquare app installed. To use it, head out and visit a location—whether it's a bar, restaurant, club, or anywhere else. Open the Foursquare app, which will use your phone's GPS to detect your location. The app will then display a list of nearby spots. Choose the place you're visiting, and the app will update your status.
The more often you check into a particular place, the closer you get to becoming its mayor. Check into enough places, or enough of the same kind of places, and you can earn a badge. If your friends also use Foursquare, they can track your updates and stay in the loop. You may even arrange to meet them later as you all converge at the same spot.
Features of Foursquare
Once you've checked in, Foursquare pins your location on a map, allowing your friends to find you if they're nearby.
Image credit: FoursquareYour first check-in on Foursquare earns you the Newbie badge. This is just one of the many badges available in the app. Some badges are easy to earn—like the Local badge, which you get for visiting the same spot multiple times in a month. Others may be trickier, and the founders are adding more badges over time, with suggestions from users.
Badges can also be earned by visiting locations tagged with specific traits. For example, if you frequent spots popular with fraternity members, you might unlock the Animal House badge. The founders rely on the community to tag places accurately, and these tags can evolve over time—so a location’s characteristics could change, potentially unlocking a new badge after several visits.
Users have the option to contribute tips and suggestions about various locations. For instance, if you're at your favorite burger joint and know their mushroom bacon burger is a must-try, you can check in on Foursquare and share that recommendation with others.
Since tips come from users, you can find all sorts of insights about different spots. Not all of them are glowing reviews either. For example, if you think a club’s music selection is outdated, you can voice your opinion on Foursquare. This feature gives the platform the potential to be both a social network and a review hub.
Foursquare’s founders are exploring partnerships with restaurants, clubs, and other venues to offer exclusive perks for Foursquare users. A restaurant, for example, might give a free appetizer to its Foursquare mayor. However, this model could be vulnerable to abuse. While the Foursquare app can use a phone's GPS to check in at nearby locations, users can bypass GPS and check in remotely from home, which might lead to cheating if rewards are offered.
If your smartphone has GPS and you’ve downloaded the Foursquare app, why not let your phone check in for you? There are two issues with this idea. First, some smartphones, like the iPhone, don't allow apps to run in the background. Second, keeping the GPS on constantly drains battery life. To prevent user frustration, Foursquare’s founders opted for a manual check-in process instead of an automatic one.
Foursquare: A Look Behind the Scenes
You can unlock Foursquare badges by checking in at various types of locations.
Image credit: FoursquareFoursquare is a small operation with just three employees handling the business. So, how do three people manage to run such a massive app? The key is through numerous partnerships.
The founders of Foursquare created the idea and developed an API (Application Programming Interface) for developers across different platforms like smartphones. Before long, developers took the API and created apps for both iPhone and Android. This allowed Foursquare’s employees to focus on other parts of the service, as the app coding was handled by external developers.
A significant challenge for Foursquare is gathering data about cities to store in their app's database. To support a city, Foursquare must collect and organize geotagged information. To fill in regional databases, the company collaborates with various businesses. This process takes time—when Foursquare first launched, it supported only 12 cities, but within a few months, the number grew to over 20.
The founders decided to debut Foursquare at the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference in Austin, Texas. This event, known for its diverse programming covering movies, music, and interactive software, proved to be the perfect launchpad. By showcasing Foursquare at SXSW, the founders effectively attracted bloggers, journalists, and attendees who used the service to check in at various venues. Their experiences were shared widely, providing an early viral marketing push.
Meanwhile, Foursquare advocates will continue to draw in new users. As the user base expands, the service becomes even more dynamic and valuable. And since anyone with a phone can join for free, the number of members is expected to keep growing.
