Facebook Acquires Gowalla, Will Not Receive User Data

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Gowalla FacebookThree years ago Gowalla launched as the main competitor to location based service Foursquare and now the team at Gowalla is moving to Facebook headquarters where they will help the world’s largest social network develop a robust sharing platform for location services.

Under the terms of the acquisition Gowalla will be shut down and the talent buy will allow the location based services employees to join the Facebook team.

Financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed at this time [Read more…]

Smartphone Users Less Likely To Checkin Than Perform Other Tasks [Study]

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Foursquare and GowallaGeo-location based services such as Foursquare and Gowalla may be growing their active user bases but they aren’t exactly the most popular programs among Smartphone users.

According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, Foursquare and other location based applications are the least popular apps among smartphone users.

The survey asked 2,277 adults about their preferences when using their phones and more than half said they access social networks, send photos and view email, while only 12% of smartphone owners say checkin services are a regular part of their daily routine.

The study also found that checkin users are even less likely to share their location to Facebook and Twitter with just 9% of internet users and 14% of  experience social media users posting their locations to social networks.

Here’s a look at how Smartphone users are utilizing their devices programs: [Read more…]

MomentFeed Receives $1.2 Million In Funding, Assists Geo-Location Based Advertisers

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MomentFeed Logo and InfoLocation based services such as Foursquare, Gowalla and even Facebook allow users to check-in at their locations, share information about those places and find where their network of friends are hanging out and now advertisers will be able to take advantage of that information in a more manicured way thanks to MomentFeed and their recent round of funding that has brought the company $1.2 million.

In the most simple of terms MomentFeed allows company’s with more than one location to manage their various location based campaigns with ease. For example Macy’s may offer different specials at all of their stores throughout the United States and now they can examine how those Foursquare or Gowalla campaigns are converting sales for their stores.

The program works by pulling in merchant location data from Foursquare, Facebook, Twitter and Gowalla and then giving an easy to examine view of check-ins, deals and specific specials by location. The program also offers Factual’s location data so cross-service inquiries can be examined.

By examining how locations are converting using different services a store can adjust their campaigns. For example Macy’s could determine that Facebook Places is converting better at their New York store while their Chicago locations receive more love from Foursquare users, leaving them to adjust their campaigns to whichever platform is acting most favorable for their needs.

The LA-based startup received their new funding round from a handful of investors that include DFJ Frontier, DFJ JAIC, Factual founder Gil Elbaz, Walter Kortschak and Raplead founder Auren Hoffman. [Read more…]

Gowalla’s Newest Update Is Foursquare

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Gowalla v FoursquareAs the old saying goes, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, or in the case of Gowalla vs. Foursquare, if you can’t beat ’em, integrate your location based services with them. Gowalla’s newest update gives users the ability to share check-in information with Foursquare.

The feature joins the applications ability to share locations with Facebook and Twitter users, providing friends with your location based info on various GPS enabled devices including tablets, mobile phones and other portable electronics that support Gowalla services.

The update, called Gowalla 3 adds what the company is referring to as a “universal activity feed” which shows a users friends check-ins on the Gowalla service, along with Facebook Places, Tumblr and Foursquare. Users retain the ability to choose what sites receive their updates and what services they receive information from.

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Checking In From A Warzone? Airforce Warns To Avoid Foursquare, Other Services

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Afghanistan Military Base Check-in

While it’s true Foursquare has check-in points for camps in Afghanistan and Iraq, the U.S. Air Force is warning their troops that doing so could endanger Foursquare users and their fellow troops.

The U.S. Air Force released a statement on their website telling troops to avoid the use of Foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt, Facebook Places and other location based services.

The statement says:

“careless use of these services by airmen can have devastating operations security and privacy implications.”

[Read more…]

Foursquare And Gowalla Used At Double The Rate By Men

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Foursquare

If you’re checking out who checked in at different locations last night, it’s likely you’ll notice that mostly your male friends were doing the check-ins. According to a report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project which examines internet trends in the United States, men use Foursquare, Gowalla and other location bases services for check-ins at double the rate of females.

For people unfamiliar with these services, they allow you to check-in at each location you visit, while broadcasting your location to friends and the public (if you choose to share that information). User can then receive badges and other rewards for checking in.

According to the study 6% of males who were asked said they use the services, while only 3 percent of internet using females said they check-in at locations.

[Read more…]

Gowalla Announces ‘Highlights’ Feature, Sends You To Your Happy Place

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Gowalla Highlights ScreenshotGowalla today rolled out a new feature called ‘highlights’ and by using this feature users can now give little items to places they visit, marking them with useful icons to show off their importance.

While the program offers basic items, such as “Best Cup” for cups of coffee, it also features some wacky options like “My Happy Place” and “Guilty Pleasure” along with “Celebrity Sightings” and even “Hitched” in case you decide to tie the not in a drunken night in Las Vegas.

Highlights is available for immediate use and allows you to add your own and view friends highlights from the Gowalla website.

The Gowalla team has also promised that the mobile versions of their program for iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry will also soon receive the option. [Read more…]

Foursquare Talking With Top Search Engines [Report]

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foursquareIt’s confirmed, Foursquare is currently in talks with the nets top search engines, including Google Microsoft and Yahoo.

Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley has told the Telegraph:

“Our data generates hugely interesting trends which would enrich search,” while adding, “We can anonymise data and use it to show venues which are trending at that moment. Twitter helped the world and the search engines know what people are talking about. Foursquare would allow people to search for the types of place people are going to – and where is trending – not what.” [Read more…]

Twitter Announces “Places” Feature, Adds FourSquare And Gowalla Integration

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Twitter Places - Screenshot 2Twitter has been promising a geo-location based option for months and today they announced Twitter Places, a simple to use and useful geo-tagging feature.

The new “features” function highlights Tweets that have occurred around a specific location. Twitter.com and mobile users can tag their existing tweets (existing Twitter Places) and add new Twitter Places.

The application lets users search recent public Tweets from their current location and view nearby points of interest information such as restaurants or clubs in the area. Not sure if you want to go see that DJ at the hottest nightspot in town? Just check to see if any users are Tweeting about it, now you have immediate reviews and other information for locations found directly in your area.

[Read more…]