GetGlue Passes The Million User Mark

I've always thought a million registered users is a big milestone. Getting a million people to do anything is actually pretty hard. Our portfolio company GetGlue passed that milestone this week. TechCrunch has the story. Congratulations to Alex and the team.

I love this infographic the team put together to celebrate.

Getglue

#VC & Technology#Web/Tech

Comments (Archived):

  1. JimHirshfield

    Congrats @alexiskold

  2. Nick Rovisa

    This is absolutely a big deal.

    1. Dave Pinsen

      Would you mind elaborating?

      1. Nick Rovisa

        Sure, Dave.I believe this is a huge deal because GetGlue has traditionally been thought of as a lower-tier check-in service in my opinion. I have many savvy friends that are not using it (even though I myself am) and it never really got much coverage, so I figured it had found a niche and was going to settle into it nicely. With the Grammy’s partnership and this announcement of passing the 1 million user mark, GetGlue now has to be taken seriously from a marketing perspective aka GetGlue has to be added to the marketing toolkit when thinking of cool, creative social media campaigns for clients.I also use Fanvibe, a sports-specific check-in app, regularly. Now that GetGlue has integrated sports, I will have no need to use Fanvibe anymore. I guess that’s what happens when you try and make a feature into a business. This is simply another untapped opportunity that GetGlue is poised to capitalize on (real-time sport check-ins/discussions).Just some thoughts..

        1. Dave Pinsen

          OK, thanks for fleshing that out.Saw this contrarian piece today, courtesy of fellow AVCer Andy Swan, via Twitter: “2011: The Year the Check-in Died”.

          1. Nick Rovisa

            Yeah no problem, man. Yes I read that article yesterday and I am not totally in agreement with Andy. He makes some good points, but as real-world incentives are tied to these check-in apps and as the data is used to make them smarter, more people will be jumping on board.

          2. Dave W Baldwin

            It is a matter of making it ‘smarter’.

          3. fredwilson

            I’m with nick in this debate

          4. Dave Pinsen

            You could be right, Nick. I didn’t expect check-in apps to get as widely-adopted as they have (I figured AVC commenter Greg was right to be skeptical about Foursquare a couple of years ago), so I wouldn’t be surprised if we skeptics get proved wrong again.

          5. ShanaC

            I still think it is a use by use case. There is a ton of area to be explored via opt in systems (checkins), and we’re not nearly at the point where we really are exploiting them

          6. Carl Rahn Griffith

            Ditto. Loving how (eg) Foursquare is getting richer and richer as more people use it, leave tips, special offers nearby are becoming more diverse/relevant, etc.Just wish Foursquare wasn’t quite so (apparently, to me) flaky re: mobile signal/GPS issues (iPhone 4, Vodafone UK, typically) – all my other apps (even those with GPS features) can be fine yet Foursquare often seems to be problematic, claiming no internet access. I don’t have time/inclination to keep trying to check-in somewhere – it needs to be a discreet process. Often seems a chore, sadly.Anyone else?

          7. fredwilson

            Yeah. Foursquare can be flaky sometimes with geolocation

          8. Joe Siewert

            I read that article too. I think it’s a bit early to throw the towel in on check-ins. A lot of the interesting business/deal tie-ins are just starting to take shape (thinking specifically of the AMEX deal at SXSW this year).

          9. Dave Pinsen

            Amex ought to start its own search engine, and give extra membership rewards points to card holders who use it (while linking their card info, so they can make one-click purchases). With that kind of search base, Amex ought to be able to charge higher ad rates to merchants than Google. Amex could also use complaint data from its card holders to police and cull the list of merchants advertising on their search engine.

          10. Dave W Baldwin

            It is a matter of taking the ‘check-in’ to a different level. As this happens, it may be referred to as something different, but still the same concept.The different level will involve the higher AI.

          11. fredwilson

            I think its the year the checkin thrived.

          12. Carl Rahn Griffith

            Apropos, verticals/niche check-ins – necessitates separate/new apps or better customisation options within the offerings from the existing players?Interesting…I suspect some think check-in has died because of Facebook’s relatively woeful performance in this space. Nothing more.Bit like thinking good music has died simply because of Justin Bieber 😉

          13. Fraser

            Said this on Twitter after reading a few posts re. check-ins being dead:a check-in is not the value. a check-in is simply context that value is delivered against. in that sense it’s going nowhere.

          14. Dave Pinsen

            That seems a little Delphic.

  3. ErikSchwartz

    Congrats. It’s great (for really selfish reasons) to see companies succeeding working on applications that run on the second screen while people watch TV.:-)

    1. fredwilson

      That’s how I use both twitter and GetGlue

  4. sigmaalgebra

    Clever idea. Fast viral growth. Nice results.

  5. paramendra

    Get who? GetGlue.

  6. PythonSkynet

    viral growth… i will soon post an article about GetGlue soon in my blog http://teknoise.com

  7. Charlie Crystle

    congrats. would love to visit them sometime.

  8. falicon

    OK – so the question I have is what was the user count when USV made the investment? Was it obvious that they were going to make this milestone or was it a long-term goal?

