Very similar to the Times Travel section last Saturday but billed as 50 people you need to know in travel (sadly, Darren, you didn’t make the cut :-))

Times piece was mainly writers and founders of traditional travel companies. the curious thing about urquhart’s list is that it includes martha lane-fox of lastminute.com, but not brent hoberman (we included them as a pair).

Hopefully, Kayak.com will make the list next year

Darren, If we’re gonna credit a search engine for being influential in travel then I’d like to nominate del.icio.us (not that it’s a search engine, or remotely connected to travel but it is becoming a really big phenomenon)

There’s some big talk about traditonal search vs Search 2.0 (yep, another 2.0 added to a word, like Travel 2.0 and no doubt Porn 2.0 etc etc)

Search 2.0 is all about finding, which is where sites like del.icio.us come in. Optimised correctly, and with the use of RSS, you can be up to date with what’s cool in any subject you like (through tagging).

That said, not many travel sites (except for travel blogs), are harnessing the power of social bookmarking and some of the ones that are, tend to be splogs (but they can be filtered out easily)

The next big thing seems to be SMO - Social Media Optimisation.

Darren, to answer your question: Joshua Schachter of del.icio.us

It’s by far the best and most and most useful website on the internet (imho)

just like to throw in the widely speculated, but non-existent as yet, Troogle into the mix. vertical search is where travel search is heading as well. why meta search is such a strong proposition as it filters out the rubbish…

not there’s lots of rubbish on the internet, of course.

check out:

farechase.com
farecast.com

this is where the world of travel search is heading…….

and http://www.kayak.com of course A travel search engine…

i deliberately left off kayak to see whether he would…!! and he fell into our trap!!

I like the look of Farecast.com, though not sure I’d use it.

Darren, not sure about del.icio.us driving traffiic as that’s not my purpose, not yet anyway. I’ve optimised my workflow around del.icio.us right now but there’s a myriad of uses and they have an API so you can integrate it into your own services.

For our soon to be launched service, we’re working with the del.icio.us API so that it will automatically post our advertisers’ websites to del.icio.us

We’re currently evaluating that idea, so it may not get released.

Kevin, I’d to see the travel industry get to grips with RSS first.

The best thing, for me, about the whole web 2.0 movement is the openess. I think the death knell is sounding for a lot websites unless they get to grips with social media.

Someone once said, that one day blogs will be called websites but I think it’s the other way round: one day websites will be called blogs.

Easy, Joshua Schachter of del.icio.us and don’t have me tell you again!

but what is del.icio.us doing for the travel industry - not a lot at the moment, apart from helping drive traffic to blogs (like d’Rants). it doesn’t sell holidays. it doesn’t sell flights.

Not Quite sure how del.icio.us works ( any hints on how to load and get those little Square things on each post would be helpful.)
I like the idea of Kevins 3.50pm Post. Help drive the traffic to our blog and then We’ll sell the holidays and flights.
It’s what us Sm@rt agents are here for

Sorry to disagree with you Darren but Kevin didn’t make a good point at all. In fact, he is missing a fundamental point about del.icio.us - it sells everything, inadvertently.

It does sell holidays/travel because people ‘find’ stuff on del.icio.us that is travel related, not just blogs, any website. It’s not exclusive to blogs/blogging. It’s a social bookmark site. You know, here’s my cool travel bookmarks for example, let’s see yours, etc etc.

Do you have to ’sell’ holidays or flights in order to be considered in the travel industry?

Does Google sell holidays? I would say yes, like del.icio.us it does it inadvertently not directly. I have found great holiday/hotel etc sites using del.icio.us - so I would say, like Google, it does as much to ’sell’ travel as Google (though perhaps not in that volume, granted)

Gotta take those blinkers off and see things how they are, or rather, how they could be.

Darren, you mentioned earlier about Digg and in the context of the off topic debate here about SMO, this was just published on Performancing: 3 Reasons Why Delicious Bookmarks Beat Digg Traffic Hands Down http://www.performancing.com/node/4425

Lee, del.icio.us is a beautifully simple concept and I can understand why people aren’t sure how it works - because it is so simple! I didn’t understand it at first but the penny dropped and boy did it drop!

People bookmark and tag stuff they like so other people can find it, add them to their network and share links to other stuff they like. It’s essentially a web based version of your browser’s bookmarking tool only better becasue fo the tagging element, making stuff you like easier to find (and stuff you like easier for other people to find, and vice versa)

The fact that del.icio.us has made bookmarking web-based is the key here and what makes it such a killer application, and of course that social-networking element that is making the web a better and more open space.

ooh, blinkers, mikeyboy. that’s harsh.

but you summed up your argument in your last line when you say “see how things are, or rather, how they could be…”.

that’s exactly my point. del.icio.us could have the ability to be a a major lead for travel products but that is a prospect that is currently quite a long way away. in fact it is currently nowhere compared to the millions that are spent on pay-per-click advertising.

does expedia, the world’s biggest online travel agent, make sales via leads from del.icio.us? i suspect not at this stage.

for fear of getting into a rant, travolution is a big fan of social networking and it’s ability to connect users of the internet to share knowledge and experiences.

but take at the current del.icio.us travel tag, for example.

http://del.icio.us/popular/travel

there is very little on there (as at 21.15 BST) that would drive traffic to a particular sale site.

it’s a fascinating debate though - and one definitely worth addressing…

Kevin, I like a good debate, the more provocative the better

When I looked at your link above (07.00 BST) Farecast.com was top of list.

