The simple joy of a social network most people forgot about years ago

A feature exploring the history and evolution of Foursquare, one of the first location-based social networks that emerged in the late 2000s. The article discusses how the app pioneered check-in functionality and gamification, competed against platforms like Gowalla and Brightkite, and survived while competitors faded. It critiques Foursquare's 2014 decision to rebrand its core check-in experience as Swarm, which the author views as a strategic misstep that diminished brand value.

Summary and key points written by AI from the headline and a short excerpt, so they can be incomplete or wrong. Fast Company Tech did the reporting; read the original for the full story.