Checking in to Foursquare, Google Latitude, Gowalla and Facebook places

Posted on December 6, 2011

Tags: check-in, check-in service, Checking in, Facebook places, Foursquare, Google Latitude, Gowalla

Imagine calling a meeting at the cafeteria of your workplace to celebrate your birthday. A check in service lets you check-in to the place on your mobile phone and shout out to your friends “Waiting to cut my cake, are you all coming to celebrate?” The idea of having a check in service is as simple as the above example.

In 2009, Foursquare was built on a simple idea- create a social networking site on the basis of where the person is located. But with the advancement of innovation and ideas, the need for not just informing about locations, but also goals, prizes etc. became a necessity. Foursquare made sure to place all the above in their social networking site and became the favorite among several youngsters.

Foursquare has now come close to being a real life game or competition where a person could shout out to friends about checking in at a place. They could also be crowned “Mayor” if they are the first one to be there that day and earn different profile badges which would be shown on the profile of the user. Similarly, various companies have now found an opportunity to use these check in services to give away prizes and vouchers by letting everyone participate in Foursquare contests.

However with technological advancement comes competition. Thus several rival networking sites sprang up using the idea of check-in but with improved designs and ideas.

Google also came up with a location based mobile application called Google Latitude for people who owned Google accounts. This application allowed people to be identified location-wise with help of Google Maps. This application failed to gain popularity at par with Foursquare or Facebook places.

After Foursquare, Gowalla, yet another identical site built on similar lines was born. However Gowalla managed to capture many eyeballs due to its sleek look and design. Today, there lies fierce competition between these two sites as they serve the same purpose and target similar age group.

Facebook check-ins made way to grab attention sometime later. Now there is no need for everyone to be on a different social networking site to make check-ins and have fun, a mere Facebook account is enough.

Though Facebook hasn’t gained enough popularity as Foursquare, one can be sure it’s been put to more use than Gowalla as the world of Facebook keeps expanding. It comes as no surprise that check-in services are becoming the next best thing to social networking sites built around making and maintaining friends. It does go without saying, not just being in touch is important, letting everyone know where you are matters more today!