6 ms·

Farewell Foursquare

39 points by antr 14y ago

kmfrk 14y ago
Four-year vest, early December 2008 and all? :P
molf 14y ago
The most surprising for me in this post was to learn that Foursquare apparently has 150 employees. It's an incredible contrast to the low revenues of $2M this year. [1] [1]: http://mashable.com/2012/11/21/foursquare-revenue-2-million-2012/ http://mashable.com/2012/11/21/foursquare-revenue-2-million-...
- jgalt212 14y ago
  It is sort of mind boggling that revs are so low with 150 employees, and having been around as long as they have. They should definitely be able to make sizable coin through partnerships with retailers offering deals or discounts when their customers announce their presence in a retail location via a check-in. This seems like a lay-up for both four square and retailers. Why are they not doing more biz in this arena? Retailers pay to track customers in the on-line world, why can't foursquare grab money for tracking them in the offline world? Are their structural impediments?
- snake_plissken 14y ago
  yeah i thought this was about foursquare shuttin' her down and then i see they have 150 employees. does anyone even use foursquare anymore?
  - NathanKP 14y ago
    Foursquare is integrated into a lot of other products. For example Instagram and Path both use Foursquare to get nearby locations when uploading an image, and I'm sure there are numerous other services that do the same thing. There is still a tremendous amount of API usage even if it doesn't seem like such a huge "buzzword" app from a direct user point of view.
    - jbigelow76 14y ago
      Looks like their path to sustainability is in their infrastructure and API and the Foursquare app is just a gimmick to keep users pumping in up to date location data.
- graue 14y ago
  News about Foursquare has been pretty bleak lately. I tried using it to find restaurants but their search results page was a disaster on mobile: tiny text and it wouldn't allow zooming in. They just updated the Android app but it has a bunch of reviews along the lines of "doesn't work": https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.joelapenna.foursquared&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.joelapenna... All this when they apparently have only 20M users, which seems low for how long they've been around. Any HNers with an optimistic view, and/or use Foursquare and think it's awesome?
  - tarr11 14y ago
    Funny, I re-started using it again last year after ignoring it for several years. I've noticed I get lots of little freebies when I check in via foursquare. Ie., $5-$10 off a meal if i use my amex, a free dessert etc. Lots of local businesses seem to have these hidden deals but they don't publicise them.
    - pavel_lishin 14y ago
      I think the Foursquare app lets you see nearby businesses that have specials.
  - jspthrowaway2 14y ago
    > only 20M users "Only" 20 million users? "Only"? The HN commentary is an interesting place these days.
    - hnriot 14y ago
      Once (a couple years ago) I'd see foursquare stickers and offers of discounts for checking in and people would use it, but I don't know any of those 20M anymore - within my world (SF, SOMA) foursquare seems to have dropped off the map.
      - graue 14y ago
        Right, that's my thinking... based on how much I used to hear about Foursquare years ago, I would think they'd have more users by now if they're on a path to success. When I looked at some business reviews on Foursquare (while traveling— was in Washington, DC area) it was disconcerting how a large majority of reviews seemed to be from 2009-10.
- antr 14y ago
  All the news and data seems to show that Foursquare peaked some time ago. Naveen one of the founders left; several pivots (remember that a pivot is done when things are not working out); well known employees leaving (Morgan Missen, Tristan Walker, and now Naveen's partner); declining use of the app; down round; etc. This company is now burning Series D cash raised on November, I guess there is no more fun and games here.
danso 14y ago
Off-topic: Ha, I like the detail of it starting from meetings at Think Coffee (in Manhattan). I can hardly ever sit down there anymore and not overhear startup talk. More off-topic: If you need a distraction this morning, here's an NYT article about why Think Coffee is enormously popular among South Koreans: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/21/a-coffee-shop-as-seen-on-tv-becomes-a-must-see-for-south-koreans/ http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/21/a-coffee-shop-a...
- dangrover 14y ago
  I can hardly sit down there at all!
- aclements18 14y ago
  I always met at Think and never really thought of it as a startup place, just one that is convenient. But now that you mention it I do run into all the startup folks there now. Good stuff, though they stopped serving lemonade :(
- wahnfrieden 14y ago
  Their bathrooms are coated with Foursquare stickers too.
fghh45sdfhr3 14y ago
TIL: Square is not what Foursquare had pivoted to. (I seriously thought Foursquare turned into Square as the news is full of Square and I had not heard anything about Foursquare until now.)
raamdev 14y ago
I personally use Foursquare for nothing more than tracking my travels. Initially, I checked into places just so that I could go back and look at my Foursquare history to remember where I was and when I was there. Then I realized that I should be archiving that data off-site and plotting it on a map for my readers to see. So I wrote a Python script (i.e., hacked together a Python script) that reads my Foursquare history KML feed every 30 minutes and then appends the data to a master KML file on my web server. I then use a plugin called jKMLMap to show my travels on a Google map on my site: http://raamdev.com/travels/#map http://raamdev.com/travels/#map I think Foursquare has (had?) huge potential. The digital and the physical world are coming together and apps like Foursquare allow us to connect the two. The trick, as is the trick for any startup, is to figure out how you can monetize such a bridge. I thought the idea of allowing businesses to give away coupons for checking in or becoming the mayor was a great idea, but that's subject to abuse and I'm not sure how that makes Foursquare any money. If Foursquare improved on features that allowed businesses to incentivize using Foursquare, and made such incentives worthwhile to patrons as well as businesses (product reviews, service reviews, maybe a way for patrons to offer suggestions to business owners for improving business, etc.), then I think Foursquare could save themselves, maybe by charging businesses for offering such features once there's a demand for them by users.
sjhcockrell 14y ago
The thing that's most surprising to me is that their design team seems to have lost a lot of key staff recently--and it's not a huge team right now.[1] Mari Sheibley's work was a huge part of defining the culture/visual tone of 4sq early on. Interesting to see where they go from here. [1]:http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/27/ex-foursquare-designers-focus-on-sunrise-want-you-to-do-more-with-your-calendar/ http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/27/ex-foursquare-designers-foc...
LiveFanChat 14y ago
why..... i hate when articles like this are made BUT without the explanation as to whats next or any reason why leaving now? It suprised me when naveen left as well, Foursquare is only just getting started yet the way some peoples "AU REVOIR" posts read you would think it was fully finished. Dont get me wrong Foursquare is kicking ass and will be bought out by someone sooner than later as they make a mockery of the competitors BUT ....its nowhere near finished.

