Chat and video calling have become important forces. And now, so has local search, including in the small business world.
A newly reinvented Foursquare wants to be a part of that trend with a new app called Swarm. The Swarm app keeps track of your network and lets you know when your connections are in the area too.
Swarm is interesting not only as a new social trend but for its business applications too. For example, what if you want to have an impromptu meetup with clients, customers, partners or other connections? Swarm would be perfect for face-to-face networking, since it would tell you which of your contacts are in your general area (assuming they also use the Swarm app). You can then text them and arrange to meet.
In a post on the official Foursquare blog, the company explains:
“We built Swarm because you’ve told us how often you still have to text your friends: “where are you?” and “what are you up to later? We wanted to build a quick way for you to know these two things for all of your friends. With Swarm, you can easily see which of your friends are out nearby, figure out who is up for grabbing a drink later, and share what you’re up to”
Swarm redefines the check-in feature that made the original Foursquare so popular, and creates what The Verge calls “a heatmap” of social activity in your network.
Foursquare has broken up its existing app into two parts. On the one side, Swarm will provide a new way to keep track of people in your network. On the other, a completely new Foursquare app, without check-in feature, will compete with review sites like Yelp giving customers the chance to offer feedback on local businesses.
Neither Swarm nor the new Foursquare are yet available. The new Foursquare is due out this summer, according to The Next Web. But the company Swarm will be out “in the coming weeks.” In the meantime, you can go to Swarm and sign up for more information.
Images: Swarm, Wired
The post Swarm: Foursquare’s New Social Heatmap appeared first on Small Business Trends.
Source: Small Business Trends
Swarm: Foursquare’s New Social Heatmap
No comments:
Post a Comment