SXSW is now just a few days away and Foursquare, a service initially launched on the same platform, is hoping to grab headlines there again in this year’s edition by introducing a number of key features which have been recently added to its suit. Tonight, Foursquare will launch the new version 3.0 of its app for Android and iOS which is an important update which will include a number of new features. The most striking of these features is arguably the addition of the Explore section, newer types of deals and a changed leaderboard section which displays the points that users have earned in the app. These features point to the company’s efforts into putting emphasis on the gaming side of the service to make it more popular with the customers.
The gaming side of Foursquare where the users actively competed with their friends and made efforts to remain at the top of the leaderboard with the most points was one of the salient features of the service which made it popular in its initial days after being launched in 2009. However, despite promises from co-founder Dennis Crowley to again go back to making the gaming side fun, it remained largely overlooked and neglected, becoming increasingly less interesting in the process.
In the larger picture of the updates for the new app, however, there are two other features which are the most important to have been added from a broader perspective. New types of deals are likely to push forward their business model. Merchants will now be able to offer six new types of deals in the service. One of these deals is the “Friends Offer” which basically means that checking in with your friends will make you eligible to avail of great deals by the merchant. Another of the deals rewards loyalty beyond mayorships; however this is becoming harder to get as Foursquare grows.
