Facebook buys location service Gowalla for an undisclosed sum

Mega social networking site Facebook has bought location service Gowalla for an undisclosed sum. An anonymous source told CNN that, '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.' Gowalla's service can also be linked to alternative social networking sites like Twitter and Foursquare, but it's similarly unclear if this will be maintained.

Facebook has snapped up Gowalla, according to CNN Money, though neither company has confirmed the acquisition as of Friday evening. A big part Gowalla team will move to Palo Alto, Calif., where Facebook is headquartered, CNN Money reported, citing an anonymous source "close to Gowalla." According to the source, most of Gowalla's 30-odd employees will work on Facebook's ambitious new Timeline redesign, which Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled in September and is being rolled out to the social networking site's 800 million members. "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."

Speaking at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in September, Williams explained that Gowalla was refocusing from location sharing to helping travelers share their experiences with others. Gowalla has raised about $10 million in funding from venture capital firms and angel investors. Some Gowalla employees will move to Facebook's Palo Alto, Calif., offices and work on Facebook's Timeline feature, an unidentified source close to Gowalla said. Austin-based Gowalla launched in 2009 but has had difficulty competing against Foursquare in the market for location-sharing apps.