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Howdy, I'm MG Siegler. I’m a general partner at CrunchFund and a columnist for TechCrunch. This is where I collect things.

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Facebook Buys Gowalla

How does Facebook keep pace in mobile with the built-for-mobile and insanely well-designed Path? Here’s one piece. 

Assuming this deal is finalized — great scoop by Laurie Segall — I’m really happy for the Gowalla team. They were putting an emphasis on design and attention to detail in the mobile space well before it was the cool thing to do. And they stayed true to their roots and did it all from Austin, Texas.

Google should have scooped them up way before Facebook could. But well… Yeah. 

Related: Facebook has a lot of fucking awesome design talent at their disposal now.

Update 12/5: The deal has been finalized.

Tags tech facebook gowalla location mobile design

I recall ripping Foursquare a bit in September of last year for a way-too-confusing app design. I didn’t get why “Tips” was a focal point, why “Tips” and “To-Do List” were separate, why “Places” was a stand-alone area, and why the “Check In” button (the key to the service) was buried in the upper right corner (meanwhile the “Shout” button was in the more prominent upper left corner). Today’s update (3.2) fixes a lot of that. “Check In” is now front and center, as it should be. The excellent “Explore” tab is also now highlighted instead of the redundant “Places”. “Shout” has also been totally removed (which I agree with). And most importantly, the app now feels much faster. I do wonder if they should have made the “Check In” nav button bright green, like it is on the actual check in page. The move to make it bright orange in the recent builds of Gowalla I think looks great and really draws your eye. It’s a visual call to action. 

I recall ripping Foursquare a bit in September of last year for a way-too-confusing app design. I didn’t get why “Tips” was a focal point, why “Tips” and “To-Do List” were separate, why “Places” was a stand-alone area, and why the “Check In” button (the key to the service) was buried in the upper right corner (meanwhile the “Shout” button was in the more prominent upper left corner).

Today’s update (3.2) fixes a lot of that. “Check In” is now front and center, as it should be. The excellent “Explore” tab is also now highlighted instead of the redundant “Places”. “Shout” has also been totally removed (which I agree with). And most importantly, the app now feels much faster.

I do wonder if they should have made the “Check In” nav button bright green, like it is on the actual check in page. The move to make it bright orange in the recent builds of Gowalla I think looks great and really draws your eye. It’s a visual call to action. 

Tags tech foursquare gowalla

I obviously have nothing but love for Foursquare, but I still think it’s way too under-appreciated just how solid and beautiful of a service Gowalla is.  It has always been one of the best services out there from a design perspective, but in recent months it seems like they’ve even managed to kick it up a notch. 

I obviously have nothing but love for Foursquare, but I still think it’s way too under-appreciated just how solid and beautiful of a service Gowalla is. 

It has always been one of the best services out there from a design perspective, but in recent months it seems like they’ve even managed to kick it up a notch. 

Tags tech gowalla foursquare