Foursquare is one the hot new social networking applications based on geosocial/geolocation/location based technology. The particular space they’re in is a very hot topic and given that smart phone demand has been on the rise like crazy recently, the potential is huge. Business owners should definitely keep tabs on this sector (location based services) because we’re talking about another way that can help make or break your company. I’m talking the potential to be as impactful on businesses as online business reviews on traditional websites such as Yelp, Citysearch, BOTW Local, etc. With that in mind, here are some fast facts about the hot new startup:
1) Founded by Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai in March, 2009.
2) Crowley previously founded one of the mobile location based social networking apps called Dodgeball and sold it to Google in 2005.
3) Google killed Crowley’s Dodgeball project 2009 and replaced it with Google Latitude.
4) Foursquare started with a limited availability to 100 worldwide metros but expanded to a model to allow checkin’s from any location worldwide.
5) The Foursquare app is available on iPhone, Andoid, webOS, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile phones.
6) In February 2010, Foursquare established commercial partnerships with Zagat, Bravo, Conde Nast, The New York Times, and a few other companies.
7) As of early 2010, Foursquare had 450,000 members and in March 2010, grew to 500,000.
7.5) The town of Manchester, NH declared April 16th “Foursquare Day.”
As far as sector is concerned, there are competitors to Foursquare. Here are other geolocation social networking companies:
Do you use any of these services? What do you think of their potential?
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The last time I personally played with these products, Foursquare was still in the 100 metro limitation (which I was not a part of). I didn’t realize that in January, 2010 it changed to a full open system because I was too busy enjoying a vacation in Dubai. With that being said, am I going to get back on Foursquare or Gowalla? Of course!