WebProNews

Tag: swarm

  • Foursquare Brings Real Mayorships to Swarm

    When Foursquare decided to build an completely separate app for check-ins and strip the “gamification” element out of the flagship app, there was a lot of head scratching. Unbundling confusion.

    One of the biggest complaints about Swarm for the past year or so has been the fact that Foursquare changed the way it handles location mayorships. With Swarm, mayorships have a smaller scope – users compete against their friends for mayorships – not the public at large as it was with the old Foursquare.

    Well, until now. Real mayorships are back.

    “The rules are simple: you’ll be the Mayor of a place if you’ve checked in more than anyone else in the last 30 days. Only 1 check-in per day counts and ties go to the reigning mayor. We’ve been tallying all of your check-ins from the past month, so go see if you’ve already proven yourself worthy of the Mayor crown at your local spots,” says Foursquare.

    We knew this was coming. Last month, Foursquare caved and began to reintroduce some of the elements into Swarm that made the original Foursquare app fun in the first place – more stickers, leaderboards, and of course, true mayorships.

  • Is Being A B2B Data Provider Foursquare’s True Calling?

    Is Being A B2B Data Provider Foursquare’s True Calling?

    Foursquare is looking to do more with its location data on the B2B front. The company is touting its Location Cloud offering, which it calls “the most complete set of place data and geo-technology powering the digital world.”

    “Location data is more than just a point in space or set of latitude and longitude coordinates. By aggregating and analyzing massive amounts of smartphone sensor data, businesses can understand consumers, predict behaviors, and identify trends,” it says on the offering’s homepage. “Our Location Cloud gives businesses the tools and intelligence to reach new customers, build smarter apps, and bring local context to global markets.”

    Location Cloud is broken down into three main categories – Connect, Build, and Analyze – which make use of two main Foursquare products – Pinpoint and Foursquare Places.

    For Connect, it’s all about Pinpiont, which Foursquare says marketers can leverage along with its native location-based ads to “connect the digital and physical worlds.” Businesses can reach custom audiences at scale with what the company refers to as the most accurate location intelligence.

    Foursquare launched Pinpoint last month as a full-service ad solution powered by Foursquare’s location data. The company uses these stats to market that:

    Foursquare already has major brands including Samsung, AT&T, FedEx, Land Rover, Wild Turkey, Olive Garden, Coors Light, and Choice Hotels on board with Pinpoint. Other businesses request a demo.

    Under Build, Foursquare talks about how businesses can create location-aware apps and tap into its POI database with over 65 million venues. It’s targeting this functionality to both startups and enterprises.

    Both Build and Analyze are where Foursquare Places comes in. It’s offering Places Database and Places Insights.

    “65 million global points of interest is just the start — Foursquare’s Places Database has enough detailed information about places that you can use us as your end-to-end location solution,” the company says of the former. “Whether you’re looking to fill the map inside your app with pins or enhance your existing POIs with rich Foursquare metadata, license parts or all of our global Places Database instead of recreating the wheel.”

    Places Insights lets businesses work one-on-one with Foursquare on a dataset to help them answer questions they have about places or trends.

    “Understand business and local trends like never before through Foursquare proprietary data and our larger panel of foot traffic signals,” Foursquare says. “Place Insights provides a layer of time-sensitive signals above our raw POIs that enables any kind of analysis, from ranking sales leads in the markets you care about to uncovering the hot just-opened venue you might have missed around the corner.”

    Foursquare’s “Snap-to-Place” APIs let developers find POIs based on how Foursquare sees places, which is as actual shapes with geometry and relevancy that change based on time of day, popularity, and other signals.

    Place Shapes from Foursquare on Vimeo.

    Foursquare has already partnered with Twitter, Pinterest, Microsoft, and Garmin on Places.

    Co-founder and CEO Dennis Crowley talked about all of this in an interview at TechCrunch Disrupt.

    According to Crowley, the Location Cloud is one of the company’s “core assets,” and the Foursquare and Swarm apps will continue to feed it. We’re going to start hearing the company talk a lot more about the offering from the sound of it.

    “What we’ve build is valuable to a lot of players,” said Crowley. “We didn’t expect to turn into a data licensing company, but that’s a big part of our revenue story. We didn’t expect for the API to be as successful as it is, but we’ve got more than 80,000 developers that are using it.”

