Foursquare vs. Gowalla
I have spent some time over the past month playing with location check-in games Foursquare and Gowalla. They are pretty similar, but have some vital differences that make choosing pretty easy.
The first comparison is the interface. Foursquare doesn't do well here. While not ugly as such, the UI gives the impression is has been designed by an engineer. It's perfectly navigable, but isn't pleasing on the eye. Gowalla on the other hand looks very pretty. Both are fast and intuitive enough, but I would much rather be looking at Gowalla each day. Gowalla also wins on creating check-in points. It's very easy to do on both, but when your GPS signal info isn't quite up to scratch, Gowalla makes it very easy to update in their web interface. When you add further details to Foursquare check-in points, it can make them vastly more inaccurate. The only way to sort this is to contact Foursquare themselves to make the change. Very Web 1.0! My only minor gripe with Gowalla is that their categorisation system doesn't seem to have enough options. As for the game itself, Foursquare seems very competitive. It's about making your way up a league table agains your friends, while Gowalla is about collecting and sharing. It's a matter of personal taste, but I much prefer the later. With Gowalla winning on all three of these tests you would think it would make my decision for me. unfortunately for Gowalla there is one more test. How many of my friends are on it. Foursquare wins hands down on this test and until that changes, I'll have to put up with the shortcomings of an otherwise inferior experience. Winner: Foursquare
Comments 3 Comments
Great post - very interesting. I've noticed you been trailing both and following my own strange addiction to FourSquare. (I'm proud to be the Mayor of one of my favourite places... why?!)
The timing of the post is co-incidental with the release of Google Buzz, who are pushing the location / local angle. In fact as soon as I saw about Buzz's location features I said "oh that Foursquare/GoWalla gone then".
One thing you didn't really address in the post, and I ask you this publicly as I still dont have an answer myself...
What is the point of FourSquare/GoWalla? I.E. Why do I keep pointlessly checking-in at places?
Buzz & Twitter are much more about some info I want to share. Location may be relevant too, but I, like most people turn that off unless it's relevant to the post.
Glad you've clarified that FourSquare/GoWalla are games... even now I'm still a bit confused. I'm the Mayor of my favourite haunt in town ... but.. so what! ;-)