December 2011
1 post
Gowalla is Going to Facebook
Three years ago Gowalla’s journey began when I took a photograph of Lake Tahoe on my iPhone. I had just finished a phone call with my dad, and I wanted nothing more than to share that photo and place with him. Not just in a text message or status update sort of way, but with a bit of weight that said “I wish you were here” and “this moment and place are meaningful to...
November 2011
1 post
The Men of Mo-Walla
Today marks the start of Movember (formerly known as November), the month where men are encouraged to grow moustaches to raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men.
Here at Gowalla, we’ve put together a dedicated Movember team to help drive awareness. Several of us in the office have been affected by cancer in some way or another this year, and...
October 2011
4 posts
Discovering Spooky Spots
If insanely scary movies, haunted houses, and terrifying books are your thing, then you’re probably someone who isn’t afraid to grab a flashlight and some friends to go on the most frightening adventures.
Our community has done a wonderful job of creating Lists that’ll take you on a tour of the spookiest places this Halloween. Here are just a few favorites:
Haunted...
Gowalla Guides: Your Curated City Experience
Whenever I go somewhere new—or whenever I go somewhere not-new, but don’t want to do the same old thing I’ve done a million times—I wish I’d had the foresight to figure out my plans in advance: you know, researched a local place to get a cup of coffee so that I didn’t have to join the masses at Starbucks, for instance. Emailed a friend to nail down, once and for all,...
The Unexpected Story
Our days are made up of stories. Perhaps not every day, and certainly not every moment of every day, but often enough, there is a story either driving or unfolding out of where we happen to be.
Once you realize that a story is simply an equation of “Where are you and what’s going on?”, you’ll see that a story can happen anywhere— not only when we’re out with friends at parties and restaurants or...
Your Adventures With Tintin
One of the most exciting opportunities that we have here at Gowalla is when we get the chance to be a part of a great story—whether it’s as an observer or as an active participant. Over the past couple of years, we’ve been lucky enough to meet some of you, the world’s best storytellers. Today though, we want to introduce you to a guy who has been telling amazing stories and...
September 2011
6 posts
Welcome Home Zuri Birk!
On Monday night, Gowalla’s very own Sherry Birk brought home her 9 month old daughter from Ethiopia. It was a homecoming that was a long time in the works.
Sherry started the adoption process more than a year ago in June 2010, and finally received a referral—and a picture of her new baby daughter, Zuri—in January 2011. In May, she travelled to Africa to meet Zuri for the first time,...
Thanks For Your Feedback (yes, even for the stuff...
Two days ago we released Gowalla 4 for all of our friends around the world. For those keeping score at home, the last 24-hours have been a bit rough for some of you, and we’ve been following the dialog in the comment feeds, on Twitter, etc. I’ve personally been trying to reply to as many of you as possible on the Twitters. Sadly, I’ve missed a bunch, and I’m still trying to...
Day One!
Yesterday we turned the page on a new chapter for Gowalla. For our fans keeping score out there, the reaction has ranged from “The new Gowalla is the best thing ever!” to “I absolutely and utterly hate the new Gowalla with a passion reserved for spammers and ambulance chasers!” I’m happy to say that the positive refrain has far outweighed the negative, but I wanted...
A New Gowalla
Nearly three years ago I sat on a beach at Lake Tahoe and watched as a large low-flying cloud hung above the lake, creating the backdrop for a beautiful weekend of solitude. As much as I enjoyed the time alone to clear my thoughts, I was overwhelmed with the desire to share this experience with someone. I pulled out my iPhone and snapped a pic. Then I texted it to my dad. It was an oddly modern...
A Fun Fun Fun Gowalla Campus Scavenger Race
Hey, music lovers. We’re teaming up with our friends at Fun Fun Fun Fest to bring some Fun Fun Fun to four lucky campuses (Texas State, University of Texas at Arlington, New Mexico State, Texas A&M) with a University Scavenger Race. The festival — which is based in our HQ of Austin, Texas — boasts a lineup with the likes of Slayer, Public Enemy, Odd Future, Spoon, Passion...
Josh at TechCrunch Disrupt
Josh took the stage this morning at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco to give the first look at where Gowalla is going next.
TechCrunch’s MG Siegler shared his thoughts and a few screenshots: Gowalla Is Reborn As A Beautiful App For Travel And Storytelling.
We can’t wait to share the new Gowalla with you. More to come in the next couple of days!
August 2011
3 posts
Going Forward
A little over two years ago we unveiled a new way to share and discover the world’s most loved places. Little did we know that our product would inspire people in every country around the world to venture out and share their lives on the go.
You have visited millions of places, taken millions of photos, and shared millions of stories.
