Facebook Timeline May Benefit from Gowalla’s Geo-Social Features

Facebook’s much awaited Timeline feature could benefit from Gowalla’s geo-social technology. The app was launched in 2009 and allows users to check in to locations that they visit using their smartphone. Gowalla is finally closing down by January 2012, ^[1] as its members and technology become part of the social networking giant. Facebook leads the networking space and competes with players like Google (NASDAQ:GOOG).

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Facebook Needs a Location-based Tool

From its own side, Facebook has only recently started emphasizing location-based technologies in its user profiles. ^[2]

Users can now easily share their location in their status and photos. Having said that, Facebook has lacked a dedicated geo-social feature so far, in which sites like Foursquare and Gowalla specialize. Additionally, Gowalla’s “passport” feature, ^[3] which maintains a list of places a user has visited (or checked-in) over time is a valuable tool for Facebook’s anticipated Timeline. The Timeline promises to be a unique “storytelling” way of presenting a user’s profile, and location is bound to be an important element.

We currently value Facebook at around $45 billion.

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1. Gowalla is Going to Facebook [↩]
2. ZDNet: Facebook kills Places, but emphasizes location sharing more [↩]
3. TechCrunch: Gowalla Getting Pretty Custom Passports, Hints at Other Personalization Features [↩]