At the recommendation of one @sallypnut , I started dabbling with Gowalla today. NEAT. Gowalla is another location-based social iPhone app, that seems to put more emphasis on the locations and journey aspect, and a little less on the social, which might just be the winning combination. I checked in for the first time today at our local skate park. 
It was incredibly easy to add the location, and the added step of classifying the type of location it is lends a little more richness to the experience. Normally, I hate extra steps, but in the case of adding new locations with the idea that you are building a comprehensive and meaningful database, it somehow passes. Again, as much about the locations as the game, it seems. Just stunning graphics, btw. A+. Slickity slick. As a geocacher, leaving and / or picking up virtual items at various locations…genius addition.
As we know, I’ve been playing with Foursquare for a couple weeks, and while I like the game aspect, there are some usability bugaboos, as with almost everything, right? I’m going to use the two of them side by side for the next couple weeks, which should give me a pretty decent feel for a favorite.
Will report back.
