Facebook is missing the "game" aspect of checkins. That's the reason I've always though foursquare was really neat.
FourSquare is missing the facebook part though, so I think facebook could stomp them pretty easily if they wanted to.
Is Foursquare in trouble?
31–40 of 53 posts
Re: Is Foursquare in trouble?
#32Re: Is Foursquare in trouble?
#33Facebook is missing the "game" aspect of checkins. That's the reason I've always though foursquare was really neat. FourSquare is missing the facebook part though, so I think facebook could stomp them pretty easily if they wanted to.
the game aspect is overrated and becomes stale after awhile. It's a footnote.
Re: Is Foursquare in trouble?
#34Considering it's pointless and the market couldn't even accept 1 competitor - yes.
Re: Is Foursquare in trouble?
#35A service like foursquare can be useful to different people in different ways. Some people use it as a personal record, some people use it for discovery, some as a social app, some like the game, etc… Many people might initially come for the game and stay for the deals. For example, when I lived in NYC I used to enjoy the game aspect and knowing where my friends were. When I moved to Tokyo, these weren't that useful…
"A service like foursquare can be useful to different people in different ways." Which indicates that their focus is too broad to capture a critical mass of users that use it in the same way. I don't think a pivot is necessary, just a focus. They probably have enough $ to figure it out, but IMHO they need to find something soon and stick with it. I suppose "Radar" is supposed to be it, but I don't see it.
A knife is useful for different people in very different ways, but it's a very, very focused tool (unlike a spork).
foursquare is a very focused service. The fact that users find different usages for it without them having to release tons of unfocused features only proves it's well designed
Re: Is Foursquare in trouble?
#36Not at all, they are mobile, and social, and location based. All they need now is coupons.
I think they have coupons :)
they have the "specials".
speaking of which, has anyone actually successfully redeemed a "special" lately? I got 2 in my last trip to SFO, showed them on the counter and no one there knew what it was/gave me anything... :(
Re: Is Foursquare in trouble?
#37> Sadly, it lost the battle for my time to TripAdvisor+Lonely Planet when travelling and to Facebook when at home.
Wow, talk about being out of touch. Please don't waste time with either of those two products while traveling. There are others out there like Hipmunk, Kayak and Wikitravel, but it's best to find and converse with fellow travelers once you're reached your destination. They'll have more up-to-date insight and information than any website, never mind a notoriously outdated guidebook. My sympathies regarding the language barrier, but that is hardly a reason to dismiss a product entirely.
And hasn't Facebook basically abandoned check-ins? I cannot dispute that some people will find a product or a service useful while the majority have rejected it entirely, and I respect their choices, but I draw the line at having those people making recommendations of products whose creators have essentially abandoned.
The main reason that I stopped/suspended using Foursquare is because I see it as a game with no winners. It may help some people in ways that it wasn't intended to, but aside from that it provides me with no tangible means of measuring a successful interaction nor does it push me to achieve it.
Re: Is Foursquare in trouble?
#38Isn't this a classic "Crossing the chasm" situation. The early adopters are convinced and evangelize 4Sq, however - there is still some convincing to do for them to win over the early majority. I would not call it trouble, just an interesting challenge...
Re: Is Foursquare in trouble?
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think they have coupons :)
they have the "specials". speaking of which, has anyone actually successfully redeemed a "special" lately? I got 2 in my last trip to SFO, showed them on the counter and no one there knew what it was/gave me anything... :(
I got 4 pieces of chicken wings at Hooters in LA once. :-)
Re: Is Foursquare in trouble?
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wouldn't trust Facebook (or Google places) with my checkins. My Foursquare friends are a select group of people I know well, isolated from other network groups. Also, what happened to do one thing and do it well?
"Also, what happened to do one thing and do it well?" This is an oft-missed point when discussing these tech services. Foursquare is a cool little product that many people find fun and interesting. It's done well, and within that context is fine. But what's wrong with these companies earning a few hundred grand in profit and maintaining a small, stable company? Instead, VCs throw money at them like it's going out of…
> Instead, VCs throw money at them like it's going out of style, and we lavish the founders with platitudes like they invented electricity or cured cancer.
YOU KNOW WHAT'S COOL? A BILLION DOLLARS
> Last I heard, they had a valuation well over half a billion dollars.
Luckily for us, interest rates are unlikely to go up in the next year so we might ride this sucker out for a little longer.