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Foursquare's latest move: A partnership with Time

Foursquare is out one founder, but it continues to arrange strategic partnerships with companies like VH1 and TIME.

Blake Robinson
Blake Robinson got his start in tech as a semi-professional gamer. He was the first Managing Editor of CrunchGear, the former gadgets and electronics arm of TechCrunch. His writings on new and emerging technologies have been featured in ReadWriteWeb, Mashable, TechCrunch, Silicon Alley Insider, paidContent, Uncrate, Conde Nast and Ziff Davis. Blake splits his time between San Francisco and New York.
Blake Robinson

Time and Foursquare today announced an arrangement making them exclusive partners for the 2012 Democratic and Republican political conventions.

Individuals checking in or around either of the conventions will be able to unlock unique badges from Time and Foursquare. For those of you who aren't badge collectors, Time will use Foursquare to aggregate and visualize updates, "from reporters, newsmakers, and VIPs as they check in."

In addition to this partnership, Foursquare has made a number of other announcements in recent days. Earlier this week, it dispatched with Google Maps in favor of the OpenStreetMap movement.

It's also struck deals with Walgreens and VH1. Most significantly though, Foursquare co-founder Naveen Selvadurai announced that he'd checking out of the startup.

There are clearly plenty of comings and goings at the three year old New York tech darling. The question is whether all of these moves are indicative of something more substantial.

With Foursquare's valuation hovering around an estimated $700 million, the table is open. The company could be heading toward an acquisition or maybe an IPO. But, in all likelihood, it'll just continue along its current path.

Whatever the case, one thing is certain: Foursquare 2012, won't look like Foursquare 2011.