Great analysis Jennifer. Do you know how FourSquare is selecting new cities to roll this out? Is it just a function of the number of people signing up in various cities?
Zee
· 4 months ago
You might be right, in true Twitter fashion - the site is down.
whatsnext
· 4 months ago
My nephew, who's 12, is big-time into FourSquare.
I think your assessment of its potential is spot on.
Ben Parr
· 4 months ago
I was converted to Foursquare just this week.
The Binocular
· 4 months ago
Given that Twitter has become the hottest things on the net there will be many sites that are claimed to be the next twitter.
Good analysis though.
kristofferR
· 4 months ago
I would like to try it, but unfortunately it isn't available here in Oslo, Norway yet.
Jack
· 4 months ago
By the next Twitter you mean draining resources and make no money? No thanks.
Geoff Webster
· 4 months ago
I would use this if i lived in a large city or had an iPhone.
Stephen Robinson
· 4 months ago
Are they going to add support for anywhere else? Like the UK?
barkerja
· 4 months ago
Honestly though, I just don't see the point. Other than the gaming aspect, what else does it really bring? I don't know, I guess I'm just too hooked on Brightkite and the resourcefulness that it brings. Not to mention how limitless it is.
Carl Black
· 4 months ago
Agreed. Foursquare is like one tiny aspect of what Brightkite does. There's a lot of hype around Foursquare, but Brightkite does everything much better. I do use both apps, but many of the Foursquare users are all about gaming the system so they can gain points and mayorship. There are people here that check into a cemetery several times daily (often when it's closed and visiting would require scaling a large wall). One guy created a venue for his penis, with all sorts of "tips." I even ran into a guy last night that checked into a coffee shop while I was there just so he could regain his mayorship. Did he go there? Of course not. His response represented what I've found from many other Foursquare users; they don't really care about the functionality of the system, they just want their status. And this, unfortunately, may be why it succeeds, just as the iPhone has taken off wildly. People are attracted more to the glitz than actual use (just as people rave about the iPhone despite it lacking features that were common in other devices many years ago).
barkerja
· 4 months ago
Couldn't have put it better myself Carl!
TheAL
· 4 months ago
I agree 100%, about this and the iPhone. *lol* Unfortunately, for me at least, the social networking buzz is crashing...and crashing hard. I did the myspace thing in 2003, still kinda on there. I'm on twitter now to follow tech news sites like this and some stores for coupons. But all in all, all this stuff like Foursquare and Brightkite and twitter and facebook and whatever 999 "cute" names exist...it's all starting to feel redundant somehow. Too much stuff to keep up with.
Social Great
· 4 months ago
If you like FourSquare check out the first app using its API: socialgreat.com
It ranks the top checkin points on foursquare. "wisdom of the feet"
John Wright
· 4 months ago
FourSquare is brilliant!
10things.me
· 4 months ago
i 'd like to suggest you take a look at a new service, http://askaround.me/ . It's a staff pick and a featured app on the iPhone's web app guide. it has a different philosophy, not meant primarily to connect you with friends, but to find out what is happening around you and ask questions around your location. it's in beta but is gaining traction.
joshcanhelp
· 4 months ago
Foursquare seems like a lot of fun but it seems like it's "teaching" us to be social.... seems like a layer of to-dos I don't need!
Jonathan Grubbs
· 4 months ago
It's not available in the Orlando, FL area. I will keep an eye on it.
Scott
· 4 months ago
now, i'm as big a foursquare fan as the next guy, but can we please do without the "such and such is the next Twitter" headlines - Twitter is still the next Twitter for god's sake! Foursquare is a *totally* different beast and is not the next of anything (except for maybe Dodgeball)
✮Natasha Palmer✮
· 4 months ago
I say NOOO! no to any other "next twitter" there should be only one... cant have my ppl all over the place... to much social network. Everytime I hear of a new social network all my peeps say ""ugh" not another geessh, cant bother, ill jus stick to facebook"" Soooo this "Twitter" has to stay the one n only :) I kno everyone wants a pievce of the big pie... but think about "us" with our friens all over different networks & not in one place where its nice n convenient :D
I don't know, Jenn, I'm on Brightkite, Foursquare and Loopt, and outside of wanting to beat my partner to be Mayor of Houston's, I don't see how it will enrich my life the way Twitter has. Now for a marketer, a different story because of the hyperlocal aspects. If you are a bar with music you want to market, or a supermarket with a special, or a sidewalk sale, it great. But will it be sticky for the user?
