Adventure Traveler Stories

In a time of free information sharing paired with economic strife, travelers need a way to make sure they’re getting the most for their money. One way to do this is through reviews. Customer reviews of services, consumer reviews of products, and traveler reviews of places and experiences are becoming more prominent in every area of cyberspace. Generally, there are two schools of thought in regard to reviews: either consumers trust them more than recommendations from friends (some sources say over 60% of consumers feel this way) or consumers think reviews are untrustworthy and come from paid sources. When it comes to travel, personal experiences and recommendations hold special weight - most people use multiple sites and spend over three weeks to plan and purchase a vacation making reliable information all the more important.

Earth.org is a site that takes each of these trends into account. This collaboratively written travel guide has a nonprofit approach, making the information free from paid sources and outside motivations. The concept behind Earth.org employs wikis and free information sharing about destinations, travel, and things to do. The idea is to create a reliable resource for travelers and explorers to use as a research tool. Earth.org has truly implemented a unique idea – one that will benefit a community of travelers. We all know that if there is one thing a journeyer likes to do, it is write, blog, and share their experiences. Earth.org relies on this ideal, and has successfully provided content on obscure and unique destinations around the world.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of this concept is Earth.org’s dedication to environmental, social and cultural projects around the world. Being a company that also believes in responsible business practices, ekoVenture understands the importance of giving back, especially to countries and people affected by travel and tourism. Earth.org is dedicated to giving 50% of their net profits to this end, while employing international volunteers that contribute to the overall collaborative efforts. This social experiment only has interest in the traveler, the explorer, and the sightseer making it a truly revolutionary space.

I was reading an article about how, in order for social networking sites and blogs to survive, they have to move beyond being "serendipity engines." We reached a point in the internet revolution where consumers know what they want and most want it right away. Very few people ping around on the web just because they're curious as to what will arise; most people have a strategy and favorite sites to get what they need.

A perfect example of this is YouTube. The ultimate serendipity outlet, YouTube has gone from a a sea of random searches (which users could literally spend hours using) to a source of information for the world. Featuring everything from news clips to the latest music videos, the functionality of the site has increased exponentially. Anyway, in my new search for the understanding of what makes social media survive, I came across this video that relates to the collaborative efforts that the web supports (the definition of serendipity, I like to think).