There is a part six writing back to what all is wrong and giving extensive feedback to correct anomalies in all sources referred. Great article, well written - well covered
Tom - New Evolution Designs
· 6 months ago
Pretty cool!
Lori
· 6 months ago
I would like to know what you do then, when you miss your flight, or it is late, which makes you miss your transfer, which then you miss your cruise, or international flight , etc. Who do you call on social media when your in a panic at a busy airport? Or a hurricane cancels your flight to a transfer, who do you call? Customer service is what a travel agent is all about. Does social media provide that personal customer service?
tenerife holidays
· 6 months ago
this were travel agents who use social networking can earn friends! if you help out someone in a pickle - chances are they'll use you next time.
Robert Woodside
· 6 months ago
Also check out Centrl, pretty cool location-based social network integrating bunch of these things - http://centrl.com
Crystal
· 6 months ago
Great article. You should also check out TravBuddy - a social networking site specifically for travelers. I love that site and the people there are always happy to answer questions and share their experiences. Plus it is a great way to document and share your own experiences.
Heritage Travel, Inc
· 6 months ago
Great article with lots of excellent resources - well done, Ben! The suggestions for using wikis to plan your trips are particularly interesting.
Please check out http://www.gowithapurpose.com. We'll be launching a new online community for travelers who are seeking heritage- and culture-rich experiences. It will include planning tools for discovering new sites and destinations to visit, and creating and sharing travel itineraries. Go With a Purpose is the pre-launch mini-site, where you can post reviews and photos.
cherita
· 6 months ago
Just make sure that when your vacation is all set to go, you don't tweet the exact details of when your house will be empty... Note to Self: Don't Tweet Vacation Plans http://bit.ly/1agjuM
Luiz
· 6 months ago
O Mashable é interessante que postagem grande legal só tendo conteúdo enorme mesmo.
Andy
· 6 months ago
http://opentravel.com cool new startup in which we can describe their journeys and add photos
Jurgen Estanislao
· 6 months ago
Damn! Two thumbs up! This is one holistic travel help article. :D
Well, as much as these tools are waaaay very helpful to tech savvy people, is there something out there that can cater to those "no-time-to-spare" busy-nessmen? I mean amidst their busy schedule and business travel itineraries, how do they find relaxation or adventure?
Perhaps they need a personalized bespoke itinerary or travel plan? Just so they can slide in some good stops and workarounds with their schedules. :D
Cheers!
Charlie
· 6 months ago
The primary premise of the piece is flawed, calling the remainder into question. To slavishly make a decision on opinions of others rather than having a professional learn about YOU and what YOU expect and what YOU like and YOU don't like sounds like an ill-conceived plan.
I could do enough reserach on socail media to perform an appendectomy on... Read More myself, I suppose, but I think I'll stick to a surgeon. A similar analogy - There might be dozens of glowing reviews on the Smart car, but if I need a 7 passenger van to carry family, I would be better served to use MY judgement, not social media opinion. In like fashion though, consumer service experience with a Smart would be useful if I had decided I wanted to buy a small car.
Lori
· 6 months ago
There are experienced travel agents and counsellors who can take care of those details for him and be of assistance if something goes wrong in hes travels.
lisa vela danna
· 6 months ago
Dear Mashable, Story here in Dallas Fort Worth a few days ago about a guy tweeting his vaca plans to 2K friends... Surprise! He was robbed.
socialnerdia
· 6 months ago
Lol. Where did the story run? Dallas Morning News maybe?
By the way, great post Ben. Very timely as I'm going on vacation next weekend. Won't say where to though so I don't get robbed.
cherita
· 6 months ago
Here's the story and the link again... Note to Self: Don't Tweet Vacation Plans http://bit.ly/1agjuM
janetengel
· 6 months ago
Curious how you feel the retail travel agent fits into this mix of social media-- What would they need to be doing to capture your attention and remain an integral part of vacation planning?
feedback appreciated!
Brian Beehler
· 6 months ago
Great post Ben as usual...
I think using social media to book your next vacation is a great way to reach out to other people who actually went to locations that you may be interested. For me review sites are ok but if I could actually to speak to someone in real-time that would help me make a better decision as to where I would like to go. Its marketing 101 - word of mouth sells - and social media offers just that!
Ben the amount I see you write it may be time for you to take a vacation...keep up the great work!
