Report: Facebook acquires Gowalla to expand Timeline team

Facebook has acquired mobile social network Gowalla for an undisclosed sum, CNN.com reports. A source close to Gowalla said most of the startup's staff, including founder Josh Williams, will relocate from Austin, Tex. to Facebook's Palo Alto, Calif. offices to work on the new Facebook Timeline chronological interface.

Facebook declined to speak about the deal, with a spokesperson stating "We don't comment on rumor and speculation." But All Things Digital reports that Williams sent an email to Gowalla investors after the CNN.com story broke, writing "The ink on the deal is not dry, so our holding pattern is that we do not comment on rumors and speculation. I have another email penned that was ready to send you today, assuming you would get this news before the story was officially released."

Originally conceived as a location-based check in service in a vein similar to segment leader foursquare, Gowalla dramatically revamped its user experience in September, minimizing check-in activities in favor of social travel guides created by the Gowalla user community in conjunction with content providers and local experts. According to Gowalla, each guide evolves daily based on users' individual social interactions, changing in response to the people with whom they most commonly interact and updating recommendations on places to go and things to do.

"It's a perfect match," the source told CNN.com. "As far as the big picture, Gowalla's vision is about people telling stories, and Facebook's vision for Timeline is about stories about important moments in life."

It is unknown whether Facebook will continue to operate Gowalla as a standalone mobile application, although it appears unlikely. Facebook has discontinued support for previous acquisitions like group messaging solution Beluga and mobile app platform provider Snaptu, absorbing their staffs and technologies into branded Facebook services.

Facebook now tops 800 million users worldwide, with more than 350 million users accessing the platform via mobile device each month. In September, Nielsen reported Facebook is now the most popular mobile app across all operating systems.

For more:
- read this CNN.com article
- read this All Things Digital article

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