What we can learn from Gowalla’s failure to click as a location based social network?

A location based social network is all about the check-ins and it looks like Gowalla failed to comprehend this essential fact. The result is that that this geo-social app is shutting down and while its founders and team will be joining Facebook, there is no doubt that the app failed and failed big time. On the other hand, its rival Foursquare went ahead of Gowalla a very little time ago. It was so far ahead in its check-ins as compared to Gowalla, that there basically was very little rivalry to speak of.

So, what went wrong with the geo-social app and that too, so quickly; after all it was only launched in 2009? The reason can be traced right back to the genesis of Gowalla, and its focus on design rather than functionality. As compared to Foursquare, there was absolutely no doubt that, it was far ahead when it came to design. It was visually appealing, offered good looking badges and all in all looked very pretty. But the problem was that it just looked pretty. It wasn’t a blend of form and function, but focused on just one core element – Design.

Another reason that contributed towards its failure was that it was based in Austin, which did not have the kind of urban density that helps a mobile social app build a better network early on in its life. It just couldn’t get the critical mass to power its popularity. It severely lacked the hometown advantage. Think about it for second. Why are you using a particular social app? It is because your friends are using it and so are their friends and so on and so forth. The point is that people use only that app that connects them with more people. This is essentially what Gowalla failed to do and set in motion a chain of events that led to its shut down.

Mistakes were made at the conceptualization and development levels and it suffered big time.

But that wasn’t it. Gowalla came across as a very complicated site to use. It tried to offer a whole lot of features very early on, which confused people. Instead of attracting as many check-ins’ as possible, it put many people off. Yet another reason contributing to its failure was that it couldn’t get the big brands to lend their brand equity. This also contributed to its downfall. The reasoning is pretty simple. Why would I want to join a geo social app, if I can’t find deals offered by the big brands on it?

Every expert, industry watcher or investor will have different reasons why Gowalla failed. But in its failure lies the kind of learning that will help founders avoid making the same mistakes that this location based social network did. It’s always important to focus on functionality rather than the only putting focus on visuals. It can be summed up in one simple sentence – Always remain true to your purpose.