computer science

Gowalla

Gowalla is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gowalla rather than just read about it. In short: Gowalla is a location-based social networking service. It originally launched in 2007 and closed in 2012, but was relaunched on March 10, 2023.

Key takeaways

Gowalla belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gowalla to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gowalla from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Gowalla is a location-based social networking service. It originally launched in 2007 and closed in 2012, but was relaunched on March 10, 2023. Users are able to check in at "Spots" in their local vicinity, either through a dedicated mobile application or through the mobile website. Checking-in will sometimes produce virtual "items" for the user, some of which are developed to be promotional tools for the game's partners. As of November 2010 there were approximately 600,000 users. In January 2021, Gowalla made an announcement that the app is coming back in 2022. At the start of December 2009 it was reported that Gowalla had raised $8.4 million in a round of venture capital funding led by Greylock Partners and angel investors Chris Sacca, Kevin Rose and Jason Calacanis. It was acquired by Facebook on December 2, 2011, for an undisclosed sum Gowalla, Inc. was based in Downtown Austin, Texas. On March 10, 2012, Gowalla announced it would cease operation and users would be able to download their checkins, photos and lists soon. However, this seems to have fallen through, as the site was made unavailable before these histories could be downloaded.

Overview Gowalla is a primarily mobile application that allows users to check into locations that they visit using their mobile device. This is done either through the use of dedicated applications available on Google Android, iPhone, Windows Phone, Palm WebOS, and BlackBerry, or via the service's mobile website. Check-ins can be pushed via Notifications to iPhones, and by linking accounts, to Twitter and Facebook. "Trips", which as of January 2010 can be made by any user, linked together up to 20 related spots, grouped into categories such as Nature Hikes or Pub Crawls. Some Spots and Trips are "featured" by Gowalla, being highlighted on their website and awarded a special status and icon. Featured spots tend to be local landmarks such as Buckingham Palace in London, while featured trips were chosen for being "unique and exciting". Within the Gowalla community, certain users have an elevated status above that of normal users. Whereas every user could create a spot and maintain its details, members of the Street Team are able to move and edit any unlocked spots. This includes the ability to merge duplicate spots. In early versions of the service, users will occasionally receive a virtual "Item" as a bonus upon checking in, and these items can be swapped or dropped at other spots. Users become "Founders" of a spot by dropping an item there. Items form a key feature within the game and each user has a vault into which they can place items they want to keep. In a September 2011 update, items and the user's vault became less of a focus of the application and were removed from the user experience. Many users were unhappy with the removal of Items. On December 2, 2010, Gowalla released version 3.0 for the iPhone 4, allowing Gowalla users to check in using Foursquare, Facebook Places, Twitter, and Tumblr, or view friends' check-ins from other services. In March 2011 an Android version of Gowalla was released. This allowed the same features that applied to the iPhone 4 to be used on Android phones; it also updated the interface dramatically to introduce a new "Passport" look. In June 2011 a Windows Phone 7 version of Gowalla was released with a similar feature set. On September 22, 2011, version 4.0 was released, transitioning away from a check-in service to one featuring friends' "Stories" and curated "Guides". This guide feature would reappear in a later venture by founder Josh Williams, Goji, debuting in 2014. The acquisition of Gowalla by Facebook was announced on December 2, 2011. Gowalla, as a service, was shut down on March 11, 2012. Gowalla stated that Facebook would not be acquiring any of Gowalla's user data. On October 20, 2020 Josh Williams announced a return of Gowalla with a new concept for Spring 2021. The revamped app was released on the iPhone on March 10, 2023. On April 20, 2023, Gowalla announced through their members-only Discord server that they had paused active development.

Awards Gowalla won the Mobile category in the 2010 South by Southwest Interactive awards.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gowalla

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gowalla claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gowalla before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gowalla ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gowalla

In research: Gowalla appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gowalla in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gowalla is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2011 mergers and acquisitions, Android (operating system) software, Geosocial networking, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gowalla outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Gowalla in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gowalla means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gowalla out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gowalla in simple terms?

Gowalla is a location-based social networking service. It originally launched in 2007 and closed in 2012, but was relaunched on March 10, 2023.

Why does Gowalla matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gowalla?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gowalla.