Foursquare was born in March 2009 as a location service that connected to social networks. What in slang is called a 'mashup', the sum of various applications to create a new one. Thus the purpose of this application was half playful, half practical. The system is simple and addictive, say calls from your mobile phone to people's inner circle where the user is at all times joining Google Maps, Twitter and Facebook.
The internationalization of the toy has been faster than expected. In fact, 40% of the 'check-ins', a word which has also been left as is and are made from outside the United States. But this was not in the budget. The February 14 application version premiered five new languages: Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Italian.
For the user was merely a routine update for Foursquare is the most important bet since its release. Although services such as Facebook and Twitter have had a working combination of professional and volunteer translators to appear in multiple languages, this application has been made by a company wholly dedicated to it.
"Not only as a matter of time, but also quality," qualifies Cohen, "what we did was have each other enthusiastic users to offer feedback before releasing the final version." Each day is made more than 2 million "check-ins', a term used to indicate that it is on a site, and have more than 6.5 million active users.
After the United States where arouses more interest positioning service include Ireland, Germany, UK and Japan. Among the Spanish-speaking countries including Spain and Argentina. Although these figures are still considered a small startup company. Only with offices in Manhattan's East Village where they work their 45 employees and less for the 5 partners who represent them in San Francisco.
Their concern is not so much for having branches in more countries but have agreements with local operators and users make when traveling to keep discovering places without paying tariffs unfair. Latitude Unlike the similar service created by Google, do not follow the real-time positioning, but the user has control over their privacy and voluntarily decide whether to declare its coordinates.
What sets FourSquare the rest of its competitors is the combination of social network in a single service competitiveness. Friends meet while making recommendations, earn 'badges' (plates that recognize the contrast) and discounts on services. The most frequent place becomes 'more'. Apparently, the logical thing would have been translated into each language to be words, but "decided to leave it in English, because that is how it has become popular, it may be a controversial decision but it is our very own words" qualifies the manager.
Foursquare no longer wants to be a game remembered the name children's game, the four corners. Foursquare in English. In fact the motto of your web invited to turn the city into a playground ("playground"). Evan Cohen, director general of the service based in New York, believes it is time to take it seriously.
"I do not think of it as a game, but on a social site where you find interesting things in interesting places with interesting people" he explains. Foursquare's business is generated through the special deals that offer different ways. Businesses decide whether to make a discount just to enter the store, such as GAP stores in the United States, or free drinks for being 'more' of a local.
They can also symbolically reward those who follow the tracks and visit several places recommended by brand or profile publications in the system. Thus, media such as CNN or The New York Times has created a badge to recognize members of this network are known patterns and find interesting places.
CNN did for the World Cup. The Times said, during the last Winter Olympics. These badges of recognition, unlike the direct discounts to users, are designed and approved in Foursquare. For now, they have not been made FourSquare lack of commercial actors. They were the ones that end users themselves to awaken the curiosity of small business owners.
"They usually contact us when multiple clients are starting to show your phone to the manager of a shop or a bar to claim any incentives," says Cohen. Competitors have come as his popularity grew. So Google offers Hotpot, a page for review of restaurants, hotels, bars and cafes, and Facebook has added a mobile version the option to geotag.
It even has special offers for those who come into a store and publish it in your profile. However, the head of Foursquare think are very different services. "We are not a directory, but a community. In Facebook you may not want to put where you are in many cases because they see too many people.
In Google gives feeling to be something massive. In FourSquare is only people who want to see it and recommendations do not pay, "he concludes. 
The internationalization of the toy has been faster than expected. In fact, 40% of the 'check-ins', a word which has also been left as is and are made from outside the United States. But this was not in the budget. The February 14 application version premiered five new languages: Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Italian.
For the user was merely a routine update for Foursquare is the most important bet since its release. Although services such as Facebook and Twitter have had a working combination of professional and volunteer translators to appear in multiple languages, this application has been made by a company wholly dedicated to it.
"Not only as a matter of time, but also quality," qualifies Cohen, "what we did was have each other enthusiastic users to offer feedback before releasing the final version." Each day is made more than 2 million "check-ins', a term used to indicate that it is on a site, and have more than 6.5 million active users.
After the United States where arouses more interest positioning service include Ireland, Germany, UK and Japan. Among the Spanish-speaking countries including Spain and Argentina. Although these figures are still considered a small startup company. Only with offices in Manhattan's East Village where they work their 45 employees and less for the 5 partners who represent them in San Francisco.
Their concern is not so much for having branches in more countries but have agreements with local operators and users make when traveling to keep discovering places without paying tariffs unfair. Latitude Unlike the similar service created by Google, do not follow the real-time positioning, but the user has control over their privacy and voluntarily decide whether to declare its coordinates.
What sets FourSquare the rest of its competitors is the combination of social network in a single service competitiveness. Friends meet while making recommendations, earn 'badges' (plates that recognize the contrast) and discounts on services. The most frequent place becomes 'more'. Apparently, the logical thing would have been translated into each language to be words, but "decided to leave it in English, because that is how it has become popular, it may be a controversial decision but it is our very own words" qualifies the manager.
Foursquare no longer wants to be a game remembered the name children's game, the four corners. Foursquare in English. In fact the motto of your web invited to turn the city into a playground ("playground"). Evan Cohen, director general of the service based in New York, believes it is time to take it seriously.
"I do not think of it as a game, but on a social site where you find interesting things in interesting places with interesting people" he explains. Foursquare's business is generated through the special deals that offer different ways. Businesses decide whether to make a discount just to enter the store, such as GAP stores in the United States, or free drinks for being 'more' of a local.
They can also symbolically reward those who follow the tracks and visit several places recommended by brand or profile publications in the system. Thus, media such as CNN or The New York Times has created a badge to recognize members of this network are known patterns and find interesting places.
CNN did for the World Cup. The Times said, during the last Winter Olympics. These badges of recognition, unlike the direct discounts to users, are designed and approved in Foursquare. For now, they have not been made FourSquare lack of commercial actors. They were the ones that end users themselves to awaken the curiosity of small business owners.
"They usually contact us when multiple clients are starting to show your phone to the manager of a shop or a bar to claim any incentives," says Cohen. Competitors have come as his popularity grew. So Google offers Hotpot, a page for review of restaurants, hotels, bars and cafes, and Facebook has added a mobile version the option to geotag.
It even has special offers for those who come into a store and publish it in your profile. However, the head of Foursquare think are very different services. "We are not a directory, but a community. In Facebook you may not want to put where you are in many cases because they see too many people.
In Google gives feeling to be something massive. In FourSquare is only people who want to see it and recommendations do not pay, "he concludes.
- FourSquare Has an Identity Crisis - 7 Possible Futures for The Business (15/02/2011)
- 3400% Growth For FourSquare (24/01/2011)
- FourSquare's Virtual "Super Bowl Sunday" Venue Receives 2.1 Million Check-Ins (08/02/2011)
- FourSquare 101: Empowerment of Users, Businesses and Brand Advertisers (10/02/2011)
- FourSquare in Hell: augmented reality games discover demons (16/02/2011)
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