{"id":12874,"date":"2014-08-13T17:39:17","date_gmt":"2014-08-13T21:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.berrywhale.com\/?p=12874"},"modified":"2020-01-20T16:46:12","modified_gmt":"2020-01-20T16:46:12","slug":"could-foursquare-be-the-next-local-travel-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/berrywhale.com\/en\/could-foursquare-be-the-next-local-travel-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Could Foursquare be the next local travel guide?"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the relaunch of its renewed mobile app, Foursquare<\/a> intends to make use of the vast quantities of data it has compiled during the 5 first years of its existence. It seeks to make the company\u2019s business model profitable focusing on becoming a recommendation service<\/strong> and go head-to-head with Yelp<\/a> or Google Places<\/a> by helping users discover new places.<\/span><\/p>\n

While Foursquare has eliminated the \u201ccheck-in\u201d from the application, it has developed Swarm<\/strong><\/a>, which has been touted as the app for keeping up and meeting up with friends. Unlike with the original Foursquare, gamification-type uses (mayorships, leader boards, badges) have been stripped away in favor of driving people to share their geolocation<\/strong>.
\n<\/span>We view this recent update as a forthcoming digital travel guide<\/strong>. \u00a0Users are prompted to explore their surroundings using the app as a guide. It is based on Foursquare\u2019s database of 10,000 \u201ctastes\u201d, essentially a taxonomy of foods, characteristics and things to do that have been extrapolated from user comments and restaurant reviews.<\/span>
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\nThe application now offers tailor-made recommendations based on the places one visit (the app passively tracks this information), the people and brands users follows, as well as their \u201ctastes\u201d, a first-of-its-kind functionality that allows a user to manually enter their preferences by adding tags like excellent atmosphere, spicy or chocolate.<\/p>\n

According to Noah Weiss<\/a>, VP of Product Management at Foursquare, the company has historically had a friendship model. Nevertheless, the new Foursquare places emphasis on recommendations, acknowledging its users attribute greater relevance to those people with tastes they can trust. The service now characterizes itself for it \u201cfollowers\u201d model, positioning itself to simplify the process of following experts and brands in the not-so-distant future.
\nBecause it\u2019s all based on followers and it\u2019s really based on \u201cdo you have tips that other people trust\u201d it\u2019s actually perfectly built for brands, and a lot of local publishers, and even celebrities that have tastes you might trust.<\/p>\n

Whatever your tastes are, wherever you live, or wherever you\u2019re travelling to, Foursquare has got you covered with the best tips for the occasion. Follow\u00a0Chefs Feed<\/a>,Daniel Boulud<\/a>, or\u00a0City Grit<\/a>\u00a0to see what dishes your favorite chefs eat when they\u2019re not running their own kitchens. Visiting a new city? Feel like an insider by checking out all of the amazing recommendations that\u00a0Afar<\/a>, the\u00a0Food Network<\/a>,\u00a0Travel and Leisure<\/a>, the\u00a0Wall Street Journal<\/a>,\u00a0Goop<\/a>,\u00a0Refinery 29<\/a>,\u00a0W Magazine<\/a>, \u00a0or\u00a0CNN<\/a>\u00a0have left around the world. Always looking for a great meal or a place to grab a drink? Check out what\u00a0Epicurious<\/a>,\u00a0Serious Eats<\/a>,\u00a0First We Feast<\/a>,\u00a0Eater<\/a>,\u00a0and\u00a0Tasting Table<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With its novel design and focus, Foursquare is looking for the way of monetizing its business model to become a personalized city guide based upon a user\u2019s tastes and preferences.
\nIt is entirely feasible that in the coming months we could be seeing new changes in the form of new Foursquare advertising formats, widgets or plug-ins that would allow the integration of content found within the app with websites or social media channels.