Foursquare Shifts from “Checking In” to “Check This Out”
When you think Foursquare, you think, “checking in.” Well, that, or, “checking in is kind of lame” (or maybe that’s just me). It seems as though Foursquare’s aware of that conception, which is why it’s taken two actions lately. First, it split its check-in function to a sister-app called “Swarm” a couple months ago. Second, it got started on creating a new Foursquare experience that changes from descriptive from prescriptive – instead of telling the world where you’ve already been, it’ll tell you where you might actually want to go.
The new Foursquare will launch in a few weeks, and it sounds interesting in a way that the old Foursquare never did. The new version of the app – complete with a new logo and UI – wants to be the kind of recommendation engine that you won’t be able to live without.
“No two people view the world exactly the same, so no two people will have the same experience with the app,” says the company in an announcement today. “Once you teach Foursquare a couple things about you – add tastes, follow experts, or even just walk around for a few days – the app will be 100% yours.”
The developers behind the new Foursquare elaborate:
“This is the beginning of the ‘personalized local search’ future we’ve been talking about since we started Foursquare. It’s been built with the help of our amazing 50,000,000-strong community, with all your tips, check-ins, photos, and the smarts we layered on top of that. Those of you have been with us since the beginning, your check-ins and history will continue to help shape your recommendations. For those of you giving us a try for the first time – you still get all the benefits of a better way to explore any neighborhood, no check-ins required.”
In short, if you’ve got preferences for a kind of food or drink, if you tell Foursquare all about what you like, it’ll offer up some recommendations about what’s in your area. And not just what’s in your area, but what’s good in your area. I can’t recall how many times I’ve needed something just like that while I explore my adopted home of the Twin Cities in Minnesota.
Typically, I’ve simply searched out types of foods or services on Google Maps, and then checking out each place’s reviews and ratings. The new version of Foursquare sounds like it’ll do all that for you, and simply give you recommendations about what you like in your area, hopefully filtering out the ones with bad reviews.
It all sounds very promising – but we won’t know until we get the chance to try it out. While the company isn’t specific on just when the new Foursquare app will be out, it should appear within the next few weeks. I know I’ll check it out when it’s finally ready. Will you?