Foursquare Splits App In Two With Swarm Location-Based Reviews
For many fledgling companies, consolidation becomes necessary after a period of, quite frankly, throwing anything and everything against a wall to see what sticks. For Foursquare, the opposite's happening. The check-in app is splitting into two apps, with "Swarm" being introduced as a companion to Foursquare, which will remain around as a slimmed-down app.
The purpose of Swarm is to quickly and easily see where your friends are, share what you're up, and see if anyone around is up for meeting later. Swarm will be available on iOS and Android in the coming weeks, and soon after on Windows Phone. Once that happens, Foursquare will shift as well. It'll become more like a Yellow Pages application, with local search that's tailored for those who you know. As the company puts it: "An app should be able answer questions like ‘give me a great date dinner spot’ and not just ‘tell me the nearest gas station.’ We’re right now putting the final touches on this new, discovery-focused version of Foursquare. It’ll be polished and ready for you later this summer. Swarm is for people who want the fastest and easiest way to connect with their friends. Foursquare is for explorers who want to know about the best spots, and to share what they’ve found with others."
Essentially, the check-in features that you know and love will shift to Swarm, while Foursquare continues on as a Yelp rival. What's interesting about this is what's going and what's staying. The "check-in" was Foursquare's "thing," but evidently it's either not used enough or simply cannot be monetized enough, so the Foursquare namesake will instead just rival Yelp and Urbanspoon. The check-in portion of the app is being brushed aside to some new app, which isn't likely to gain the same name recognition.
The purpose of Swarm is to quickly and easily see where your friends are, share what you're up, and see if anyone around is up for meeting later. Swarm will be available on iOS and Android in the coming weeks, and soon after on Windows Phone. Once that happens, Foursquare will shift as well. It'll become more like a Yellow Pages application, with local search that's tailored for those who you know. As the company puts it: "An app should be able answer questions like ‘give me a great date dinner spot’ and not just ‘tell me the nearest gas station.’ We’re right now putting the final touches on this new, discovery-focused version of Foursquare. It’ll be polished and ready for you later this summer. Swarm is for people who want the fastest and easiest way to connect with their friends. Foursquare is for explorers who want to know about the best spots, and to share what they’ve found with others."
Essentially, the check-in features that you know and love will shift to Swarm, while Foursquare continues on as a Yelp rival. What's interesting about this is what's going and what's staying. The "check-in" was Foursquare's "thing," but evidently it's either not used enough or simply cannot be monetized enough, so the Foursquare namesake will instead just rival Yelp and Urbanspoon. The check-in portion of the app is being brushed aside to some new app, which isn't likely to gain the same name recognition.
