Foursquare wants to be the mayor of personalized local search
About three months ago, Foursquare announced that it would be splitting its app in two. It launched Swarm for check-ins and everything social, while the main titular offering would focus on being a customized discovery and recommendation engine — which is what CEO and co-founder Dennis Crowley wanted Foursquare to be all along. Today, the company finally unveiled the brand new reimagined Foursquare it teased last week, sporting a new visually enticing design replete with superhero-inspired logo. And though I’ve only had a brief amount of time with the app so far, I’m convinced that Foursquare’s bet to go all-in on personalized local search might actually pay off.
It starts right from the very beginning with a brand new on-boarding process. As soon as you launch the app, you’ll be guided through a tutorial that’ll prompt you to specify a few “tastes” such as “comedy club” or “spicy food” or “coffee” so that the app knows to bring up suggestions of places that best fit those interests. Foursquare tells us there are nearly 10,000 “tastes” to choose from at launch, though we’re sure more will be added over time. And of course, you’re free to add or remove those “tastes” as your, uh, tastes change. This is at the heart of what makes the new Foursquare tailored just for you — your tastes won’t be the same as mine, and therefore, what you see on Foursquare won’t be the same as what I see on Foursquare. As you move throughout the app, your tastes will be highlighted in pink, indicating that the spot was selected based on them.
Another big component of the new app is the introduction of “expertise.” Here’s how it works: whenever you leave a tip on Foursquare, you’ll gain “expertise” on a certain topic or place. If those tips are then liked or saved by lots of other people, your “expertise” on that subject will grow. So for example, if you tend to leave great tips on sushi restaurants, you could be designated a sushi expert, and will be marked as such so that people will trust your judgment. And here’s the part where pushing out the whole checking-in thing to a separate app makes sense: since you no longer have to share your location on Foursquare, you’re able to follow anyone — it doesn’t need to be a friend or someone you know — to see what great tips and insights they have to share. So if a total stranger decides to follow me on Foursquare because they noticed I’m an expert on fast food, it’s perfectly fine, because he won’t get to see where I am; all he’ll see are my tips on ordering the perfect burger from In-N-Out.
The rest of the app has also been reorganized and revamped. The first tab you’ll see, for example, is for “Find a Place,” with a big search field located at the top, followed by categories like “Lunch” and “Coffee.” Under each category are a few dynamic lists that change every so often. Examples include “Great lunch places nearby” or “Recommended by the people you follow” or “Great for groups” or “Plenty of outdoor seating” or “A boozy lunch.” Just as with the previous Foursquare app, you can dial down your choices even further by selecting price point, distance and other features like if it’s considered a romantic spot for couples. The design overall is much more visually rich than before, with much heavier emphasis on photos.
Other tabs in the app include “Here,” which tells you what’s good in your vicinity, “Tips,” which gives you a list of tips based on Staff Picks, who you’re following, your tastes or just whatever’s popular, and your Profile, which gives you a bunch of stats like the number of folks you’re following and how far along you are on your expertise levels. Throughout the app, you’ll see a the Foursquare icon on the upper-left and the tips icon on the upper-right. The former will lead you to further personalize those tastes and some suggestions on who to follow, while the latter lets you leave those aforementioned tips.
What’s particularly notable is that you don’t need Swarm to use the new Foursquare — indeed, the whole idea of checking in to a location is entirely absent if you don’t have Swarm installed. The idea, after all, is that you’ll now be using Foursquare to look for cool places to go, rather than finding out where your friends are.
Of course, I’ve only had a day or two with the new Foursquare app, so it’s difficult to tell how good its recommendations are just yet. But so far I think the combination of both the tastes and expertise features is what will really make a big difference in setting Foursquare apart from Yelp and Google. The argument behind Foursquare’s unbundling is that with the two functions clearly separated, the company could finally bring out the best of both worlds without one interfering with the other. So far, it looks like that decision was not such a bad idea after all.
Source: Foursquare
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Google’s Science Fair finalists want to find quasars and wake you with smells
Want to be inspired by the next generation’s ingenuity, while simultaneously feeling like you’ve underachieved? Here are the global finalists for Google’s Science Fair 2014! As with previous years, the entries are high-minded and often brilliant, as the young teams try to solve problems like cyberbullying, food scarcity and just waking up. The students, aged 13 to 18 years, come from across the world: For instance, Russia’s Anastasia Korovyanskaya (aged 17-18) came up with an ultrasonic burner, while Pranav Sivakumar (US) in the 13- to 14-year-old category has proposed a method for spotting gravitationally lensed quasars. Judged by a panel of academic and industry leaders, competitors are vying for prestigious awards including a $50,000 scholarship from Google, a National Geographic expedition and a behind-the-scenes visit of Virgin’s Galactic Spaceport. The winners will be announced on September 22nd, but meanwhile take a closer look at the finalists right here.
