Thing 33: Travel 2.0

Image by Joan Thewlis via Flickr

I would love to travel, but can't afford to, so this Thing was sweet torture.

I have a friend who travels to Paris regularly and stays at the Welcome Hotel. I looked it up on some of the review sites and it was described as my friend describes it: a very good value, good location, good service. That reinforces my belief in the accuracy of the forums. It didn't seem skewed by a few negative responses.

However, if a hotel wanted to hire some pay-per-blog admirers, they could influence the ratings. It's supposed to say in the blog that it is a paid post, but depending on the format and placement of the notice, it could be overlooked or discounted.

In addition, if someone copies the post to use in another forum, that information could be lost. This is of more concern in a competitive environment than in a social networking site.

I was interested in Green Routes, but at this time, they only have Minnesota information. I'm looking for ideas for healthy and interesting food between here and Chicago, and hope they add Wisconsin information soon! My only travel is to and from Chicago, where my son goes to college.

These would make great augmentation for the travel guides, especially since budget cuts mean fewer copies of, and less access to, current print guides. We would have to stress "Caveat emptor"--a good time to slip in a little information literacy education.