Foursquare is the location-based iPhone app getting a lot of love in the press (and from VCs) these days. And while there is no shortage of location social networking apps in the App Store, Foursquare works well on the platform because it’s based on the active checking-in to venues, which is perfect since the iPhone doesn’t allow apps to run in the background (though Loopt has a workaround). While Brightkite has also long been in this space, it’s been a while since any new viable competitors have come along. But we recently got two more: Gowalla and Going.
Going
Going, which is an app made by AOL’s Going.com site, has one great feature going (see what I did there) for it. When you check in to a place you can set a “How is it right now?” slider to tell your friends either “Don’t Come”, “Eh”, or “Get Here Now” (or anything in between). That’s a great idea, and something all of these apps could benefit from. A lot of times people will see that I’m checked-in somewhere and may show up, but just because I’m checked-in somewhere that doesn’t mean it’s great, just that I’m there, for some reason.
I also like that you have to “leave” a place you’re checked-in before you can check-in some place else. Though I suppose that checking-in another place means that you’ve left your previous place already.
The main problem with Going is that it has too much going on. One reason that I think Foursquare works is because it’s so simple. Going may be trying to do too much by wrapping personal check-ins, with events, and photos, and city-based public streams, etc. I’m not sure people are really ready for all of that just yet.
There also doesn’t appear to be a way to easily add new venues to the listings. Going’s list of places is pretty good, but it’s definitely not complete, so if a place you’re at isn’t on there, there’s no checking-in for you.
Going is potentially interesting for its events calendar. If Yahoo would have ever made an Upcoming app that just did events, I think people would have definitely used it (it may be too late since Facebook’s app finally got that funtionality). But the events area of Going is nice because you can see a list of things happening on any given day and RSVP to them with your name with a couple of clicks.
Gowalla
Gowalla is more directly akin to Foursquare. Basically, like Foursquare, it’s an app that allows you to check-in places and rewards you for it. Instead of badges, you get stamps for going certain places. And you obtain items that you then leave other places.
The main difference is that rather than relying on users to enter addresses for places manually, as you do with Foursquare, Gowalla pulls the GPS coordinates. This is both a strength and a weakness. On one hand, this makes it slightly harder to cheat, but on the other hand it also makes it harder to check-in places — especially if you’re inside, which you are going to be most of the time at venues, obviously.
When I was first testing out the app a couple weeks ago, it was nearly impossible for me to check in anywhere due to the GPS issue. But since then, the Gowalla team has rolled out some updates using what it calls “elastic GPS,” which has improved things greatly. That’s especially true when you’re trying to add a new venue to Gowalla’s directory of places (which is otherwise very easy to do).
One thing that sets Gowalla apart (other than the GPS thing) is its emphasis on trips. It has a special area dedicated to user-generated treks made by people in various cities. For example, one of the trips recommended for me in San Francisco is the “Golden Gate Gallop,” which is a 18-stop trek that takes you to various venues around the water in the city, leading you to the Golden Gate bridge. The fact that any user can make these and share them with other Gowalla users is pretty cool.
One major problem users have with Foursquare is that it’s still limited to a handful of select cities. Gowalla has no such restriction, and anyone can start using it anywhere, populating maps with venues as they go. Foursquare eventually plans to implement something similar, but if you’re not in one of the cities that it’s in just yet, Gowalla is likely to be very compelling to you.
Something I also noticed about Gowalla as compared to Foursquare is that there seems to be more of an emphasis on you rather than your friends. The main screen in Gowalla is your passport features your stamps and items, and your check-ins. With Foursquare, the main page is your friend check-in stream. Foursquare’s approach seems like a better idea if you want your app to be as social as possible (which is the only way any of these apps are going to find success).
I’m also not a fan of Gowalla’s overall design. The shades of green mixed with yellow, mixed with large item icons, is a bit too garish.
The Challenge
So the obvious question is, do either of these apps stand up to Foursquare? The short answer is that Gowalla has a chance, while Going likely doesn’t.
The key to all of this is the gaming aspect of each app. Gowalla, like Foursquare, has one, while Going really doesn’t. Again, Going could work as an events app, but it’s got too much else going on besides that.
