Gowalla: Location-Based Gaming
Immer mehr Handys verfügen über GPS und können so den eigenen Aufenthaltsort bestimmen. Diese Daten können dann von Apps genutzt werden um ortsbasierte Services zur Verfügung zu stellen.
Diese Dienste nennen sich ganz allgemein “Location-Based Services”. Bekannte Vertreter sind bspw. Google Latitude oder Brightkite.
Einen etwas anderen Ansatz verfolgt die recht neue Plattform Gowalla, die sich als “Location-Based Gaming Plattform” versteht. Auch hier geht es also um einen ortsbasierten Dienst, bei dem allerdings ein eher spielerischer Aspekt integriert wurde.
Zu Gowalla gehört sowohl eine iPhone-App und auch als die Website www.gowalla.com.
Worum geht´s bei Gowalla?
Die Gowalla FAQ meint dazu:
“Gowalla is a location-based travel game that rewards you for visiting both extraordinary and everyday places with your iPhone.”
Ist man mit dem iPhone also an einem “neuen” Ort (also bspw. einem Restaurant), welcher bisher noch nicht über Gowalla erfasst wurde, so kann man diesen nun neu eintragen (”claimen”).
Danach hat man die Möglichkeit dort “einzuchecken” sowie Dinge aus seiner virtuellen Tasche dort abzulegen.
Man kann ebenfalls einsehen, wer bereits an diesem (Real World) Ort war, wann und wie oft. Waren andere Nutzer dort und haben einen Gegenstand abgelegt, so kann man diesen nun mitnehmen.
Anreizsystem Passport
Als Anreiz und Motivationssystem wurden im virtuellen “Passport” Pins, Stempel als auch Items eingeführt.
Stempel erhält man, wenn man in Real-World Locations eincheckt und dienen als visuelles Pendant des Ortes. Pins verdient man, wenn man eine Route von Standorten (”Trip”) abklappert (dies funktioniert derzeit nur in den USA).
Wirklich cool ist die Idee mit den Items, also den Gegenständen in der “virtuellen Tasche”. Um neue Items zu bekommen entsteht bei mir die Motivation, möglichst viele Standorte zu besuchen. Zwangsläufig entdeckt man dabei neue Locations, wie etwa Bars, Restaurants oder Ausflugsziele.
Zumindest theoretisch kann ein Item durch alle meine Orte wandern – oder sogar um die ganze Welt.
Dinge, die man nicht mehr hergeben möchte kann man den Safe (“Vault”) legen. Das klappt bei mir zwar nicht, soll aber laut FAQ funktionieren. Geplant ist dann auch der Tausch von Ions mit Freunden.
Netzwerkeffekt:
Ein Problem ist sicherlich, dass Gowalla nur dann wirklich funktioniert, wenn ausreichend Personen mitmachen. Das mag in Berlin, Köln oder Hamburg bereits teilweise funktionieren. Auf dem Land oder in kleineren Städten aber sicher noch nicht.
Außerdem finde ich es etwas fragwürdig, dass man über den Dienst jederzeit sehen kann wo ich derzeit gerade bin. Dies ist zwar dadurch eingeschränkt, dass nur meine Freunde meinen Aufenthaltsort einsehen können. Ich denke man sollte daher aber schon aufpassen wen man als Freund zulässt 
Partizipation der Unternehmen:
Spannend wird´s wenn Unternehmen in Gowalla aktiv werden (ist derzeit soweit ich weiß noch nicht der Fall). So könnten diese bspw. eigene und gebrandet Items publizieren und in Umlauf bringen.
Und noch viel spannender: Die Unternehmen können ja prinzipiell sehen WER WO WANN das lokale Geschäft betritt.
Kunden, die öfter da sind können mit Freigetränken oder freiem Eintritt o.ä. inventiviert und so weiter an das Unternehmen gebunden werden.
Fazit:
Die Idee von Gowalla ist super!
Gowalla bietet zum alleinigen “wer ist gerade wo” Informationen darüber, welche Standorte häufig bzw. von den eigenen Freunden besucht wurden.
Allerdings, so finde ich, ist die Umsetzung noch ausbaufähig. Man darf aber davon ausgehen, dass die Jungs von Gowalla hier weitere gute Ideen integrieren werden.
This entry was posted on Sonntag, November 8th, 2009 at 15:51 and is filed under Foresight, Socical Web, Trend, Web2.0. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
07:38 on Dezember 8th, 2009
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13:03 on Oktober 21st, 2010
Eines der tollsten Ideen und Spiele, die es je gab. Gowalla wird selbst nach Wochen nicht langweilig. Nur im Ausland müsst Ihr auf die hohen Roamingkosten für Moble Internet auspassen.
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