Once upon a time, when a relative or family friend would go on vacation, there was the dreaded slideshow. You know, that old machine that projected images on the wall while you sat there for hours listening to their boring vacation stories. Thankfully, we’ve gotten far away from that! Now all you have to do is upload your photos on Facebook for your friends and family to see what you did while you were on vacation. But for the intrepid traveler in all of us, there’s more out there than just uploading pictures to Facebook. What about sharing tips of where to go, where to eat, what to see? What about sharing travel itineraries with friends and colleagues? Thankfully, as social media continues to grow, so do the sites made available for sharing your travel tips with not just friends and family, but the world.
Gtrot
One of my favorites that I discovered at NYxSW earlier this year is called Gtrot. One of my favorite aspects is the ability to track every country and city in the world you’ve been to, so you can show off your travel portfolio to friends and connections. But besides that, Gtrot allows you to add and share information about upcoming and past trips, and by connecting through your Facebook account, allows you to tag your friends in trips as well. This helps by allowing you to share travel information between one another prior to your trip. After taking your trip, you can leave tips about where you’ve been to share with friends and family. This way, if anyone asks you what you suggest they do on their next trip abroad, you can point them to your previous trips on Gtrot for all the little details!
My Travel Portfolio: Clearly I need to see more of Asia… Australia, Africa and South America!
Dopplr
Dopplr is another great tool when it comes to social traveling, allowing you to share tips with everyone on the site. Let’s say you’re taking a trip for the first time to Rome. You know what the guide book tells you, but what little places did other people find when they went there? Where do people who frequently travel to Rome suggest going for a nice dinner out?
Once you’ve taken that amazing vacation of yours, you can start uploading information to share with others. You can share photos through your Flickr account, check off suggested items that you did or places you stayed and even participate in a Q&A, giving others suggestions on things they’re looking to do for their upcoming trip.
After a recent trip to Liverpool, I shared my thoughts on places to explore for others looking to visit the area
Postagram
Sure, sending mom a postcard of your travels is nice. But don’t you think she’d love to get a postcard of you on your travels? Instagram has become one of the most popular photo sharing apps out there, and now you can take those photos (as well as iPhone and Facebook photos) and turn them into a postcard. For only 99c, the cost of maybe four, let’s face it, dated postcards, you can send a personalized
Postagram home to the family so they can see what YOU have been up to on your vacation.
Stay Connected as You Travel the World
As social media continues to grow, more and more sites will continue to pop up allowing you to share your travel information with friends and family. Which site is your favorite to share travel information on? Are you devoted to Facebook, or have you branched out to share in other ways? Share your favorites in the comments below and keep reading our blog for more exciting ways to stay social while traveling!