    He basically said that given the data Foursquare has amassed, he feels like it’s their job to provide these kinds of services on a B2B basis.

    Image via Foursquare

  • Foursquare Might’ve Just Made Swarm Fun

    Foursquare Might’ve Just Made Swarm Fun

    Last May, popular location app Foursquare announced that they would be splitting the core functions of the app in two, creating an entirely new app called Swarm that mostly dealt with check-ins, friends, and the real “social” aspects of Foursquare.

    But to many longtime Foursquare users who loved the gamification elements of the app, there was a problem with Swarm. Mainly, Foursquare stripped much of the gamification aspects out of it.

    For one, Foursquare killed badges – those little tokens people worked so hard to earn by checking in at different places with different people across the network. Sure, Swarm debuted “stickers”, but they just weren’t the same.

    Even worse for fans of the classic Foursquare was the way Swarm handled mayorships. Gone were global mayorships, as Swarm opted to give users a “crown” sticker when they held the “mayorship” only among their friends.

    Now, Foursquare appears to have caved and is trying to reintroduce some of the elements that made it fun. No, Foursquare is still just the local recommendation app it’s always wanted to be – check-ins are still absent. But it is adding some fun elements to Swarm.

    “When we first launched Swarm, we focused on helping you quickly find your friends. We wanted to make it easy to see who was nearby and introduced messages so you could effortlessly coordinate meeting up. But we heard time and time again that while Swarm made those serendipitous hangouts possible, it could be more fun.”

    Fun, something Swarm has lacked.

    So in response, Foursquare is bringing back true mayorships.

    “You asked for mayorships, so we’ll be bringing them back soon. All your check-ins now will count towards them, so go out there and start conquering your neighborhood,” says the company.

    Badges are also coming back – kind of.

    When you first open the updated Swarm app, you’ll be asked to start “transmuting” your old Foursquare badges into new Swarm stickers.

    In fact, Swarm is rolling out a “gotta catch em all” 100 sticker book.

    Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley told TechCrunch that the game mechanics has become stale on Foursquare, but they could be given new life on Swarm.

    “The overall theme of our work on Swarm is about how we can make it more fun. When we split off Swarm we focused on the core utility of finding friends nearby, and then we built messaging into it, but there was a minimal amount of game mechanics. We wanted to revisit Foursquare game mechanics, which had become stale, and reinvent them with this new release,” he said.

    “The old foursquare was full of fun and playfulness, and when we split the apps, Swarm lost a lot of that. Now we’re putting that fun back into Swarm in a big way.”

    Soon, Swarm will also add something called “Coins”, which will let users compete with their friends on a leaderboard. According to TechCrunch, Coins will “take into account the value of your check-ins, stickers, etc.”

    You can download the new Swarm app now. Hopefully this kicks the dust off what was already becoming a rather tedious app.

  • Checking in with Swarm Just Got Much Easier

    If you’re an iOS user who loves to check-in with Foursquare’s Swarm app, but feel it’s too much effort to open the app and tap a few buttons – then today is your lucky day.

    The new version of Swarm is out, and in it is a widget designed for super fast check-ins.

    Once you enable the widget, all you have to do is swipe down to access your “today” view (even from the lock screen) and check in with a single tap. Of course, Swarm is guessing where you are based on your location – so the suggested check-in may not always be accurate. But from my experience with Foursquare and now Swarm, the company does a pretty good job of guessing.

    The widget view will also show you a abbreviated list of friends who are nearby.

    For people who love to check in, the more seamless, the better. This most certainly qualifies.

    A few months ago, Foursquare announced that it would be ditching check-ins in its flaghsip app and instead building a dedicated check-in app (Swarm). The decision didn’t sit well with many fans of the app, who decried the unbundling of features as totally unnecessary. Foursquare, for its parts, wants to turn the Foursquare App into a true search and local discovery tool – and ditching check-ins was a way to laser its focus.

    Swarm suffered blowback early on, but based on app reviews and social media chatter, many users are finally accepting – if not liking – the new app.

    Image via Foursquare

  • Foursquare Check-ins Are Now Dead for Windows Phone Users Too As Swarm Launches

    Foursquare warned you a couple weeks ago, and today’s the day. Swarm, Foursquare’s check-in-devoted app, is now available on Windows Phone. That means that checking in on the main Foursquare app is on the way out (if your check-in functionality hasn’t already been disabled).

