Foursquare is a geolocation-based social platform that has undergone a remarkable evolution since its launch in 2009.
Foursquare’s initial base consisted of sharing the location with contacts
When Foursquare was launched by Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai, the app stood out primarily for its focus on gamification.. The experience revolved around the possibility of exploring places and discovering new locations.
Users could check-ins at restaurants, shops, parks and other points of interest, and thus accumulate points and medals for their visits. Even if they were the ones who checked in the most in a certain place, they held their mayoralty. This meant being a prominent user of that place that had visited and valued so much.
In addition, Foursquare offered personalized recommendations based on the places visited and the interests of each user. The establishments also added posters and on many occasions encouraged users to check-in and leave their comments.
The app became a tremendously popular tool on both iOS and Android phones. As Foursquare grew in popularity (reaching 400 million users), the platform evolved and expanded its functionality.
How Foursquare Evolved
In 2014 Foursquare divided its services into two independent applications: Foursquare and Swarm, a company acquired by Foursquare that same year. While Foursquare focused on place recommendations and exploration, Swarm became the app for checking in and sharing location with friends.
However, Swarm never achieved the popularity that Foursquare enjoyed and eventually the two independent applications gradually merged into one: Foursquare.
Over time, Foursquare has evolved further into a location intelligence platform. With a significantly lower number of users (around 50 million users) but providing very valuable geolocation data for industry and commerce.
Foursquare changed its logo and obtained financing from Microsoft. It currently offers location data and analytics services for businesses and developers, allowing them to better understand people’s movement patternsconsumer habits and market trends.
This location data is used by different industries, such as retail, advertising and transportation services, to improve decision making and offer more personalized experiences to consumers.
Over time Foursquare has developed a robust database of places and points of interestwhich is constantly updated thanks to the contribution of users and other sources of information.
This detailed information about shops, restaurants, parks and other places allows users to discover new places, read reviews and learn details such as opening hours, menus and special promotions.
However, there is no longer a trace of that gamification app with which users checked-in wherever we passed…
