GetGlue: An improvement for check-in social media

Step aside Foursquare! Move over Gowalla! The check-in model has reached an evolutionary benchmark. Whether you love location-based check-in games or hate them, I bet you’ll love this one. GetGlue, is a service that helps users find new movies, music, books and even wine. Similar to Foursquare, users can obtain points and stickers (badges) upon check-ins to specific activities. Of course every check-in can be shared to Facebook and Twitter.

Activity-based check-ins

In comparison to the location-based Foursquare, GetGlue is activity-based. A user could check-in on GetGlue when they are watching True Blood or Boardwalk Empire.

Likewise, a user could let friends know that they are playing video games, listening to a song or even thinking about a topic like “National Football League.”

Trending: Tell me what to do

But how about when you aren’t doing anything and you’re looking for something to do. The mobile version of GetGlue comes equipt with a “Trending” button which tells the user what TV show, wine or thought topic is trending.

In each category, users who have checked-in can leave 140 character messages or decide between the “Agree,” “Useful” or “Funny” button - similar to Facebook’s Like button.

Featured Likes

When was the last time you relentlessly rented a box set or watched a TV series OnDemand? Or when was the last time you bought a CD that you just can’t stop listening to (I’ve had the latest Arcade Fire album stuck in my head since the first week of August)?

Well, now when you’re obsessed with something like an album, you can “feature” the item on your GetGlue profile to highlight your obsession to friends. Simply go to the item’s profile page (double-click the item’s avatar), navigate to the right side-navigation and under “Spread the word,” select “Feature on Profile.”

The item will appear on your Get Glue profile in a featured-item box.

Extra Features

- GetGlue is available for iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

- The company is releasing special stickers related to HBO shows and PBS Fall Documentaries.

Foursquare Now on the Maps

Just a few days after announcing its check-ins would now appear in Bing maps, Foursquare has made a second announcement; check-ins are now on Google maps too. Along with Gowalla and Brightkite, two similar location based mobile social networking games, Foursquare is visible in Google maps via a browser accessible application called Checkin Mania.

What's to see?

Anyone using Checkin Mania will see venues Foursquare users have added in the game, plus tips and visitor information like who the mayor of that venue is and who else is there. Overall, this is a pretty cool idea. It's a very futuristic way of looking at Bing and Google maps where users can look for reviews or opinions rather than locations only.

Note: When I accessed Checkin Mania for the first time, I was able to see almost every venue tagged in Foursquare but after a reloaded, I wasn't able to see the games information. In fact, Gowalla was the only network I could see in the app after the first reload. Is anyone else having this problem?