Foursquare is launching an ‘events’ section, allowing users to check-in at certain concerts, films and sporting events as it strives to push its product into the mainstream. The firm says it is partnering with ESPN, MovieTickets and Songkick to let users check-in to “hundreds and thousands” of events, which will appear on the network a few hours in advance. The features means that users will now be able to share their activities, in addition to their location. The move comes as Foursquare focuses on driving up user engagement and interaction on its service as it looks to boost revenues.
Foursquare says it pushed the launch of events forward after getting “incredible” feedback from consumers road-testing a pilot version service at the past two SXSW conferences, although it is not the first firm to launch the service. Although Foursquare is the largest dedicated startup in the location space, it faces growing competition from Google and Facebook’s Places, which already has a similar feature.
This move also pitches Foursquare into closer rivalry with the likes of Miso, which specialises in entertainment check-ins, and may be overwhelmed by competition from the larger service. Miso CEO Somrat Niyogi is, however, bullish about the firm’s prospects saying that he doesn’t expect Foursquare’s new service to affect them “at all”. “For the companies that are just strictly relying on check-ins for movies and such, they are probably screwed…You’ve got to differentiate your service,” he tells VentureBeat.
ESPN will provide users with event details as well as in-game information, analysis and background statistics, while MovieTickets will publish screening times, reviews and plot summaries. Songkick, meanwhile, plans to provide information about concerts as well as ticket competitions in an effort to ramp up user engagement. These partnerships are expected to be extended to more companies, including TV networks. The events feature is available on the iPhone and online, with other platforms to follow.
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