Filed under: Science, Alt, Google
Source: Google Science Fair 2014
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You can’t stop the selfie
You can’t escape the selfie. No one can. Celebrities do it; politicians do it; and it’s likely you or someone you know has done it. Selfies have become so ubiquitous that it was dubbed Word of the Year in 2013, and it’s even entered the Oxford English Dictionary, where it’s defined as “a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.” The latter part of that description is why the selfie is more than just a simple self-portrait — it’s meant to be shared.
One could argue — and James Franco certainly has — that the selfie is a window into one’s personality. It’s a quick way to show the world who you are on the internet — like an online avatar if you will. I’ll admit I’ve taken a few selfies myself, but always with a twinge of guilt that I was being shallow or vain. That guilt, however, is apparently not a concern for the majority of us. Selfies have well and truly permeated popular culture to, as you’ll see in the gallery here, ridiculous levels.
[Image credit: Shutterstock]
Filed under: Internet
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UK regulator proposes crackdown on misleading Facebook and Twitter ads
While Twitter and Facebook are enjoying returns from their native advertising platforms, it’s still not easy to tell if a tweet or status update is actually a company trying to sell you something. It’s a practice that the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has become increasingly aware of, so it’s begun consulting opinion on whether it should enforce stricter rules on promotional messages shared by financial firms. Blogs, social networks and photo and video services are all in the FCA’s crosshairs, as it looks to crack down on companies that rely on misleading messages like “Join us now and we promise you’ll make a 758% profit on your first stock investment” to sign up new users.
As expected, some of them have already kicked up a fuss, arguing that character limits make it hard to warn users about adverts. However, the FCA cites accepted methods, like the use of #ad or embedding additional information inside an image, to show how easy it is for them to comply. Interested parties will have until November to show their support (or voice their concerns), with final rules set to be put into force by the end of next year — great news if you’re tired being spammed with offers that always seem too good to be true.
Filed under: Internet
Source: FCA
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Apple Touts European Job Creation Numbers, Including 500K Related to App Store
Several years ago, Apple rolled out a new page on its site touting job growth associated with its businesses in the United States, calculating that included over 300,000 workers directly tied to the company and its business partners, as well as over 200,000 more workers that were part of the App Store economy. The total number is now approaching 600,000 workers, driven largely by increases in the App Store segment over the past two years.
Now, Apple is bringing the same public relations effort to Europe, with a series of pages touting Apple’s job creation numbers in Europe, as noted by The Wall Street Journal.
Throughout our history, we have created entirely new products – and entirely new industries – by focusing on innovation. This has resulted in nearly 630,000 European jobs at Apple and at developers and businesses supported by Apple. In addition, the App Store has created hundreds of thousands of jobs that previously did not exist in the European economy, enabling developers to launch new companies and earn $6.5 billion from App Store sales worldwide.
Out of the 630,000 European jobs cited by Apple, the company includes nearly 500,000 related to the App Store economy, with Apple highlighting the $6.5 billion in developer payments the represents over 30 percent of the total $20 billion paid out by Apple worldwide. The remaining 132,000 European jobs cited by Apple are related to the company itself, including its own employees and those at suppliers and resellers.
Country-specific versions of the pages, such as for France and Italy, share largely the same information, although each has a unique “Spotlight on Developers” section sharing quotes from and links to select developers from those countries.
Apple also puts a special spotlight on its European headquarters in Cork, Ireland, where the company now employs 4,000 workers. Apple notes that it is the city’s largest private employer, housing roughly 10% of Apple’s corporate employees and supporting an additional 2,500 jobs at other companies providing services to Apple in Cork.
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Security firms help Cryptolocker malware victims get their files back
Remember Cryptolocker? It was a clever but terrible piece of malware that encrypted files on your PC, charging you a ransom to get them back. The leader of the gang behind to be behind the software is now awaiting trial, but that won’t help around 500,000 people who still can’t get at their prized documents. That’s where FireEye and Fox IT, two of the companies who helped take the gang down, come in. Using the seized databases, the pair have built Decrypt Cryptolocker, a web portal where you supply your email address and one encrypted file, and it’ll give you a recovery program and master key that’ll restore control of your files.
