Facebook buys Gowalla

#1

Post by mitchellh » Sat, Dec 03, 2011, 12:15 AM UTC

Facebook buys Gowalla
money.cnn.com

Re: Facebook buys Gowalla

#2

Post by vicngtor » Sat, Dec 03, 2011, 12:23 AM UTC

I thought facebook was moving away from checking-in. Is this a talent or product acquisition?

Re: Facebook buys Gowalla

#3

Post by MatthewPhillips » Sat, Dec 03, 2011, 12:24 AM UTC

vicngtor wrote: post #2

I thought facebook was moving away from checking-in. Is this a talent or product acquisition?

Talent. Congrats Gowalla.

Re: Facebook buys Gowalla

#4

Post by kainosnoema » Sat, Dec 03, 2011, 12:25 AM UTC

vicngtor wrote: post #2

I thought facebook was moving away from checking-in. Is this a talent or product acquisition?

Gowalla's been moving away from the check-in too, but even so, I imagine its mostly a talent acquisition. The source article mentions that the team will be working primarily on Facebook's new Timeline, which fits well with Gowalla's recent focus on "stories".

Re: Facebook buys Gowalla

#5

Post by brianbreslin » Sat, Dec 03, 2011, 12:27 AM UTC

this has to be a talent acquisition. i wonder how long before gowalla product is mothballed? also wonder how little of a return their investors got?

Re: Facebook buys Gowalla

#6

Post by msie » Sat, Dec 03, 2011, 12:29 AM UTC

Uh oh, what will happen to the Gowalla api?

Re: Facebook buys Gowalla

#7

Post by elbenshira » Sat, Dec 03, 2011, 12:31 AM UTC

I remember an article about how Gowalla was bringing SV talent to Austin. Heh.

Re: Facebook buys Gowalla

#8

Post by cliftonk » Sat, Dec 03, 2011, 12:35 AM UTC

Congrats Gowalla!

Re: Facebook buys Gowalla

#9

Post by kainosnoema » Sat, Dec 03, 2011, 12:36 AM UTC

msie wrote: post #6

Uh oh, what will happen to the Gowalla api?

Nobody can say for sure yet, but I doubt it'll be around very much longer.

If you're looking for a check-in API, Foursquare's seems like the best bet at this point. The Venues (ie. places) Platform is especially good, with rate limits starting at 5,000/hr: https://developer.foursquare.com/overview/venues.html

Re: Facebook buys Gowalla

#10

Post by icco » Sat, Dec 03, 2011, 12:37 AM UTC

brianbreslin wrote: post #5

this has to be a talent acquisition. i wonder how long before gowalla product is mothballed? also wonder how little of a return their investors got?

The article implies immediate product death.