Search Engine Land
  • SEO
    • > All SEO
    • > What Is SEO?
    • > SEO Periodic Table
    • > Google: SEO
    • > Bing SEO
    • > Google Algorithm Updates
  • PPC
    • > All PPC
    • > What is PPC?
    • > Google Ads
    • > Microsoft Ads
    • > The Periodic Tables of PPC
  • Focuses
    • > Local
    • > Commerce
    • > Shopify SEO Guide
    • > Content
    • > Email Marketing Periodic Table
    • > Social Media Marketing
    • > Analytics
    • > Search Engine Land Awards
    • > All Focuses
  • SMX
  • Webinars
  • Intelligence Reports
  • White Papers
  • About
    • > About Search Engine Land
    • > Newsletter
    • > Third Door Media
    • > Advertise

Processing...Please wait.

Search Engine Land » Channel » Local » Foursquare Rolls Out App Redo: New Likes, Better Recommendations, Visually Simpler

Foursquare Rolls Out App Redo: New Likes, Better Recommendations, Visually Simpler

This evening Foursquare is launching a redesigned version of its iPhone app (with Android and Blackberry to follow). It represents both a simplification and expansion of the app, based on what the company has learned over the past three years. The app is also cleaner and visually stronger. It features three nav buttons on the bottom: […]

Greg Sterling on June 7, 2012 at 12:11 am

This evening Foursquare is launching a redesigned version of its iPhone app (with Android and Blackberry to follow). It represents both a simplification and expansion of the app, based on what the company has learned over the past three years.

The app is also cleaner and visually stronger. It features three nav buttons on the bottom: Friends, Explore and You/Me.

A Broader Friend Feed

The new app will display a wider range of activity from friends — not just checkins. Among other things you’ll now see are photos, Tips and new “Likes” in the friend feed.

The addition of Likes (hearts) now provides Foursquare with a new — and more reliable — social signal to enable the site/app to make improved recommendations. In the aggregate checkins do indicate popularity but in any individual case a checkin does not mean an endorsement. A Like does however.

The overall idea is to show and generate more social interactions, which in turn will create more user data for better recommendations — a kind of virtuous cycle. The company is also looking at the sentiment in Tips as another signal and ranking variable.

More to Explore

In tandem with expanded social engagement, Foursquare has redesigned the Explore tab. You’ll now see “top picks” in your immediate area (see image below). Foursquare has revamped its algorithm to provide better recommendations and venue options to users without making them search or browse. It’s a kind of persistent, queryless search.

“You don’t have to have a preconceived idea of what you want,” explained Foursquare’s Andrew Hogue. “When you open the Explore tab we want you to have a magical experience.”  Added Hogue, “We know who you are and where you are.”

In particular the changes will help create a better experience for new users and those without many friends on the system. Hogue said, “A big part of our testing was asking ‘what is the experience like for a brand new user?'” He said, “We’re going to provide great recommendations even if you don’t have history.”

A parallel set of changes will also go live on the PC version of Foursquare this evening.

Making the App “Work” for Newbies

Hogue stressed to me that Foursquare now has a huge amount of data it’s leveraging to deliver the best experience possible to casual and even new users. The company is using the historical, collective wisdom of its user base to “make the app work” for someone who just joined.

This is of course part of a larger effort to expand Foursquare’s appeal beyond the checkin crowd. Foursquare now has accumulated over two billion checkins and has more than 20 million users around the world.

The new app should be live in the iTunes store later tonight.

Postscript: Interestingly Foursquare has abandoned Google Maps on the PC site, but it’s still using Google Maps in the native app.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.


New on Search Engine Land

    SEO reporting to impress: How to successfully report your SEO process, efforts and result

    9 ways to become an SEO problem-solver

    More FAQ rich results being displayed in Google Search

    Webinar: Benchmark your social media performance for a competitive edge

    Google releases May 2022 broad core update

About The Author

Greg Sterling
Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land, a member of the programming team for SMX events and the VP, Market Insights at Uberall.

Related Topics

AppleLocal

Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.

Processing...Please wait.

See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS

The SMX Conference logo.

Learn actionable search marketing tactics that can help you drive more traffic, leads, and revenue.

March 8-9, 2022: Master Classes (virtual)

June 14-15, 2022: SMX Advanced (virtual)

November 15-16, 2022: SMX Next (virtual)

Learn More About Our SMX Events

The MarTech Conference logo.

Discover time-saving technologies and actionable tactics that can help you overcome crucial marketing challenges.

Start Discovering Now: Spring (virtual)

September 28-29, 2022: Fall (virtual)

Learn More About Our MarTech Events

Webinars

Benchmark Your Social Media Performance For a Competitive Edge

Take a Crawl, Walk, Run Approach to Multi-Channel ABM

Content Comes First: Transform Your Operations With DAM

See More Webinars

Intelligence Reports

Enterprise SEO Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Identity Resolution Platforms

Email Marketing Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Sales Enablement Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Digital Experience Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Call Analytics Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

See More Intelligence Reports

White Papers

The State of Influencer Pricing

How to Measure Influencer Performance

Reputation Management For Healthcare Organizations

Unlock the App Marketing Potential of QR Codes

Realising the power of virtual events for demand generation

See More Whitepapers

Receive daily search news and analysis.

Processing...Please wait.

Topics

  • SEO
  • PPC

Our Events

  • Search Marketing Expo - SMX
  • MarTech

About

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • RSS
  • Youtube

© 2022 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.