Media AWAKEN

Hungry for Travel? Check out tripwolf!-an online social travel guide

tripwolf is an online social travel guide and my newest client! I know I said I work with nonprofits, but these guys are so cool I couldn’t resist (and we all know I’m a sucker for traveling!).

tripwolf pairs the knowledge of a conventional travel guide with the power of social networking. The foundation of the content on the site comes from MairDumont – Europe’s largest travel guide publisher. But that is where convention and “old school” ends. tripwolf acts almost like a wiki, where the users can upload their own content- reviews, pictures, even videos! The site grabs content from wikipedia, flickr and youtube to further flush out the experience. Check out their guide to NYC to see what I mean!

But all that is basic. There are a ton of travel sites out there that do similar things. But here are a few things that for me really made me appreciate this platform: trip gurus and custom printable guides.

Trip gurus are self identified experts for a certain area: I’m a trip guru for Pondicherry in southern India – the city closest to where I lived in India. If there are multiple gurus for a specific location, a lead guru is identified. This is based on how many people that guru has helped.

What is the point of a trip guru? Who better to ask about a location than someone who has been there (more than once)? Instead of only knowing what you can find written down in a book or somewhere in the interwebs, you are given access to a real human being to answer your questions!

Next time you take a trip, ditch the heavy travel guide. With tripwolf’s printable travel guide, you can compile one of your very own using peer reviews, advice, photos and videos to inform your choices. When you come across info that is interesting to you, drag and drop it in your scrapbook. When you’ve got all the guidance you need, print it, throw it in your bag, and sigh with relief that your backpack is 5lbs lighter than your last trip!

If all that weren’t enough, tripwolf helps you get social! You can write a blog during your adventures, connect up with fellow travelers, suggest location to your friends and share your stories and advice in the forums: going to Peru? Worried about getting your stuff stolen? Check out my advice on travel safety on buses in Peru! (change this info to be something someone else wrote….)

So, check it out! (did I mention that the made it really easy to sign up?! All you need is your Facebook login info to create an account – it will even pull info from your FB account to populate your tripwolf profile!) and let me know what you think!