Gowalla
Gowalla was a location-based social network, operated by software for mobile phones and smartphones.
Gowalla was acquired by Facebook December 2, 2011, the cost of the acquisition were kept secret. On March 10, 2012 Gowalla announced on its website that the operation was terminated with immediate effect.
Operation
Gowalla uses the GPS capability of mobile phones or smartphones to locate the current location of the user. Users can then "check in" at the locations ( "spots" ). This is possible via the mobile site or m.gowalla.com about device-specific apps available for Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, webOS, and Windows Phone is available. Currently there is no way to check on the default Web site www.gowalla.com in one place. To check in you have to be inside the Eincheckradius the resort, this currently is five kilometers. Places that do not yet exist can be created by users. The creator ( " Commissioner " ) has the opportunity to this place to edit later. Gowalla can make interesting tourist places to extraordinary places ( "featured spots" ). These places get a special status and an individual icon.
Original design
Until September 22, 2011 were the check-in at the center of Gowalla. For check - in users were randomly virtual items ( "Items" ) as a bonus, which can be exchanged or stored in places. Users were founders ( " Founder " ) of a place if they there took off an article. Products could also be archived and thus collected. For special events, businesses or institutions own articles could be created. Each user could create up to 25 routes ( " Trips" ), which could contain a maximum of 25 places.
Check -ins could be displayed through related accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr or Foursquare.
For the achievement of specific challenges ( " Challenges" ), such as the 100th check-in, or foundation of 50th place, received the user location pins. Likewise, there were pins for the visit of countries or U.S. states as well as for the completion of tours. The pins, the article and the number of places visited were in the passport ( "Passport" ) of the customers noted.
Later conception
On 22 September 2011, the application was changed comprehensively. Vertex is now the introduction of guidebooks ( " Guides " ) that were created at the start for 60 cities worldwide. The guides contain the existing places ( "spots" ) and recommendations ( "Highlights" ) in this city. The recent tours that have been renamed now in lists ( " Lists" ) are included. The check-in stories ( " Story" ) are now called. The idea is, friends, information and photos so seamlessly with the check-in that a story is created and documented. The social media concept was changed so that not need to be requested and confirmed more friendships. Now it is possible to follow one side to other people. The term friends ( "Friends" ) was replaced by the terms " followers" and "following " known from Twitter. Pins are now awarded only for the visit of countries and U.S. states, not for the achievement of challenges ( " Challenges" ) and the finishing of Tours ( "trips ").
More change is that the application is available with the change of conception only available in English, the German version and versions in other languages are no longer available for the time being. Furthermore, the dissemination of information on related accounts to Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr or Foursquare is no longer possible.
Criticism and Privacy Policy
In May 2012, the Foundation Warentest criticized that the Gowalla App not sent unasked all e -mail addresses and names anonymous. It was also criticized that the device identifier and the use of statistics and were sent to Gowalla.
Business
Gowalla was founded by Josh Williams and Scott Raymond, 2009. The company received venture capital in December 2009 in the amount of 8.4 million U.S. dollars through a fund led by Greylock Partners.
In addition to Facebook Places, Foursquare and Gowalla Brightkite was one of the world's most important provider of location-based ( "location based " ) of social networks.