Nope
· 4 months ago
Foursquare is not a continuation, it's the exact same thing as dodgeball. Google shareholders should be asking someone wtf they wasted millions of dollars only to let the same people just recode the same site all over.
DogTheSpike
· 4 months ago
Really? Do people really want to be 'tracked' all the time giving up their privacy more and more? The more mindless crap that keeps popping up as "the next best thing" and the more the younger generation mindlessly spends more of their time with stuff that doesn't challenge their mental and social skills, well, it's kind of frightening. I'm all for social media, but when does it stop? RT (on twitter) sounded like a great idea in the beginning, but just RTing something without adding to it is just mindless pages of 'nothing new' before you actually find something intelligent. Or maybe (probably) it's just me. :)
Seth Daggett
· 4 months ago
really great article, couldn't help but read the whole thing. downloading the app now.
Chuck Reynolds
· 4 months ago
Been playing Foursquare in Phoenix since it launched a couple months ago and saw all my friends with iphone's playing at SXSW this last march. I was using the mobile site for a while on my G1 but that had its issues. I'm not on an iPhone and can say the experience is better but Foursquare is still young and has a lot of bugs. That doesn't stop my from playing though and bothering @dens about bugs :) It'll grow up and I think more businesses will slowly catch on as the platform gets stronger and better. Just glad I have the mayorships of a few bars in my area lol...
Regardless of whether foursquare succeeds or not, the twitter analogy is just lame. You can point to any number of services that get hyped by the "kool aid drinkers" and pooh-poohed by everyone else. Guess what - most of them didn't become twitter. They're gone now. If only a few people get it at this point, it's a good sign - because at least *some* people get it, but it's definitely not a sign that everyone will get it at some point.
jbond
· 4 months ago
- No web version. Check - Tied to iPhone, Bllackberry coming. Check. - Handful of US cities and not inherently international. Check. FAIL!
When will somebody do for "where are you?", what Twitter did for "What are you doing?" It's about time isn't it?
Jeffrey McManus
· 4 months ago
You're clearly not paying attention. There is a web version, it's not tied to iPhone, and they are beginning to support international cities.
I find this fascinating, an app that integrates social media, location and everyday business; the folk that lease a property. This is the next level.
Annemarie (verified)
· 4 months ago
It's nice but no fun at all if the city you're in is not in the list. I live in Rotterdam (not in the list) so I can't use it/ play. For me Google Latitude and Brightkite work, Foursquare doesn't.
(BTW I prefer web based handeling instead of downloadable phone applications.)
Social Media
· 4 months ago
Foursquare...Downloaded...then removed. Not the next Twitter. I'll stick to tracking trends and ideas, something Twitter excels at. Not quite ready for a constant broadcast of "Here I am." Glad to get or give a location tweet, but Foursquare seems a bit much....http://Twitter.com/TrendTracker
Ryan
· 4 months ago
Great article! I had never heard of Foursquare, but I'm going to check it out! If you haven't heard of Peoplestring yet, you should check it out http://wiww.getstringed.com It is an up and comer that is all about its members and has several different programs that can help individuals or businesses. Again great article!
Jane
· 4 months ago
I'm still waiting for this to hit Toronto - its the perfect city/community for it!!!
Michael James
· 4 months ago
This sounds like a neat app- shame only US cities at the mo (ie not Glasgow, UK).
Mike Mella
· 4 months ago
Can we stop saying "Drink the Kool-Aid"? Those people died...
Ursula
· 4 months ago
Except for Amsterdam, there are currently no non US cities listed on foursquare. What is up with that?
Though foursquare is a nice and app service, my problem is that it's still missing lots of information about stores and stuff around my city. I have to manually put them in, and seriously, how many of us really know the addresses to the places we visit?
That's probably the only thing stopping me from really using the service after my initial trial of it. Fix this and I may come back.
