Foursquare has announced that it will expand recommendations to include suggestions made by users’ Facebook friends who have also signed up for the location-based discovery service. The move means that if you have connected your Facebook and Foursquare accounts, your Facebook contacts’ public activity on Foursquare will influence the recommendations you see in Explore, even if you aren’t connected to them on the app.
Foursquare says that this will allow it to provide “better personalized insights.” It made sure to add, however, that check-ins will still only be shared with your friends who are also on the app and will not be posted to Facebook without permission.
This announcement comes just a few days after Facebook revamped its Nearby feature for iOS and Android apps, which offers a location-based discovery service that is similar to Foursquare and gives recommendations for entertainment and dining venues based on your friends’ recommendations, check-ins and Likes. As Josh Constine wrote, Nearby poses a threat to Foursquare because of Facebook’s much larger user base and the fact that many people trust a friend’s recommendation over one from a stranger.
This is the second move Foursquare has made this week in an apparent attempt to ward off competition from Facebook. On the same day Facebook announced its retread of Nearby, Foursquare released an iPhone update that adds even more discovery features aimed at giving users more details to help them decide whether or not they want to visit a place.
Foursquare is a geographical location based social network that incorporates gaming elements. Users share their location with friends by “checking in” via a smartphone app or by text message. Points are awarded for checking in at various venues. Users can connect their Foursquare accounts to their Twitter and Facebook accounts, which can update when a check in is registered. By checking in a certain number of times, or in different locations, users can collect virtual badges. In addition, users...
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