Perhaps one of the biggest reasons for foursquare’s phenomenal user growth over the past year is the ease with which developers have been able to build on top of their open API. It wasn’t perfect, but it allowed third-party developers to rapidly build mobile apps for new platforms, entirely new checkin apps utilizing foursquare’s data and apps that offered unique insights into the places we visit based on the data foursquare users share when they check in. Today foursquare has taken the lessons they learned in version 1 of the API and rolled them into a newer, faster, more versatile version 2.

The new API brings a number of improvements over the previous version, including:

• Speed improvements — Removing XML support has allowed foursquare to see “significant performance improvement behind the scenes.” You’ll notice searches and other screens load much faster in this version, helping to speed up the checkin process.
• Recommended tips — Under the old API, foursquare would only pop up tips when you checked in if they’d been left by your friends. The new API can use tips from anyone if foursquare thinks it will be useful for you. You may now get a pop-up that says “The mayor recommends…” or “Here’s a popular tip…”
• OAuth2 — Foursquare has moved to the more secure OAuth2 standard for authorizing users, just like Facebook. It’s easier for developers to use and allows foursquare to better monitor the various apps using the API.
• More consistency — Version 2 provides much more consistency for developers, showing the same pieces of information in the same place and in the same way every time. It also presents errors in a more consistent manner. Both of these should make it easier for developers to use.

Version 2, which has been in development for almost a year, brings a few new “endpoints,” or things developers can ask for and show using their apps:

• Badges — The foursquare “trophy case” makes it’s way to the API in version 2, allowing you to see all your badges at once or to separate them by foursquare badges and partner badges. It also shows the badges you’ve unlocked — along with the ones you haven’t — much like the trophy case. Developers now have access to information about where and when you unlocked a badge, which could lead to new ways to display them (e.g., timelines or maps).
• HereNow — This is a shortened version of the venue information that will allow developers to more efficiently see the number of users  currently checked in to a specific venue. It could lead to new ways to visualize the venues that are currently most popular.
• VenueHistory — Developers now have access to a more efficient method to see the places you’ve been without loading your entire history and counting the venues one by one. This could allow for the creation of new ways to see the places you visit most often and other unique uses of your history data.

We’ve already seen the first app to use the new API. It powers the updated Android app foursquare released on Monday. Many of the new features of version 2 can be seen there. A version 2-based iPhone app is currently in beta testing and should be available soon. In addition, some third-party developers have had access to the v2 beta for the past few months and should begin releasing apps based on it in the coming weeks.

“The API is much faster and more secure, and 100 times easier to develop with,” said Geoff Gauchet, the developer of foursquare for WebOS devices. “It’ll allow developers (and foursquare themselves) to accomplish things in their apps that have been on their wishlists for months.”

This is only the first release of API v2, with more features still to come. Those include push notifications, tools for managing venues via the API and better ways to search for venues and see those that are trending.

Foursquare has built an entire site for developers that includes documentation and examples. They invite developers to submit any feedback or questions via their developer mailing list. Version 1 is now deprecated and will be fully unsupported by mid-2011.

While the new API is faster and easier for developers to use, I’m most excited about the possibilities found in the new ways for developers to access foursquare’s wealth of data. These methods could lead to some very interesting visualizations and other tools as creative developers get their hands on them. The new apps and other uses it powers should help to further solidify foursquare’s powerful position in the location-based service market.

MORE COVERAGE: It’s the little things that make a big difference | Foursquare tweaks their core badges

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