Last May 4, location-based social media network Foursquare added its latest feature, the Check-in History. This will enable users to review their whole check-in history, including images, tips and who else was there. On the other hand, this will allow the company to further position themselves as a formal local search engine.
How the History Page Works
If a user wants to remember the places he or she went to last summer or relive all the adventures they had with their family and friends, the History Page can help them view all their past check-ins. The feature has a date-based dropdown menu, which enables users to track their previous check-ins by month or year. A user can also refine his or her search results using various filter options such as location, persons that user was with and business category.
Although it’s questionable whether the Check-in History feature is useful or not, Search Engine Land shared anecdotal evidence that Foursquare’s new tool can be valuable.
“I was up in Spokane a couple of weeks ago and a friend was telling me about a great Mexican restaurant he’d eaten at in my hometown. He couldn’t recall the name, but did remember checking in on Facebook. After browsing through his Timeline, he came up with the place.”
From Check-in Games to Local Search
It’s interesting to watch how Foursquare makes its shift from being a check-in game with badges and points to a full-pledged local search engine. It was in December 2011 when they hired a former Google senior engineer to enhance their search features.
A month later, they launched their Explore for the Web feature that works as a personalized search engine that provides their best picks of places to visit. Powered by their large database of check-ins, tips, personal references and friends’ activities, Foursquare has become a true local search engine since then.
They also partnered with Open Table and added restaurant menus on their list of tools, which allow users to make quick dining reservation from their website. An express verification tool has also been made for business owners, since verification by mail can take several weeks. In relation to its latest Check-in History feature, Foursquare will be adding more tools like filtering by venue, and adding tips or creating lists straight from the history page.
Whether Foursquare is positioning itself for a more attractive buyout or not remains to be seen. Nevertheless, they are very committed in quickly moving to local search.
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