social networking

TripChill builds Twitter trip notification engine

January 25, 2010 By Kevin May 2 Comments

Mobile trip itinerary assistant TripChill wants users to Tweet their way through their travels by using a new tool to notify selected friends of milestones along a journey.

The simplest execution of the service allows a member to update their Twitter account from within their mobile TripChill application, similar to other Twitter connections with a range of travel managements systems.

The more advanced – and interesting – functionality lets users create databases of Twitter friends so that they can be sent a private direct message at different points along a trip.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: social media, social networking, tripchill, twitter

WAYN looks over shoulder at FourSquare, ponders gaming strategy

January 11, 2010 By Kevin May 3 Comments

Travel social network WAYN has been through a number of incarnations over the years and is now considering a move to add gaming functionality as a result of seeing FourSquare’s early success.

WAYN completely overhauled its user interface and proposition in April 2009 as a result of a wide-ranging review of the entire business in the face of competition and growth from the likes of Facebook.

Now, co-founder Jerome Touze admits that the concept of adding some kind of gaming element into the WAYN system has become attractive following the rapid growth and broadly positive critical reaction to FourSquare in late-2009.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: facebook, foursquare, social networking, wayn

Thomas Cook comes to the aid of forgotten daddy of online social networks FriendsReunited

December 10, 2009 By Kevin May 2 Comments

European tour operating giant Thomas Cook is to provide a fully functioning travel booking system to the grandee but fallen star of web-based social networks FriendsReunited.

Thomas Cook says it will allow booking across its product range through the FR system as part of a new dedicated white label section added to the site.

Users will be protected for packages holiday and other products under the usual ABTA and ATOL agreements, FriendsReunited adds.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: friendsreunited, social networking, thomas cook

Industry First alert: group travel organising via Facebook?

December 8, 2009 By Kevin May 3 Comments

UK online travel agency OnTheBeach claims a world first today with the launch of a Facebook application to allow a customer to organise bookings for friends.

Once the BeachMate application is shared around a group of people, each member can input a unique BeachMate reference number of another person’s holiday into the service and be directed to the relevant booking page on the OTB website.

The application then aggregates friends into groups of those going on a particular trip.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: facebook, on the beach, social networking

Virgin Atlantic heads to second runway with VTravelled social network

December 2, 2009 By Kevin May 3 Comments

Virgin Atlantic is embarking on a new round of development work for its much-hyped VTravelled social network and says only after that will it focus its marketing efforts on passengers.

The site was launched in June 2009 to coincide with the 25th birthday of the airline and aimed to be a destination guide-trip planner coupled with sharing facilities for user generated content and photographs.

Virgin will not say how many people are registered with the site (“we have increased registrations by 55%”) but those listed on the site stretching from before VTravelled launched to December 2009 reach around 1,660.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: social networking, virgin atlantic

Social media – why man is beating the machine

November 26, 2009 By Siew Hoon Yeoh 5 Comments

Not a day goes by these days that we don’t get something in our mail box about social media.

If it’s not another article telling us how to incorporate it into our business strategy, it’s another webinar featuring experts in the field.

And, oh yes, it’s the most discussed topic in boardrooms.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: facebook, social media, social networking, twitter

Tnooz List: First Tweet from 50 travel companies

November 16, 2009 By Kevin May 8 Comments

Doubts continue over the long term relevancy of Twitter as a meaningful tool to promote product or engage customers – but travel firms across the world have embraced it with open arms.

So what happened when 50 of the world’s travel firms joined the Twitterati?

Find out here…

Filed Under: News Tagged With: marketing, social media, social networking, twitter

Disney Cruise Line in new/old twist on social marketing

October 7, 2009 By Dennis Schaal 3 Comments

I’m minding my own business and in pops the e-mail pitch from Disney Cruise Line. I went on a Disney Cruise last year, so the cruise line knows where to find me electronically.

Anyway, this e-mail caught my attention, given the fact that social networking and community is all the rage.

So, Disney Cruise Line is doing it the old-fashioned way — organizing house parties. Sort of like an Obama local-campaign gathering during presidential primary season. (I have no idea if Gordon Brown organized the same type of pre-election confabs.)

Filed Under: Gadgets, News Tagged With: Disney Cruise Line, house party, marketing, social networking

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