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The New Foursquare

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Re: The New Foursquare

#41

Post by hedgehog »

schainan wrote: post #32
acquiHire2014 wrote: post #2

They've sacrificed their core of users who supplied all of the checkins and tips in order to try to kill Yelp. Problem was, only those loyal users were ever convinced that they were better than yelp. Now that they've chosen the foursquare name, which is synonymous with checkins, for their Yelp clone, it seems like they haven't thought out... 1. If the checkin users leave because Swarm is stupid and eliminates everyth…

I work for Foursquare; here's my answer to #3: It's not just that tips are shorter than reviews, though that's part of it. The issue with Yelp is that every single user gets the same recommendations if they search at the same place and time. And in a world where everything is becoming more personalized, it's crazy that the predominant app in the local search category does nothing to tailor its results to you. When yo…

That's a good number, how do you define a "checkin user"?

Re: The New Foursquare

#42

Post by gdilla »

schainan wrote: post #32
acquiHire2014 wrote: post #2

They've sacrificed their core of users who supplied all of the checkins and tips in order to try to kill Yelp. Problem was, only those loyal users were ever convinced that they were better than yelp. Now that they've chosen the foursquare name, which is synonymous with checkins, for their Yelp clone, it seems like they haven't thought out... 1. If the checkin users leave because Swarm is stupid and eliminates everyth…

I work for Foursquare; here's my answer to #3: It's not just that tips are shorter than reviews, though that's part of it. The issue with Yelp is that every single user gets the same recommendations if they search at the same place and time. And in a world where everything is becoming more personalized, it's crazy that the predominant app in the local search category does nothing to tailor its results to you. When yo…

but I HATE that once in swarm, you bounce me back to Foursquare to see what's good here, after not allowing me to check in in Foursquare. It's so maddening.

Re: The New Foursquare

#43

Post by potatolicious »

ssmoot wrote: post #20
misiti3780 wrote: post #17

I have been using Foursqaure for years in NYC, and I think it is really useful for finding new places and picking food on the menus. Checkins, at the end of the day, are a means to an end. Mayorships/Badges/Game Mechanics/etc. might have made their app more viral (I stress might), but it appears there was never going be a way to monetize them, hence their "pivot" This is how I see it now: 1) If you still live in a ma…

Piggy-backing: They want reviews and tips right? I rarely check-in on Yelp, but on the rare occasion I do, I'm probably also writing a review and uploading photos. Why on earth would you make a whole separate app for a single button and modal? And what incentive do I have to participate?

The Foursquare app allows you to write reviews/tips and upload photos, it just doesn't check you in.

Re: The New Foursquare

#44

Post by misiti3780 »

nevi-me wrote: post #10
ToastyMallows wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I completely agree with all points. I used to check-in every time I went somewhere, but now without the mayorship, badges, etc., I don't do anything anymore. I actually haven't opened Foursquare in about a week now. Not sure why they were so excited about losing functionality and fragmenting their user base.

Also agree, for me the mayorships are what kept me checking in to my regular places, I kinda feel like the Swarm split killed Foursquare. Their loss I guess.

why do you care about being the mayor? was there some benefit beyond the foursquare status I am not aware of ?

Re: The New Foursquare

#45

Post by cenhyperion »

misiti3780 wrote: post #44
nevi-me wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also agree, for me the mayorships are what kept me checking in to my regular places, I kinda feel like the Swarm split killed Foursquare. Their loss I guess.

why do you care about being the mayor? was there some benefit beyond the foursquare status I am not aware of ?

It was a fun game. If I really like a certain cafe and go there almost every day it was fun to have some way to show and compete for that.

The benefit was a good UX.

Re: The New Foursquare

#46

Post by soneca »

I don't agree at all with the "so we needed to separate apps to do that" argument.

Is it that difficult to make a imediate check-in a standard private info and a review + aggregate check-ins a standard public info?

Only your friends know you did a check-in right now at that restaurant. But everyone who look at that restaurant on Foursquare can see your review (if you did one) and how many checkins you, as the author of the review has there. As well as how many check-ins total that restaurant has from any users.

It looks like a wrong strategy to me. It is as Facebook would decide to separate in two different apps (and brands) its newsfeed and its fanpages.

Re: The New Foursquare

#47

Post by schainan »

gdilla wrote: post #42
schainan wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work for Foursquare; here's my answer to #3: It's not just that tips are shorter than reviews, though that's part of it. The issue with Yelp is that every single user gets the same recommendations if they search at the same place and time. And in a world where everything is becoming more personalized, it's crazy that the predominant app in the local search category does nothing to tailor its results to you. When yo…

but I HATE that once in swarm, you bounce me back to Foursquare to see what's good here, after not allowing me to check in in Foursquare. It's so maddening.

The thing is, in practice bouncing directly to that view in another app is about the same as bouncing to a separate view in the same app. Try it with the new Foursquare + Swarm. I was just as skeptical at first, but it really does work pretty well. Honestly here's the old flow:

1. Hit check in 2. Pick venue 3. Type text, pick people you're with, etc 4. Hit confirm 5. Tap through insights 6. Tap to venue page

Now here's the new flow:

1. Hit check in from Foursquare's Here tab 2. Venue's selected, just tap your text, pick friends/sticker 3. Hit Check in 4. Swipe through insights, click "View in Foursquare"

It's honestly fewer steps when you think about it, thanks to the fact that the checkin flow is much faster + we know where you are with better confidence.

Re: The New Foursquare

#48

Post by ojbyrne »

misiti3780 wrote: post #44
nevi-me wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also agree, for me the mayorships are what kept me checking in to my regular places, I kinda feel like the Swarm split killed Foursquare. Their loss I guess.

why do you care about being the mayor? was there some benefit beyond the foursquare status I am not aware of ?

Occasionally venues would have special perks for the mayor.

Re: The New Foursquare

#49

Post by snoman »

GuiA wrote: post #37
schainan wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work for Foursquare; here's my answer to #3: It's not just that tips are shorter than reviews, though that's part of it. The issue with Yelp is that every single user gets the same recommendations if they search at the same place and time. And in a world where everything is becoming more personalized, it's crazy that the predominant app in the local search category does nothing to tailor its results to you. When yo…

> 90% of our checkin users have moved over to Swarm and continue to check in. That's an incredibly high number, so I'm guessing it doesn't mean "all users ever", but rather "all users who check in at least once a day"?

Consider that the 10% must also include Windows Phone users (as there is no Swarm app in WP).

'checkin users' probably means something like "active daily users on platforms where we have released swarm" and 'moved over to Swarm' means something like "has at least 1 checkin using Swarm". This is what I like to call "counting for marketing professionals".

Re: The New Foursquare

#50

Post by mbesto »

TarpitCarnivore wrote: post #26
untog wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yelp but with shorter reviews That's actually something I really want. I'm sick of reading "My fiancee and I were walking down Main St, browsing restaurants, when we happened to notice . She likes fish, so we were looking for fish dishes..." As for the rest of it - you're likely right. But the old Foursquare wasn't generating money. So either you abandon your hardcore users by shutting down, or you attempt to move th…

My biggest complaint about Yelp is the same as yours, nearly everyone is a "foodie" and trying to write reviews like they're part of the New York Times.

The beauty of Yelp is that you don't have to read them! The power is in the fact that reviews are aggregated ("..and the fish is amazing!") and that you can search within them. Sometimes I wanna search "oysters" to see if their oysters are any good. Let's say out of 100 reviews one mentions oysters - at least now I have an idea what to expect about oysters, whereas in Foursquare this may not have even been documented due to the char limit.
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