Shortly after Gowalla’s second birthday we took...
New Alabama Stamps: Chosen by the People for the...
A recent poll conducted by AL.com to find the top 5 Alabama spots most deserving of custom art found Vulcan Park and Museum, Alabama Theatre, McWane Science Center, Mobile Carnival Museum, Sloss Furnaces ranking above all other choices. These new stamps are live, featured and ready to be added to your virtual passport, so, go.. and discover the “Heart of Dixie”.
Go out to Lollapalooza with Gowalla, Get Free...
Lollapalooza 2011 kicks off today in Chicago, chock full of some super-fun bands with loads of excellent music. Two of those bands have teamed up with Gowalla to give away free music when you experience Lollapalooza on Gowalla: Cults, and The Vaccines. So if you’re heading to Lolla, be sure to start your story on Gowalla, and when you do, you’ll get an email with music and other fun...
July 2011
5 posts
Join the Gowalla Campus Street Team
Calling all student ballas using Gowalla, like to know where their friends at .. holla!
We’re looking for energetic, friendly folk eager to help tell their University’s story and spread the Gowalla gospel. What makes your school special? Where do you hang out between classes? Is there a coffee shop on or close to campus great for studying at?
We want to know and so do your peers.
As...
University Trip Tips: New Student Orientation
The impending school year is fast approaching and some important questions loom as new students prepare to commence their collegiate careers. “What are the best spots to eat at on campus? Where are the quietest places to study? How do I get to the Psychology building? What does that iron statue in the quad represent?”
With smartphones becoming ubiquitous and a collate of useful...
Help Make Gowalla Even Better
Hey, we’ve got some exciting news: we’re introducing some really cool improvements to Gowalla in the months ahead, including changes to Trips and Highlights. And we could make them even cooler with your help. Got a sec? Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is this:
* Create Trips: Make us a list of the awesome things we could be doing in your city. Need a little inspiration? You can...
New Highlights For Your Favorite Places
Highlights are a fun way to recommend favorite places and share your insider knowledge with the world. Today we’re adding seven more colorful Highlights to the mix, including Takeout, Fashion, Foodie, Sweet Tooth, and Gluten Free.
If you haven’t had a chance to add a Highlight yet, here’s a quick refresher. Highlights are added to a spot directly from Gowalla while you’re...
New Stamp Art for the "Heart of Dixie"
We just rolled out three new stamps for the state of Alabama which include the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, the Talladega Superspeedway, and the U.S.S. Alabama in Mobile.
Our friends at AL.com are conducting a poll to see what other iconic staples deserve a custom stamp of their own. If you’d to like weigh in, click the website hyperlink and cast your vote.
Voting...
June 2011
9 posts
Gowalla for Windows Phone 7 is here!
We have been working behind the scenes to bring Gowalla to Windows Phone 7, and as of today, it’s officially here! With Gowalla for Windows Phone 7, you get all the best Gowalla features like check-ins, photos and highlights, but with a cool new interface that emphasizes the quick and clean Windows Phone 7 experience.
Take a look at the opening Panoramic view where you can quickly access your...
New Featured Parks
In April, we featured our first batch of National Parks. Now that summer is here on this side of the equator and people are exploring the outdoors with their friends and family, we thought it was time to feature a bunch more.
Here are just a few of our favorites: Carlsbad Caverns, Banff National Park, Bryce Canyon, California’s Redwood National Forest, Grand Teton National Park, Acadia in...
1 tag
Best of What Your City’s Hiding - Austin, TX
Gowalla is about discovering new places and sharing those experiences with friends. To remain true to the essence, I try to visit 2-3 spots I’ve bookmarked. Last weekend I visited Mayfield Park and Preserve which sits in front of Mt. Bonnell, one of Austin’s staple attractions. Despite living in the ATX for over 2 years, I had never heard of it until one of my co-workers checked in a...
2 tags
UT Stamp-ede
Greetings from Austin, home of the beloved Longhorns. We just rolled out 10 new stamps for University of Texas including Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, Etter-Harbin Alumni Center, Blanton Museum of Art, Harry Ransom Center, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Bass Concert Hall, UT Austin Visitor Center, Student Activity Center, Texas Union, Visitor Center.
If you’d like to see...
Summer is the Time for Fresh Food
Some of my favorite food moments have come during visits to my local Farmer’s Market. I love walking from stand to stand and actually meeting the people responsible for the wonderful food there that day. There is something amazing that happens when you take a bite of fresh fruit that you know was picked just a few hours ago.
Starting today, Gowalla is teaming up with Frigidaire and the...
1 tag
Go with Owl City for Prizes, Pins, even a VIP...
