Geo-location social network Foursquare has hired Andrew Hogue to help them develop their search and search-related projects. The New York company recently passed the 15 million mark in global users, with 50 percent of their user base outside the United States. Hogue, who worked as a senior engineer for Google from 2004 to November of this year, brings some considerable engineering cred to Foursquare, and the company is delighted to have landed him.
In an interview with Search Engine Land’s Greg Sterling, Hogue said he was particularly interested in finding ways of using all of Foursquare’s user data to improve the site’s discovery and recommendation capabilities.
The recruitment of Hogue is the latest in Foursquare’s aggressive development strategy. Last month, the company redesigned its PC website to enhance its usability, as well as complement the mobile app. And last week, Foursquare added a couple of new tools for developers and publishers, including the “Save to Foursquare” button that bridges the gap between online and offline.
Foursquare was launched in March of 2009, and has undergone rapid growth over the past couple of years, growing from about 500,000 users in February 2010 to its current user base of over 15 million. To date, the company has raised over $70 million from investors.