ANALYSIS

THE NEXT BIG THING

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CHEEP TH RILLS
Social networking sites aie exploding in popularity as user driven content comes to the fore. Justin Wastnage looks at their application for the travel industry
n the US satirical video podcast Onion News Network, worried mothers of uni students are given tips by a social media expert un how to keep labs on their offspring by stalking them on Facebook and creating fake profiles on Twitter, "Just choose a very common name and add the year of your child's birth at the end and ifyou spell everything wrong and swear a lot, they'll think you're someone they graduated with and you can read their every thought," the 'e-Mom' Gloria Bianco tells Jim and Tracy, the earnest hosts of the network's parody daytime television chat show. Today Now! That Facebook and Twitter have become as ubiquitous as to be satirised is a mark of their sudden jump in popularity. By December last year, four million Australians had profiles on the social networking site Facebook, or more per capita than any other country except Hong

Meebo - A one-stte log on for Yahoo! AIM, My^oace. GTalk. ICQ. Jabbor. MSN and other

Skype - Voice over internet .. telephone service .^v.d ins^:i

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travel tip? Friendster Tripadvisor

real pfopic Goi^le Latitude (formerly Dodgebalt) - A Inratio aware mobile phone application that allov."' members to find friends, irteresting wenues and
potenhal love m-iii^iir^ i,f'.^ri)y eatability - Rest -JS by real people -

totaltrave! ~ H f'\ reviews by real people geocachint. -ch treasure hunting game played throughoui UI world by adventure seekers equipped witti GPS devices piazes.com - Your mobile phone iids ;ir ' Jon't have

Kong and Singapore. Meanwhile Twitter, a micro-blogging service where 140-character status updates lei your friends know what you are doing, has surged in popularity in the past three months. "In Australia the growth of Twitter has been nothing short of phenomenal," said Alan Long, research director, Asia Pacific at internet analysts Hitwise in his blog. In April it recorded 49.9% growth and a staggering 1067.3% growth has been recorded since the start of 2009. Both are great tools for communicating wiih friends, but how do you actually make any money from them? TVavel companies in Australia are starting to play around at the edges of social media, but individual travel agencies have largely not yet made the leap. But according to one future trends expert, Daniel Levine, executive director of the New York-based Avani Guide Institute, social media Trav Biweekly, com. au

Friday 11.09.09 I Travel Weekly

ANALYSIS
sites should be used to find customers for iravel. "We spend so much time trying to create demand, but there is already demand there and yuu just have to be plugged into the channels of communication to find that demand," he said. Social media is not new: Social club newsletters witb member contributions, fanzines and noticeboards have all been ways of llowing like-minded people to communicate with tbeir peers. Technology has just made it easier to stay in touch with as many (or few) of your peers as you'd like. Social media sites are part of wbat is dubbed Web 2.0" by technology gurus, meaning the second generation of website, which are bulk almost entirely by user-generated content. TTiey provide the platform, but real people submit the words, pictures, videos, comments, reviews and recordings that others access. An early example was Wikipedia, the online encyclopaedia that was criticised early on for inaccurate or biased entries, but which soon became a useful toot as the niimber of responsible authors found ways of controlling the vandals. In travel, one of the first social media tools to take olTwas the bulletin boards of several wholesalers. European escorted touring specialist Insight Vacations, for example, initially ustd the leedbatk given by previous customers nn its bulletin board to refine its produd offering. Then in 2007, bulletin board members iVirmed their own community and started planning a bespoke itinerary based on their specific interests, needs and departure dates. Insight marketing manager Maureen Van Metier said the multinational group of travel buddies picked themselves, rather than being put together at random. Tliis, Van Metter explained, is the real value of social media. "It is personal. It's not a company telling you what you should do, but peers with real experience ofthe trip," she said. The Insight bulletin board has prompted another itinerary this year and Van Metter expects more users lo design their own trips in future. In the US, sites Uke tripadvisor.com and seatguru.com have exploded as travellers research their trips not by what a guide book says, but by personal recommendations of previous guests at a hotel airline passengers or diners at a restaurant. This shift, where the customer is in controi rather than the supplier has weeded out bad service and has been held responsible for the closure of over 1000 underperforming hotels, the site claims. Travei agents already use TVipadvisor and its Australian counterparts like Wotif, Virtual Reviews and Asia Rooms. In this sense these sites arejust another inTormation source, but most significantly, are written by real people. The real value of social media is in communicating with new customers. The main mistake most companies make when establishing a presence on Twitter. Facebook or any one of the slew of new social networking sites (see box, left) is using it like a broadcast tool for adverts, according to travel and media expert Martin Lane. "Whatever you do, don't send spammy advertising messages or you'll only alienate people," he said. Yet most travel companies ignore this advice, he added. Virgin Blue Airlines recently celebrated turning nine years old with $9 seats on sale across a range of routes and promoted it via Twitter. While the airline did reply to some specific questions, most ofthe conversation on the topic was between would-be traveilers and third parties such as hoteliers offering rooms in destinations mentioned. Travel agents monitoring key words such as their home city

1-31 October diverse food scene, from restaurant dinners to markets, street festivals, community events and the finest

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2-5 October in Australia's biggest Latin Ujierican music and dance I over three sizzling days and nights - a n d it's free.

