You can share this map, but more importantly, you can analyze it next time you’re trying to remember what you did Friday night, or returning to your old neighborhood and wondering what to eat. Your Swarm check- ins also help Foursquare customize your recommendations, which gives it an edge over Yelp, but you can already customize your recs by answering some questions about your tastes. Check- ins also help your friends see your recommendations, but again, that doesn’t matter if your friends aren’t on it. That record of where you’ve been is still the killer app. Whenever you’re tired and you just want to go somewhere familiar, just open Foursquare and flick on the “You’ve been” filter. Every now and then, rate your past visits on Foursquare, and you’ll have a list of places you’ve “liked.” Now it’ll be easy to pick somewhere to meet up or to recommend to a visiting friend.
All this takes minimal effort, and doesn’t require carefully curating lists, writing tips, or connecting with all your friends. And maybe you shouldn’t connect with your friends, even if you can. What will you get from their occasional check- ins, besides FOMO, meaningless likes, and annoying updates about competing for points?