Both Robert Scoble and The Next Web have written up Gowalla over the past couple of days. Scoble thinks Gowalla won’t be able to compete with Foursquare, while Zee from The Next Web actually likes it more. I agree with Scoble that the GPS thing, which may seem like a plus, will likely end up hurting it. Sometimes people want to check-in some place but want to be kind of vague about where they are, you can’t really do that when your location is tied to your GPS coordinates.
Zee, of course, has a good point about the availability around the world. But as I said, Foursquare will likely change that soon. The question then becomes will Gowalla be able to attract these worldwide users before the more buzzed-about Foursquare greatly expands?
Beyond a loyal user base, Foursquare’s real potential lies with its business partnerships. That is likely to ultimately decide if the company sinks or swims. Gowalla doesn’t yet have any of the “mayor deals” that Foursquare offers, and their icon gifts can only go so far before users will start wanting tangible gifts for playing the game if Foursquare is offering them.
Another key is that Foursquare is quickly expanding beyond the iPhone. They already offer an Android app and Blackberry and Windows Mobile are coming shortly. Gowalla is currently only on the iPhone.
Still, it’s good to new entries in the social location space. Both bring some interesting new things to the table; particularly Going with its “How is it right now?” feature and Gowalla with its “Trips” functionality.
You can find Going in the App Store here. And Gowalla here. Both are free apps.
[photo: HBO]
What, no love for whrrl? They only raised (cough) 22.6M for capitalize on the “pervasive location-awareness” trend.
Don’t forget Layar and Bionic eye (launched today http://tnw.to/18R3) which are making progress with Location Based + Augmented Reality.
Good stuff here. Will definately be useful for me so I will have to sign up
and see what I can get to help me. Thank for this.
Really great stuff. I guess gowalla will do better
For another interesting twist on this look at the city-king app, it lets you buy places with virtual credit and earn points from visitors.. Adds a real strategy element to the mix! Only a few places but I guess will build in the user-gen way..
I think Gowalla is the one to beat. Foursquare got a lot of early hype with the nerd press but Gowalla has been quietly refining their app for months…
sleeq is another one (sleeq.com or the iPhone-App).
The iPhone-App handles the “main stuff” like the checkins, posting photos from your location and to see what my friends are up to etc.
The website can be used for that and more of the heavy stuff, like planning events in the calendar or send out “wish requests” to the community.
No gaming feature yet though, hopefully that will come sooner or later…
I think everyone is in an echo-chamber… these companies will be around for less than 2 years.
Just because the technology exists to create something doesn’t make it a good & lasting idea.
these are just time wasters (5 steps):
read, download, try, uninstall, forget
what does this picture from Entourage, has to do with iphone apps or owning the town?
Here’s my 100% guarantee that all these apps will go to the deadpool.
Seriously, why the hell would you want to follow me to xyz bar when you see that I’ve checked in there? And what makes you believe that if I say “Come Here” on the Going.com’s slider, my friends will all come? Moreover, what if some retard friend who I DON’T want to see follows me to that place?
Really, if I want to go out on a weekend, a) I won’t go alone in the first place, and b) if I wanted company, I’ll call up people I want to see and ask them out..
And what can be nerdier than logging into FourSquare or whatever at the club instead of having a few drinks and hitting on the ladies?
+1
If everyone looking into location based apps and reading this review were still single needing to pick up on ladies, and if the places we frequented most were bars, then your comment would be very relevant.
Pretty interesting, but I think I found something better. Yesterday I was in South Beach, Miami and I came across this service call TextToParty and i think there website is http://www.texttoparty.com. But It wasn’t base on a website.. I was told to use my cell phone and text the word PARTY to 88089 and the results were amazing.. I instantly fell inlove with it……
I wish there were here in new york..
I heard some great stuff about some local guys here in NYC. Worth keeping an eye out for LiveProfile http://liveprofile.com
I am using their private beta for Blackberry devices and it’s the most kick ass app I’ve used besides BBM 5.0. Met the guys during Internet Week and saw it in action. Definitely the future of LBS.
LBS is big and will go mainstream eventually (I hope). The question is which service will triumph? One of these small startups or the bigger say Facebook or Twitter? It’s only a matter of time until we find out.