Also, why didn't you all add Whrrl in here? It's within the same ranks and from what I heard at the blogher09 conference, pretty friggin awesomesauce.
maczter
· 4 months ago
If you're toting around an iPhone, just search for the name of your location in the Maps app, then copy and paste the address into Foursquare.
maczter
· 4 months ago
By the way, you get bonus points each time you add a new location.
dug
· 4 months ago
Do you have a relationship with Foursquare? Any article I have seen on them that was similar in its level of positive review, the author or site had some kind of connection. Hopefully this is not the case here.
Simon King
· 4 months ago
looks good. I think zubworld.com is a similar idea but a mainstream website launching later in the year. keep an eye on that too
Ray Macey
· 4 months ago
Until this thing can dynamically at new cities and towns (presumably via end users), it will never be the "next twitter". Having to add every town and city in every county in the world manually is not scalable, and not having it cuts off a large part of the potential userbase.
maczter
· 4 months ago
While I agree that Foursquare will never be the next Twitter (poor title choice, IMHO), the genius behind the game aspect of Foursquare is that you get bonus points for checking into a location that is not yet in the database. They're essentially offering bonus points as incentive for crowdsourced data entry. The app and web site also give you a way to notify Foursquare if a business has closed and if you are very active on Foursquare, you may be granted Superuser status, which gives you access to edit location entries if you run across any erroneous entries, etc.
krangsquared
· 4 months ago
Oh, yay! The location-based aspect is just perfect for the next episode of CSI to feature yet another 'internet-related murder'.
"So you mean, this guy killed another guy so he could become _pretend_ mayor? WTF?"
Mark
· 4 months ago
What about Flaggpole? It is similar to Twitter, but location-based in a way. Has anyone checked it out yet? http://flaggpole.com
Braddo
· 4 months ago
Interesting. Currently in Berlin, a long way from home. One of the barriers these sorts of apps face are the exorbitant roaming & data charges you pay when you're out of country, (even out of province in Canada). They discourage on-the-spot updating. If I find a neat art gallery or if I'm sitting in a lovely park I have to find a hot spot before I can post anything. I like LBS apps but seldom use then except when I'm at home.
Jay Lawrence
· 4 months ago
I am trying to create one now.. and it isn't working, I believe the site is down.. :(
mark
· 4 months ago
OK, is it just me. Or does the iPhone app don't work? Crashes on check-in or when adding locations.
daniehope
· 4 months ago
What, no mention of Gowalla? All apps mentioned only focus on where someone is, not what they're doing and why you should be interested. Only showing a person's location is like Tweeting about the mundane.
daniehope
· 4 months ago
daniehope
· 4 months ago
daniehope
· 4 months ago
550
· 4 months ago
Foursquare is great... if you have no life.
technogran
· 2 months ago
There's just one slight snag with this conjecture. Twitter is available world wide whereas Foursquare is only available in the United States, so just like the ZuneHD its hardly going to be the new twitter is it?
All Comments
I think your assessment of its potential is spot on.
Good analysis though.
socialgreat.com
It ranks the top checkin points on foursquare. "wisdom of the feet"
www.twitter.com/townissnatty
I was using the mobile site for a while on my G1 but that had its issues. I'm not on an iPhone and can say the experience is better but Foursquare is still young and has a lot of bugs. That doesn't stop my from playing though and bothering @dens about bugs :)
It'll grow up and I think more businesses will slowly catch on as the platform gets stronger and better. Just glad I have the mayorships of a few bars in my area lol...
You can point to any number of services that get hyped by the "kool aid drinkers" and pooh-poohed by everyone else. Guess what - most of them didn't become twitter. They're gone now.
If only a few people get it at this point, it's a good sign - because at least *some* people get it, but it's definitely not a sign that everyone will get it at some point.
- Tied to iPhone, Bllackberry coming. Check.
- Handful of US cities and not inherently international. Check.
FAIL!
When will somebody do for "where are you?", what Twitter did for "What are you doing?" It's about time isn't it?
(BTW I prefer web based handeling instead of downloadable phone applications.)
That's probably the only thing stopping me from really using the service after my initial trial of it. Fix this and I may come back.
Also, why didn't you all add Whrrl in here? It's within the same ranks and from what I heard at the blogher09 conference, pretty friggin awesomesauce.
"So you mean, this guy killed another guy so he could become _pretend_ mayor? WTF?"