Foursquare users checking in with Facebook permissions synced to their accounts will now find their check-ins plotted across their Facebook Timeline maps thanks to deeper integration announced by the location based service on Tuesday.

Until this point in time only Facebook check-ins and Instagram geo-tagging options were plotted on the Facebook Timeline maps.

Using the program means integrating your Foursquare account with Facebook and then simply checking in at which point your locations will be plotted on the Facebook Timeline map using standard pin placements.

Facebook and Foursquare have also made it so check-ins already map have been updated to mapped out pinned location markers.  read more

Foursquare wants to keep its location-based service fresh by offering the most up to date POI (points-of-interest) data possible and in an attempt to ensure those POI numbers keep rolling in the company on Wednesday announced a new verification process for businesses that makes it easier for them to hop on the company’s system and get verified.

In the past businesses would have to send a verification request to Foursquare using the US postal service, then wait around for their documentation to be verified, an odd request given the technology based nature of the company. Because of hand requested materials and use of the post office it would take three to four weeks simply to have a business verified.

Under the company’s new plan a company can simply pay a $10 processing fee and get verified immediately. The new verification system is currently only available in the United States.

read more

While Foursquare has never quite had the hold on most social users daily routines as Facebook, Twitter and other social networks, it is the largest location based service in the world and on Monday the company celebrated that fact by announcing 20 million users and more than 2 billion check-ins.

The New York-based company held its 3rd annual 4sqDay on Monday (number four squared based on the date) and in honor of that day anyone who checked in anywhere received a 4sqDay badge.

Here is the concept behind the day as declared by Foursquare:

In 2010, foursquare fans declared April 16 4sqDay (4/4^2 – nerds after our own heart!). Two years and two billion check-ins later, you’re still why we get out of bed each day. Thanks to all 20 million of you for making us part of your lives. Happy 4sqDay!

The 20 million user mark is a huge jump from the company’s February numbers of just 15 million users and 1.5 billion check-ins. The increase in users was likely the result of the company’s announcement on March 16 that it had integrated with Facebook Timeline, making check-ins easier to share. read more

Foursquare over the weekend revoked API right for “Girls Around Me” a social app that allowed visitors to find girls who were within their vicinity.

The app would use Foursquare and Facebook location information to determine the sex of a mobile user and then list any personal information that person made available which was overlaid on a map.

After the app was discovered by John Brownlee at Cult of Mac it went viral however critics soon worried that the app would be used by predators.

While none of the information that was pulled from the Foursquare API violated any terms of service the company chose to proactively remove the program in order to protect female Foursquare users. The issue of morally questionable content has been highlighted in various cases lately, most recently by Tumblr which chose to remove self-harm blogs from its platform.

Apple also apparently felt strongly about the “Girls Around Me” application, removing the program from the Apple App store just hours after the developer lost access to the Foursquare API, of course at that point the application was already useless since it couldn’t pull the location information needed to operate. read more

Three years ago Naveen Selvadurai and Dennis Crowley launched the location based service Foursquare with 100 beta testers in New York City and now with more than 15 million users and over 1.5 billion check-ins Naveen has announced his plans to leave the company.

With more than 100 employees now helping build out the Foursquare service along with 750,000 businesses being served on the merchant program it might surprise you to learn that Naveen is stepping down, however after Spark Capital purchase $50 million in employee stock last month some experts believed it wasn’t a matter of “if” but “when” Selvadurai would depart.

Confirming his department Selvadurai confirmed in a blog post on Monday that he would leave at the end of the month but stay with the company as a member on its board of advisers.  read more

As location based check-in services such as Foursquare and Facebook Places attempts to make a bigger dent in the online market they may want to rethink how they target their adult demographic. That’s because adults in a recent study revealed that only 5% of older users take advantage of location based services and everything they offer.

Surveying 37,000 people the Forrester Group found that only 2% of adult users take advantage of location based services (LBS) at least once or more per week, while 1% of users claim to use the service once a month and 2% of users say they use the service but less than one time per month.

The heart of the issue appears to be that many adults don’t even realize that location based services exist, for example 70% of respondents said they didn’t even realize that location based check-in programs exist. That 70% statistics is however a vast improvement over the 84% of adult users who were unfamiliar with location based services in 2010.

Location based services also appear not to resonate with a subset of adults with 10% saying they have seen the programs used but have chosen not to use them and the remaining 14% say they have heard of the program but have never seen them actually used by anyone.  read more

Holiday travel is almost as much of a tradition in the United States as the holiday’s themselves. Wanting to examine holiday travel trends from last years travel Foursquare created an infographic that shows how people traveled from Halloween until just after Christmas 2010.

In the graphic planes, trains and automobiles (Steve Martin would be happy) were plotted out to show how people traveled and from which destinations they traveled.

To compile their data Foursquare examined the two airports each traveler checked into (departing and arriving airports) and they did the same for train stations. To determine automobile traffic they then used checkins on major highways and roads to show how heavily trafficked major interstates have become during the holiday travel season.

You’ll also notice that the team at Foursquare plotted out a timeline which shows the peaks that occur during Thanksgiving and Christmas and on a smaller level during New Years Eve.

One thing missing is the number of checkins for each activity which would have been nice to examine in order to better understand what modes of transportation are chosen by the most people during holiday travel.

Here’s the Foursquare travel infographic:

read more

In the previous version of Foursquare users would earn a badge and then move onto other check-in events to earn other types of rewards, leaving behind their “Swarm” and other badges, however the company is now offering a “Level Up” system which adds increasing levels each time an event is earned.

The new system current affects 24 category badges including “JetSetter,” “Great Outdoors,” and “Wino” among others

According to Foursquare Head of Product Alex Rainert:

“It’s rewarding exploration and awarding expertise,” and “It’s a platform to showcase tastemakers and get their content exposed.” read more

In case you’ve been living under a rock or spending every conceivable moment on Facebook and nowhere else on the web here’s a list of five stories from the past week that are worth taking a look at.

1. YouTube Sending User-Submitted Science Experiments Into Space

How cool would it be to have Stephen Hawking and a group of his peers choose your science experiment to launch into outerspace. YouTube is holding a contest through their YouTube Space Lab which allows users to submit 2-minute experiment ideas. Two winners will watch live as their experiments are carried out aboard the International Space Station. This is social media meets social experimentation at it’s finest. read more

iPhone and iPad users on Thursday were treated to the newest release of Foursquare and with that app release comes a brand new feature called Radar.

Radar works by allowing users to check-in at locations and then receive information about other hot spots they might want to try. For example Foursquare gives the example of following the list “2001 best dishes and drinks” at which point checking in at one of that lists locations will provide you with information about other spots in the area you might want to try.

The Radar system also provides users with ability to receive notifications when their friends are in the same area. read more