Hookupmaps, for convenient lovin’

by Annie Scott on

So, I just went to hookupmaps.com, X’d out of the pop ups, clicked on my area of Manhattan, and to the right is a screenshot of what I found.

Minimal travelin’, maximal lovin’. Hookupmaps has intergrated Craigslist’s Personals section and Google Maps. At last…or something.

The possibilities are endless and totally appalling. I mean…“throat slut for hotel visitor?” Really.

“Where are all the nice women?“
Where are all the nice women? The type who seek a serious relationship? Women that want to be treated with respect? I am looking for a long term, committed relationship. I am not interested in NSA or someone who plays mind games. I am honest, hard working, drama free, fun… searching for an awesome woman. Send me an email and we can see how things go. Worst case is that you meet someone new.
Peace
–36, Male

Dear “Where are all the nice women,”
Not reading the Craigslist personals section. Except this once.
Sincerely, Annie (nice woman)
P.S. Desperation is hot. Call me.

Microsoft and Travelport Make Travel Services Dream Team

by Josh Lew on

Microsoft has collaborated with the travel technology company Travelport before. The two giants of their respective industries teamed up to create the pricing system that was first used on Expedia and is now used by all of Travelport’s clients. Think Microsoft’s profit power has been impressive for the past couple of decades? What about Travelport? The company flies below the radar in terms of brand recognition, but their searching and processing services are used by more than 63,000 travel agencies per day.

A new deal inked by Microsoft and Travelport would expand the alliance. The two giants would work on a comprehensive set of tools and services for travelers, travel agencies and internet ticket booking sites. Theoretically, at this point anyway, the development of better price searching technology could lead to lower travel costs for travelers and more chances for profit from travel agencies.

Microsoft exec Geoff Cairns had big things to sat about the relationship with Travelport:
“In bringing together Microsoft’s rich, interactive technologies with Travelport’s deep marketplace of travel content and informed choice, we are creating a completely innovative solution for the travel industry. This will improve the traveller experience with a new level of personalization and change how suppliers, TMCs, and OTAs reach travellers.” Too good to be true? Time will tell.

2008 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award Winners

by Abha Malpani on


The 2008 Society of American Travel Writers Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition recently announced its winners. In its 24th year running, the competition attracted 1,356 entries in 24 categories from which 81 winners were selected. The competition, named after American writer and traveler Lowell Thomas, is today considered to be one of the most prestigious awards in the world of travel journalism. The entries were judged by members of the Missouri School of Journalism Faculty.

National Geographic and the Boston Globe took most of the awards, and freelance writer/photographer Christopher P. Baker won the Lowell Thomas travel journalist of the year. Other than him, and bronze winner of the same category — Sarah Wildman, all other winners are part of established travel titles such as the Miami Herald, the Chicago Tribune, the Globe and Mail, the New York Times, and a bunch of other American news titles.

You can find the list of gold winners with relevant links to their stories at the LA Times Daily Deal travel blog; the LA Times won a gold for the best travel section. A list of all the winners (gold, silver, and bronze, across all categories can be found on the Society of American Travel Writers website.

So, if you’re looking to read some good travel-writing, spend some time going through the links of the winners. The full list of winners has the titles of the winning stories so you can dig them up to read. I thought I would go through them all and give you my top three, but there are just too many good ones! Perhaps a good time-spend idea for a Sunday afternoon.

MeetWays finds your halfway point

by Meg Massie on

You are visiting Washington, DC. Your best friend just moved to Baltimore. You have a free afternoon and want to get together, but neither of you knows much about the area — except that getting from one city to the other is a giant pain in the butt. That’s where MeetWays comes in handy.

This new website lets you plug in two addresses (or just ZIP codes) and it finds the halfway point for you. Even better, it can find specific points of interest near that halfway point, like a pizza place or a movie theater, so you can figure out the perfect place to meet up when you and your friend are coming from different directions.

Using the example above, if I say that I’m in DC and I want to meet my friend from Baltimore to go shopping, I type in the two addresses and “mall” in the Point of Interest field, and it gives me directions to four different shopping centers in Laurel, MD.

MeetWays is a nifty little tool that can definitely help you save time and avoid stress in your social calendar. You don’t even have to be in different cities for it to be useful. So many people only know their own little neighborhood hangouts, so MeetWays could be good for folks with cross-town friends, too.

Which airlines let you watch porn?

by Mike Barish on

Last month, fellow Gadling blogger Grant Martin wrote about airlines filtering in-flight wireless content. Now MSNBC has an article on exactly which airlines are filtering adult content. So, who is letting you join the mile high club alone?

Well, if you are flying on American or Delta, be prepared to pack your own copy of Juggs, because they have asked their wireless provider, AirCell, to filter adult content. Coincidentally, these are two of my least favorite airlines to fly. Southwest is currently testing the use of in-flight wi-fi and their partner, Row 44, will also be filtering content. You’re now free to move about the country. But not your own genitals.

Air Canada will begin offering wireless next spring and their spokesman said that it is too early to comment on filtering. Their fellow hosers at Alaska Airlines have no immediate plans to filter content but will include “a few key bullets in the terms of service area” that will outline what they mean by “appropriate use.” That sounds hot.

Meanwhile, those rebels over at Virgin America have no plans to filter their wireless access. And they also do not filter their seatback touch-screen entertainment. It’s basically a flying peepshow. Kudos to you, Sir Richard Branson. I’d give you a high five, but I think I know where your hand has been.

So there you have it. Armed with this knowledge, your laptop and a 3 oz. container of hand lotion, you are now prepared to indulge in whatever internet habits you deem appropriate while crammed inside a flying tube. Remember: The only safe travel is self travel.