Get even better personalized recommendations, with help from your Facebook friends
The best recommendations often come from friends. When you’re looking for a burrito or how to spend your Saturday, Foursquare can show you the Mexican restaurants, coffee shops, and museums that your friends love. And, starting today, Foursquare will be even more personalized – with help from your Facebook friends.
By expanding your recommendations to include your Facebook friends who are on Foursquare, you’ll get even better personalized insights when you’re deciding where to go, while still only sharing check-ins with your close friends – the ones you’re friends with on Foursquare.
Here’s how it works:
- When your Facebook friends do public things on Foursquare, like write a tip, like a place, or take public photos, we’ll now use that to help power your recommendations when you search in Explore.
- Your check-in privacy remains the same. As always, we’ll never post to Facebook without your permission, and your Facebook friends will never see your check-ins unless you friend them on Foursquare.
To start getting these more personalized recommendations, just make sure you’ve connected your Facebook account to Foursquare. You’ll see the difference when you search for something on foursquare.com, and on iPhone and Android.
And, if you’re just now signing up for Foursquare, this is a great way to start seeing the power of personalization right away. Just sign up with your Facebook account and all your recommendations – whether for a great restaurant or a rainy day adventure – will already be personalized.
Take it for a spin, and have fun exploring new (friend-approved) places over the holidays!
Your #121212concert check-ins raised $250,000 for Sandy relief efforts
Thanks to all your “#121212concert” check-ins on December 12th, $250,000 was donated to the Robin Hood Relief Fund to aid Sandy victims. That’s our biggest one-day charitable campaign ever!
The process of rebuilding and recovering from Hurricane Sandy has only just begun. Find out how you can continue to help relief efforts from wherever you are.
Game on! Sign up for the Jan. 5 hackathon and compete for a video date with Dennis, the title belt, and other great prizes
On January 5, we’re inviting hackers to join us in NYC, SF, and all around the world to compete for the famed Foursquare TITLE BELT.
Take a look at the global prizes:
- The grand prize winner will score a video date with Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley and the TITLE BELT.
- NASDAQ will fly 3 people to NYC to ring the NASDAQ closing bell (you’ll be on TV!) and feature your app on their Times Square billboard.
- Twilio will turn the team the best uses their API into action figures!
- For the best app incorporating the Mashery API, the Mashery folks will be giving away tickets to SXSWi (not including airfare/accommodation) plus a day of glory in the Mashery Circus Mashimus.
You can build and compete for these prizes anywhere in the world. To find hackers in your area, check out our Meetup Everywhere page.
If you compete at Foursquare HQ in NYC, you’ll also be eligible to win:
- $500 from Venmo when you build an app using their API.
- An Arduino kit from Mashery for up to three team members when you use Mashery’s API.
- A Food Tour of your city and a General Assembly Workshop of your choosing (workshop value is limited to $50, limit 3 prizes for the team) when you build off the Pearson API.
- A pair of Brooks Pure Projects running shoes, apparel, and a Fitbit when you build an app that helps people with personal tracking.
- A Sierra Designs sleeping bag (worth $280) and up to four $50 gift certificates to REI if you build the best app that encourages people to go out and explore.
- Sphereos for up to three team members who build a game, sponsored by Orbotix.
And if you’re in SF, keep your eyes on these prizes:
- An Arduino kit for up to three team members when you use Mashery’s API.
- Sphereos for up to three team members who build a game, sponsored by Orbotix.
To join us at our NYC and SF offices on the day of the hackathon, be sure to register here. We’ll have plenty of snacks and good music.
As January 5 draws nearer, check back at hackathon.foursquare.com for updates. Looking for some inspiration? Take a look at Team Foursquare’s wish list.
Check-ins for charity, tips for travel, free Red Bull – check out what’s happening on Foursquare in Germany
Foursquare can help you find amazing tips and deals from locals, businesses, and brands when you’re on the go. Live in Germany? Take a look at some of the awesome things you’ll see when you open up Foursquare, from insider tips for when you’re traveling, to free beverages when you check in at special locations and events:
- Rossman drugstores are donating money for every check-in at one of their stores to Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevoelkerung
- Focus Online, a daily news website, has left over 250 tips around Germany highlighting the best places places to visit while traveling.
- Linde’s scientific fun facts (in tip form) might tell you something you never knew before while you search in Explore.
- Deutsche Bahn, the national railway, is helping travelers at their stations with 150 tips that highlight shops and historical facts in the area.
- Lufthansa left tips for its over 130k fans on Foursquare to help them have the best travel experiences possible.
- Planet Sports will give you a free Red Bull when you check in at one of their locations
- The Rolling Stone Weekender Festival gave free beer to people who checked in at this year’s event. Prost!
