Travel-related social-networking sites have been mushrooming lately, but are they any good? Many are just smoke screens for advertising, so which ones are the best?
Let’s start with the classics, travelpod and travbuddy…
They created the world’s-greatest-ever travel game for facebook, the Traveler IQ Challenge. Ben played this for weeks on end (out of my facebook profile..refusing to get his own…probably causing most of my friends to wonder why the obsession).
The happy: nicely links photos, video and blogs with a cute little Indiana Jones-esque world map showing your route. Easy for peeps back home to subscribe, message you, and print your blogs (so someone can go read it to grandma).
The sad: You don’t have “friends’” on travelpod. And the layout’s a little bleak.
Another master of social-networking widgets. I have the “Countries Visited Map” and the “Where are you going?” applications on facebook, both of which I find very nifty. I actually wish I could link up everyone I know with the “Where are you going?” app so I could plan to meet people for the weekend when I travel.
The happy: Has almost everything travelpod has and more. You can have friends, write reviews, and even search for travel companions by destination. It will also map your blogs, which is fun. If you blog here, people can link to your stuff on other social-networking sites with those little ’share’ buttons (could be a positive or a negative, actually).
The sad: I have almost nothing negative to say about travbuddy. I do find the layout a little bleak, yet messy at the same time. But that’s just me insisting that the world be pretty.
On to the wannabes…
For people that that sign up for the unlimited “where u at?” text package on your mobile.
The happy: you can link your trip planning with your previous trip photos, blogs, etc. Usually this requires two different sites.
The sad: Tries to copy too many features that are better left to others (email, sms, and chat). It’s also a little cartoony for my tastes. I mean, why be a world traveler and build up your je ne sais quoi/James Bond mystique only to dash it with too many emoticons?
A nice girly site to start a blog on.
The happy: Simple, simple, simple. Friends can view your map, then easily access your blogs or photos about a certain location. Also, for once a blog with an aesthetic I dig.
The sad: Simple, simple, simple
Aimed at road warriors trying to keep track of other road warriors and business travelers looking for reviews they can trust.
The happy: It tells you where people you know are going. It can be used as an app for other sites like facebook.
The sad: This would be a fantastic app for sites like LinkedIn, but it isn’t… yet.
This one’s still in beta; we’ll see if it lasts. Others (like trip up) haven’t.
The happy: Very destination focused — it provides you with recommendations based on other places you liked. It also has interactive maps where you can move your cursor around to see what other travelers say about a location. TripSay is very useful if you know that you want to go to a particular country or region, but aren’t sure exactly where.
The sad: Gasp, no blog!
The winner? Travbuddy! As soon as they add a feature where you can customize your wallpaper, I’ll join…
July 7th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
You’re darn skippy you can have “friends” on TravelPod. Check out my list of “favourite travelers”. It’s on the right hand side of my profile: http://www.travelpod.com/members/starlagurl
I’ve got 96! Add me to your list and I’ll add you to mine.
Great blog, by the way, you are now officially added to my feed reader.
Louise Brown
TravelPod Community Manager
July 10th, 2008 at 6:52 am
Sorry, my bad! I didn’t realize favourite travelers were the same as friends. Thanks for the clarification for me and our readers. By the way, is travelpod comming out with any more extremely addictive games? Ben would be forever grateful….
Cheers,
Whitney at the Flashpacker