Filed under: Internet
Via: BBC News
Source: Decrypt Cryptolocker
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Brits will send 300 billion IMs in 2014, and it’s all down to sexting
The traditional lull in news during the summer seasons means that throughout August, companies pump out swathes of research that would otherwise get ignored or drowned out. Coincidentally, Deloitte is claiming that the UK population is likely to send around 300 billion electronic instant messages this year, up from 160 billion in 2013. What’s the cause of this sudden near-doubling of iMessage, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger chat? Sexting. At least that’s what Paul Lee, Deloitte’s media and telecoms chief, believes, saying that teenagers sending winky emoticons and Snapchatting pictures of their genitals pets is the biggest contributor to the rise. According to the firm, the average person sends just seven texts, but nearly 50 IMs in a single day, and that if the trend continues, 2014 will be the first year that text messaging numbers fall compared to its free rivals. Just think, it’ll be September soon, so we can all go back to reading about actual developments in the world of technology.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet
Source: The Guardian
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Sprint names wireless sales veteran Marcelo Claure as its new CEO
There were murmurs that Sprint was about to shake up its leadership, and today it’s official. The carrier has named Marcelo Claure, the head of wireless distributor Brightstar, as its new President and CEO. He’ll take over from Dan Hesse on August 11th. The company doesn’t have a direct explanation for the change, but it does allude to refocusing now that its attempt to buy T-Mobile has gone awry; while it would prefer “industry consolidation,” it’s only concerned with self-improvement in the short term. How Claure will fare isn’t certain. He’s known for his entrepreneurial skills and has been involved with Sprint’s board for months, but this will be his first time running a provider. He’ll have to get up to speed quickly if he wants to reverse the company’s ailing fortunes.
[Image credit: AFP/Getty Images]
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Sprint
Source: Sprint
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Watch This App: Attopedia
So you’ve got an Android Wear device and now you’re looking for some Android apps to go along with it. We’ve got you covered. Our Watch This App column is designed to help educate readers in the various apps available for the platform and highlight the best of the bunch. Watch This App: Attopedia Long gone are the days…… Read more »
The post Watch This App: Attopedia appeared first on AndroidGuys.
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Four online marketing ideas for businesses on a shoestring budget
Unfortunately setting up a new internet business is not as easy as it sounds. You can’t just build a website and expect people to know all about you. If you want to spread the word about your business and make people aware of your products, you will need to create a good internet marketing strategy.
One of the main problems new and small businesses face when it comes to internet marketing is a lack of finance. However all is not lost! There are many different ways you can market your business online on a shoestring budget and below we have outlined four of them.
Advertise your products and engage with potential customers for free by starting a blog.
Image source: https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7332/14045819341_6651d70343.jpg
- Start a blog
Whilst it will cost you time to write and publish content, it will not cost you anything to set up and maintain a business blog. Believe it or not, blogging is one of the best ways to engage with customers, promote your products and increase your search engine rankings. Providing the blog content you produce is fresh, unique and relevant to your industry, it will go a long way in improving your internet marketing efforts, without costing you an arm and leg!
- Collaborate with other brands and bloggers
Another great way to promote your products or services without spending a fortune is to collaborate with other brands and bloggers. This works particularly well if you are a small or new brand looking to gain exposure. Often bigger brands and bloggers host giveaways and competitions. By donating a prize in the form of one of your products or a voucher for your store, you will not be spending actual money and can benefit from the exposure provided by the brand or blogger you are working with. Often giveaway rules require participants to ‘like’ your Facebook page, follow you on Twitter or follow your blog, so they are a great for marketing your business and generating a following.
- Leverage free social media tools
Social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and LinkedIn are free to use, so why not use them to your advantage? Building up a following on social media will help to spread the word about your business and direct traffic through to your website. It is important to keep in mind that your followers will not want to be constantly bombarded with links to your products though.
Instead, take the time to produce unique and interesting content that will be of value to them. This sort of content will increase engagement levels and is more likely to be shared by your followers, leading to further exposure for your brand and products, without any money being spent!
Create videos for YouTube and Vine.
Image source: https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3739/12088752723_bb35ca8731_o.png
- Make useful videos
Believe it or not you do not need a marketing budget of hundreds or thousands of pounds to create useful and effective video content. Thanks to apps like Instagram and Vine, consumers are used to viewing low-production video content and are actually very receptive to it. If you cannot afford to create high production marketing videos for your company, think about the content you can create. A simple sit down Q&A video or a product demonstration video will only cost you time to make, butcould go a long way in improving customers’ confidence in your business and generating sales.
Conclusion
Although internet marketing is essential if you want to grow your business and generate profit, it does not necessarily have to cost you a fortune. There are plenty of ways you can use online marketing techniques to promote your business on a shoestring budget. It’s just about thinking out of the box and identifying key opportunities.
Image credits:manoftaste.de&@NonprofitOrgs
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AIVAnet 