Gowalla Inc. is a geolocation application that functions as
a website and mobile service. By using the Gowalla application, users are able
to “check in” (see figure 1) to locations and build a passport of all the
places they have been. Users can also create trips and follow trips that others
have created. Through travelling to different locations and completing trips,
users collect pins and build an overall profile where they can upload pictures
and other information about their life. Gowalla is mainly used as a
location-based social networking site to connect real people to real locations.
It can be accessed through Twitter and Facebook. Gowalla’s main purpose is to
act as a geospatial web application to connect friends and family. Most users
of the application use it mainly for its entertainment value rather than the
geospatial function. The Gowalla application is not only useful for social
networking for users, but also for geospatial analysis by third-parties.
Businesses can analyze the information in order to see patterns and trends
among users, including locations and interests. Gowalla is applied on an
individual level to create personal projects, such as trips (see figures 2 and
3), so that other users can follow their paths and activities. Larger-scale
projects created by third-parties allow users to follow trips that take them to
their business locations in order to market their company to a larger audience.
(Brandon) Scott Conzelmann
Chelsea Deakin
Aishwarya Muralidhar
Rachel Schaus
