Foursquare and Microsoft are joining forces. Together, they are working on a unique virtual world based on Foursquare data. Through geolocation, a cool design, and an already very popular application, Foursquare manages to bring the real world created by users online.
Searching for nice restaurants, good hotels, and beautiful shops has never been so fun, easy, and visual. Your world is mapped out by others. You just have to go to Foursquare Playground.
Foursquare Playground takes you to your current location and lets you see and experience everything in the surrounding area. Shops, restaurants, hotels, homes, and businesses—everything is mapped out.
All the features that make Foursquare so handy and popular are packaged in a visual experience.
When you stand on one of the buildings, you immediately see how often it has been checked in, but also how many users are currently present. The latter is indicated by a pink bubble above the building containing the number of checked-in users.
When you click on a building, you see the interior. You can see all the checked-in users walking around. They are all represented by cheerful little characters that tell you who they are when you click on them. By clicking on the treasure chest, you can read all the handy and trusted tips about this location. The Major even gets a place of honor on the 'Wall of Fame'. To ensure you don't forget what the location looks like in 'Real Life', the photos taken during a check-in are displayed on paintings on the wall.
Each location is designed based on the category to which it is linked, such as a restaurant or a school. Thanks to the lively mix of shops, restaurants, clubs, and businesses, it feels like a real city you step into. Consequently, popular locations are given larger buildings than others—for example, The Red Light District in Amsterdam is well represented—and locations with specialties or promotions are highlighted with a pink flag. Foursquare users can also filter locations by popularity.
The website does not work optimally yet, but is already a great addition to your social/location-based platforms.
Want to try it yourself?
http://fsplayground.cloudapp.net/
Currently works only in Internet Explorer 9, Safari 5, and Chrome 10.