Summer is fast approaching and I already can’t wait to have some rest. Of course, the social media geek inside me made me get prepared for my upcoming vacation the web 2.0 way: by looking through available travel social media networks and seeing what they have to offer. So here are my personal picks:
Best Social Voting Site: BestTravelDeals
BestTravelDeals lets users share travel deals and vote for most useful of them.
Best City Page: Dopplr.com
Dopplr.com has a strong focus on city profiles. The information provided for each city is really helpful and to-the-point:
- Map;
- Places to stay;
- Places to eat;
- QA section for members to help each other.
Check out this page for example:
Best Profile Pages: Driftr.com
Driftr.com is a feature-rich travel community that is a pleasure to browse: everything seems to be where it belongs (not always SEO-friendly though but that’s not the point).
Profile pages are not overloaded with elements but look beautiful – what you’ll see there:
- the member’s traveling map (places he has been to, places he plans to visit, places he wants to go to);
- the person’s slideshow on each destination he visited;
- brief traveler’s stats (photos, places visited, reviews);
- person’s friends.
Best Social Features: TripSay
TripSay groups feature seems to be the bets way to unite various (virtual) travelers around common interest. Groups allows uses to:
- Exchange experience and opinions on one topic;
- Find travel buddies based in some common interest;
- Give members ideas on where else to go and what to visit.
Example: breath-taking places:
Most Active Forum: Thorn Tree
Thorn Tree spots very simplistic interface but overwhelming number of areas covered and posts added daily.
Apart from area-related forums, you can also find here general topics like “health”, biking, traveling with kids, etc.
Disclaimer: I understand, the features I listed above are objective, so the site reviews in this post only represent my personal opinion. Please list your favorites in the comments!
Thanks Ann … excellent niche social network compilation!
Just want to add, BestTravelDeals is a dofollow network … Good for SERP ;)
Thanks for the list.
It would be awesome if you can review TripnTale (http://www.tripntale.com) – a site to showcase where you have traveled with maps, photos, videos and journals
Thanks Ann,
I just did a Tweet and included the BestTravelDeals link.
Tom
Travel agencies and accommodations should definitely be taking action on these websites.
Ann, what do you think reaps the most SEO benefit out of these websites?
For all the travel enthusiasts in Europe, take a look at http://www.joobili.com. They were recently featured on Mashable.com and have won a few recent awards in Europe. Their mantra is: You say when, we say where.
In forums, the Fodor’s forum provides a place for the more , ahem, ” mature” traveler. While it is still about independent traveler, it is people mostly past the hostel stage of travel.
You may be also interestes to http://www.tratoz.com that summarize links to best travel ressources available on the web by destination (Rome, Paris, London etc ) or by topics (Family travel, cruises etc)
hey, its good information
@Vera
We love Fodors! But just to clear up a misconception, the majority of our Thorn Tree members are middle aged or older travellers. The independent spirit is ageless, of course :)
Thanks for the hat tip Ann, we appreciate it!
Venessa
Community Manager
Lonely Planet
For a Southeast Asia-specific flavour, try Travelfish http://www.travelfish.org — they rock.
thanks a lot for this useful list. I am checking tripsay.com right away. I also find the joobili.com concept very interesting.
But with the plethora of travel 2.0 sites, it’s becoming hard for people promoting a destination to “target” which social networks should they be in …
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, all the while avoiding tourist trap restaurants and roach motels.
http://ourfaves.com/