Fly Or Die: The New Foursquare

As you might have noticed, Foursquare made some big changes this summer. The first was the introduction of a new check-in based social app called Swarm, and the second hit last week with the debut of the brand new Foursquare.

The new Foursquare is aimed squarely at Yelp, looking to change the way we find restaurants and other things to do. The idea is that users shouldn’t have to do so much searching to find what they’re looking for, but rather good options can be served up based on tastes and friend recommendations.

Unfortunately for some, this means that gamification isn’t really part of the process anymore. Swarm lets you ‘win’ new stickers, and Foursquare quantifies your level of expertise in various verticals based on how many tips you leave.

Still, it’s a far cry from the Mayorships of yesteryear, and some Foursquare users are reacting angrily to the shift.

On the other hand, the market for a Yelp killer is much bigger than the group of folks who were comprising Foursquare’s loyal but relatively small user base.

Though change is always hard to deal with, the new Foursquare represents a generally positive shift for Foursquare and the recommendations space in general.