Gowalla Integration to be Phased out of WDW

[c-one]

Guys, if you don't care where other people are, then don't use Foursquare. It's pretty simple.

Like others, I liked Gowalla at first but have since switched to Foursquare. I think Foursquare used to be purely game-like, but its recent moves to emphasize recommended places and tips are VERY useful. I don't really use it to, say, check in at the Haunted Mansion, but when I'm in an unfamiliar place while traveling, I've found it very useful to find restaurants, stores, etc. Plus, the tips that kind Foursquare users leave have steered me away from many crappy tourist traps and towards some GREAT holes in the wall.

 

[Biff215]

For those keeping track... I'm now back home from the supermarket and the cleaners. I may be ordering pizza for dinner tonight, but that's not confirmed. Stay tuned.

Thanks so much for that update. I can now sleep in peace tonight.

:ROFLOL:

 

[Tom Morrow]

Like all social networking related stuff, its not pointless if you use it properly. For example, Twitter is a powerful tool in the right hands, but of course there are gonna be teens that use it to tweet about eating ice cream or whatever. Stuff like Gowalla is fun if you use it to check into unique or interesting places that your friends might be interested in hearing about.

Like, you know, WALT DISNEY WORLD.

But continue to write it off as some stupid fad or whatever just because you don't get it.

 

[CedricCSCFL]

At first, I was also very wary about the "why do I want everyone to know where I am" part of it, but the collector side of me fell hard for Gowalla's original concept -- check-in at places to earn stamps, go to a certain set of places or special places to earn pins (no special deals or becoming mayor for checking in somewhere a lot of times, just the simple satisfaction of contributing to the history of a location).

And, just like for Slugger, Gowalla's Version 4 update, where they try to make it a travel-guide app, really killed it for me.

I couldn't get into FourSquare (their point system was too complicated/too much for someone with OCD), and I tried GetGlue (cool that we can earn actual badge stickers) but too unfocused and near impossible to get a complete set of anything. The original Gowalla was a simple, perfect app. Perhaps its problem was that it didn't have much of a means of generating income (no ads and only a few big partnerships that didn't produce so much), but it really was a lot of fun for those of us who didn't mind helping out our stalkers.

I much rather see Gowalla acquired by Facebook than Gowalla Ver.4 out there reminding me how good it used to be.

 

[Clever Name]

Q: If you throw a guy on Foursquare and a guy on Twitter off a cliff, which one would hit the ground first?

A: The guy on Twitter. The guy on Foursquare would have to stop halfway down to check in! :wave:

 

[SyracuseOrange]

Like all social networking related stuff, its not pointless if you use it properly. For example, Twitter is a powerful tool in the right hands, but of course there are gonna be teens that use it to tweet about eating ice cream or whatever. Stuff like Gowalla is fun if you use it to check into unique or interesting places that your friends might be interested in hearing about.

Like, you know, WALT DISNEY WORLD.

But continue to write it off as some stupid fad or whatever just because you don't get it.

This. Thank you.

 

[Zummi Gummi]

I love the air of superiority that people who don't use social media carry themselves with.

As for the topic itself, I never used Gowalla, only FourSquare, so this news doesn't really bother me.

 

[SyracuseOrange]

I love the air of superiority that people who don't use social media carry themselves with.

As for the topic itself, I never used Gowalla, only FourSquare, so this news doesn't really bother me.

Agreed. People who don't use it like to think that those of us who use Twitter or Foursquare don't have "real lives" or "real friends."

The truth of the matter is, these tools allow people like me to connect with friends who I lived near at one point, but have since moved away from. Now that I've moved to a different country, it's hard to keep in touch with my friends. Sure, I could see them in person (if I want to pay hundreds of dollars for a flight) or call them (if I want to coordinate a time that I know works for both of us, since there's a time difference, and still pay a good amount of money. But I'm broke, so I can't afford to make an international call to every single one of the people I want to talk to.)

Or, I can follow them on Twitter and get little tidbits about their daily life at my convenience and at no cost to either one of us. I'll choose the latter.

--

But back on topic, I only used Foursquare in the parks, but I didn't check-in to every single ride. Gowalla managed to find a way to convince people to check-in to every attraction, but they didn't have a large enough user-base to compete. I hope Disney tries something else because I think there is a lot of potential here.

 

[PlaneJane]

The location based social networks are very game-like. You would be surprised at some of the battles over mayorship for a location that go on. Hey, when there's a free Frosty at stake, something's gotta give! But seriously, they really are kind of like a game for most people. It is also a great marketing tool because it lets your friends know where you are, what you might be buying, any specials that the business is offering, etc. (I bet you know what I do for my job now :lol: )

For a business like Disney, seeing someone checking in on Foursquare at a park on their Facebook news feed brings immediate recognition of the business and may put it at the front of the viewer's mind, spurring them to check out a vacation package "just because," or something else that might snag some kind of revenue down the line, if not immediately. I would be very surprised to see Disney not utilize Foursquare, and now Facebook Deals and Check-ins in the very near future.

Oh, and did I mention it can actually be kind of a fun "game?"

