Foursquare has announced a new addition to its service that allows users of its app to share information about a venue – such as a new restaurant or nightlife spot – with smartphone users who don’t (yet) have the app.
“Foursquare has tons of helpful information about places, like photos, menu items, and great tips from insiders and local experts,” the New York-based company said in a post on its blog on Monday.
“Now, it’s even easier to share that information with your friends. When you Tweet, post to Facebook, email or text about a place with friends who don’t have Foursquare on their phones, they’ll be linked to a shiny new page showing all the most important info about it.”
The post explains that to share information with a friend about a place like a “super hip-looking sneaker boutique”, all you do is tap the app’s blue ‘share’ button located in the top right corner of the screen. Your friend will receive a link to the new venue page containing a stack of useful information about the recommended spot. In the hope to snag a few more users, Foursquare has also added a prominent ‘download the app’ link to the venue page.
The new feature takes Foursquare another step towards becoming more of a Yelp-like search engine and recommendation platform in its ongoing effort to drive up its users base.
At the end of last month the site introduced The Best of Foursquare – available to members as well as non-members of the service – featuring lists of “the most awesome places” in 30 cities across the US compiled from three billion user check-ins together with tips numbering in the tens of millions.
And in October last year it opened up its website to non-members, allowing anyone to go online and search for venues, returning results drawn on the service’s vast amount of user-generated information.
