So what happens if your company has been bought by Google and then gets shut down? If the company is Dodgeball, and you're the founders, you start up a new project named Foursquare that takes off like wildfire.
When you’re as powerful and unstoppable as Google, chances are a time will come when you burn a few bridges on your way to the top. This is pretty much what happened in 2009 when Google decided to shut down a fledgling social networking project called Dodgeball, created by Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai in 2004. Google purchased the rights to Dodgeball from the co-creators in 2005 and even brought them on to work on the project, but last year the mega-company decided to fold on it without much explanation. Crowley was particularly vocal to the media about his disapproval of Google’s decision, though it seems that he eventually realized that success is the best revenge.
After essentially being dumped by Google, Crowley and Selvadurai decided to team up once again to create a social networking project very similar to their original Dodgeball idea, though this time it would be called Foursquare. Google must be kicking itself now, because after just one year, Foursquare is becoming wildly popular. The site is growing exponentially each and every day; it currently has an estimated 500,000 users from across the globe, though it wasn’t always like that.
When the service first started in 2009 it had limited availability and small pockets of users in the 100 worldwide metro areas in which the service was accessible. What really seemed to make Foursquare explode was the co-creator’s decision to change their location model in order to allow check-ins from any location worldwide. This smart move may be solely responsible for the service being heralded as the next Twitter.
What Exactly is Foursquare?
When the service was first launched at the popular technology and music festival known as South by Southwest in Austin, TX during March of last year, it was pretty slow to catch on. But Foursquare is quickly becoming a major player in the world of social networking for two reasons: it enables its users to “check in” and alert their friends of their current location, while also being able to participate in a fun game with other users.
Technically, the service was first intended to be used kind of like Twitter, but more location-based. Rather than Twittering random thoughts, registered users of Foursquare would use the service to update their friends as to where they are by updating their location. That being said, it seems as if the game aspect of the service is what’s really drawing in thousands of users every day.
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