Of all the lessons learned in Austin, an important one to remember is that Ashton Kutcher can make or break a party. He makes it if he brings his nubile wife, Demi Moore, who is a treasure of an actor, and breaks it if he shows up with a gaggle of adoring fans who keep the lineup outside long.
[rssbreak]
On Monday, the Demi-less Kutcher made the Foursquare party impossible to get into. No matter, though, because Diplo was DJing the Gowalla soirée just a few blocks away.
But this choice in parties cut deeper than just where the star of Valentine’s Day might show up. Moreover, it served as the battlefield for two warring location-sharing services, Foursquare and Gowalla.
Foursquare, which allows its users to broadcast where they are and awards points for frequent usage, is the front-runner.
It was first and has more penetration. It also has the tacit support of Twitter, whose CEO, Evan Williams, attended the Foursquare party. (Further evidence: Foursquare and Twitter made adjustments for SXSW that mimed the other – Foursquare added 140-character sharing Twitter added location-sharing.)
Gowalla is the underdog. This made-in-Austin app performs the same location-sharing functions of the competition, but arrived a split-second too late to capture the attention Foursquare’s received.
All week in Austin, the question was which service would capture the favour of the trend-setting attendees. Without the numbers to back it up, I’d venture that Gowalla is the mayor of this year’s SXSW. More features, more event-specific and more fun, Gowalla is the better choice, and based on my anecdotal evidence, SXSW agrees.
But the real test will be outside the tiny tech-informed bubble of Austin, where Ashton Kutcher has less influence and is less of an annoyance.
