Gowalla, headquartered in Austin, has just released its service on the Palm webOS platform, supporting Palm Pre and Palm Pixi. Gowalla is already available for the iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android platforms. The webOS release was timed to coincide with the upcoming start of the South by Southwest Interactive Festival, starting Friday in downtown Austin. Users will be able to check in at SXSWi venues and earn SXSW-related rewards.
Another leader in the location-based social networking world, Foursquare, is also ramping up efforts for SXSWi. Foursquare launched at the event last year, and is releasing 16 new "badges" just for SXSW. The company, based in New York, also offers their app on all of the above platforms, making it a pretty even playing field.
Both Gowalla and Foursquare are hosting parties - and both are holding them on Monday, March 15. Both are also offering real-life rewards for finding virtual swag. Foursquare encourages users to find members of their street team to trade virtual badges for temporary tattoos, while Gowalla is conducting sort of a virtual Easter egg hunt through SXSWi, with virtual items that can be swapped for their real counterparts.
Which social platform will own SXSW? Will it be the returning champion, or the home team?
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