Explore the World with Foursquare and Gowalla on 'Checkin Mania'

March 31, 2010 at 5:30 PM | by JetSetCD | Comments (0)

By now you probably realize that we're huge advocates location-aware social media, specifically Foursquare for its quickly blossoming community and the priceless worldwide tips they leave. But just in case you aren't yet convinced and need some help deciding between Foursquare and competitors like Gowalla and Brightkite, there's a cool Google Maps mashup site that can help you out.

It's appropriately called Checkin Mania, and on it you can simply click onto the Google Map to see the area update in real time as people check in via these apps on their smartphones. Then click on one of the locations on the right side (not shown above) and it'll display information about that spot, like it's mayor, tips and how many people have checked in there total.

It's almost a way to use the awesome tips on Foursquare without actually signing up for Foursquare. For example, we checked out the TKTS booth in the Duffy Square part of Times Square on Checkin Mania's Foursquare map and discovered that a girl named Erica is the "mayor," the spot has been virtually visited 148 times, it's known for "cheap tickets" and "tourists" and tips told us the best times to try for said cheap tickets, and that there's even an accessible free WiFi signal if you sit on the top steps above the TKTS booth.

We can also see ourselves using this to get at those tips when we're abroad and maybe can't access wifi on our iPhone, but can with our computer. Bookmark!

Related Stories:
· Check Who's Checkin' In [Google Maps Mania]
· How Foursquare Has the Ability to Change the Way We Travel [Jaunted]
· Foursquare + Travel [Jaunted]

[Photo: Checkin Mania]

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