Location-based game SCVNGR is going global, and it’s getting a little help from its friends down in Mountain View. Today, the company is switching to a new, improved database of venues — the businesses, restaurants, bars, and other locations that its users ‘check into’ — and it’s also adding international support. The source of the data? Google, which has given SCVNGR access to the developer preview of its Places API both in the US and abroad.
Now, SCVNGR has technically been available internationally before now because you could download its mobile apps for Android and iPhone. But CEO Seth Priebatsch says that the experience left a lot to be desired, because SCVNGR didn’t have a robust ‘Places’ database (you’d open up the app and usually would have to manually enter the venue yourself, which is a big hurdle). Today’s update fixes that.
Before now, SCVNGR had relied on data from GeoAPI (which was acquired by Twitter last year), but its dataset was US-only, hence the lack of international support. Oh, and it’s no accident that SCVNGR is among the first companies to get access to this places API —the company has a special relationship with Google because it was one the first investments made by Google Ventures.
SCVNGR is part game, part game platform. Playing SCVNGR is all about going places, doing challenges and earning points. Players discover cool new places, find fun new things to do, share their activity with friends and can even earn virtual (and sometimes real-world) rewards! Individuals and institutions can build on SCVNGR by adding custom challenges at their favorite places! Start playing SCVNGR now at www.scvngr.com.
Google provides search and advertising services, which together aim to organize and monetize the world’s information. In addition to its dominant search engine, it offers a plethora of online tools and platforms including: Gmail, Maps, YouTube, and Google+, the company’s extension into the social space. Most of its Web-based products are free, funded by Google’s highly integrated online advertising platforms AdWords and AdSense. Google promotes the idea that advertising should be highly targeted and relevant to users thus providing...
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