3 ms·

They got less traction than FourSquare, and are now pivoting to a less profitable space in travel guides... their apps look nice, and they got a good looking lo

by Hisoka 15y ago

They got less traction than FourSquare, and are now pivoting to a less profitable space in travel guides... their apps look nice, and they got a good looking logo, I guess... but this sounds like an app in search of a problem. Gowalla looks more like a social experiment, or a fun project than an actual company right now.

aspir 15y ago
Ironically though, Gowalla's new data may likely appeal to advertisers more than ever before. Each interaction is now within a very defined context -- travel and tourism. There's no need to try to filter out locals vs. tourists with this. Companies will know exactly who is using Gowalla and why. These predefined areas will be a huge leg up in negotiations with companies. Actually, you're also off on travel being less profitable. In fact, global travel and tourism is one of the largest markets on the planet, with $919 Bil in expenditures last year[0]. It's also astoundingly broad -- nearly every country on the planet, big or small, poor or rich, has a significant tourism economy. This is the big cash cow that Gowalla's chasing. [0]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism
avree 15y ago
My main issue with adopting Gowalla was that they never let me actually use it. Their Facebook Connect was broken for months—it'd bring you to a text error page; their app crashed repeatedly (and apparently is still doing so on the 3GS with their new update.) Very frustrating user experience.
suking 15y ago
Less profitable space? Is check-ins profitable at all?
- deyan 15y ago
  More narrow sounds more like it :)
- ry0ohki 15y ago
  Yes, FourSquare has done a pretty good job at monetizing (Sponsored badges, integration with AmEx, etc...) I'm not sure whether they are profitable per say but they seem to have a pretty good road to it if not.

3 ms·

They got less traction than FourSquare, and are now pivoting to a less profitable space in travel guides... their apps look nice, and they got a good looking lo

by Hisoka 15y ago

aspir 15y ago
Ironically though, Gowalla's new data may likely appeal to advertisers more than ever before. Each interaction is now within a very defined context -- travel and tourism. There's no need to try to filter out locals vs. tourists with this. Companies will know exactly who is using Gowalla and why. These predefined areas will be a huge leg up in negotiations with companies. Actually, you're also off on travel being less profitable. In fact, global travel and tourism is one of the largest markets on the planet, with $919 Bil in expenditures last year[0]. It's also astoundingly broad -- nearly every country on the planet, big or small, poor or rich, has a significant tourism economy. This is the big cash cow that Gowalla's chasing. [0]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism
avree 15y ago
My main issue with adopting Gowalla was that they never let me actually use it. Their Facebook Connect was broken for months—it'd bring you to a text error page; their app crashed repeatedly (and apparently is still doing so on the 3GS with their new update.) Very frustrating user experience.
suking 15y ago
Less profitable space? Is check-ins profitable at all?
- deyan 15y ago
  More narrow sounds more like it :)
- ry0ohki 15y ago
  Yes, FourSquare has done a pretty good job at monetizing (Sponsored badges, integration with AmEx, etc...) I'm not sure whether they are profitable per say but they seem to have a pretty good road to it if not.