    1. fredwilson

      They don’t count the browser plugin users. That was their product when weinvested in 2007. They rebooted in 2009 and the million users is since then

      1. falicon

        Awesome thanks!Without the plugin, how do people check-in? I guess I gotta catch up on what GetGlue has been doing the past couple of years! 😉

          1. Jon Knight

            I loved the original Browser plugin and was slightly disappointed when the change was made in 2009. That said, I have to add that the new direction was definitely the way to go!Fraser, we haven’t spoken in awhile but hardly a day goes by without making use of GetGlue. As you know, I’m a GG Addict.What folks might not know is how you guys really get involved with the folks who use your products. Like the fact that Alex just pops into my email one night (2007) while I’m fracking around with the lists, asking me what I’m trying to do, and then getting Andy and Karen to slightly change the product, just so I could make it do what it wasn’t yet designed to do. Personal involvement, from every member of your team… on a Saturday night!You guys are the best. Here’s to the next million.

  9. Eroach

    That is indeed rarified air. Congrats to the team. With all the play in the check-in space, it will be fun to watch when and if someone starts rolling them up.

  10. Michael P

    Am I missing it or does this post not include a direct link to the company / site in question?

    1. fredwilson

      Bad form on my part. Thanks for mentioning it. Will fix later

  11. Gorilla44

    I don’t see the point of services like this.

  12. Dave W Baldwin

    Congratulations.

  13. Eric Leebow

    Congrats to @alexiskold thought they were over a million a long time ago. Doesn’t Foursquare have over 8 million now? Should be interesting to see where this one goes. I have installed a few checkin apps, and have found GetGlue to be one of the preferred ones next to Foursquare.

    1. Fraser

      Two different markets. We continue to think that the market for checking-in to what you’re doing (GetGlue) can be as interesting as the market for checking-in to where you’re at (Foursquare).A check-in is nothing more than context. And context in both situations enables the service to provide interesting experiences.

      1. Eric Leebow

        Very true, there are a lot of interesting ones out there to check in to what you’re doing, and have seen and tried others, yet found that GetGlue does a better job at covering a variety of topics to check into. Foursquare and GetGlue can work together, and have wondered if Foursquare would integrate GetGlue one day, that could be interesting if you could use either app for both checkins. That way someone can say “I’m drinking a coffee at a specific coffee shop” or “I’m reading a book at a specific library.” I think most people say where they are first, then what they are doing as they first arrive then they check in what they’re doing. There could be an interesting study on this. I see a bright future for checkin services.

        1. Fraser

          On the iPhone app that we just released you can post to Foursquare. Thisallows you to share what along with the where.We think that this is particularly interesting for things like movies (I’mwatching Inception at AMC), concerts (I’m listening to Tragically Hip atMSG), etc.

          1. Eric Leebow

            Yes, looking forward to the Android version. I particularly think that the real concerts and movies are where the most future innovation will be. I can see this for sporting events as well. There’s definitely much more to this equation… I’m watching Inception at AMC, eating popcorn, and thinking about Leonardo DiCaprio, there’s definitely more to it…

  14. awaldstein

    Congrats!!This must have been a hard slog in a really new space. They must have had maniacal focus.Now that we have the job openings for the companies, it’s interesting to map the 20 GetGlue job openings to this milestone..lots of PMs and marketing positions which makes sense.I’m an early adopter in the connected TV arena and must admit that the TV check in space has not drawn me in. I’m a GG user but I haven’t found the behavioral pull yet. Seems like I’m behind the adopter curve here. I want to want to do this. I’m relooking at my motivations.

    1. Fraser

      Lots of hustle to get here, but the big thing was a constant perseverance.I’ve enjoyed watching the market form from two perspectives: user adoption as the product has been refined and media company interest following said user adoption :)There’s a tonne of potential in this market – there’s a lot of value that can be provided after context is shared via the check-in: social connections, recommendations, discounts, extended content.

      1. awaldstein

        Thanks FraserI believe that all successful web platforms, including the check in space, are extension of behaviors looking for expression. When you get traction you’ve iterated that connection to create an easy avenue for that to happen.I’ve blogged a bit on this and a lot on connected TV early on. Very interested in the behaviors you tapped into and how you work with your early adopters to build to their momentum.I’m thrilled by your success…really. If you want to chat more abt it, ping me and we can grab a coffee.Again, congrats!

  15. ShanaC

    Congrats. This reminds me how I want to write my first blogpost in a while (connected tv media)

  16. bernardlunn

    Congrats Alex, richly deserved, finally getting the attention it deserves

  17. bernardlunn

    As a side note, it is interesting to me that the comments on TC on this subject add no value at all. But here we get almost a PHD level discussion of the finer nuances of Check-Ins.

    1. fredwilson

      Disqus vs FB comments

  18. Julio Alonso

    Twice, this is getting embarrassing. Please delete

  19. Julio Alonso

    Sorry, please delete.

  20. danbuell

    Congratulations to GetGlue & Union Square!

  21. Laurent Courtines

    I spoke with both Fraser and Alex regarding getglue. I found the service and wanted to be a part of it. They are hyper-focused and have caught on to something that is rarely addressed within the check-in world and that is the value it has to the location or event that is being checked into. What the check in does is give an authentic vote of confidence to the show or place. It is free advertising for the content or location.When I see something say “I’m watching #theWalkingDead” that I know I am immediately drawn in for two reasons 1. I know the person 2. They thought enough to tell me what they are watching, it must me good! Brands and content producers are lagging behind on the power of these platforms in terms of free advertising.

    1. Alex Iskold

      Thanks Laurent!