Super interesting to see Foursquare expand its app ecosystem over the past few years. They're sitting on a ton of a useful, proprietary data that can be used interesting ways (see this article on how Foursquare predicted Chipotle's sales based on foot traffic).
@dens - why not build Marsbot functionality into the OG Foursquare app or Swarm?
@rrhoover@dens I'd wager that the interesting thing here exactly is the dedicated app. It's basically the same Foursquare intelligence, delivered differently. Foursquare already sends passive notifications; Marsbot seems like a more powerful, more personable, more interactive version of that. Foursquare is about the content; Marsbot is dedicated to the discovery process. Then again, that's all conjecture!
@cdohertyk@rrhoover@dens We did discuss building into the OG apps, but felt that it would seem like a tacked on feature and get lost in amongst the other great features there. We wanted to try out a new app and a new communication style. Notifications (esp on iOS) tend to go into a black hole, plus there is little interaction you can have with them.
@oliverwaters@marissachacko@cdohertyk@rrhoover@dens The use of SMS was hotly debated here at Foursquare. I find SMS on the iPhone much more straightforward than push notifications, but we all have busy Messages App, so we designed something that fits in really well in terms of how often it messages you. We'll be listening closely over the coming weeks to see how this aspect of Marsbot is received.
@roryoo Each recommendations comes with a link to the Foursquare page. You'll also be able to type "MORE" or "MORE DETAILS" and Marsbot will give you information on when it's open, the address, what people like there, etc. In the future, maybe we can support more questions.
@maxsklar I was thinking more like Foursquare for Slack where the user would manually mention their location in the conversation. E.g “Mezcal cocktails in East Village”
Product Hunt
Swarm by Foursquare
Momento 3
Marsbot for AirPods
Airtable
Marsbot for AirPods
Deliveroo Widget
Marsbot for AirPods
Stripe
Deliveroo Widget
Dancing Dogs app