Connect with Owl City on Gowalla to get some sweet discounts on merch, some great pins to share on Twitter and Facebook, and for your chance at a VIP Trip to see Owl City play at ACL Live on July 27th!
1. Install Gowalla on your phone, super easy: head over to http://gowalla.com on your iPhone, Android or Blackberry phone. Be sure to connect your Facebook and Twitter accounts to your Gowalla...
Oslo on Gowalla
Oslo, Norway is an amazing city filled with people who love to go out. We found a bunch of great spots to feature recently and they just went live. Take a look:
Oslo Central Station, the largest railway station in Norway
Litteraturhuset, the House of Literature, which combines a beautiful bookstore with a cafe, restaurant, and workspaces for writers
Det Kongelige Slott, the famous Royal...
4 tags
Paul Brady from Gadling Takes Us on the...
The internet gives us the ability to defy geography and network with people we’ve never met in person from around the world. From pouring through others’ last.fm channels to playing Mafia Wars on Facebook, people are now given more excuses to rarely step foot outside their office and home than ever.
At Gowalla, we believe there are plenty of fun things to do in the real world. We...
1 tag
Freelance Whales Video Winner!
Without further adieu, we’re pleased to announce that Freelance Whales has picked their favorite submission from all the wonderful videos you’ve been emailing us and posting links of: Brooke of Fort Worth, TX, put together a great compilation of for Location, with loads of things we love about Gowalla, especially sharing amazing times with friends. She will be receiving some sweet...
May 2011
10 posts
5 tags
Going "On the Road" with Gowalla
“Why think about that when all the golden land’s ahead of you and all kinds of unforeseen events wait lurking to surprise you and make you glad you’re alive to see?” - Jack Kerouac, On the Road, Part 2, Ch. 6
Jack Kerouac was an American author and poet who inspired anyone from the beatniks to the hippie generation. His book On the Road chronicles his spontaneous roadtrips across...
New Passport bling at Uppsala Universitet in...
As briefly mentioned in the “Gowalla Humanizes the Campus Experience” post yesterday, Uppsala Universitet in Sweden set up event spots in honor of Walpurgis Night and awarded students, alumni and staff who checked in at all 5 festivities a tangible pin.
Aside from using Gowalla to celebrate the eve of May day, Uppsala has also put together several trip lists to showcase notable buildings and...
Tons of New Cool London Stamps Now Available
There is nothing like the vibe you get from London. Where else can you see anything from the 2012 Olympic Stadium, to some of the most important discoveries the western world has ever seen like the Rosetta Stone and Darwin’s specimens in the Natural History Museum, to punk rock bands and some of the best DJs in the world? The beer is good, the curry is hot, and it’s actually quite...
Gowalla Humanizes the Campus Experience
Word of mouth is important in a richly saturated campus life and students often rely on the good word from their friends. With students connecting with their locations and sharing those experiences in real-time, it’s easy to find what’s going on at the quad or who’s speaking at the Library.
Not only is Gowalla a great resource for discovering what’s happening on campus, it’s also a fantastic way...
Corcoran Group Uses Gowalla to Highlight the Big...
New York City is an amazing epicenter of culture. There are few places on Earth that feature as much diversity as the Big Apple.
Getting around New York can be difficult by car so it’s key to be located in a neighborhood that has a bunch of cool walkable spots nearby. New York City’s largest residential real estate firm, The Corcoran Group, decided to use Gowalla to create both...
7 tags
Find Only the Cool Spots Around You With Goodfoot
You’ve been in this situation before. You are in a different part of town or a new city and you’re hungry or want a drink. You have two options: go to a chain that is sort of lame but guaranteed not to be completely nasty or take a risk that some local place is actually decent.
That’s where Goodfoot comes in. Goodfoot is an application (as well as a very gentle yeti...
Become a Local Hero by Creating Trips
You know the independent shops and restaurants in your favorite cities? They are usually run by families or people insanely passionate about what they do. These city gems can be a bit hard to find unless you have an insider to tell you about them. Gowalla Trips are a great way to share your knowledge with friends and the rest of the Gowalla community.
If you haven’t created a Trip yet,...
3 tags
Feel the Thrill of Churchill Downs for the...
Put on your Sunday finest, prepare yourself for a wager or two and get ready for “The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports”.
For 136 years, people from around the world have gathered at Churchill Downs for the annual Kentucky Derby, a horse race surrounded by rich tradition. Here are just a few according to the official website:
1.) The Garland of Roses
What wakes jockeys up in the...
Check In to a Part of America's History on the...