    “We’re so excited to announce Swarm is now available to download on Windows Phone. It’s the best way to keep up and meet up with your friends,” says Foursquare of the new Swarm app. Many may argue that the old Foursquare app was a good enough way to keep up with friends – but alas, the unbundling has already occurred.

    Just like Facebook with the big Facebook Messenger unbundle, Foursquare has received quite a bit of backlash over their decision to remove the check-in aspect of the main Foursquare app and relegate it to a new app, called Swarm. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it seems to be the general idiomatic outcry from many users.

    But according to Foursquare, it was broken, in a way. Foursquare wants to compete in the word of the Yelps as a true local search and recommendation tool, and the check-in was getting in the way.

    “We spend a lot of time talking to people about Foursquare, and we constantly hear they use Foursquare for two things – to keep up and meet up with their friends, and to discover great places. Every month, tens of millions of people open up the app to do each.” said Foursquare upon announcing Swarm.

    “But, as it turns out, each time you open the app, you almost always do just one of those things. At home, you may be searching for a place for dinner. After dinner, you are probably looking to see what friends nearby are up to. That’s why today, we’re announcing that we’re unbundling these two experiences into two separate apps – Foursquare, and a new app called Swarm.”

    ‘Moving beyond the check-in’ has been a battle cry of CEO Dennis Crowley and the Foursquare clan for years, and they’ve finally done it. Foursquare’s brand new app debuted on iOS and Android last week.

    Image via Swarm

  • Foursquare’s New, Still Check In-Less App Is Here

    Foursquare went and pissed a bunch of people off when they decided to “unbundle” and separate the core functions of their main app into two apps. They relegated check-ins to a new app, called Swarm, and promised that Foursquare would relaunch in the summer as an app entirely devoted to local search and recommendations. Some with an if it ain’t broke don’t fix it mindset were skeptical.

    Despite the criticism – which they most certainly saw coming – Foursquare is moving ahead as planned. Foursquare’s new app – new logo and all – is now available for download. Foursquare had already cut check-ins out of the main app, but the new app showcases Foursquare’s vision – the reason why they chose to split everything up.

    Launching the new Foursquare app prompts a wizard of sorts wherein Foursquare asks you to give it some information on your tastes. If you’ve been using Foursquare for any amount of time, it already knows a little bit about you – but this sort of “taste” mapping is at the heart of the app’s new recommendation focus. Based on what you like (revealed by activity and what you tell it specifically), Foursquare will recommend places you might like nearby.

    “Every search is tailored to your tastes, your past ratings, and picks from friends and experts you trust,” says Foursquare.

    Tips are also at the heart of the new Foursquare. As promised, Foursquare has developed a new “expertise” ladder for tips. The more you tip about certain areas, types of locations, or varieties of cuisine – and the more people respond to your tips by saving them – the faster your “expertise” levels up. That expertise level will be displayed to all, so that people can feel a bit more comfortable in trusting your tips.

    “Friends” are now “followers” (friends are for Swarm, ya dinguses). People who follow each other will have their tips placed more prominently in the app.

    “There’s no reason why we should all get the same recommendations when looking for a place to eat, drink or shop. Getting a one-size-fits-all list of places may have been innovative in 2006, but it feels downright antiquated now,” says Foursquare. “The new Foursquare frees you from having to read long, random reviews, wondering if those people share your tastes. With Foursquare, find things based on your tastes, the places you like, and the friends and experts you trust most.”

    So, what’s Swarm’s place in the world of new Foursquare? Not hugely prominent, but definitely present. Your check-ins on Swarm will help power Foursquare’s recommendations – but as noted before, check-ins on Foursquare are dead. Not only can you not check in on it, your Swarm check-ins will never appear anywhere on the new Foursquare app.

    “The world is a beautiful place full of all sorts of amazing experiences, and our phones should help guide us to them. We’re releasing it today, and can’t wait for everyone to experience it,” says Foursquare.

    How’s the app look? Nice. It looks nice. Would it look or feel any more cluttered with check-ins and an activity feed. Probably not.

    Image via Foursquare app, iTunes

  • Foursquare’s New App Coming Next Week as Company Battles Backlash

    Foursquare probably knew that unbundling its features and removing check-ins altogether from its flagship app would ruffle a few feathers. I guess the company maybe thought there was the off chance that people would take to Swarm, its new check-in only app, like people did to the original Foursquare app.

