What is the motivation of Foursquare to open source their places data?
replies(5):
Firstly, the published reason is they intend to let people contribute and maintain the dataset. This is a good open data mindset to allow a dataset to maintain its health and grow. It would make the dataset sustainable.
An unpublished reason is that it could be a sign that things within Foursquare are winding down. Making the dataset sustainable reduces internal costs and increases the value to themselves and others. (like the reasons to open source software)
Foursquare City Guide is shutting down, and recently laid off 105 (25%) employees. I would imagine releasing data before things stop is a good ethical move.
https://foursquare.com/city-guide-sunset/
https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/23/foursquare-just-laid-off-1...
"The letter does, however, address which units were impacted and, relatedly, the divisions that Foursquare plans to ditch, including Visits, OCF, and Foursquare City Guide.
According to Little’s letter, Foursquare is also pausing work on a number of other initiatives, including "Mobile Developers Tools, Geode, and the current version of FSQ Insights."