Enjoy those free Red Bulls! And look out for more great specials and tips like these when you use Foursquare to find the next great place to go.
Discover new places, make the most of your visits, and see interesting insights after every check-in
Foursquare is all about helping you make the most of where you are. With today’s iPhone update, we’ve made it even easier to decide where to go and what to do when you get there (and to learn interesting things along the way).
Looking for a place to go?
We now show you the most important stuff up top when you tap on a place’s name, like the rating, address, hours, menu, and phone number. Plus, we’ve added big, swipeable photos to help you get a sense of what it’s like.
Already at a place?
Once you’ve checked in, we’ll help you make the most of it by showing you who else is there, popular tips to help you order, and an easy way to leave a tip or rate the place for better personalized recommendations in the future. Want to see how many points you earned? Just tap the gray bar at the bottom of the screen.
Learn something interesting every time you check in.
We’re also starting to roll out a simplified experience for after you check in that highlights an important takeaway from your visit. You might see a tip about your friend’s favorite dish, that it’s your 106th week in a row at the gym (nicely done, Tristan!), or that after all those sushi excursions, you’ve finally achieved level 10 of the Bento badge.
There are different messages every time you check in, so tweet us your favorite one @foursquare!
Download the update now, and happy holidays!
Your wildest froyo fantasy is coming true – be one of the first to check in at the new SoHo @16Handles, and win free froyo for a year (!)
16 Handles, 16 winners. Check in at the new 16 Handles location in SoHo on December 15 (opening day), and if you’re one of the first 16 to unlock the special, you’ll win free froyo for a whole year (one purchase per week – valued at $300)!
Shop ’til you drop (and save a ton!) in the UK when you sync your Amex card to Foursquare
All month long, American Express Cardmembers in the UK can save money at the places they love when they check in and unlock money-saving Amex specials on Foursquare. These are just some of the great deals you’ll see in Explore through the end of the year:
- Argos: Spend £20, get £5.
- GAP: Spend £10, get £10.
- Harvey Nichols: Spend £25, get £25.
- HMV: Spend £20, get £5.
- Liberty: Spend £50, get £25.
- Pizza Hut (Eat-In only): Spend £30, get £15. Valid until 26-Feb-13.
- Starbucks: Spend £10, get £5 Valid until 12-Feb-13
- Tesco: Spend £50, get £10.
- Urban Outfitters: Spend £50, get £25.
Still need to sync your American Express and Foursquare accounts? It’s easy. Click here to sign up and start saving. And don’t forget, you can always find specials nearby when you tap the search icon in Explore. Happy shopping!
Craving that ice cream sundae your bud just Instagram-ed? Tap the new Foursquare button and save it for later
Foursquare makes it easy to find and remember awesome places you want to try out. The next time you spot a picture of your friend’s latest dessert discovery on Instagram, just tap the name of the place above the photo and then the Foursquare icon.
You can then learn more about the place on Foursquare, where you’ll see photos, tips, hours, menu information, and other friends who have been there.
Whatever you’re looking for, Foursquare can help you find it
Foursquare is all about helping you make the most of where you are. One of the things we’ve learned is that people use the app to do this in two ways – deciding where to go, and deciding what to do when they get there. With today’s update on Android, we’re making both experiences better.
If you’re looking for a place to go, you’ll notice that Foursquare now shows you the most important stuff up front, like the rating, the address, and things like hours, the menu, and a phone number. And there are big, swipeable photos at the top to help you get a sense of what it’s like. It’s the all the information you need to help you make your decision.
If you’re already checked in at a place, we want to help you have the best experience possible. So, we show things like who else is there, popular tips (to make sure you order right), and an easy way for you to leave a tip or rate the place.
Download the update now for Android (iPhone, we’ll have it for you soon). We hope this helps you find what you’re looking for even faster.
Be one of the first 25k to check in (and mention #121212concert) and you’ll trigger a $10 donation to help Hurricane Sandy victims
Throughout the tri-state area, families and businesses are still recovering from Hurricane Sandy. To help fund relief efforts, the 12/12/12 Concert for Sandy Relief at Madison Square Garden will be broadcast live to two billion people worldwide. The concert will benefit the Robin Hood Relief Fund, that is working with over 100 community organizations in storm-affected areas to help residents rebuild. Whether you’re out at a restaurant, on your couch, or at the concert in Madison Square Garden, you can show your support by checking in tomorrow on Foursquare using the hashtag “#121212concert”.
On December 12, check in anywhere worldwide with the hashtag “#121212concert.” You’ll unlock the ‘Be Robin Hood #121212concert’ badge, and Samsung Galaxy will donate $10 to the Robin Hood Relief Fund on behalf of each of the first 25,000 badge unlocks.
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