First, a participant created a Foursquare check-in for Twilight Camp, and everyone with access to the program made their presence known. This launched a comparison of Gowalla to Foursquare.

• Gowalla has a better iPad application (Foursquare just has the iPhone app, which you can zoom in on for the iPad’s bigger screen)
• But the Gowalla app is apparently pretty buggy.
• On the other hand, Gowalla has sweet prizes to collect and trade, adding another fun element to the GPS check-in.
• Of course, the main pro for Foursquare is the participation: it has about 5 times as many users as Gowalla, and is growing much faster.
• More businesses are interacting with Foursquare. Apparently, if you show the cashier at American Eagle that you checked into their location, you can get 15% off your purchase through July 31!

On to iPad apps! And we got a few great recommendations. Starting with Twitter apps, Tweetdeck is of course very popular, but one of our participants had to tout the superiority of HelTweetica. A very pretty interface and the ability to activate a Twitter screensaver are two of this programs nicest features. Definitely worth checking out.

For anyone looking for a great journaling application for the iPad, our friend Andy swears by MaxJournal for $2.99. He downloaded 3 other journal apps, ranging from $0 to $10, and he said this one was by far the best.

The prize-winning iPad app, though, had to be Uzu, a $3 app that puts thousands of particles at your command. With multi-touch kinetic response, you can create a swirling vortex of phenomenal cosmic power the likes of which genie-Jafar has never seen! For the key to that dork Disney reference, skip to minute 3 here. But it’s like that. Only, on an iPad. Apparently, it’s a great stress-reliever/mind-clearer.

The iPad has been a huge success for Apple. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for their most recent iPhone. Much of Twilight Camp was spent in speculation of what Apple should do. Of course, today, we all found out what they are, in fact, giving out free bumpers (and refunds for already purchased bumpers) to all iPhone 4 users, and offering a full refund to those who are still unsatisfied and want to return their device. Oh, the drama.

Those on the Android side of things can simply lean back and chat up the latest apps (as they hold their phones just as they please, of course). Once again, the Advanced Task Killer is ranked as the number one battery saving app of them all. Also mentioned as highly wonderful were Doubletwist (media app), Launcher Pro (an alternate homescreen app), and, just for fun, Retro Camera.

A few other interesting topics that were tossed out onto the table…

• Jigsaw.com is “The world’s largest database of up-to-date, downloadable, & complete contact information.”
• Searching #tcot in Twitter makes for some interesting political debate material.
• Viral videos, especially the Double Rainbow, and of course, the EPIC Old Spice commercials.

Lastly, there were two big issues discussed that we at the Social Expedition will be watching here over the next while. First, we speculated on the complexity of internet anonymity, particularly on forums and comment sections for newspapers. In some ways, the option of anonymity offers users a chance to say what perhaps could not otherwise be said. Especially in the case of countries where dissent is a punishment, anonymity gives a voice to those who would otherwise be unable to bring their opinions to light. On the other hand, you run the risk of receiving a multitude of inappropriate, off-topic, or radical comments. What do you think? Should anonymity remain?

And secondly, we are growing concerned over the lack of conversation happening on Twitter. Maybe DMing has become more prevalent than replying, but we’ve noticed a definite drop in the number of interactive tweets. It seems more like Twitter is becoming a giant billboard, and we definitely don’t want to see that happen. Let us know what you think in a comment, or better yet, tweet it to @smexpedition, and we’ll start a Twitter conversation!

Tags | Advanced Task Killer, Android, anonymity, Apple, conversation, davis kidd, DoubleTwist, FourSquare, glitch, GoWalla, HelTweetica, iPad, iPhone, Jigaw.com, July Twilight Camp, Launcher Pro, MaxJournal, Old Spice, Retro Camera, technology, Tweetdeck, Twitter, Usu