Austin360 blogs > Digital Savant > Archives > 2010 > April > 28 > Entry
Lost on Gowalla/Foursquare? Here’s help (Part 1)
On Saturday, I’ve got a story running in the American-Statesman about location-aware social networks Foursquare and Gowalla — the basics of how to use them and tips on how to get the most out of them.
I’ll be posting blog entries the rest of the week with info from the story as well as extra tidbits and some advice from power users who sent me their own helpful hints.
Here’s the first part on what they are and why you’d want to do it. Tomorrow, I’ll post information on getting started with a new account, protecting your privacy, and staying safe while using location-based social networks. Friday, I’ll post the best tips from users and links to resources and help on the Web to help you become an expert on Foursquare and Gowalla.
For eons, mankind struggled with the question, “Who am I?” That one was difficult to figure out until the invention of Facebook, the place to carefully craft the online identity you share with the world. But what of another question that can prove perplexing: “WHERE am I?”
Seems like an easy one to answer, but as a new wave of location-aware social networks are demonstrating, the answer opens up another series of questions: WHY are you there? Are friends nearby? Is there beer?
The explosion of smart phone adoption has fueled lots of online services that use your current location (usually assisted by a phone’s built-in GPS) to give you information. But at this year’s South by Southwest Interactive Festival, two competing services were talked about constantly as the next thing in mobile networking.
Austin-based Gowalla and its more-established cousin, Foursquare, allow you to “check in” to locations, making selected friends aware of where you are and what you’re up to. Checking in with these smart phone apps allows you to see special offers, compete in contests with other users and get an idea of what people around you are doing. Don’t have a smart phone?
You can also check in via text message, or on the Gowalla and Foursquare Web sites from a computer.
Why would I do that?
Three years ago, many discussions of Twitter — then a tiny start-up — led to the question, “Why would I want to do that?” But the short-form messaging network’s brevity and speed helped accelerate its growth to the mainstream. It now has more than 100 million users. In the case of Gowalla and Foursquare, you can communicate in short bursts, post photos and leave comments, but most of the appeal lies in the way both services have turned going out and exploring the town into a big game.
And that’s where it gets interesting: Both companies are working with businesses to offer discounts, coupons and special offers to players who become Mayor of a location or who pick up special virtual items by checking in.
For instance, the Foursquare Mayor of the flagship Whole Foods store on Sixth Street and Lamar Boulevard gets free coffee. During SXSW, Gowalla users who picked up a “Tiki Room” virtual wristband could use it to gain VIP access to the company’s party at The Belmont. If the idea of a city-wise, persistent online game doesn’t appeal to you,
Gowalla and Foursquare also have more practical uses: On a busy Friday night, it’s a good way to see what your friends are up to or to let your online contacts know where you are if you want to meet up.
Tomorrow: Getting an account set up, staying safe.
Videos:
What is Foursquare?
Gowalla CEO Josh Williams talks about Gowalla with TechCrunch:
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