Scobleizer - Latest Comments in Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

StephGeyer — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:16:20 -0000

Hmm Interesting concept. I know people love, love, love to get "points" even if they don't lead to a prize. Location concept plus college campus has legs.

Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

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Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

Adrian Churchill — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:49:26 -0000

I like it....

Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

Geoff — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:41:32 -0000

Robert,so far its 100% lame, hy:-
a) Your telephone number has to be 10 digits long - OK for USA maybe but in uk numbers are 11
b) No country codes allowed - nope we don't ll live in the USA.
c) Drop down list of towns- are these guys jokers?
Note that twitter was world wide and yep it did crash a lot but at least you got to see glimpses of what it could be like

Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

Christine Brumback — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 12:02:22 -0000

Enjoyed this post ( and congrats on the baby!)

In reading the comments, it seems there are underlying assumptions about "big" and "success" in that they are essentially defined by a huge, international customer base. While I would not (publicly) say I think fourquare would out grow twitter in terms of user numbers, at this point, it is entriely possible it could surpass them in terms measurable ($) long-term user engagement and value to customers ( both the individuals who use it and the venues/merchants who are participating). I cannot wait to see the mayor/venue connections grow, for example...

As a woman I actually find foursquare far LESS creepy than twitter or facebook -I've had people I barely know comment on my facebook status (and since changed my privacy settings) but with fourquare it's very easy to moderate on a person-by-person basis. So, if my creepy neighbor were to sign up, I'd just know to moderate that... whereas on facebook and twitter making those tweaks feels more cumbersome.

Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

scott penton — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 08:38:22 -0000

it seems everything starts off "lame" when it's just us geeks, but when the celebrities get involved is when it takes off, can you imagine Oprah on foursquare?

Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

Dave Pinsen — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:07:39 -0000

I still don't get the point of Twitter for most of us. I mean, I get the point of a fan signing up to read the tweets of a celebrity he or she is obsessed with, but why would you care to read a tweet from me? Why would I care to read a tweet from you? If I'm interested in your thoughts, I'll read your blog for something at least semi-fleshed out. Twitter seems like the text version of stream-of-consciousness.

Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

Rob Dolin — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 17:45:21 -0000

I'm a huge fan of FourSquare. They've got a great team and The usefulness only gets better as more of your friends join in your city. I look forward to a Windows Mobile version.

Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

Adam Wohl — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:38:28 -0000

I've been on Foursquare since day one, a big fan of Naveen and Dennis, and was a user of Dodgeball, the similar game that preceded it by the same guys before it was sold to Google. I love foursquare, but think it's a mistake to imagine that foursquare will grow to the size you imagine. Again, I am a huge fan of the app, but I think its appeal is limited, based on specific location criteria. I love in Los Angeles, but spend a great deal of time in SF and NYC. Being "walking cities", SF and NYC are prime candidates for foursquare. Being notified about where your friends are makes for great near serendipitous meetings -- learning you a few blocks away from a bud and can hook up at a bar is the main tenet upon which foursquare was developed. This works when your friends are in SOHO and you're in the West Village. It works when you're in the Castro and the chick you want to know better is at a bar in SOMA. But it's much less effective or persuasive to cause action when you're in Santa Monica and a friend is in Pasadena, which could easily be a 45+ minute car drive. When I'm home in L.A., I still use it, but more to gain points and out of habit. When I'm up North or in New York, I feel like I'm using the app for the reasons it was designed.

Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

Zacqary Adam Xeper — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 13:54:47 -0000

Brightkite, on the other hand, can be used anywhere Google Maps knows about, so it has a much better chance of catching on worldwide before Foursquare. Sure, Brightkite doesn't turn your mundane daily life into a bunch of Xbox achievements, but with everyone's checkins available in RSS format, anyone could build game elements off of it as a third-party web app.

Brightkite is doing what made Twitter successful, whereas Foursquare is a nice crayon drawing that we should hang on the refrigerator to make the founders feel special.

Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

Ari Herzog — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 12:58:44 -0000

...but that assumes one is using one's real name on foursquare.

Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

Eber Irigoyen — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 12:41:51 -0000

by the way, your new comments thing really sucks

Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

Eber Irigoyen — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 12:41:26 -0000

There's a huge problem with that network, it asks for private information (phone number), that'll discourage +90% of the people

Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

Federico Fasce — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:04:19 -0000

Living in Italy I can't play Foursquare. But I will, if they expand the system. I strongly believe that the next era of the web is to add gameplay to social networks, to make they fun and enjoyable while retaining their usefulness.
I'm working a lot on this stuff, and I think that projects like Foursquare are only scratching the surface.

Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

bnix — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 09:22:15 -0000

You could also check-in as you are leaving. This way all the crazies will be one step behind.

Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

Bill Kinney — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 08:14:06 -0000

Eric, you don't need to be using their app, it supports SMS and they have a mobile web client that works on any phone with a browser, which is a lot bigger than the smartphone client population.

Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

AndrewTerry — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 05:55:02 -0000

At this point, I'd have to say no. Foursquare's biggest problem is that it is *too* location centric. It can't be used by people outside the US (and if I understand correctly, it still can't be used in all US cities?). Sure, they'll open it up eventually, but by then it will be too late. Far fewer people will care.

Right from the off, Twitter allowed anyone to use their service, irrespective of their location - remember how mesmerised we were by Twittervision? Watching those realtime updates come in from all over the world woke people up to the impact that Twitter was about to have.

By limiting who can use their service, Foursquare has damaged their potential to make a huge splash. I'd predict that in 12 months, if Foursquare is still around, it will only be used by a small but hard core number of fans.

Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

Annika Lidne — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 02:44:04 -0000

And not just to some CITIES, it's closed to everyone outside of the US. I just tried to join, but can't. I joined Twitter and Friendfeed a few months after they launched but I can't do that with Foursquare so growth must be naturally limited. And don't forget that Oprah is aired through out the world...

Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

Batman — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 02:34:31 -0000

Scobe, there are other services that already do this. What makes Foursquare different?

Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

technogran — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 02:24:23 -0000

If it is enabled world wide then it could become big but......I presume that you really need to be accessing and using it on your mobile (as you visit a place) and as the cost of using the web and internet is exorbitant on mobiles certainly in this country (UK) that would obviously be a factor. I use twitter at home using my ISP. (free broadband) I couldn't afford to use foursquare (or anything else for that matter from my mobile) no matter how fantastic it was. Unless I could have it on my mobile and then send updates via text message that is.

Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

Rotkapchen — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 01:48:28 -0000

Let me take the plunge and go on record as to it's being lame (and also note that I'm perfectly willing to me proven wrong -- it won't be the first time).

But why might I take this stand? Because not only did people think Twitter was lame, but it was originally intended to do pretty much the same thing and people turned it into something else (and the peeps who still insist on using it that way I generally unfollow). Twitter itself morphed into something else because the original purpose didn't hold sufficient value for the 'masses'.

The concept has only been proven valuable as to 'presence' on phones (http://twurl.nl/gix2ib). Opt/in out? That's just a matter of simple experience design. Choice is a relevant design attribute.

Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

Zachary Adam Cohen — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 01:29:02 -0000

foursquare is available in amsterdam and is working on a way to crowdsource
city info...could be done in a very short amount of time worldwide

Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

technogran — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 01:26:34 -0000

In one word no. Why? Because twitter is available worldwide, and foursquare is only available in the US. Has to be a level 'playing field' for both before they can even compete. Same thing as the Zune HD can't compete with Apples iTouch

Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

Zachary Adam Cohen — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 01:26:05 -0000

just joined!

Re: Foursquare: will it be bigger than Twitter?

@kevinnorman — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 01:08:27 -0000

Here's the link to the Foursquare group on Linkedin: http://bit.ly/eoCor