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Is Foursquare in trouble?

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Re: Is Foursquare in trouble?

#21

Post by aubergene »

cletus wrote: post #2

Is Foursquare in trouble? Of course they are. Checking in is, as this post suggests, merely a feature (of Facebook). When it was rumored that Facebook made a buyout offer my opinion was they should've taken it. Now? The best outcome I see for Foursquare is a talent acquisition.

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?

Re: Is Foursquare in trouble?

#22

Post by yalimkgerger »

oldstrangers wrote: post #7

Yes Foursquare is in trouble much the same way Gowalla was. Fortunately for Foursquare, they have a much larger audience. A very calculated-yet-subtle pivot could put Foursquare over the top into a category with Google, Facebook and Twitter. That slight pivot will be a make or break for 4sq though. Gowalla went way off in the wrong direction with their pivot, regardless that they probably would've been acquired anywa…

I totally agree with your comments. Do you mind to share which direction do you think they should go?

Re: Is Foursquare in trouble?

#24

Post by patrickod »

po wrote: post #10

A 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…

I have found their recommendations to be stellar and much better than anything else.

Re: Is Foursquare in trouble?

#25

Post by saddino »

po wrote: post #10

A 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.

Re: Is Foursquare in trouble?

#26

Post by mosjeff »

I've used Foursquare for about a year now and I have to say that I agree with his statements.

However, I feel that if anybody is going to eliminate Foursquare, it would be the credit card companies. Reason being, my credit card statement can give you a more accurate picture of where I spend my time and money. And that information is what is important to the "real" customers of Foursquare (i.e. businesses and cities).

We're already seeing this start to happen with American Express. They've partnered with Foursquare and have people link their AmEx card with their Foursquare account to get special deals on certain check-ins.

Re: Is Foursquare in trouble?

#27

Post by tatsuke95 »

aubergene wrote: post #21
cletus wrote: post #2

Is Foursquare in trouble? Of course they are. Checking in is, as this post suggests, merely a feature (of Facebook). When it was rumored that Facebook made a buyout offer my opinion was they should've taken it. Now? The best outcome I see for Foursquare is a talent acquisition.

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 style, and we lavish the founders with platitudes like they invented electricity or cured cancer. In that context, of course they're in trouble. It's a check-in game for crying out loud. Last I heard, they had a valuation well over half a billion dollars. Really?

So, in reality, they're not doing anything wrong. But our expectations for the next-big-thing are certainly out of whack.

Re: Is Foursquare in trouble?

#28

Post by viscanti »

Spoom wrote: post #18
cletus wrote: post #2

Is Foursquare in trouble? Of course they are. Checking in is, as this post suggests, merely a feature (of Facebook). When it was rumored that Facebook made a buyout offer my opinion was they should've taken it. Now? The best outcome I see for Foursquare is a talent acquisition.

Yeah, I never really got the value of a service like Foursquare when social networks allowed you to share all of this information already. The checking in feature is clever but at least for me doesn't solve any yet-unsolved problem. (Additionally, I didn't like the idea of publishing my location at various times of the day, but that could just be my own paranoia.) I think the average user might be looking at Foursqua…

Actually, I think they're facing the opposite problem. They don't need more. They're already trying to do too much. Is it a checkin service or a location review service, or is it a way to find discounts?

To Foursquare's credit, they realized that checkins were just a feature and not a business by itself, so they've begun to expand. The problem is that there isn't a clear direction to where they're going. Apps that do a better job of providing reviews will likely win on that front.

I see Foursquare's biggest potential in location based deals. I think that's muddled by their focus on everything else though. So I'd agree that they're in trouble. They aren't doomed, but they need to find their focus quickly or they'll be the next Gowalla.

Re: Is Foursquare in trouble?

#29

Post by nubela »

I used Foursquare, and I never found it more interesting than just a tool to check-in. And I see no value in that, nevertheless, I still felt LBS is a gold mine yet to be properly mined. And I'm determined to solve this problem! Or the problem of trying to trying to find interesting things around you. (Which is by itself a really different problet FS seems to be solving)

And I'm solving it on the very promise that people don't care too much about what strangers around are doing, but would however be way more intrigued to find out what their friends have done in the area.

Here comes in ctrleff! (ctrleff.com :X sorry for shameless plug) I'm a solo founder and things are going really smoothly! I hope to see something launched soon! And naturally, HN will be the first place I'd seek feedback from.

Re: Is Foursquare in trouble?

#30

Post by rokhayakebe »

aubergene wrote: post #21
cletus wrote: post #2

Is Foursquare in trouble? Of course they are. Checking in is, as this post suggests, merely a feature (of Facebook). When it was rumored that Facebook made a buyout offer my opinion was they should've taken it. Now? The best outcome I see for Foursquare is a talent acquisition.

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?

Do one thing well means fix one problem very well; if check in alone doesn't solve the problem anymore you may want to rethink the solution.
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