Social networking giant Facebook has acquired the Austin-based company Gowalla for an undisclosed amount. Gowalla is a company based in Texas, which is in the business of providing primarily mobile web application that allows users to check in to locations that they visit using their mobile device. Gowalla has made this possible by developing dedicated applications available on Google Android, iPhone, Palm WebOS and BlackBerry, or through the mobile site "m.gowalla.com." There is currently no way of checking in locations through the standard website. Check-ins can be pushed via notifications to iPhones, and by linking accounts, to Twitter and Facebook.
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Though, neither Facebook nor Gowalla has formally announced the deal, CNN Money reports that its sources indicate that the deal will happen pretty soon. This will lead to the current Gowalla company ceasing to exist and the entire Gowalla team taking jobs with Facebook. Reports suggest that Facebook will be using the skillsets of Gowalla's service team to work on the recently unveiled Facebook Timeline service.
Gowalla is a very good company but could not quite succeed in outsmarting it's primary rival, Foursquare which is into a similar check-in technology development. It can be compares, somewhat with Google +, having all the features but still not quite getting the upward plunge into the world market. As of November 2010, Gowalla had approximately 600,000 active users.
Though the final outcome of Gowalla's services, mobile device applications and its employees remain uncertain, Facebook has been known to dismantle acquired startups and starting afresh. This outcome seems most probable since Facebook’s own location services would surely prosper with one less competitor in the same field. For those users with Gowalla accounts, maybe now is the best time to pick the spot for your last check-in and hope for glorious days in the near future.