For documenting and sharing your trip, pls check out our geo-social service called www.mygeodiary.com. Users record, annotate, organize and share their adventures using a variety of GPS device. Users can publish their tracks into any blog, geotag photos on FLickr, lookup trips using simple location-based search etc.
techsupport
· 6 months ago
One of the best ways to get good information is to read the insight provided by others. This is where social media can play a vital role to getting the best information possible.
Michele
· 6 months ago
Hi, I also recommend: 1) Witur.com which is also offering a mobile application for I-phones (witur.com/mobile) with very detailled city tours from other users i.e. Barcellona by walking that can be downloaded. 2) Zoover.com, an alternative to TripAdvisor with hotel and destination reviews. Interesting particularly for those looking for camping sites in Europe although it's not only about it and 3) whereuwant.com to keep up with a very detailed travel diary (there is not much content yet as it has been launched few months ago).
kempes
· 6 months ago
Thanks Ben. This is a great article. I just across this site which might help those planning for holiday in Africa
kempes
· 6 months ago
Great work Ben. I just came across the site http://megtraveloffers.com which might be interesting for those who love tours to africa (experience the Big 5)
ianapplegate
· 6 months ago
Nice post, but should definitely have lonely planet on there!
Marion
· 6 months ago
Great article! I think PlanetEye is also a pretty cool website for trip planning and travel reviews.
Rich Tucker
· 6 months ago
Great article, but I do believe that you completely missed out on the fact that individuals booking vacations have the ability to take advantage of industry "experts" real time who make themselves available through Twitter and Blogs. One of my favorite aspects of Social Media is the accessibility of industry or topic experts, whether it is Stocks, Dog Training, Scuba, etc. Travel is one where I would fully recommend searching out one of those experts on Twitter.
I run the @CruiseSource account on twitter and give advice all the time to people who are booking their cruises through other agencies. Ask me Cruise Question, I'll answer it.
While researching cruise vacations there are Trusted Cruise Professionals on Twitter offering free advice, posting real-time prices drops, engaging in conversation, and who are available for questions almost 12 hours day like @CruiseSource the winner of the Shorty Award for the best travel content on Twitter in 2008. If I give you bad cruise advice on Twitter you know where to find me, I'm not going anywhere, and I am definitely not anonymous. I also have 2 years worth of original Cruise-Related content at http://CruiseSource.us .
Mary
· 6 months ago
How about wayn.com? I have several friends who have used it and seem to like it a lot! They relaunched the site in April and it has some great features such as "plans" where users can connect to each other based on the dates they will be at a certain destination. If WAYN got a lot of criticism before the relaunch about the site being exhausted with information and having a mediocre layout, it seems that it has improved a lot since then?! What do you think?
Natty Zola
· 6 months ago
Great post Ben. I'm working on a project addressing #4 called Everlater. If anyone is interested in testing it out and providing feedback, sign up for an alpha code at http://www.everlater.com. We're looking for people who love traveling and passionate about improving the travel experience online. Cheers!
hauteroute
· 6 months ago
Readers of this posting may also be interested in NileGuide (http://www.nileguide.com). The site is like a virtual concierge and provides personalized travel recommendations, integrated planning and booking tools, and a free customized downloadable guide to go.
Nicole Gustas
· 6 months ago
Don't forget the various travel organizations on Twitter! For example, the city of Portland has a "twisitors center," which is a bunch of locals who will answer questions and give advice for anything with the hash tag #inpdx. You can find other Twisitors Centers here: http://twisitorcenter.com/
And if you're coming to Monterey, Big Sur, Carmel, or other places in Monterey County, you should definitely follow and message our Twitter account, @SeeMonterey. :-)
GoDaddy
· 6 months ago
Another social networking/media site for saving money on Priceline hotels is BidLessTravel (http://www.bidlesstravel.com). I do all my Priceline bidding research there to guage how much others are bidding, so I don't leave a lot of money on the table for Priceline to take.
Dan Durbeck
· 6 months ago
zhiing is not just about connecting people with people on your trip. Prior to leaving, download the IE or firefox app plug ins, search for points of interest (POI) and send them to your smartphone inbox. Once you arrive at your destination, select a POI and receive turn by turn directions from your current location to the POI. From there find your next POI and do the same. Take the stress out of finding what you like whenever you like. Great trip planning all for free.
spryka
· 6 months ago
The greatest benefit of Facebook is that it has many groups on the site that you can join. So if you are interested in Chicago Cubs you can research Chicago Cubs in the groups section and you will be able to find friends on there that like the Cubs. This is just one example, I know that you can join groups of your favorite football team, television show, or whatever you want for the most part! If you can't find a group for your interest, you can simply create one!