Great piece MG, and thanks for the solid feedback on our Going app. As a note, the app for us is an extension of what we’re building with Going since 2006, and have hundreds of thousands of users behind it already. We have been getting a very positive response in the few weeks the app has been out, and have quickly acted on users’ feedback with our recent update. Ability to add venues is coming soon as well!
On the point about the game aspect, we are aiming more for mainstream users. We believe that some people want to share where they are, some don’t, and both groups can find it very useful to know what is going on right now in their city after they finish dinner or when they leave the house. Note we’ve also had Recession Buster deals for users for a while among other forms of rewards. We view it as a complete solution for going out in your city. Look forward to updating you further.
Best,
Roy Rodenstein, Going co-Founder
I think Gowalla is the one to beat as well. FourSquare seems a bit half done, where as Gowalla has been steadily improving and refining it’s offerings. They also seem to be ahead on the tangible items as well, sending out packages to the power users. I know that no matter what city I’m in, I can play Gowalla.
More competition will be good for everyone involved.
What’s really interesting is the number of comments on this post pimping other similar services. The space is getting crowded fast!
This post might be considered to have a bias, but I want to be clear that I am rather picky with the apps I add to my iPhone and while I enjoy Gowalla immensely, I have been equally objective in my evaluation of it compared to other location-based applications. I am always on the lookout for the next app to spread my traveling bug about (thanks, Doug C, for the City King suggestion).
I think the main confusion here is that Alamofire labeled Gowalla as a Social Networking app. It really isn’t. It’s a game, plain and simple. I don’t play it to find out where my friends are currently at, but rather to get stamps and icons and build my ePassport of travels.
I installed both Foursquare and Gowalla on the same day back in March (when they were promoted heavily at SxSW). Foursquare just doesn’t cut it for me because it came across as a game and, for me, fails as a game. Not to mention I lost 3 Twitter followers because I didn’t realize it was broadcasting my check-ins by default. The greatest issue I have with Foursquare is that I don’t have to actually be at the location to check-in. As long as you give it about 5 minutes between check-ins, you can cruise the entire city without leaving your couch. That utterly defeats the purpose of a location-based app.
Gowalla has just been incredible as a game. Prior to version 1.2, you didn’t know where your friends had recently checked in and even now, you can opt out of being notified what spots your friends are currently visiting. For me, it isn’t the core purpose of the app.
I believe the #1 reason Gowalla beats out much of these is the user interaction/creation of spots (and eventually trips, which are currently by request to the company). There are spots in China and Italy. Trips in Nottingham. Icons of beatnik poets! And if that wasn’t neat enough, a spot you create, if popular enough, could become “Featured,” receiving its own custom stamp.
As for the companies being around for less than two years — that’s a pretty absurd statement, considering Alamofire has already been around for longer with other products/services.
From my experience:
Gowalla > Foursquare
First off, I hate starting my iPhone and seeing the stupid Foursquare logo. I’m a male…and it’s simply not very manly to be opening an app with a girl, a giant ball bouncing between her legs, and a purse flapping in the wind…at least thats what I think is going on. Crap logo.
The concept of ‘items’ and being able to exchange items at locations, similar to Geocaching, is very unique to Gowalla and still has yet to be seen exactly where they are going to take it. Just being able to leave a little message and see where your object has gone is a neat concept.
The elastic GPS in Gowalla is smart and actually makes it MORE OF a game than Foursquare. You HAVE to be at your location to check-in. People see the word, “points” in foursquare and immediately think game…but how is it a game if I could check into places I’m not ACTUALLY AT? It just screams of cheating.
Gowalla certainly lacks the number of locales as foursquare, but that will clearly change as the app is adopted by more users.
…and lastly, tangible gifts…really? All of a sudden I’m upset because I’m not getting a tangible gift? Come on, let’s be serious here.
Of all these options, I have found Gowalla to be the most compelling… and the most FUN. It’s succeeded where the others have failed: getting me outta my seat and away from my laptop. Part of the fun is creating locations, so the lack of locales is actually part of the game.
And I truly think their UI and visual aesthetic is awesome…
Tally-O has unique destinations that you won’t find in the big travel guide apps. It’s the only app that lets you create your own adventures to share with your Facebook friends. You can use it to create scavenger hunts too!