My problem is that they didn't explain with sufficient clarity and succinctness why the split was performed. It was eventually clear that the intent was to delineate between community recommendations and social sharing. (No doubt this made overwhelming logical sense in their strategy meetings, but reality always ends up being messier.)

All the arguable benefits of breaking out Swarm could could have been achieved with some considered use of interface design within a single Foursquare app.

Instead they confused new users and triggered irrational yet predictable anger within a portion of their user base.

I remember being dumbfounded when they announced they were removing check-in functionality. It was the main thing I associated with the Foursquare "brand" and I was a heavy check-in user at the time (the game mechanics were great).

They must have known everyone was there for the check-ins, and it seemed arrogant of them to believe they could force all their users to migrate to some other app. (talk about shooting yourself in the foot)

I never downloaded Swarm on principle (i can check in with the Facebook app if i really want to). Foursquare did this to themselves.

> I never downloaded Swarm on principle

On what principle?

Presumably the same principle of not letting ones self be jerked around by companies who don't give a rat's ass about the consumer experience, like the bizarre Netflix/Quickster fiasco from a few years back.

The Netflix/Quickster fiasco changed the value equation for customers.

All that happened with Foursquare/Swarm was that the user had to press a button to download another free app. I agree it was a silly decision, but was ultimately just a 40 second inconvenience.

> ultimately just a 40 second inconvenience

Unless you're offering a large value proposition that the consumer finds it difficult to say no to, you just elaborated one of the biggest challenges companies face.

Whether one regards it as absurd or not, that 40 seconds makes a big difference (not to mention people don't like change very much once they're comfortable with a thing they use). It's in that 40 seconds that the consumer shrugs and says to their self: meh, I don't feel like it, I don't want to deal with this new app that I don't understand, my phone is already cluttered with apps I don't use.

Shopping cart abandonment due to second thoughts on purchases. Drawn out check-out processes. Long sign-up forms. Slightly slow web page load times. Waiting in lines. Every study comes back with the same conclusion on consumer behavior: those seconds matter a lot.

I agree completely, I just wouldn't consider disinterest and dissatisfaction as being synonyms for 'principle'.

When Swarm first came out it didn't have the most important features that Foursquare had, mayorship and badges. Those features were what made people check in and without them, what's the point, to collect useless coins? *I know coins have a use now.

Whereas I couldn't care less about the gamification aspects of it.

I use it to read tips about places I visit, which are often useful especially when deciding what to order upon first visit.

I use the social features among a small group of friends. Facebook has similar features but is useless for me as I rarely use facebook, and I am very sensitive about who can see my check-ins. Being a separate social network allows me to curate that list very carefully.

Plus the lifelogging aspect has proven itself useful many times. When you want to remember that awesome meatball restaurant in Amsterdam, nothing beats looking at a list of places you've actually visited. (https://foursquare.com/meatballsnl)

As far as a researched opinion can tell. I recall not knowing what differences would be and if it would be more inconvenient or demand other changes in my interaction in the future. I ultimately decided it wasn't worth it, and an app experience I used occasionally became never.

what's a keyboard analyst btw? :)

Often called an "armchair" analyst/psychologist/whatever the relevant term would be... - someone who has no qualification, but enjoys speculating and analysing anyway, typically from their armchair in front of the TV, or their keyboard in front of the computer.

See also: Monday Morning Quarterback. It's easy to know what to do after something has happened (like, on Monday morning), but much harder in the moment (like, Sunday afternoon).

What if you're analyzing a Monday night game?