Foursquare has added a powerful data partner in Canada. YellowAPI, the digital arm of the Canadian Yellow Pages, has offered their database of 1.5 million curated venues to foursquare as a part of their “venue harmonization project.”
Once the data has been “harmonized” by foursquare, it will be easy for developers to incorporate data from both the YellowAPI platform and the foursquare platform into their apps. That means the 900+ developers who are currently building apps using YellowAPI data will be able to incorporate foursquare tips, mayors, checkins and more into their projects. YellowAPI plans to create an SDK to make it even easier for them.
For foursquare developers, it will be simple to add incorporate YellowAPI data into their apps. Beyond the extra data available, like hours of operation and the credit cards businesses accept, developers could actually be paid by YellowAPI for adding the data into their apps.
YellowAPI works in reverse of most APIs, where developers pay for increasing access. Thanks to the millions of merchants who pay to be included, YellowAPI is able to pay developers for showing their data in search results in the hope that it will drive business to those paying merchants.
The Yellow Pages Group, YellowAPI’s parent company, is also “examining to see what foursquare features we can incorporate into our own apps,” said Jean-Luc David, Senior Product Manager for YellowAPI. “They’ve been downloaded more than 2.7 million times across iPhone, Android, Blackberry and Windows Phone 7. We could also incorporate foursquare features into our website, which is extremely popular in Canada.”
YellowAPI’s data has been curated by their 1,500+ sales reps across Canada. They’re providing the data to foursquare who will match it against their venue database. Once that process is complete, foursquare developers will be able to retrieve a YellowAPI merchant ID from the data foursquare returns, allowing them to make a call to the YellowAPI and request that data. YellowAPI developers will be able to retrieve foursquare information by using the merchant ID they’re already using from the YellowAPI.
“We not only want to make location integration as easy as possible for developers, but we want to make sure we’re providing accurate and verified information. We’re really pleased that Yellow Pages Group has come on as our Canadian partner in authenticating local business listings,” said Eric Friedman, Director of Business Development for foursquare.
This partnership should prove beneficial for both foursquare developers and YellowAPI developers by adding a wealth of new data and tools for both sides — and possibly even monetization options for some.
What do you think of the partnership? What apps do you want developers to create that combine the two?
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