Hey Ben, you forgot to mention TravelPod.com under the "documenting and sharing" section, how come?
Keith Jenkins
· 6 months ago
That's a great article. Well done & thanks for sharing the tips. I frequently use TripAdvisor, WhereIveBeen & TravelPod to plan/research my trips. In addition, Twitter has proven to be an amazing travel resource as well. Via Twitter, I've found so many more resources like @BrilliantTips @traveldudes & @solotraveler in addition to the multitude of local resources - I've compiled a list of Twitter travel tweeps which may be helpful ( http://tinyurl.com/dd3msw ).
Best regards, Keith
Hawaiian Cruise
· 6 months ago
I enjoyed reading your posts. It's very informative. Will definitely come back.
Kate
· 6 months ago
Great article Ben! I especially appreciate the idea in the "Planning and Organizing" that planning a vacation can be a collaborative process with your fellow travellers. Getting everyone's input before you leave can help work out expectations at home instead of wasting time while on vacation. Another simple tool to use for this is Office Live Workspace from Microsoft. You and your travel group can create lists, event calendars, and documents together easily.
Hey Ben! As usual a crisp article and one that is more informative for most of us social media geeks! I make it a point to first research my locations and options before venturing out on vacations. And believe me, it helps a lot!
Allison Davis
· 6 months ago
Make sure to try out CitySpur.com to find the best that a city has to offer.
MagnoliaSouth
· 5 months ago
Social web isn't just for large groups planning trips. You also don't need a wiki to plan. Most of the social traveling sites allow you to add attractions, lodging, etc. to an itinerary, so you're not limited to having to create a wiki. You can usually share those and collaborate with others on it, thus eliminating Google Docs, Wiki's multiple sites..
Personally, I'd prefer a good review on social travel sites like tripadvisor (which I wouldn't recommend to anyone because they have intrusive ads, their pages are all mucked up with even more ads, their trip planning stinks, their forums are lousy and they have a gosh awful help system), Geckogo, IgoUgo, GoPlanIt, VirtualTourist, etc. There are tons out there and they all are trying to do basically the same thing. The one with the best features can eliminate most of the sites you're recommending and make planning much easier than you're suggesting. Yes, you should check twice, but really what people need to know is not just about the attractions, but how to get around (subways, taxis, etc.) how much the average cost is and so forth.
Just some thoughts is all.
Sergey
· 3 months ago
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armando
· 5 months ago
Excellent way to fins out local secrets to check city pages on facebook and ask the locals.
armando
· 5 months ago
Excellent way to fins out local secrets to check city pages on facebook and ask the locals.
and... you can use your social media skills wile traveling for GOOD! Our projects/trips are designed for soc media junkies, wonderlust-ers and content making machines to work those gifts and help people all along the way:
SalaamGarage is a citizen journalism organization that partners with International NGOs and local non-profits. Participants (amateur and professional photographers, writers, videographers, etc.) connect with international NGOs, create and share independent media projects that raise awareness and cause positive change in their online and offline social communities.
and... you can use your social media skills wile traveling for GOOD! Our projects/trips are designed for soc media junkies, wonderlust-ers and content making machines to work those gifts and help people all along the way:
SalaamGarage is a citizen journalism organization that partners with International NGOs and local non-profits. Participants (amateur and professional photographers, writers, videographers, etc.) connect with international NGOs, create and share independent media projects that raise awareness and cause positive change in their online and offline social communities.
and... you can use your social media skills while traveling for GOOD! Our projects/trips are designed for soc media junkies, wonderlust-ers and content making machines to work those gifts and help people all along the way:
SalaamGarage is a citizen journalism organization that partners with International NGOs and local non-profits. Participants (amateur and professional photographers, writers, videographers, etc.) connect with international NGOs, create and share independent media projects that raise awareness and cause positive change in their online and offline social communities.
With the advent of social media and the proliferation of user generated content, it's little wonder people are turning to the networks to help plan their holiday time, to be quite honest. Look at how many re-tweets this article has got, for example.
Our company has been promoting a short break competition using Twitter, Flickr and YouTube. Entrants stand a chance of winning a lovely holiday to Rio or travel vouchers. All you need to do is Tweet, tag a picture or video with "nanolog" about a recent short holiday you've been on, and you'll be entered into the pool to win. Check it out: http://www.hotels.co.uk/hotel-deals/nanobreak
Lisbon Serviced Apartments
· 4 months ago
Interesting!
