Foursquare plans to put its data to work to grow

SAN FRANCISCO -- Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley has seen the future for his social-media company — and it is data. Lots of it.

The 100-person company is in the midst of a major evolution as it feverishly adds more users and competes with the likes of everyone from Facebook to Google.

"We doubled in size since May, but we look at Google and Facebook as competitors," Crowley says.

Foursquare blazed onto the scene with its GPS-based mobile app check-in service that lets people share their whereabouts and personal recommendations.

It did well for itself this year, topping 15 million members, 600,000 merchants and some 4 million check-ins each day. A year ago, the service logged 5 million members, 300,000 merchants and an estimated 1.5 million daily check-ins. It runs on iPhones, BlackBerry phones and those with Android.

With so much activity spinning through its digital system, Foursquare — like social-gaming player Zynga and others — hopes to mine the rich vein of data it collects on millions of consumers and merchants. A new feature is expected next month, but Crowley declined to comment on it.

"People are slowly beginning to realize we are more than a check-in service," says Crowley, underscoring Foursquare's reliance on making better use of data and the shopping habits of its millions of customers.

The future of Foursquare could well turn on so-called predictive services. When someone shows a fondness for a certain type of sushi on a late Tuesday night in New York City, for instance, they will be notified via Foursquare of a similar restaurant in other cities.

Foursquare's narrow focus, Crowley asserts, gives it an edge: "The only thing we do is location. Facebook is news feed, sharing, photos. Google is search, maps, Gmail."

Check-in services are a "Trojan horse that will evolve into other services," says Patrick Moorhead, president of Moor Insights & Strategy.

Moorhead expects more will let themselves be automatically checked in to earn deals at restaurants, clubs and other merchants. That will inevitably lead to more loyalty programs, in which Foursquare gets a slice of revenue from merchants.

Maria Baugh, co-owner of Butter Lane Cupcakes in New York, says most of her customers use Foursquare as a check-in service, but they are increasingly using its "tip" feature to suggest what to do or try at a particular place.