    But Swarm’s 1.5 star rating in the App Store and the social media conversation surrounding the shift paints a rather bleak picture.

    Still, Foursquare is trucking ahead, and plans to launch the all-new Foursquare – the one solely focused on local search and discovery – next week.

    Amid the transition, Foursquare is battling this opinion, which is becoming increasingly popular:

    Expertise? That’s the subject of a new post from Foursquare, who talks about the evolution of “Tips” in the new app.

    “[W]hen we started working on the new Foursquare (coming next week!), we wanted to celebrate people who share their expertise, and highlight the great tips they leave.

    The result of this is ‘expertise’ you can earn (think of them kind of like badges for leaving great tips). To earn them, you just have to show off your knowledge. When you leave great tips, you make progress. And, the more people like or save them, the faster you’ll earn expertise. You can earn expertise at a type of place (like ‘Dumplings’ or ‘Vintage Shops’) or a neighborhood or city (who doesn’t want to have expertise of Chinatown or SoHo?),” says Foursquare.

    When a user finally earns “expertise” level, they’ll be identified as such on the app. Even after the app split, Foursquare can’t help but add some gamification element to the core app.

    Let’s recall Foursquare’s original reasoning for splitting into two apps:

    We spend a lot of time talking to people about Foursquare, and we constantly hear they use Foursquare for two things – to keep up and meet up with their friends, and to discover great places. Every month, tens of millions of people open up the app to do each.

    But, as it turns out, each time you open the app, you almost always do just one of those things. At home, you may be searching for a place for dinner. After dinner, you are probably looking to see what friends nearby are up to. That’s why today, we’re announcing that we’re unbundling these two experiences into two separate apps – Foursquare, and a new app called Swarm.

    I guess the success of Foursquare (and Swarm) will depend on whether or not Foursquare is right about this single-use mentality. By the look of some of the recent reaction, there are plenty of people who were just fine with checking in and looking for tips in the same app.

    Image via Foursquare Blog

  • Foursquare Check-ins Are Dead, Users Now Prompted In-App to Download Swarm

    As promised, it’s happened. Foursquare has eliminated the check-in functionality on their main app, ahead of a big redesign and refoucusing effort.

    If you try to check in using Foursquare, you’ll be prompted to download Swarm.

    As you might expect, Foursquare is fielding some concerns from users who are a bit perturbed that they now have to use two apps to do what one app used to do.

    Yep. From the beginning, Foursquare’s explanation has been that users usually only do one thing when they open up the app – either check in or use the discover feature to locally explore. Not both. Just one. So why not unbundle?

    We spend a lot of time talking to people about Foursquare, and we constantly hear they use Foursquare for two things – to keep up and meet up with their friends, and to discover great places. Every month, tens of millions of people open up the app to do each.

    But, as it turns out, each time you open the app, you almost always do just one of those things. At home, you may be searching for a place for dinner. After dinner, you are probably looking to see what friends nearby are up to. That’s why today, we’re announcing that we’re unbundling these two experiences into two separate apps – Foursquare, and a new app called Swarm.

    Buy that or not, the shift has occurred. And unless Foursquare pulls a Netflix and Qwiksters Swarm, this is how you’re going to have to check in from here on out – with Swarm.

  • Foursquare: Swarm Is Handling the Majority of Check-ins

    Back in May, local recommendation and check-in app Foursquare decided that to survive and flourish, they were going to have to split apart. The company announced the launch of a new app called Swarm, one that would be tailored to handle the checking in aspect of the service – while transitioning the main Foursquare app into one entirely focused on local search.

    Check-ins still work on Foursquare, and any check-in made on Swarm automatically shows up on the main Foursquare app and influences recommendations as well. But Foursquare made it clear that folks who love the check-in aspect of the app should migrate to Swarm. They locked down mayorships on the Foursquare app and said that the check-in would eventually become a background fixture on the main app.

    Well, according to Foursquare, people have made the jump – mostly. The company says that as of today, around 75 percent of people who check in do so on Swarm, not the main Foursquare app.

    An impressive number, considering Foursquare has yet to make the huge update to its main app that will shift its focus to local search.

    We can expect that to happen later this summer.

