Apr 23, 2012
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TripBirds.com
The other day, you said something particularly unbelievable. To which someone replied, “Get out of town.” So now you are. But first, you need to consult some trusted advisers on where to go... Introducing Tripbirds, a site where your friends help you plan your next big trip, online now. This thing is like asking all your friends where they’ve been and how they enjoyed it. Recommendations for destinations, hotels, landmarks and things to do for the entire world, all sourced from the people you trust the most. (Also: that random guy from accounting who friended you.) You can do two things here. One: type in where you’d like to go and see if anyone you know on Facebook, Foursquare or Instagram has been there. If they have, their recommendations will be sorted for your perusal. Two: you can search by friend (you seem to remember someone talking about a good time in Thailand). It all thrives off check-ins. So let’s say you’ve got a buddy bravely rafting down the Amazon. When she stops for acarajé at that bodega in Juruti and tags it, that’ll show up here. And you’ll know to go to her when you feel like Huck Finning it through South America. You knew that log raft would pay for itself.
Tripbirds: Your Travel Agent of the 21st Century
In the article "New Site Turns Friends' Social Media Posts Into a Personal Travel Guide," by Sarah Kessler, a site called Tripbirds is gathering data to create a site that can act as a travel guide.
Tripbirds is collecting the geotagged social media posts and making them easy to access. The idea is that when you're going on a trip somewhere you can use the site to get recommendations from your friends who have been to that travel spot. You can see what they had to say about what they liked in the area and even chat them if you want some further advice on what to do, where to go, or where to stay. All this information is organized to make your trip planning experience easier.
This quote from Kessler's article explains the rational behind creating and investing in site with more personal travel-based information:
"I sort of feel that the web is going through a social transformation... Increasingly people want to get, instead of random information from people they don't know, recommendations from people who they trust."
-Ted Valentine, Tripbirds CEO
The site sounds like a great idea, however, I don't know how well it would work for everyone; this would only work and be helpful for the people who have contacts and friends that travel a lot. I'm also wondering whether or not sites like this that are based off geotagging will get caught in the middle of the privacy battle. The ability of mobile devices to track your every move has begun and I have a feeling there will be a backlash by some who feel that this kind of technology is detrimental to their rights. Overall the idea sounds great, I have a feeling Facebook will just add the travel guide capabilities to their site soon though.
New Site Turns Friends’ Social Media Posts Into a Personalized Travel Guide
As you watch via social media as your friends travel the world, a new site called Tripbirds turns their Instagram, Foursquare and Facebook posts… http://dlvr.it/1LDF1Q