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The Corliss Group Review about Travel Buddies iOS App9 Years AgoWhether
we’re innocently stalking our crush on Facebook or tweeting our deepest
feelings into the depths of cyberspace, our iDevices have become integral to
our daily social networking needs. Knowing this, app creators work tirelessly
to come up with new ways to integrate various aspects of life into a social
framework – new reasons to connect people. In this regard, developer Toby
Gunston has come across a rather unique proposition: we all love to travel, but
who wants to travel alone? That’s where Travel Buddies
comes in…
The
Travel Buddies app is the the mobile component of an already successful online
hub for world travellers, and brings with it a rather useful suite of social
functions for holiday-makers, road trippers and weekend wanderers. Aimed at
users with a penchant for meeting new people and discovering new places, Travel
Buddies builds a social network around the concept of looking for travel
partners.
It’s a
simple yet well executed idea: once your profile is set up, you’re free to look
for likeminded people planning trips in your area or travellers who will be
following a similar route to yours. Perhaps you’re lining up a European boat
tour but are looking to make a few friends along the way? Just load your travel
plans on your Travel Buddies profile, and you can easily zone in on users who
will be in the same area at the time. Whether its a continent-spanning road
trip or a weekend getaway, there’s bound to be someone with the same idea in
mind. Alternatively, search for tourists planning a trip to your area and
arrange to hook up and show them a good time in your homeland. The search
parameters and inputs could do with some refining – you’re limited in both your searches and your own trip details – but it’s enough info to get a conversation
going.
The
user interface is clean and straightforward, a breeze to use for anyone
familiar with mainstream social media apps. It’s a matter of moments to
familiarise yourself with the menus and various options to put together a list
of potential travel partners. There are inherent risks involved with something
like this though – you’re planning meet-ups with people you’ve never met, after
all, so it’s important to exercise caution before heading off on a secret
mountain camping trip with a bearded man with face tattoos.
The
social infrastructure of Travel Buddies is built around a number of networking
options. Users outline their plans on the public wall, or detail them within
their own profiles, showing their scheduled stops and so on. Find someone you
are interested in joining on their travels, and you can get in touch with them
via direct chat or email to make that a reality. It would be good to see more
detailed profile information on prospective travel partners though – perhaps
something that could be addressed in future updates.
While
we all love a holiday, that’s not to say that Travel Buddies will be useful for
everyone. It’s aimed exclusively at those keen to explore the world with
strangers. Whether it’s worth the asking price depends on your affinity for
social travel, but at least it’s a once-off fee, so once you’ve bought the app
you have access to every aspect of it. If you’re part of the target demographic
though - those adventurers who like to try new things, maybe take a few risks,
or simply hate the idea of a lonely holiday - Travel Buddies could be the
networking tool you didn’t even know you were waiting for. |