    “We believe local search is fundamentally broken. Too many people are using antiquated tools to find places to go and getting the same one-size-fits-all results regardless of their interests or places they’ve been before. We’re reimagining Foursquare to provide people with the a whole new local discovery experience. We can’t wait to get it in your hands later this summer!” said Foursquare of the new main app soon after the release of Swarm.

    As for Swarm, Foursquare says they are working on fixing some things – including the fact that it’s slow (it really is).

    Also, you can expect more updates in the near future, with new stickers, better access to tips after check-ins, and additional mayorship levels – for instance mayorships for category types (you go to the most bars, hooray!).

    As for the big update to the main Foursquare app, there’s still no word on a more specific timeline than “later this summer.”

    Image via App Store, Twitter

  • Swarm, Foursquare’s New App for Check-Ins and Friends, Is Now Available: Here’s What You Need to Know

    Swarm, Foursquare’s New App for Check-Ins and Friends, Is Now Available: Here’s What You Need to Know

    Earlier this month, popular location app Foursquare announced that they would be splitting the core functions of the app in two, creating an entirely new app called Swarm that primarily deals with check-ins, friends, and the real “social” aspects of Foursquare.

    Well, it’s ready to go. You can download it now on iOS and Android.

    For years, Foursquare talked about “moving beyond the check-in.” What they meant is that they wanted Foursquare to become a true local search and recommendation app that could compete with the likes of Yelp. Over the past year or so (ever since the launch of Foursquare version 6.0, really), the company has been making little tweaks to their app in order to do that–and they’ve been rather successful. Foursquare is currently much more than check-ins, and is a solid place to go to find out what’s around you and what people are saying about it.

    But to complete the transformation, Foursquare had to do something drastic–so they did. The new Foursquare, which will launch at a later date, will focus entirely on local search and discovery, and the company relegated all of the check-in and friend business to their new app, Swarm.

    So, let’s talk about check-ins on Swarm.

    Apart from looking different than the main Foursquare app, check-ins on Swarm follow the same basic functionality. You pick a place and then have the option to attach a message, post a photo, or tag friends alongside the check-in.

    But there are a few new tricks to checking-in with Swarm.

    First, Swarm automatically predicts and selects your location. If it’s wrong, you can select “change location” at the top of your check-in. Second, you now have stickers to accompany your check-ins.

    “In the new Swarm, we built a bunch of stickers you can attach to your check-ins to quickly express how you feel or what you’re doing. (Don’t worry, they’re all free!) We’ll give you a few to start off with and, as you go out and explore the world, you’ll unlock more based on the places you visit,” says Foursquare.

    When it comes to what you “earn” from check-ins–mayorships and badges–they’re sticking around, don’t worry. But Foursquare is changing up mayorships in a pretty significant way. Introducing, multiple mayors…

    “We wanted to get back to a fun way to compete with your friends instead of all 50,000,000 people who are on Foursquare. With these new mayorships, if you and a couple friends have been checking in to a place, the person who has been there the most lately gets a crown sticker. So you and your friends can compete for the mayorship of your favorite bar, without having to worry about the guy who is there every. single. day. Mayors 2.0 means that places can have many different mayors, one for each circle of friends, instead of just a single mayor at each place,” says Foursquare.

    So your mayorships are now stickers, and they are limited to your specific group of friends (mayorships on the main Foursquare app have been locked, by the way).

    In terms of badges-there will be some. Foursquare says that they are coming later and are the “spiritual successor” to the old Foursquare badges. They also say that they are going to show you more “insights about your life” on Swarm, for instance those “you’ve been at a bar for seven straight weeks” messages you (or maybe just I) get after check-ins.

    Apart from check-ins, mayorships, and badges, it looks like Foursquare wants Swarm to be about finding and making plans with friends. Your home screen, for lack of a better word, looks like this:

    Swarm will show you your friends’ locations, sorted by proximity. Tapping on any friend will give you a more detailed look at where they are.

    This is probably a good time to bring up the feature likely to confuse the most users: Neighborhood Sharing. It’s basically passive location broadcasting, in which your location is shown if you’re in a friend’s “neighborhood,” even if you haven’t officially checked in anywhere.

    Though a bit of a privacy concern, it’s easily toggled on or off by simply swiping the top of your home screen.

