Web Masters

Dennis Crowley, founder of Foursqaure, shares the story of using gamification to build the Internet's location layer.

Show Notes

When you think of Foursquare, the popular, location-based social media app, you surely think of things like check-ins and badges and becoming "mayor." That was fine with Dennis Crowley, Foursquare's founder, so long as it meant you were using Foursquare. But it's not what he cared about.

Dennis wasn't building an app for people to show their friends where they were going. Dennis just needed to know where you were going so he could tell other people the best places to go, too. The game layer was just the strategy that convinced people to tell him, but the data was what he really wanted and, ultimately, what he got.

In fact, all that data Foursquare collected is what allowed Dennis to build what he likes to call the Internet's "location layer." And while you may have thought you stopped using Foursquare a while ago, or you might have thought you never used it, chances are you're using it more than ever. Heck... you're probably using it right now. You'll find out why on this episode of Web Masters.

For a complete transcript of the episode, click here.

What is Web Masters?

Web Masters is an original podcast that explores the history of the Internet through the stories of some of its most important innovators. In each episode, host Aaron Dinin, a serial entrepreneur and digital media scholar, talks with Internet entrepreneurs who created important websites, tools, services, and features. Some are hugely popular, some you’ve never heard of, and all of them have impacted everything you do online. You’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at how the Internet has enabled -- and continues to create -- some of the greatest business opportunities in history from the people who have proven they know how to build successful Internet businesses.