Geolocation, Social Networks and User Generated Content

I really, really want to use geolocation, my social networks, and user generated content to help me have a better trips. But I haven’t been on Brightkite in at least a year and half. I’d maybe want to hang out at the most 3 out of the whopping 10 people I know on Dopplr. I didn't get enough satisfaction out of Foursquare quickly enough to get hooked.

Maybe I don’t travel enough. Maybe I need cooler, more jet setting friends. Or maybe we in the Internet industry are just talking to ourselves. If I had to bet on a horse I would put my money on TripIt. Why? Because it’s useful to me no matter how technologically backward my social circle is. No offense guys. Guys?

My Web Architect once told me to "not set out to build a community. That's the hard way of doing it. Instead, build out useful features and functionality that encourages community." Seems to me like that is TripIt's strategy and one I bet will pay off in the end.

Here's how TripIt works: you forward all your confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com and they turn them into tidy and shareable itineraries. There's of course a mobile version of the site, but the beauty of their iPhone app became apparent when I was at the Austin airport, apparently an AT&T dead zone, and was to brain dead to figure out which rental car agency I had a reservation with. Once I was in my car I used the app to get Google Maps directions to my hotel. Now if only the Google Maps app talked to me like Verizon Navigator, but that's a post/gripe for another day.

So back to the making travel better and not leaving chance encounters with friends in exotic destinations (OK, conferences) to happenstance. It's a heck of a lot more likely that I'll recommend a service to my friends becuase it's useful and thus a lot more likely that I'll know they're in Austin for SXSW and we should catch up over a drink. And if my friends never get on it, at least I'll be organized enough to have made it to the conference in the first place.

Google Place Pages and Potato Balls

On 9/24 Google announced Place Pages for Google Maps.

A Place Page is a web page for every place in the world, organizing all the relevant information about it. By every place, we really mean *every* place — there are Place Pages for businesses, points of interest, transit stations, neighborhoods, landmarks and cities all over the world.

You can get to a Place Page by clicking on "more info" in search results, or by clicking "more info" in the mini-bubble. Now, instead of just getting a slightly bigger bubble, you'll get an entire page of rich details, like photos, videos, a Street View preview, nearby transit, reviews and related websites.

- Lior Ron, Senior Product Manager, Place Page team

The real game changer, as identified by Mashable is that these pages, as opposed to the earlier pop-up bubbles, are now indexable. I'll let Mashable focus on the potential threat to Yelp! and Techcruch debate about whetter Google would give place pages preferential placement in search results).

To me the more interesting thing is how this could change a small business owner's need for a website. In some cases Place Pages do a better job than the business itself. Let's look at my beloved Porto's, in my mind, the best Cuban bakery in Los Angeles. The potato balls are outstanding and the Cuban sandwiches a steal. Umm, What was I talking about? Oh yeah, Place Pages. Porto's website is functional but fails to capture the bustling energy and is missing the prerequisite food porn photographs. Mmm... mango mousse (sorry). But that's OK, I rather these guys be working the ovens than art directing a website. But you look at Porto's Google Place Page there's user reviews, pictures (OK, maybe not food porn but better than the Porto's site and and the menu courtesy of Zagat.com (Porto's own site has it as a PDF).

Don't get me wrong, I manage a website and I know how hard it's to keep it up to date. To have something like this come up and it happens to pull out of date admission and hours of operations from Frommers is well, annoying. But even then I have to admit this is pretty darn cool.

Of course Google Place Pages won't replace a company's website (yet). But does a small mom and pop need to create a website anymore? Sure, if you want to get email lists, present your business in a certain way, etc. But if you claim your business through Google's Local Business Center you can put in all the relevant information, upload pictures, and even get metrics on the people that are clicking on your place page. If you are small business owner with no access to the Internet, Google, other sites and users will go about creating it for you.

Trip planning just got a lot more fun.

The Awkward First Post

Cocktail Party, Tokyo, Japan, 1961
Originally uploaded by takomabibelot

Welcome, to the awkward first post. Feel free to nod politely, stare of into space or excuse yourself to get a drink while I stumble through this. I’ve been searching for a creative outlet and this seemed easier than taking up watercolors.

My hope is to talk about things I like: travel, food, and geeky tech stuff. I’m imaging writing about the latest online travel tools and gadgets, throw in some (hopefully) amusing travel stories and post food porn from time to time. That’s it. I’m sure it’ll change. I hope I have enough self awareness to pull the plug if I’m just talking to myself.