39 points by antr 14y ago

kmfrk 14y ago

Four-year vest, early December 2008 and all? :P

molf 14y ago

The most surprising for me in this post was to learn that Foursquare apparently has 150 employees. It's an incredible contrast to the low revenues of $2M this year. [1] [1]: http://mashable.com/2012/11/21/foursquare-revenue-2-million-2012/ http://mashable.com/2012/11/21/foursquare-revenue-2-million-...

jgalt212 14y ago
It is sort of mind boggling that revs are so low with 150 employees, and having been around as long as they have. They should definitely be able to make sizable coin through partnerships with retailers offering deals or discounts when their customers announce their presence in a retail location via a check-in. This seems like a lay-up for both four square and retailers. Why are they not doing more biz in this arena? Retailers pay to track customers in the on-line world, why can't foursquare grab money for tracking them in the offline world? Are their structural impediments?
snake_plissken 14y ago
yeah i thought this was about foursquare shuttin' her down and then i see they have 150 employees. does anyone even use foursquare anymore?
- NathanKP 14y ago
  Foursquare is integrated into a lot of other products. For example Instagram and Path both use Foursquare to get nearby locations when uploading an image, and I'm sure there are numerous other services that do the same thing. There is still a tremendous amount of API usage even if it doesn't seem like such a huge "buzzword" app from a direct user point of view.
  - jbigelow76 14y ago
    Looks like their path to sustainability is in their infrastructure and API and the Foursquare app is just a gimmick to keep users pumping in up to date location data.
graue 14y ago
News about Foursquare has been pretty bleak lately. I tried using it to find restaurants but their search results page was a disaster on mobile: tiny text and it wouldn't allow zooming in. They just updated the Android app but it has a bunch of reviews along the lines of "doesn't work": https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.joelapenna.foursquared&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.joelapenna... All this when they apparently have only 20M users, which seems low for how long they've been around. Any HNers with an optimistic view, and/or use Foursquare and think it's awesome?
- tarr11 14y ago
  Funny, I re-started using it again last year after ignoring it for several years. I've noticed I get lots of little freebies when I check in via foursquare. Ie., $5-$10 off a meal if i use my amex, a free dessert etc. Lots of local businesses seem to have these hidden deals but they don't publicise them.
  - pavel_lishin 14y ago
    I think the Foursquare app lets you see nearby businesses that have specials.
- jspthrowaway2 14y ago
  > only 20M users "Only" 20 million users? "Only"? The HN commentary is an interesting place these days.
  - hnriot 14y ago
    Once (a couple years ago) I'd see foursquare stickers and offers of discounts for checking in and people would use it, but I don't know any of those 20M anymore - within my world (SF, SOMA) foursquare seems to have dropped off the map.
    - graue 14y ago
      Right, that's my thinking... based on how much I used to hear about Foursquare years ago, I would think they'd have more users by now if they're on a path to success. When I looked at some business reviews on Foursquare (while traveling— was in Washington, DC area) it was disconcerting how a large majority of reviews seemed to be from 2009-10.
antr 14y ago
All the news and data seems to show that Foursquare peaked some time ago. Naveen one of the founders left; several pivots (remember that a pivot is done when things are not working out); well known employees leaving (Morgan Missen, Tristan Walker, and now Naveen's partner); declining use of the app; down round; etc. This company is now burning Series D cash raised on November, I guess there is no more fun and games here.

