Foursquare: Slightly new and somewhat improved

What's that they say about never judging a book by its cover?

Foursquare got an update last week, and based on all the teasing the company was doing on its Twitter account with the hashtag #allnew4sq, I think I speak for the entire social media universe when I say I was expecting much more.

Not that what we got is bad — it's just more cosmetic than substance. Now that I've had a week to play around with it, I'm finding navigation easier than ever.

Here's a look at what you'll notice:

I heart this: New here but familiar elsewhere, Foursquare finally added the ability to "like" stuff. Click the heart when you like a venue, someone's check-in or a tip or list. And hopefully Facebook takes notice because Foursquare also implemented a dislike button - a broken heart. Foursquare's design of the buttons is clean and the messages are clear.

Tiles: When you go to your profile page, by clicking on the icon marked "Me" in the lower right corner, you'll see a bunch of tiles including friends (with little faces), your stats (mayorships, points, top places and most-explored categories), photos you've uploaded, the tips you've left, your badges and the lists you've created.

The power to Explore: Foursquare launched Explore in version 3.0 in 2011 as a way to serve up recommendations based on your friends' habits. Thanks to all those check-ins, Explore is more powerful now – it even takes into account time of day and weather. Good to know, because there's nothing worse than a suggestion to go to a beach during a thunderstorm. And as always, recommendations are based on location.

Where are you and where have you been: Little icons and faces not only show where your friends are checked in, but where they've been. While I applaud Foursquare for the ability to see things this way, I find it cluttered and not very useful.

A picture's worth a thousand words: Maybe, but it's nice to be able to go straight to a venue by just clicking on the photo. And the photos are large and help break up all that text.

Check-in time: Don't worry. It's still there, you mayor wannabe, you. Click on the map pin icon in the upper right corner to check into a specific location or for the familiar list of what's nearby.

Here's the thing. Foursquare clearly wants to be the next Yelp by gathering data on all those check-ins and helping you decide what to do and where to go. I get that. And it's fine for some, but not for me. I use Foursquare to check in and play for badges and mayorships. I also enjoy leaving tips and creating lists. But I have never once used Foursquare for a recommendation. Maybe the new features and the continued growth of the Explore engine will eventually change my habits.

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