foursquare and seven years ago
isa awesome aka killer app for a killer app (a few ideas)

abstract: i love foursquare and
think that it is awesome. i wish more people would use it and think that is awesome. by looking at different types of users and thinking about the new memory layer that 4sqand7yearsago builds upon the foursqaure platform, i feel that by incorporating 4sqand7years ago into foursquare and adding some improvements, foursquare could be an even better and more profitable experience for users and the company.

first, my foursquare credentials: 528
days out 2,643 Checkins 45 Badges 11 mayorships Level 1 superuser

what is 4sqand7yearsago? simple! after
logging in with foursquare, every day the user receive an email from abe@4squareand7yearsago.com with all the places checked into on this day... 365 days ago.

why is this awesome? it
builds an exciting new, more personal, more engaging layer onto foursquare... the “memory layer”. 4sqand7yearsago provides users with another reason to checkin. foursquare was originally created to let users know where their friends are when you go out, now users can easily remember what they and their friends were doing in the past. memory layer deals layer game layer foursquare checkin platform

why is this awesome for
foursquare? it provides a valid reason for new users to start using foursquare, and existing users to use foursquare more. potential users always ask me why they should bother with foursquare. 4sqand7yearsago is a great answer. these are usually people who have smartphones and love taking photos of their food and their friends and what is going on around them to remember later. foursquare adds another layer to this, providing the context of place. once people experience 4sqand7yearsgo and have the moment of reconstructing a particularly exciting day from an email they recieve from abe, they become heavier users of the foursquare service.

foursquare users are not all
the same, but there are a few standard usage patterns, each of which could benefit from 4sqand7yearsago these users try one & out foursquare done for a few days or weeks but don’t feel compelled to continue using it. these are casual users who only Big checkin at exciting moves places that they also want to share through Twitter and Facebook these are the whales of 24/7 foursquare who checkin everytime they enter a new venue or event.

How can 4sqand7yearsago be made
more awesome for all these users?

improvement: PeoPLe Love sPeCiaL events
and HoLidays: send custom holiday and event themed messages, with quirky, unique messaging. for the new years email, for example, providing the times of last year’s checkins as what the user was doing on new years in another country. one & Big 24/7 done moves

improvement: graduate tHe Periods tHat
emaiLs get sent to users. a year is a long time for new users to get engaged and checking in as a habit before unlocking the memory layer of 4sqand7yearsago. to change this and have users invested more in the foursquare experience, the time period that 4sqand7yearsago covers should change the longer that a user uses foursquare. emaiL wHat HaPPened emaiL weeKLy Begin tHe Previous weeKend, digests of traditionaL wHat HaPPened year ago HoLidays a montH ago emaiL day 1 9 montH 1 year 1.5 year one & Big 24/7 done moves

improvement: aLLow tHe oPtion of
weeKLy, montHLy digest emaiLs, as weLL as tHe daiLy one. many people don’t want to get daily emails... furthermore most people don’t want to checkin because they don’t think that they do that many exciting things beyond going to work, the grocery store, the gym and coming home. to combat both of these things, there could be the option of sending monthly or weekly digests of past events presented in interesting infographic ways similar to the stats tab or 4sqmap.com making 4sqand7yearsago not only less intrusive, but more interesting and fun as well for new and seasoned users. one & Big 24/7 done moves

improvement: integrate deaLs into 4sqand7yearsago
emaiLs people may sign up to receive the daily, weekly or monthly emails, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they read them. why not include an incentive in them with foursquare checkin linked deals and specials possibly tied to american express? it would be simple, using the context of what they had done a year ago, providing the user with an incentive and opportunity to relive part of that exciting day. if the user had checked into a movie theatre a year ago... insert a coupon in the email that they receive today for a free small popcorn to incentivize them to go back and further their overall engagement with the foursquare experience. one & Big 24/7 done moves

bottomline: •4sqand7yearsago is awesome! •it
adds a memory layer to the platform •foursquare should include it as part of the service to drive engagement from new, casual and seasoned users. •there are some improvements that could be made to 4sqand7years ago to drive engagement in all levels of forsquare user and create a more profitable experience for the user and foursquare!

if you want to talk
more, connect with: foursquare: foursquare.com/merritte linkedin: linkedin.com/in/merritte twitter: @merritte facebook: facebook.com/merritte slideshare: slideshare.net/merritte tumblr: merritte.tumblr.com flickr: flickr.com/merritte merritte.Com