When we think of the Civil Rights Movement, we often think of the bravery and eloquence of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. While Dr. King certainly did not have an easy task at hand when he took on the racism and segregation of the South, he did not do it alone. Thousands of Americans, from both the North and the South, persevered through life-threatening mobs day in and day out for months to...
5 tags
Get Buff with Gowalla's "Sweat It Out" Pin
You know the feeling. It’s 6:00 pm. You could work out like you said you were going to start doing…last week. Or, you could go to that happy hour your coworkers invited you to and feel tired afterwards.
Don’t fear—Gowalla is here to help! Check into your gym five times and earn your “Sweat It Out” Pin. When you do, check out the page for this pin to...
April 2011
9 posts
The Biggest Wedding of All Time to Take Place This...
On 29 July, 1981, Diana Spencer married Prince Charles in St. Paul’s Cathedral. 600,000 people poured in the streets of London to watch or at least take part of the celebration and it was televised to over 750 million people.
This Friday, history will be made again when Prince William marries Catherine Middleton at Westminister Abbey. A crowd of 1.5 million people, or roughly the...
Celebrating Music
We’re celebrating the diversity of music with a bunch of new featured stamps. Whether it’s the home of Motown or Carnegie Hall, The Fillmore in San Francisco or Red Rocks Amphitheater, Moulin Rouge in Paris or Shoreline Amphitheater, tunes and live music fuel a lot of what we do here at Gowalla. Let’s just say it’s not a coincidence that Gowalla is made in the Live Music...
Freelance Whales: Concerts, Free Tunes + a Music...
Tuesday is always a day for new music stuff, and we’ve got a bunch of fun to announce today: Freelance Whales has just kicked off a North American Tour, and it’s going to be fully featured on Gowalla, with a sweet custom stamp for each concert stop. Additionally, when you check in at the the Freelance Whales concert in your town, you’ll receive a free b-side track from the...
Watch Chelsea Kane on DWTS Tonight
It’s a big night for Chelsea Kane on Dancing with the Stars. You can follow along on Gowalla, with behind-the-scenes photos and more!
And don’t forget to look for limited-edition Cha-Cha Shoes item when you check in around town, just like the ones in this picture. You’ll find them at dance clubs, health clubs, gyms and few more fun spots.
Follow Chelsea on Gowalla and tune-in...
National Geographic and Gowalla Team Up for...
National Park Week starts Saturday! For one week there will be special events at many of the 394 national parks in the United States. Plus, admission is free at all parks!
We’ve teamed up with our friends at National Geographic for a new item and giveaway. Check in at a national or state park in the United States this month and you might receive a discounted subscription offer for National...
4 tags
Just Dance
Every now and then, most of the time when no one else is looking, we all just have the urge to bust a move. You never know when the urge is going to strike, but there are some places where you’re more likely to get your dancing shoes on than others. That’s why, with the help of this year’s Dancing With Stars’ contestant Chelsea Kane, we’ve created a very limited...
Win Win in Theaters with Gowalla
Heading to the movies? A great new movie from Fox Searchlight finally hits wide release today, entitled Win Win. It features an excellent cast led by Paul Giamatti, including Jeffery Tambor and Amy Ryan (“Holly” from The Office). Paul Giamatti portrays a down-on-his-luck attorney who makes one small decision that changes everything in his life. The film features a wonderful score...
Automotive Museums in Germany
It’s no secret that Europe has a fantastic driving culture, along with a rich history of making some amazing cars. Look no further than the addictive Top Gear for proof.
A very unique part of the European automotive experience is the many, often spectacular, car museums in Germany. We thought we’d highlight these great spots with five new featured stamps.
Whether you’re a...
2 tags
One Day Without Shoes
Photo credit: Daniel Davis
There is nothing worse than walking outside to get the mail barefoot and stepping on an errant rock or tripping on the neighborhood kids’ toy car. Stubbing your toe or feeling that pain point on the bottom of your foot is not a feeling anyone enjoys. But try that feeling all day everyday for as long as you can remember. That is what life is like without shoes...
March 2011
9 posts
See the World with Gowalla: Feat. Matt & Kim w/...
Guests who attended our See the World party featuring Matt & Kim with Flosstradamus can all agree it was indeed magical. Ingredients for a guaranteed good time were accounted for with onsite polaroid passport photos, killer Gowalla slap koozies, a costumed wallaby with a pouch full of surprises, rad See the World viewfinder t-shirts, a photo booth and signature cocktails from Tito’s with...
5 tags
World Water Day 2011
Everyday new, important issues are brought to the forefront of the media and social consciousness. Right now there are revolutions, natural disasters, and global challenges capturing the headlines and reminding us of how quickly our world can change. But, amongst all of the news, there is one issue that continues to impact our fellow citizens around the world: the issue of clean drinking water....