I don't use Foursquare, but I think the OP is wrong anyway. Foursquare is a game, people see it as a game, go places, get badges, rack up the check ins, get their stats up. It's like real life RPG crack in a way. From watching others use Foursquare, that's the lure in it that I see. The article completely missed that point.
Is Foursquare in trouble?
51–53 of 53 posts
Re: Is Foursquare in trouble?
#52I'm from the UK and have been using 4sq for just over a year. I use it mainly for the gaming aspect between friends (about 4-5 friends, who live in the same area), i also like using it to see what my friends are up to, where they are going/eating/drinking etc.
I think you nailed it perfectly, I think Foursquare is being used mostly as a game. It's fun, and addicting, but it's a "game" it's a "social game", but what it is not is a tie in with all my friends like Facebook, nor a restaurant guide like Yelp. Which is a good thing, as long as Foursquare can recognize how it is being used, and how to capitalize on it before they go belly up. And if it does, oh well, didn't the founders already make $100mil selling their first location based company to Google?
Re: Is Foursquare in trouble?
#53Earlier 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…
It's a check-in game for crying out loud.
Not really. It may have started that way, and that part may still exist in the application, but that's not why most people use it.