Oh wow little Timmy just checked in at Disney World, I've got dibs on his Flatscreen!! ... Just leads to all kinds of trouble. You'll come home to an empty house

 

[jakeman]

Oh wow little Timmy just checked in at Disney World, I've got dibs on his Flatscreen!! ... Just leads to all kinds of trouble. You'll come home to an empty house

Let me get this straight...if you check in using social media, your house will get robbed?

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Whether you personally like it or not, Social Media is the fastest growing business tool out there. Any company that wants to remain successful has no choice but to adopt a new media system that includes things like facebook, twitter, etc. The topic at hand is Disney's use of a check-in type program, not an individual person's perspective of such an item. If you don't like it, then no one says you have to use it (or tell others why they shouldn't), however major corporations need to use these systems. I personally stick to just Facebook, however I see the use for something like Gowalla or Foursquare. Disney can track where people are going, and potentially offer incentives to go to places that aren't visited as often. It can be a powerful tool if used correctly, and this is the way that the world is going. No one says you have to like it, but to knock it and ignore its current importance in the world just seems crazy to me.

 

[Hakunamatata]

Oh wow little Timmy just checked in at Disney World, I've got dibs on his Flatscreen!! ... Just leads to all kinds of trouble. You'll come home to an empty house

If little Timmy is too young to understand how to secure his property, he is too young for a flat screen anyway. His parents should not lavish him with such fine gifts. Or maybe little Timmy stole it in the first place. :shrug:

 

[jakeman]

If little Timmy is too young to understand how to secure his property, he is too young for a flat screen anyway. His parents should not lavish him with such fine gifts. Or maybe little Timmy stole it in the first place. :shrug:

Or maybe those big bad robbers just drove by the house and noticed there were no cars in the driveway?

 

[SyracuseOrange]

Oh wow little Timmy just checked in at Disney World, I've got dibs on his Flatscreen!! ... Just leads to all kinds of trouble. You'll come home to an empty house

Little Timmy needs tighter controls on his privacy settings!

 

[c-one]

Little Timmy needs tighter controls on his privacy settings!

+1

Please don't talk about social media services unless you know how they actually work, thanks. :wave:

 

[71jason]

I never heard anything about Gowalla except for an advertisement about the WDW badges in the DVC member magazine. It only caught my attention because I was surprised that anyone would attempt to compete with the juggernaut that is foursquare. My doubts are now validated! :lol:

Sorry to interrupt the "You kids with your new-fangled social media GET OFF MY LAWN!" repartee, but this is the larger, more relevant point. When this was announced, I'd never heard of Gowalla...I knew at least a dozen people on Foursquare. What, two years later...I still know no one on Gowalla, but know dozens on Foursquare.

Disney sided with the BetaMax/MySpace of check-in programs--at a time when anyone with even passing knowledge of social media could've told them they were backing the wrong horse. I worry what the Next Gen will bring if they remain this out of touch with what customers really want.

 

[SyracuseOrange]

Sorry to interrupt the "You kids with your new-fangled social media GET OFF MY LAWN!" repartee, but this is the larger, more relevant point. When this was announced, I'd never heard of Gowalla...I knew at least a dozen people on Foursquare. What, two years later...I still know no one on Gowalla, but know dozens on Foursquare.

Disney sided with the BetaMax/MySpace of check-in programs--at a time when anyone with even passing knowledge of social media could've told them they were backing the wrong horse. I worry what the Next Gen will bring if they remain this out of touch with what customers really want.

But with the future next-gen projects, Disney seems to be creating their own systems instead of relying on people joining other platforms....at least from what I can tell so far.

 

[ProjectGemini]

I used to use Gowalla a lot until they came out with version 4. Version 4 ruined the app for me and I switched to Foursquare. I would love to see Disney work with Foursquare and off stuff by checking in places.

I agree, version 4 took all the user friendliness the app had and threw it out the window....but to be honest it was ok by me, because the fun and novelty of location based "games" like that and 4square had worn off by then.

 

[Bairstow]

Whether you personally like it or not, Social Media is the fastest growing business tool out there. Any company that wants to remain successful has no choice but to adopt a new media system that includes things like facebook, twitter, etc. The topic at hand is Disney's use of a check-in type program, not an individual person's perspective of such an item. If you don't like it, then no one says you have to use it (or tell others why they shouldn't), however major corporations need to use these systems. I personally stick to just Facebook, however I see the use for something like Gowalla or Foursquare. Disney can track where people are going, and potentially offer incentives to go to places that aren't visited as often. It can be a powerful tool if used correctly, and this is the way that the world is going. No one says you have to like it, but to knock it and ignore its current importance in the world just seems crazy to me.

Perhaps not knocked, but feared.
Social Media and mass electronic information gathering by business in general is a tool by which a company intrudes into consumer privacy in order to better exploit them. Information about your shopping habits is constantly collated, traded, and sold to other companies as well.

Why someone would want to play into their hands on purpose baffles me.
If anything, wary consumers should band together to frustrate these kinds of initiatives.

 

[jakeman]

Perhaps not knocked, but feared.
Social Media and mass electronic information gathering by business in general is a tool by which a company intrudes into consumer privacy in order to better exploit them. Information about your shopping habits is constantly collated, traded, and sold to other companies as well.

Why someone would want to play into their hands on purpose baffles me.
If anything, wary consumers should band together to frustrate these kinds of initiatives.

That's why I only barter with chickens and wheat.