danso 14y ago

Off-topic: Ha, I like the detail of it starting from meetings at Think Coffee (in Manhattan). I can hardly ever sit down there anymore and not overhear startup talk. More off-topic: If you need a distraction this morning, here's an NYT article about why Think Coffee is enormously popular among South Koreans: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/21/a-coffee-shop-as-seen-on-tv-becomes-a-must-see-for-south-koreans/ http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/21/a-coffee-shop-a...

dangrover 14y ago
I can hardly sit down there at all!
aclements18 14y ago
I always met at Think and never really thought of it as a startup place, just one that is convenient. But now that you mention it I do run into all the startup folks there now. Good stuff, though they stopped serving lemonade :(
wahnfrieden 14y ago
Their bathrooms are coated with Foursquare stickers too.

fghh45sdfhr3 14y ago

TIL: Square is not what Foursquare had pivoted to. (I seriously thought Foursquare turned into Square as the news is full of Square and I had not heard anything about Foursquare until now.)

raamdev 14y ago

I personally use Foursquare for nothing more than tracking my travels. Initially, I checked into places just so that I could go back and look at my Foursquare history to remember where I was and when I was there. Then I realized that I should be archiving that data off-site and plotting it on a map for my readers to see. So I wrote a Python script (i.e., hacked together a Python script) that reads my Foursquare history KML feed every 30 minutes and then appends the data to a master KML file on my web server. I then use a plugin called jKMLMap to show my travels on a Google map on my site: http://raamdev.com/travels/#map http://raamdev.com/travels/#map I think Foursquare has (had?) huge potential. The digital and the physical world are coming together and apps like Foursquare allow us to connect the two. The trick, as is the trick for any startup, is to figure out how you can monetize such a bridge. I thought the idea of allowing businesses to give away coupons for checking in or becoming the mayor was a great idea, but that's subject to abuse and I'm not sure how that makes Foursquare any money. If Foursquare improved on features that allowed businesses to incentivize using Foursquare, and made such incentives worthwhile to patrons as well as businesses (product reviews, service reviews, maybe a way for patrons to offer suggestions to business owners for improving business, etc.), then I think Foursquare could save themselves, maybe by charging businesses for offering such features once there's a demand for them by users.

sjhcockrell 14y ago

The thing that's most surprising to me is that their design team seems to have lost a lot of key staff recently--and it's not a huge team right now.[1] Mari Sheibley's work was a huge part of defining the culture/visual tone of 4sq early on. Interesting to see where they go from here. [1]:http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/27/ex-foursquare-designers-focus-on-sunrise-want-you-to-do-more-with-your-calendar/ http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/27/ex-foursquare-designers-foc...

LiveFanChat 14y ago

why..... i hate when articles like this are made BUT without the explanation as to whats next or any reason why leaving now? It suprised me when naveen left as well, Foursquare is only just getting started yet the way some peoples "AU REVOIR" posts read you would think it was fully finished. Dont get me wrong Foursquare is kicking ass and will be bought out by someone sooner than later as they make a mockery of the competitors BUT ....its nowhere near finished.