Everyone loves going to a vacation. It is a good activity or bonding with family and friends. It is very to check on the things you need to bring. Start with the most useful like clothes, toiletries and stuff you need. Select a vacation bag that is comfortable for your belongings and also comfortable for you to bring.
Adam Steiss
· 4 months ago
Very useful article. Collaborative city guides like ourfaves.com, which is based in Toronto, allow people to search for hyperlocal niche content, like 'spa day,' 'downtown hotels,' or 'best French fries,' so travellers can get real-time recommendations, and share their city experiences with other like-minded reviewers. http://ourfaves.com/
Ben, this is a super-helpful list. Your readers may also be interested in NileGuide (http://www.nileguide.com/), which provides personalized trip planning, along with great social tools like sharing and collaboration.
VegasClub
· 4 months ago
Good advice. Do your homework, but there is a point where people can save you time. Checkout my link. Thanks.
Calvin
· 4 months ago
A great post and one that i plan on using to help me with my trip! I am actually in the planning stages of a trip across america and basically had no idea where to start as there are just too many things on the web to look at. I needed a good summary to work from like this! Well done! If you want you can follow my journey at http://onefreetrip.wordpress.com
Jeanne Mirisola
· 4 months ago
I found your article very interesting and informative. You mention a lot of great sites for research, etc.... One thing you failed to mention though, is the tremendous value the services of a travel professional can add to the mix, especially in the research and planning stages of your vacation. Their knowledge and experience can save you a lot of time and money. Visit my website at http://www.allcruises.net/site/six+mistakes+you... and learn the 6 mistakes you can avoid by choosing a Cruise & Tour Specialist.
tugla
· 4 months ago
great thank you
Cool Springs
· 4 months ago
Great article! Funny several people have contacted me through Twitter posts Ive made, who are visiting or interested in traveling to the Cool Springs area. Mostly they are looking for restaurant suggestions in Nashville or other activities in Franklin or Brentwood Tennessee. I enjoy sharing with total strangers my favorite places to eat or the "local stuff to do" not always found in the travel guide books.
Sergey
· 3 months ago
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Virtual Miss Friday
· 3 months ago
Great collection of tools and very informative. I personally would like to try out MapsBuddy on my iPhone.
Computer Support
· 3 months ago
Great article. You should also check out TravBuddy - a social networking site specifically for travelers.
Computer Support
· 3 months ago
Great article. You should also check out TravBuddy - a social networking site specifically for travelers.
nikeairmax
· 3 months ago
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nikeairmax
· 3 months ago
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speaker cable
· 2 months ago
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All Comments
Please check out http://www.gowithapurpose.com. We'll be launching a new online community for travelers who are seeking heritage- and culture-rich experiences. It will include planning tools for discovering new sites and destinations to visit, and creating and sharing travel itineraries. Go With a Purpose is the pre-launch mini-site, where you can post reviews and photos.
Well, as much as these tools are waaaay very helpful to tech savvy people, is there something out there that can cater to those "no-time-to-spare" busy-nessmen? I mean amidst their busy schedule and business travel itineraries, how do they find relaxation or adventure?
Perhaps they need a personalized bespoke itinerary or travel plan? Just so they can slide in some good stops and workarounds with their schedules. :D
Cheers!
I could do enough reserach on socail media to perform an appendectomy on... Read More myself, I suppose, but I think I'll stick to a surgeon. A similar analogy - There might be dozens of glowing reviews on the Smart car, but if I need a 7 passenger van to carry family, I would be better served to use MY judgement, not social media opinion. In like fashion though, consumer service experience with a Smart would be useful if I had decided I wanted to buy a small car.
Story here in Dallas Fort Worth a few days ago about a guy tweeting his vaca plans to 2K friends... Surprise! He was robbed.
By the way, great post Ben. Very timely as I'm going on vacation next weekend. Won't say where to though so I don't get robbed.
feedback appreciated!
I think using social media to book your next vacation is a great way to reach out to other people who actually went to locations that you may be interested. For me review sites are ok but if I could actually to speak to someone in real-time that would help me make a better decision as to where I would like to go. Its marketing 101 - word of mouth sells - and social media offers just that!
Ben the amount I see you write it may be time for you to take a vacation...keep up the great work!
http://brianbeehler.com - making the connection!
