Chris Messina

MarsBot - Local recommendations based on where you go. By Foursquare.

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Ryan Hoover
Super interesting to see Foursquare expand its app ecosystem over the past few years. They're sitting on a ton of a useful, proprietary data that can be used interesting ways (see this article on how Foursquare predicted Chipotle's sales based on foot traffic). @dens - why not build Marsbot functionality into the OG Foursquare app or Swarm?
Oliver Waters
@marissachacko @cdohertyk @rrhoover @dens Notifications are dead, long live SMS! I dread the thought of the 'Messages' app becoming our new 'inbox'.
Max Sklar
@oliverwaters @marissachacko @cdohertyk @rrhoover @dens The use of SMS was hotly debated here at Foursquare. I find SMS on the iPhone much more straightforward than push notifications, but we all have busy Messages App, so we designed something that fits in really well in terms of how often it messages you. We'll be listening closely over the coming weeks to see how this aspect of Marsbot is received.
Zach Felsenstein
Love the idea of accessing 4sq data in a new, more lightweight way. Hopefully there'll be invites for Product Hunt users 😉
Rory Hammond
Neat idea ... Is there any data attached to back up a recommendation?
Max Sklar
@roryoo Each recommendations comes with a link to the Foursquare page. You'll also be able to type "MORE" or "MORE DETAILS" and Marsbot will give you information on when it's open, the address, what people like there, etc. In the future, maybe we can support more questions.
Shaun Tollerton
Couldn't this service simply be a number that you text instead of having to download a dedicated app?
Max Sklar
@tollerton It is a number that you text, but we need the app in order to get your location.
Omer Zach
@tollerton It's based on passively tracking where you go so needs an app running on your phone
Shaun Tollerton
@maxsklar I was thinking more like Foursquare for Slack where the user would manually mention their location in the conversation. E.g “Mezcal cocktails in East Village”
Chris Messina
@tollerton that's how it was in the beta. Alas you can't give SMS apps your location!
Damjanski
@tollerton like your thinking :)
eddie wharton
Unfortunately, there is a waitlist. Few companies actually have proprietary data that could be helpful. I'm really looking forward to trying this out
Shashank Bharadwaj
Finally something useful from Foursquare
Gregory Koberger
@snk I find Swarm and Foursquare to be two of the most useful apps I have installed. If you don't like Foursquare, I'm not sure why Marsbot would be any more useful.... it's just a different interface.
Luka Marr
When can we expect Android version? ☺
Sahil Chaturvedi
@marissachacko @lukamarr Fair enough, ha
Derek Petersen
Plain text back and forth yet still iPhone only 😖 Was hoping part of the bot revolution would reduce the barriers to developing cross- platform first apps. Much less to consider when it comes to different design language, form factors, device specs, etc... but alas here we are...
Nikola Vukovic
Please, if you're gonna force users to verify using phone numbers, make sure you've covered all the country formats! The app detects automatically that I'm in Denmark (+45), but then it demands a XX-XX-XX format - you're missing two digits (I.e. XX-XX-XX-XX).
Max Sklar
@vukovicnikola This is a very limited release right now - we're only accepting users in the United States.
Nikola Vukovic
@maxsklar I think you should give non-US users some indication of this in the app. Right now it just seems like it's broken + builds wrong expectations
Max Sklar
@vukovicnikola Yeah, it shouldn't have been in the non-US app stores. Sorry about that!
Dylan Marriott
@vukovicnikola same problem with 🇨🇭, +41 XX XXX XX XX
Chris Messina
Foursquare has joined the #ConvComm fray with @MarsBotApp!
Kirk McMurray
I love it! 2016 is the Year of #ConvComm! @chrismessina @marsbotapp @foursquare
GD Singh
New wave of personal concierge; just need to hook it into reservation and payment systems!
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