Monday, March 15, 2010

I had never used Gowalla until I was stuck at the American Airlines gate waiting for my flight (which never actually took off). I saw a lot of SXSW-bound friends update their location to Twitter via Gowalla. So, I figured, why not give it a try? It's not like I had a lot else to do.

The Gowalla iPhone app is similar to Foursquare in the sense that it tracks friends when they "check in" to various locations. But the Gowalla app has a nicer UI than Foursquare (in my extremely humble opinion), and its ability to list popular events within its slick SXSW integration ended up being even more valuable to me than the official SXSW app.

Foursquare had SXSW integration too, but something about it didn't seem as friendly to me. Maybe it was because Gowalla is an Austin-based company and were familiar with the area. Whatever it was, it sure felt like they nailed it. If SXSW is smart, they'll work with Gowalla to create their app next year.

So, on Monday night, Gowalla threw a party. I stood outside in a drizzle (which eventually turned into a downpour) with Tracy, Rob, and Amber. When we got in, we were handed T-shirts right at the door, and members of the Gowalla team greeted and thanked us for coming. Wait staff circulated with trays of hors d'oeuvres. The bars throughout served a drink called the Gowalla, which was delicious and potent. All the flatscreens displayed Gowalla check-in updates. It was delightfully geeky.

Most of the Tiki Room was open-air, and Monday was one of the few rainy nights that week which made things kind of soggy. Still, Gowalla threw one of the weeks' best parties.