Interview with Josh Williams of Gowalla
As we've written about before, life is turning into one big game. Gowalla is another example of how a simple mobile application can earn you social capital--and even change your behavior.
Gowalla is essentially a location-based game that "rewards you for visiting both everyday and extraordinary places". The more places you go, the more badges and stamps you acquire in your "virtual passport". We spoke with Josh Williams from Alamofire to learn more...
How did Gowalla come about?
JW: The whole social gaming scene was hot, but also crowded and full. We asked ourselves, “How do we fit into this space, what is our identity?” Our game Packrat on Facebook grew out of viral marketing. Gowalla was what we thought Packrat might look like on mobile.
So, explain the concept of the game.
JW: Really what we’re building with Gowalla is a way to collect things and brag about the places you’ve been using a virtual passport. Just like the “Where I’ve Been” app, it’s verifiable data that it really did happen.
What’s the appeal of racking up these digital badges and stamps?
JW: A lot of people are collectors. The appeal goes back a couple of generations to our parents who were buying the charm bracelet, the snow globe, chatchkes. They never really used them, but it’s a social status thing…something to brag about. For the people who play our games, it’s more than just an item in a game. It’s something that they collect that equals their social status. We’re trying to bring an element of fun into somebody’s day with the added social status aspect.
How are people using the game?
JW: Ultimately, you’re seeing the places where friends have been and the items they have. It’s fun for us when we see two or three people going out and playing together. I didn’t expect that.
What sort of behaviors are you seeing?
JW: I was out in San Francisco the other week [with a friend]. At one location where he checked in, he found an icon from SXSW that someone had left behind. It creates an interesting social dynamic that way.
In the future, I want to see people change their lifestyle to the point where they are willing to go to a park they’ve never been to before. It’s a lifestyle hack.
What’s in store for Gowalla?
JW: We’re tweaking it on the iPhone first, but we see it being more than just an iPhone, Android, WAP application. We’re also finding ways to share and publish the stamps online via the website and tying it in with Twitter API and Facebook Connect.
We’re also going to expand to other cities. What surprised us is that players are taking it out of our hands. They’re creating their own spots wherever they are and blanketing cities they live in. Even now it’s happening in Australia and Hong Kong and Greece. We have to go to where the people are. Ultimately what we’ll do is look at the higher traffic and create badges and custom artwork for those cities.
