Today location-based social network Foursquare announced Radar, a new real-time feature that sends users notifications when they’re close to a place on their to-do lists, or the any other Foursquare lists they follow. It also notifies users if their friends are getting together nearby.
Radar seems like an especially useful tool if you’re in a city you aren’t very familiar with – or if you just are trying to get a better idea of places nearby you, wherever you are.
If you’re a pancake-lover who’s subscribed to the list Pancakes Across America! and happens to be traveling the country in search of pancakes, you’ll receive a real-time notification when you’re near a pancake restaurant on this list.
You can create those lists yourself, or jump on to one of the pre-made Foursquare lists, like 101 Best Dishes of 2011 – they’re all easily accesible from your Foursquare app.
The release of Radar comes on the heels of Foursquare’s second hackathon, held at the end of September. Paris-based Web developer Benjamin Netter took home the top prize for his Web app Plan My Next Trip, which uses your Foursquare history to recommend things to do when visiting other cities. Radar follows-up on the very Foursquare fun-focused trend of helping consumers find new places to visit, particularly in densely-populated urban centers.
Image via Foursquare blog.