I think del.icio.us was experimenting with contextual ads using Yahoo’s inventory but I don’t see them anymore. They’re always tweaking the site for the better. I’m sure something is afoot in this regard as Yahoo paid $30m for del.icio.us

I suspect del.icio.us will excel in the travel world once people know what it is and how it works, and particualy when they’ve figured out ‘how to load and get those little Square things on each post’.

i agree with mikeyboy (8.20). apols for being defensive in later post. i was simply trying to make the point that social networking at this stage does does not shift volume. it encourages interaction and sharing of knowledge, which is what TBL had in mind for the WWW in the first place.

Now almost every online travel company we talk to professes a love for Web 2.0 (or Travel 2.0, as PhoCusWright calls it)., but many admit it is difficult to nail down commercially.

the next six months will be massively important in the online travel space as the leading websites look to seize on the growing enthusiasm for social networking functionality by consumers, but from a commercial perspective.

one senior figure at an OTA (online travel agent) admitted privately to us recently was the problem with social networking, with applications like digg/del.icio.us, was that they are great for sharing photos, experiences and the like, but nobody has really nailed down how to use them to drive sales.

it is clear that the OTAs/meta search engines/operators/verticals/tourist boards that crack social networking will emerge victorious in the next stage of the commercial battle in travel.

as an aside, fascinating article recently [link below] about corporate bloggers that could easily transfer to people using social networking in the same area.

http://www.newstatesman.com/200608280034

phew. it’s only 8am on a saturday morning…

Great stuff Kevin, and cheers for that link - interesting read.

The project I’ve been working on for best part of year is genuinely “citizen-generated” media but I fear that by the time we come to officially ’switch it on’ (my new term for launch), it could be considered by some as professionally generated. We’ll deal that problem when it arises although it is the first blog treatment in our travel field (that I’m aware of)

The thing I’ve noticed about the pro-bloggers for hire scene is they all tend to be chasing the same market: gadgets, technology, wireless etc, few are travel orientated, though that will start to change and no doubt make our genuine travel blog look phony.

You’re right though, the travel sector haven’t quite cracked social media but I’m not surprised by that as it has been too pre-occupied with PPC and affiliate schemes, in my view.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that but all of a sudden there’s a bright new internet out there (yes, TBL’s vision has finally come to fruition), and the industry is struggling to make sense of it, let alone own a slice of it.

The trick is, of course, to appeal to the younger generation. Why? ‘cos they have parents who they can influence (hey Dad, you’re living in the past, check this exciting new travel site out, it’s wicked… etc etc etc)

For example: 43places.com is, in essence, a great idea and well executed social network but right now it’s a wide open goal to be monetised and optimised commercially (perhaps that will happen eventually, I’m not sure)

if only you could spill the beans a little of what the project is…

feel free to email me kevin.may@rbi.co.uk to discuss privately… [promise]

travolution is also looking to promote those doing innovative things in the online travel space, so any hints you want to give me are most welcome…

klm, ed, travo

The 10 most influential people in the online travel industry

The english media portal Travolution* has gathered the votes and opinions of its readers (I haven’t had time to cast my vote) to finally released a list of the 10 most influential people in the online travel industry over the past decade (tough j…

Kevin, thanks for the invite, may take you up on it once we move closer to the date. There’s actually 2 projects which compliment each other. Would you like first scoop?

Darren, you’re welcome - nice bit of content for TR, eh?

I do think it was you though who helped steer off topic by praising Google for being influential in the travel sphere but I hold my hand up for taking a sudden sharp left turn by praising del.icio.us, which inevitably took us to a town called social media (or SoMe if you’re Californian)

Darren, I certainly hope it’s going to be useful and there is discussion of the blog being syndicated by a broadsheet (fingers x’d).

Good luck with your new travel blog.

Darren, when I say syndicated I don’t mean on the paper’s website, I’m talking about in print every week in a big broadsheet.

They are discussing it, though I’m not sure what’s to discuss - just do it! when it’s ’switched on’ of course

Anyway, what favours do you have in mind? I have my limits

you’ll be featured in UK media soon, don’t worry!!

Shouldn’t be too difficult to measure. Say it was on a Sat or Sun then simply look at the spike in thre stats.

To sound like an utter to$$pot of the highest order, it’s more about leveraging the brand and using it as a bedrock for planned services in the pipeline. All will be revealed though I’m sure you’ll be underwhelmed