Entries Tagged 'Gowalla' ↓

TIME Magazine releases a list of the 50 best websites on an annual basis, which highlights the best websites in a variety of categories over the span of a year. There were five social media websites honored—most people would recognize the popular professional networking website LinkedIn as well as the micro-blogging service Tumblr.

However, there was a surprising snub in the geolocation list: Foursquare was left off, and Gowalla was honored instead.

Now don’t get me wrong: there are some people out there that would say that Gowalla deserved the honor. The issue at hand, according to Sarah Perez from ReadWriteWeb, was that Gowalla delayed the release of their Application Programming Interface (API), while Foursquare’s API has been available for months. According to Perez, waiting around could eventually be the downfall for Gowalla.

Avid geolocation platform users are likely a member of both Foursquare and Gowalla, but Gowalla has a smaller user base than Foursquare currently does. In your opinion, does Gowalla merit a “victory” over Foursquare in TIME’s 50 Best Websites of 2010? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

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Yesterday, TechCrunch reported that Gowalla released their iPad application to the public, along with a brief rundown of the features that the iPad app has over the iPhone/iPod Touch app.

According to MG Siegler, the main page is a Google Map and allows you to see where your friends (or the people you track) are currently located around you. In addition to checking in yourself, you can also monitor your passport, among other functions.

The main question that the article brings up is whether people will actually use the application.

For those that own the iPad and are active on geolocation websites, they will likely give this app a try. However, it is unlikely that the iPad becomes a major geolocation device, due to its’ sheer size—but since everyone uses the iPad for different reasons and to accomplish different tasks, this could also differ by the kind of user.

It is difficult to envision the iPad being carried around solely to be used to check in and keep track of geolocation updates, except for the most hardcore users of these websites. Could you imagine sitting at dinner or in another crowded public place where someone pulls out an iPad just to check in?

TechCrunch notes that Foursquare has not released an iPad application yet, and there have been no reports on whether Foursquare will release one or not. Regardless, it is worth keeping a close eye on the Apple Store to see if/when Foursquare releases their app.

Whoever says that Gowalla was not a great geolocation website might want to think twice about their thought.

According to an article found in the Wall Street Journal, Gowalla has a total of around 250,000 total users, and has reported a growth rate of 65% in the past month.

This is an exciting step for a platform that has been competing with Foursquare as the most popular geolocation website out there today.

However, Gowalla doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon. The service has made great attempts to improve their service and make it a one-of-a-kind platform. As Josh Williams notes in the article, the service isn’t as reliant on check-ins as others:

Mr. Williams and his co-founder Scott Raymond believe one thing that distinguishes their company from other social-networking services isn’t that it relies on “check ins” but that it focuses on design of virtual goods to go along with checking in.

Williams added the impact that Gowalla has on brands:

“Gowalla represents a way for brands to get in [the location game] that puts forth brands in a quality light,” as opposed to a general social-networking service that doesn’t have such a focus on aesthetics or one that relies on reviews, Mr. Williams added in an interview at the Journal’s offices this week.

While one has to appreciate Gowalla’s service and attempt to differentiate itself, it is doubtful that most Gowalla users could clearly state the differences between the platform and another geolocation platform, such as Foursquare or Loopt. Over time, however, Gowalla should continue to refine its’ service—but the extent that it can become extremely unique from any other geolocation website remains to be seen.

Are you a frequent user of Gowalla? What are your thoughts on the platform they provide?