Downloader: Gowalla launches an API, awaits creative developers

Monday, March 8, 2010

Gowalla launches an API, awaits creative developers

Filed under: Developer, Social Software, web 2.0

By now, everyone knows that Foursquare and Gowalla are locked in a battle to become the number one location-based check-in game, with Yelp and (maybe) Facebook threatening to upset the balance. Well, Gowalla just leveled the playing field with Foursquare a little bit by introducing the first public version of the Gowalla API. That means developers can now build cool apps on top of Gowalla's data, making the game a richer experience.

One possibility is that the API release will allow Gowalla to expand to new platforms and devices without doing the development in-house. Foursquare's public API has been crucial in bringing the game to more platforms. There's no official Foursquare client for Windows Mobile or Mac OS X, but enterprising developers have built them, and brought the game to new users. The same effect could easily happen for Gowalla.

Gowalla seems less focused on that, though, and more focused on new ways to play. Their suggested uses include building a sidebar to display Gowalla badges on your blog, an app to decide where your group is going for lunch, or a mini-game for conference attendees. That's a good start, I suppose, but I suspect developers will come up with even better ideas now that the API is open.