[adrianpike]

If so, it's an odd way to go about it.

There's a huge number of location data aggregators out there, including Acxiom, Infogroup, Localeze, Factual, and dozens of smaller startups trying to get into the space.

They each sell their data for what I think are incredibly expensive amounts, but still far less than the cost to acquire 4sq.

They all have various amounts of trust and vetting of location data - that said, Foursquare is among the lowest in terms of trust. They've been trying to crack down hard on it for the last few years, but are still way behind the curve.