That would be your travel professional.
http://www.frommers.com/blog/?plckController=Bl...
1) Witur.com which is also offering a mobile application for I-phones (witur.com/mobile) with very detailled city tours from other users i.e. Barcellona by walking that can be downloaded.
2) Zoover.com, an alternative to TripAdvisor with hotel and destination reviews. Interesting particularly for those looking for camping sites in Europe although it's not only about it and
3) whereuwant.com to keep up with a very detailed travel diary (there is not much content yet as it has been launched few months ago).
I run the @CruiseSource account on twitter and give advice all the time to people who are booking their cruises through other agencies. Ask me Cruise Question, I'll answer it.
While researching cruise vacations there are Trusted Cruise Professionals on Twitter offering free advice, posting real-time prices drops, engaging in conversation, and who are available for questions almost 12 hours day like @CruiseSource the winner of the Shorty Award for the best travel content on Twitter in 2008. If I give you bad cruise advice on Twitter you know where to find me, I'm not going anywhere, and I am definitely not anonymous. I also have 2 years worth of original Cruise-Related content at http://CruiseSource.us .
And if you're coming to Monterey, Big Sur, Carmel, or other places in Monterey County, you should definitely follow and message our Twitter account, @SeeMonterey. :-)
James
http://EmailCharger.com
Best regards,
Keith
Cheers,
Kate
MSFT Office Live Outreach Team
www.officelive.com
Personally, I'd prefer a good review on social travel sites like tripadvisor (which I wouldn't recommend to anyone because they have intrusive ads, their pages are all mucked up with even more ads, their trip planning stinks, their forums are lousy and they have a gosh awful help system), Geckogo, IgoUgo, GoPlanIt, VirtualTourist, etc. There are tons out there and they all are trying to do basically the same thing. The one with the best features can eliminate most of the sites you're recommending and make planning much easier than you're suggesting. Yes, you should check twice, but really what people need to know is not just about the attractions, but how to get around (subways, taxis, etc.) how much the average cost is and so forth.
Just some thoughts is all.
example www.facebook.com/queretaro
www.facebook.com/puertodeacapulco
example www.facebook.com/queretaro
www.facebook.com/puertodeacapulco
example www.facebook.com/queretaro
www.facebook.com/puertodeacapulco
example www.facebook.com/queretaro
www.facebook.com/puertodeacapulco
SalaamGarage is a citizen journalism organization that partners with International NGOs and local non-profits. Participants (amateur and professional photographers, writers, videographers, etc.) connect with international NGOs, create and share independent media projects that raise awareness and cause positive change in their online and offline social communities.
We are the media now. Join us.
http://www.salaamgarage.com
SalaamGarage is a citizen journalism organization that partners with International NGOs and local non-profits. Participants (amateur and professional photographers, writers, videographers, etc.) connect with international NGOs, create and share independent media projects that raise awareness and cause positive change in their online and offline social communities.
We are the media now. Join us.
http://www.salaamgarage.com
SalaamGarage is a citizen journalism organization that partners with International NGOs and local non-profits. Participants (amateur and professional photographers, writers, videographers, etc.) connect with international NGOs, create and share independent media projects that raise awareness and cause positive change in their online and offline social communities.
We are the media now. Join us.
http://www.salaamgarage.com
Our company has been promoting a short break competition using Twitter, Flickr and YouTube. Entrants stand a chance of winning a lovely holiday to Rio or travel vouchers. All you need to do is Tweet, tag a picture or video with "nanolog" about a recent short holiday you've been on, and you'll be entered into the pool to win. Check it out: http://www.hotels.co.uk/hotel-deals/nanobreak
Everyone loves going to a vacation. It is a good activity or bonding with family and friends. It is very to check on the things you need to bring. Start with the most useful like clothes, toiletries and stuff you need. Select a vacation bag that is comfortable for your belongings and also comfortable for you to bring.
http://ourfaves.com/
Thanks for sharing...
___________________
Andrew
The Best PRICE for the BEST ENTERTAINMENT
Thanks for sharing...
___________________
Andrew
The Best PRICE for the BEST ENTERTAINMENT
http://megatraveloffers.com/
Rgds
Kiev apartments We wait for you in Kiev and are ready to render necessary services. The blog probably very good tool when is necessary for telling it about itself or about the business.
Actually might I got new places to visit.Simply thats a good idea appreciate it lol.