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first time Sydney's iconic harbour Islands will be open to explore, discover and share.

day comedy I on Cockatoo Island, Sydney Harbour, One ticket. 200 shows in 18 venues, comedy of nillion laughs.

HOW TO MAKE MONEY FROM TWITTER

First Steps: Biiilr! iii) an enaanmg and iruf;tod number of followors. This is the hard pa ! : id Tweei thing to lie audience, lusL ke aiv " " 'iice you have people reading your Tweets, you can sell: ] Direct advertisement from hoti. t.ialers or travel products. Companies iivould be more convinced if you can give them your dick-throLigh rat links you post on youi LV^(..( I . Tweeting Affiliate links; ii VOIJYP m affilinp n-inrkntpr you could also uy tweeting those affiliate links taisted brand, it's ;Hly lji<ely that tiiey would Liy Uie pioducLs you recommend. i lu.Liij sharing through navigation bars or frames behind your Twitter home page ' >ur TWitter profile page

25 October The Sydney Harboar ' ' Bridge will play host to Sydney's big picnic breakfast - bring your picnic blanket and enjoy the view.

25 October A free walking experience ^ for all ages along 25km iwi^ I /,' of Sydney Harbour, taking in seven city bridges and event villages.

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TravelWeekly.com. au

Travel Weekly I Friday 11.09.09 9

ANALYSIS Who's tweeting now?

140
update

A snapshot of people tweeting about travel at 14:35 on August 28

Latest: Murm... about t hour 390

medlaheafth Florida Girl irbers (eceive discount travel rates on the sister site l.com Travel companions may also be available. Adventure: We have just returned from an ex ... Travel Biogs from Asia, http-'" ' nv7r,,ir^
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and 'travel' could reach new customers in this way. In fact, a quick search of Twitterers mentioning 'travel' in their tweets (as the short messages are known) shows how some people are using the site. A Gold Coast resident Brendon Sinclair asks the world whether anyone knows a good travel agent in his area and is quickly directed towards Travelscene in Varsity Lakes, Queensland (see box, right). This is a straightforward referral. But a look al how US Twitterers are using the site shows they are complaining about poor service al a travel agency, and asking

i on femes, too. And make me uncomfortable.

for general advice about planning trips. Smart travel agents jump into these conversations with advice. It is, after all, advice that draws all customers to travel agents rather than booking online. Equally, niche travel agents can search for destinations in which they specialise. So a random Tweet may say: "Heading to Paris with the girlfriend. Anyone know what we can do for a dreamy evening out?"

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10 Friday 11.09.09 I Travel Weekly

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ANALYSIS
I' which might come a reply like: *"l>y a romantic boat ride along the Seine. ijQvety views. Have a great trip!" with a link to the sender's silo. The idea is that since very litlle real advice can be dished out in 140-character chunks, it won't lake long Tor customers to emaii or call. There Is a real risk, however, that Tweeting and updating Facebook profiles will become Just another lask lo add to the job description of long suffering consultants. Despite the global recession, some travel companies in the US like escorted tour operator Viator, have added new stafT dedicated to these emerging marketing channels. Twitter is predominantly a youth-oriented channel, less prone to booking via agents, or so most people would believe. But evidence In the US shows that Twitter is disliked by leonagers, since it is more public than Facebook. "Professionals, on the other hand like it since protessiunals can stay connected with industry contacts and follow news," said Evan Williams, TWitter's co-founder and chief executive to the New York Times. Take up among the 20 to 30 year old category is the highest, he added. It will take time to filter down to the older (K'nerations. As the author Douglas Adams s;i(i('ly pointed out: "Any technology invented before you were 20 is just standard, anything

TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS FROM THE 'RESTLESS GENERATION' Zl use craigslist.org. particularly in Europe and the US for sourcing cheap short-term accommodation J Update your Facebook status depending on what city you are in and seek travel and accommodation tips from your friends Ti'awl Twitter for last-minute recommendations Compare hotel rooms and prices on Trip Advisor

invented while you were between 20 and 30 is new and exciting, while any technology invented after you were 30 is dangerous, unnatural and likely to upset the social order until that technology is 10 years old." In other words, once TWitter is established the baby boomers will jump on it. Just as they have now embraced email. The trouble is, as Brigid Delaney, author of a new book on the 'restless generation' of uitra mobile travellers, points out, there will always be another social media site along soon that people will claim to be the next big thing. No doubt some will end up being useful while others will wither and die. When satirists start making fun of them, you'll know they've arrived,

More.

otella Hospitality Group has changed its name to the Mantra Group. Now you'll only need to input one GDS Chain Code of "MP" to access more Peppers, Mantra and BreakFree properties. This one code wiil make it even easier to book quality accommodation for clients throughout Australia and New Zealand.

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