Collect And Share Travel Experiences With AFAR

by Meg Nesterov on

Pinterest became the hottest social network this year, with millions using the site to collect and search for recipes, design ideas and inspirational quotes. Many travelers have used Pinterest for planning and sharing trips, tips and destinations (you can find Gadling here). Now Afar.com, the website and community behind AFAR magazine, has introduced a new feature to curate travel experiences, chronicle favorite destinations and discover new places in a way that’s Pinterest-like in ease of use and appealing interface but designed just for travelers.

“Wanderlists” are part of AFAR’s collaborative travel guide, comprised of a collection of travel “Highlights,” similar to an inspiration board. Users can create a Highlight incorporating a photo and description of a place or experience, adding contact information and location tags to make it easier for other travelers to find. A Highlight might be a moment in a field of Irish wildflowers, a favorite breakfast spot in Istanbul, or a Victorian town in New Zealand. Highlights are integrated with Google Maps for easy reference, and can be shared over Twitter, Facebook, or email (you can even pin to Pinterest too). If you feel more like gathering ideas than sharing your own, you can search for any destination or topic like food or surfing.

Currently, Highlights and Wanderlists are all user-generated, but will soon include magazine content as well. You can get inspired by collections from the AFAR team like American road trip pit stops, markets around the world, or favorite spots in Cairo.

Create your own Wanderlists and search for Highlights at Afar.com.

New Airline Program Pairs Seatmates Based On ‘Mood’

by Jessica Festa on

“Do you want your seat neighbor to be like-minded, share hobbies with you or speak a specific language? Do you want to chat, or to rest while flying?” These are the questions asked by airBaltic, the national airline of Latvia who is introducing a new SeatBuddy program.

SeatBuddy is designed to pair seatmates based on three specific “moods”: those who want to do work, those who want to make new contacts and those who simply want to be left alone. Passenger information will be collected in a secure database, and will take into account fliers’ hobbies and interests to seat those with similar personalities together.

SeatBuddy is optional and free, and testing of the service will begin at the end of this month. From there, the airline will be able to see its commercial potential. The idea grew after KLM Royal Dutch Airlines implemented social media seating and allowed passengers to choose seatmates via Facebook.

What do you think of this new service?

Play The Stock Market At The Waldorf-Astoria

by McLean Robbins on

As the Facebook stock continues to end the day in the red, summer bar goers can take advantage of betting against the social network in NYC. The Waldorf-Astoria’s Bull & Bear Steakhouse is now offering cocktail discounts based on the stock’s performance that day.

How does this work? Basically, the worse the stock does, the better for your drink prices. A one to five percent drop in stock means $1 off $5 off your evening drink, cocktails like Strawberry Caipirinhas and the Old “Waldorf” Fashioned. For example: a 1.25 percent drop in stock that day means a $1.25 discount on cocktails. Of course, there’s a catch. To take advantage of the offer, patrons also must show they “Like” the Bull & Bear Facebook page.

Known as one of the leaders in New York’s cocktail culture, The Waldorf-Astoria and Bull & Bear’s mixologists offer an array of signature drinks including the Strawberry Caipirinha, Silver Coin Margarita and the Old “Waldorf” Fashioned.

Looks like this is a time to bet against Facebook – assuming you don’t own stock, that is.

Off-The-Beaten-Path Latvia Nominated The Most Beautiful Country In The World

by Jessica Festa on

When many people are asked what they think the most beautiful country in the world is, they respond with popular favorites like Greece, New Zealand or Brazil. While these countries appear to be among the top in the world, a contest sponsored by First Choice is showing there are also some off-the-beaten-path destinations that many people find aesthetically pleasing.

The contest, called “Conflict of Pinterest,” asked Twitter and Pinterest users to put in their two cents on the topic. While Twitter users voted by submitting a tweet, Pinterest users created eye-catching boards for their country of choice.

So far, the top 10 countries in order are:

1) Latvia
2) Mexico
3) Turkey
4) Indonesia
5) United Kingdom
6) Italy
7) New Zealand
8) Brazil
9) India
10) Canada

To explore the votes more closely via an interactive map and cast your vote, click here.

[photo via Algirdas]

Location-Based Smartphone App Makes Travel More Social

by Jessica Festa on

There are many smartphone apps that exist to make travel more social. These apps allow you to find travel buddies, see who will be at your accommodations and even stay in people’s homes for free. However, there is a new app on the market called Zamp that is helping travelers to discover who’s nearby and connect with them in real time.

The app is a location-based service that travelers can use to share and receive tips, arrange meet-ups and coordinate transportation. For example, through their airport check-in, users can see who’s on their flight, send messages and plan trip details like taxis and tours. There is also a fun feature that tracks users’ travel stats, like miles traveled, most frequented routes and preferred airlines. And to help service providers, Zamp allows for immediate user feedback to be given.

While this may not sound new, Zamp places an emphasis on making travel more social.”Many other travel services place an emphasis on travel booking or planning or post-travel reviews,” explains Sam Zebarjadi, one of the founders of Zamp. “We are focused on making travel more social, as it happens, and the platform is really built as an intelligent analytics and data engine.”

At this time, the company is working on building strategic partnerships to create more features and enhance the user experience. For example, they have teamed up with the Frequent Flyer Network to create a branded travel “lounge,” where users can communicate in real time from anywhere in the world. They’re also working with TripIt to enhance the flight check-in service.

Available on iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Android. Free. Click here to download.