U Houston Bags Prize in Location-Aware Contest

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 01/20/11

The University of Houston flexed its social networking muscles to win a $10,000 donation to its scholarship fund. The Texas institution participated in a competition put on by Gowalla, a company that has a location-based social networking service. Subscribers to the free service can "check in" to "spots" in their local vicinity through a mobile app or mobile Web site, then share those locations with others.

For its latest contest, which started in October, Gowalla enlisted campus communities in all of the schools that are members of the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision. Each school had five locations designated--including the university's "primary" location, its stadium, and three other spots--at which people could check in daily and win a point for their school. By the end of the college football season U Houston with a score of 6,065 points had bested second place finisher the University of Texas at Austin, which had 5,233 points.

The money was donated to the university's Cougar Community TierOne Endowment, which funds undergraduate research and study abroad.

The university tapped its social media channels, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, to promote participation. "Our social media presence grew tremendously in 2010, and we're excited to build on that success in 2011," said Jessica Brand, social media coordinator for U Houston. "Winning the Gowalla Check-in Challenge is not only a great way to kick off the year, but helps strengthen the bond between students and the campus community."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • abstract image representing AI tools for reading and writing

    McGraw Hill Introduces 2 Gen AI Learning Tools

    Global education company McGraw Hill has added two new generative AI tools to help personalize learning experiences for both K–12 and higher ed students, according to a news release.

  • minimalist person icons connected by straight lines and circles

    Microsoft Revamps Loop Collaboration Platform

    Microsoft Loop, the online collaborative platform in Microsoft 365, is getting a number of new features and an overall redesign.

  • AI-inspired background pattern with geometric shapes and fine lines in muted blue and gray on a dark background

    IBM Releases Granite 3.0 Family of Advanced AI Models

    IBM has introduced its most advanced family of AI models to date, Granite 3.0, at its annual TechXchange event. The new models were developed to provide a combination of performance, flexibility, and autonomy that outperforms or matches similarly sized models from leading providers on a range of benchmarks.

  • interconnected cubes and circles arranged in a grid-like structure

    Hugging Face Gradio 5 Offers AI-Powered App Creation and Enhanced Security

    Hugging Face has released version 5 of its Gradio open source platform for building machine learning (ML) applications. The update introduces a suite of features focused on expanding access to AI, including a novel AI-powered app creation tool, enhanced web development capabilities, and bolstered security measures.