Foursquare

The free iPhone photo sharing app that boasts users such as President Obama, skateboarder Tony Hawk, singer Justin Bieber, actress Zooey Deschanel, and rapper Snoop Dogg might be getting new funding that will value it at $500 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.

One year ago, Instagram was valued at just $25 million. Despite this enormous growth and a base of more than 15 million users, the popular app has struggled to make money since its inception in March 2010.

Unlike other apps and social-networking sites, Instagram isn't well positioned to feature advertising, paid content, or other e-commerce … Read more

First things first. Take a deep breath. And now repeat the process.

OK, you're off to Austin, Texas, for South by Southwest Interactive, a five-day bacchanalia of panels, keynotes, parties, barbeque feasts, beer-soaked networking, and maybe even a little sleep. Just remember, if you want to be taken seriously there, don't call it South by Southwest. It's "South-by," or, in written form, "SXSW."

If you've never been before, it's OK to be stressed about what you've gotten yourself into. I've been six times, and I'm totally overwhelmed. And … Read more

More than 20,000 people will roll into Austin, Texas, this week for the annual South by Southwest Interactive festival. The question is, besides copious amounts of free beer and barbecue, why are all those people--a broad mix of marketers, entrepreneurs, journalists, and social media junkies--showing up?

Over the years, SXSW has gotten bigger and has morphed from being an insular technology conference with a tight community of regular attendees to a mainstream event that appeals to everyone from those SXSW veterans to thousands of first-timers who want to get in on the action.

With that many people on hand … Read more

Time and Foursquare today announced an arrangement making them exclusive partners for the 2012 Democratic and Republican political conventions.

Individuals checking in or around either of the conventions will be able to unlock unique badges from Time and Foursquare. For those of you who aren't badge collectors, Time will use Foursquare to aggregate and visualize updates, "from reporters, newsmakers, and VIPs as they check in."

In addition to this partnership, Foursquare has made a number of other announcements in recent days. Earlier this week, it dispatched with Google Maps in favor of the OpenStreetMap movement.

It's … Read more

Foursquare co-founder Naveen Selvadurai announced today he is leaving the location-based social network.

Selvadurai, who co-founded the social network with Dennis Crowley in 2008, will remain on the company's board of directors, serving as an adviser, he wrote on his personal blog. He said the move was motivated by a desire to do something new.

"I'm not sure about my exact next steps, but I'll probably get back to what I love most--being an entrepreneur, learning, and building new things," he wrote.

In the post, he marveled at the progress the company has made since … Read more

With SXSW and Coachella on the horizon, Foursquare and VH1 have partnered to increase visibility and raise money for the VH1 Save The Music Foundation, according to the tech news site Mashable.

How it works is concertgoers can follow VH1 on Foursquare to earn a limited edition "VH1 Save The Music" badge, then when they check-in at music venues across the country they'll be able to unlock the badge and $1 will be donated to the VH1 Save The Music Foundation.

This foundation launched in 1997 with the goal to give public schools musical instruments and also … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--When Foursquare co-founder and CEO Dennis Crowley talks about recycling data, he isn't talking about being green.

Crowley is referring to the wealth of data that comes in through its Foursquare mobile check-in app, which can be turned into a recommendation engine for consumers looking for new places to explore.

"We're enabling people to cut through the data stream in a way that no one has done before," Crowley said today during a keynote address at the Mobile World Congress show.

That kind of use of personal data may freak some users out, but Crowley … Read more

Creating an NFC tag that allows customers, friends, or even yourself to quickly check in to a venue on Foursquare is easy.

To begin, you will need an NFC-capable device, some blank NFC tags, and an app to write to the tags. In a previous post, I went over where to find the tags and what app to use if you are on Android.

Today, I will be using the same app, NFC Task Launcher, on the Galaxy Nexus to program the tag for a Foursquare check-in.

Before we can program the tag to initiate a check-in, we will need … Read more

Facebook may dominate the social media landscape today with 845 million users, but experts say that instead of consolidating around the market leader, the social media landscape is fragmenting, leaving big opportunities for startups, especially those targeting mobile users.

This could be good news for entrepreneurs and investors who might be green with envy over Facebook's projected $5 billion gain from its upcoming initial public offering. But for consumers, it means that managing Facebook, Google+, and Twitter accounts is just the beginning.

Fred Wilson, a venture capitalist and principal at Union Square Ventures, discussed this notion of a more … Read more