In an effort to help users integrate what they do online with what they do in real life, the geo-location social network Foursquare has launched two new buttons for publishers and developers. The “Save to Foursquare” and “Follow on Foursquare” buttons have been available as of November 30.
“Save to Foursquare”
The Save to Foursquare button lets users add a location to their “To-Do List.” However, what sets Foursquare’s button apart from Facebook’s “Like” and Google+’s “+1″ is its connection to the real world through the recently released Foursquare Radar. Let’s say you’re reading an online review about a restaurant, and you click Save to Foursquare, saving it to your To-Do List. The next time you’re out and about, and you happen to be near that restaurant, you’ll get a notification and a link to the original review.
Just out of the gate, there are already several prominent publications using the button on tens of thousands of web pages. These include New York Magazine, CBS, Time Out, Frommer’s Travel, Eater.com, and AskMen.
This is actually Foursquare’s second attempt at a “Share” button. The original version was tested on the Wall Street Journal website back in June 2010. However, that button required individual programming for each page that used it. When this new button is included on a page, it scans the page for metadata about the location, and then automatically connects to the Foursquare profile. So as long as you have the appropriate location metadata on your site, adding the Share to Foursquare button is as easy as copying and pasting the code to your site.
“Follow on Foursquare”
Online publishers now have the option of installing a Follow on Foursquare button on the landing page of their site. This button, much like Twitter’s “Follow” button, will allow users to follow individuals or users on Foursquare with just one click. Users will be able to see tips and recommendations from those they’re following any time they check in.
“It’s the same as when you’ve followed a person or a brand on Foursquare before,” explains Jonathan Crowley, Foursquare’s director of media partnerships, “but now you can follow someone you see on the Web without having to take your phone out of your pocket and go looking for them.”
Sources:
New “Save to Foursquare” Button Reaches into the Real World (Search Engine Land)