    One of your tabs in the new Swarm app is devoted to friends’ plans. It’s basically a message board where you can post generic “plans” like “hey, who’s up for a beer later? I’ll be on the lower east side” and your friends can respond.

    The good thing about Swarm, so far, is that it’s seamlessly connected to Foursquare proper. Check in on Swarm? As long as you’ve signed in via your already-existent Foursquare account, it’ll cross-post there (complete with your new sticker). Also, Swarm has a neat new search feature that let’s you find old check-ins, which is nice if you’re trying to remember doing something after a night trying not to remember much of anything.

    So, go try out Swarm if you’re really into Foursquare’s check-ins and such. If you mainly use Foursquare for its Yelp-like qualities, the new main Foursquare app focusing on just that will launch later this summer.

    All Images via Foursquare

  • Foursquare Finally Moves Beyond the Check-In by Ditching It

    Foursquare has been incredibly quiet since late last year. In December, the company touted 45 million users and $35 million in new funding–but since then they’ve made little to no waves. No major updates, and no big changes.

    Well, now we know why. Today, Foursquare is announcing that they are splitting the core functions of the service into two separate apps–Foursquare for local discovery and a new app, Swarm, for check-ins and friend tracking. It’s a conscious uncoupling.

    Yep. After years of saying they were “moving beyond the check-in,” Foursquare has finally done it…for real. To move beyond the check-in, all Foursquare had to do was pawn it off on an entirely separate app.

    No entirely separate, in theory. Foursquare promised to use iOS and Android’s framework so that the two apps work seamlessly together–but this is still an unbundling of features. Soon (later this summer), a new Foursquare app will launch that puts no focus on checking in.

    “In the near future, the Foursquare app is also going to go through a metamorphosis. Local search today is like the digital version of browsing through the Yellow Pages (remember those?). We believe local search should be personalized to your tastes and informed by the people you trust. The opinions of actual experts should matter, not just strangers. An app should be able answer questions like ‘give me a great date dinner spot’ and not just ‘tell me the nearest gas station.’ We’re right now putting the final touches on this new, discovery-focused version of Foursquare. It’ll be polished and ready for you later this summer,” says the company in a blog post.

    Really, this is what Dennis Crowley and company have always wanted for Foursquare. Sure, it started as that check-in app, but Foursquare was over check-ins before most of us even knew how to check-in. Check-ins were simply a means to an end–to build a true local search, discovery, and recommendation app that could complete with the likes of Yelp. Last April, Foursquare made its biggest push to date into that territory with the launch of v6.0, which pushed search and discovery to the forefront of the app for the first time.

    For the next year, Foursquare would make incremental changes to turn itself into a local search leader.

    And now, the biggest shakeup to date sees Foursquare eliminating check-ins from its flagship app. Sure, check-ins aren’t dead–they’re over on Swarm and will “work seamlessly” with Foursquare. But the Foursquare name, the one attached to the main app, that’s the one Foursquare wants to become synonymous with places and recommendations. If you want to know the features that Foursquare really cares about, just look to the ones they kept on the app actually called “Foursquare.”

    “Our company has always been about helping you keep up and meet up with their friends, and discover great places. Our two new, unbundled apps are designed to do that for everyone. Swarm is for people who want the fastest and easiest way to connect with their friends. Foursquare is for explorers who want to know about the best spots, and to share what they’ve found with others,” says Foursquare.

    Swarm won’t just be about check-ins. According to an early look available on The Verge, Swarm appears to be friend-centric, allowing users to spot locations of buddies and even share plans with each other.

    Swarm will launch in the coming weeks, and if you want to keep checking-in you can sign up here to be notified of its availability. The new, check-in stripped Foursquare will launch later this summer.

    Images via Chris Crum, Swarm App

  • Gangs of Chihuahuas Invade Arizona Town, Hunt Kids

    Satan.

    Satan with four legs, aka, tiny chihuahuas are causing chaos in the Phoenix suburb of Maryvale, Arizona. Alongside their mega poop parties, furious lip licking orgies, and chasing school children, the humans over at animal control fear their rapid reproduction tactics.

    This year, over 6,000 calls were made to animal control concerning the wild little hellions.

    “We compared the number of calls we got in 2013 from that area to similar areas in town and the calls from Maryvale were three times higher than surrounding areas,” Melissa Gable of the Maricopa County Animal Care and Control told ABC11.

