Getting ready to say goodbye to Foursquare, an app I’ve used almost daily since its earlier form back in 2009 between my time studying and working and living in the UK, then in San Francisco, Paris, and my native French Riviera. Back then I used to check-in to places I visited from the mobile browser of my Nokia blackberry knockoff (E63) (2009-2011), then an Android phone (2011-2013), and finally from the dedicated iPhone apps (2013+). During that time the Foursquare app (and later Swarm) has almost always been on my phone’s Home Screen.
I’m feeling genuinely sad about this, truly the end of an era for a formative time in my life, the late 2000’s-early 2010s “SoLoMo” (Social Local Mobile) apps.
4SQ has been invaluable, not just for memorizing/logging/remembering places I’ve been to, but also to discover new places.
I traveled the world by myself for most of 2017, but Foursquare was my guide to discover new favorites while visiting cities all around Asia or America for the very first time. The amount of time I’ve spent on this app is immeasurable and I have a hard time wondering how I’ll get by the next time I explore a new city in the world.
As I start looking at substitutes, it seems that Superlocal could be an option. Otherwise North.Industries which I need to look into. But I need to do a lot more research!
It all started when local friends of ours let us know they could get us good tickets. We went together, only to realize we were sitting 2 rows above the Baltimore Orioles' clubhouse (🤯). Despite the risk of rain, we arrived early, were able to snuck in the (folded) stroller, and sat in our seats.
It was incredible to see the level of talent and athleticism in person, live in the stadium. The speed at which the pitchers throw the ball is incomprehensible, especially taking into account the distance and precision they need to reach the zone. And the ability of a batter to analyze a pitch and try to hit the ball is a real feat.
But the highlight came when our star Gunnar Henderson absolutely blew the roof off Camden Yards with that second-inning grand slam, turning a 1–1 nail-biter into a 5–1 Orioles party and you could feel the sweep-avoiding energy flip instantly. And the fact that slam was Gunnar’s 50th career homer just made it feel like one of those “we’re watching a superstar era” nights for O’s fans.
Grateful to have seen and witnessed it, along with seeing our ace Corbin Burnes shoving for seven sharp innings. It felt like Boston never really had a way back into the game.
“We want a little 82-year old granny to come in the morning to have her coffee. If the place ends up being Instagram-cool, okay, sure. But the goal isn’t Instagram, the goal is the granny. If granny comes, the rest will come.”