    Gable said it was due to the bitches looking for sex: “Part of it is these animals aren’t spayed or neutered, so they’re out looking for a mate and are having babies, which also contributes to the problem.”

    The strays roam around in large packs, swelling the streets, and chasing Maryvale children as they walk to school.

    “I seen six or seven Chihuahuas … and big dogs running with the Chihuahua’s in a pack running every single day,” Frank Garcia told Fox News.

    Often times, the chihuahuas join forces with other bigger, stray dogs rolling in packs as large as 15,  and creating a rag tag team of canine ferocity that strike fear in the hearts of locals.

    Maryvale resident Ray Rios told Fox News, “Yeah a lot of them they are out here chasing kids or going yard to yard … anywhere in groups of eight to twelve just running around.”

    Animal control is offering a hand in their services towards neutering for free. They have called upon residents to safely capture any of the dogs until they’re combed out.

    “If at all possible, if you see a stray, if you can safely contain him in your yard and then call us, that makes a big difference,” Gable told ABC.

    Images via Wikimedia Commons (1), (2)

  • Google Glass Game Based On An Ant Colony In The Works

    Aside from the novelty of wearing a web-capable recording device on your eyebrow, in order for Google Glass to truly succeed, it will need a killer app that makes it all the more attractive to consumers. While we’ve already seen the first porn made using Google Glass, I’m not sure the average user is going to use it for that particular purpose. That being said, considering the amount of naked selfies electronically traveling around the globe, maybe I’m wrong. Considering Google probably doesn’t want Glass to be resigned to the porn industry, other uses will need to be demonstrated.

    With that in mind, what about a massively multiplayer game that puts players in the role of ant who is apart of a larger colony, working together to insure its sustainability? Or, well, any kind of game that makes use of the Google Glass technology? Is that enough to convince consumers Glass is a must-buy? Speculation aside, the details about the game Swarm! are intriguing. The game was developed by Daniel Estrada, a philosophy professor at Illinois State University, and by Jonathan Lawhead of Columbia University. The idea behind Swarm! is to chart players’ movements via GPS data, provided by Glass. These player movements are then mapped out on a Google Map that uses different colors for different players.

    The product page explains further:

    Swarm! is a Massively Multiplayer Online Augmented Reality Simulation (MMOARS) game in which you are an ant foraging, fighting, and working tirelessly for your Colony and your life! Designed exclusively for Glass, Swarm! can be played with minimal user input or updates while allowing for an immersive team gaming experience with surprising strategic depth. Swarm! takes full advantage of Glass’ innovative design to provide a glimpse not only of the future of social gaming, but perhaps the future of social organization itself.

    Over at CNet, Michelle Starr offers some more insight on how the game is “played”:

    As you travel your trails, you can collect virtual resources, picking up bonuses by snapping pictures or lingering in one spot. Like the trails laid by real ants, these fade over time but can be reinforced by travelling over them again. You can reinforce the trails laid by other “ants” in your colony, which boosts your resource collection rate — but crossing a rival path could cost you a day’s work.

    For those who are worried about privacy issues, the developers indicate no private data is collected. Instead, the game focuses on behavior patterns, and how these individual patterns interact with the rest of the group.

    There’s a video of the pitch made by the developers:

    While Swarm! does sound like it makes good use of Glass’ capabilities, it sounds more like something you would do if you had Google Glass, instead of a must-have that forces you to buy Google Glass.

    [Lead image courtesy]

  • Foursquare Users Can Now Instantly Verify Businesses

    Geolocation platform foursquare offers its merchant users all sorts of perks, and now businesses can instantly verify themselves for a flat $10 fee. The snail mail process of verification can sometimes take up to a month, and now merchants can register their stores instantaneously at the foursquare for business page.

    foursquare

    From there, merchants can verify that they manage the business, and can begin added foursquare specials found on the merchant platform, including Swarm, Friends, Flash, Newbie, Check-in, Loyalty, and Mayor:

    foursquare deals

    Foursquare is rolling out the new instant verification feature today, and points out that users can still register by physical mail for free if they’d like, and that users who are already registered aren’t required to pay anything.

    Foursquare, which presently has about 20 million users, 750,000 of which are businesses, recently celebrated it’s 3rd annual “foursquare day” on April 16th.