TripAdvisor, which markets itself as the world's largest travel community, has announced the launch of three of the web's top travel-focused social
applications on MySpace, one of the most popular social networks. The
applications, Cities I've Visited, Local Picks and Traveler IQ
Challenge developed by Travelpod have been downloaded by more than six
million users, and each provide the MySpace audience with unique ways
to share travel information with friends, to challenge each other and
to learn. Empowered by MySpace's newly announced Developer Platform,
TripAdvisor was able to easily test and deploy the three popular
applications in a few short weeks.
Cities I've Visited Travel Map
Sharing stories is half the fun of travel, and Cities I've Visited lets travelers quickly create an interactive travel map to share and compare with friends. They can pin all the cities, towns, and even suburbs they've visited -- and all the places they plan to visit. Cities I've Visited covers more than 20,000 destinations and is available in French, Italian, German and Spanish, enabling MySpace users all over to share their travel maps in their local language.
Local Picks Restaurant Recommendation Tool
Whether in their hometown or halfway around the world, when it comes to restaurants, why wing it? MySpace users can get personalized recommendations from their friends and never settle for a mediocre meal again. From greasy diners to hidden gems to trendy hot spots, Local Picks reveals the best places to eat in any location. There are more than 390,000 restaurants to select from, and Local Picks draws from more than 1,300,000 restaurant reviews -- so MySpace users can get the truth from people who have already been there! The Local Picks library is constantly growing, as foodies can quickly add new restaurants with Local Picks.
Traveler IQ Challenge Game
A little competition makes any subject more interesting, and travel becomes an Olympic event with Traveler IQ Challenge, developed by TravelPod, part of the TripAdvisor Media Network. The game shows a map of the world, then gives you a place name and ten seconds to click on its geographic location. You get points based on how close you are to the target and how fast you click. The play heats up when users begin competing against other travelers or wannabes, and they can issue challenges and compare their scores to others in their groups.
MySpace first introduced their Developer Platform site on February 5, 2008 beginning a one-month application development period, allowing companies, including
TripAdvisor, time to build and test their applications in a secure environment before going live to the MySpace community.
In March, MySpace launched the public beta of the Application Gallery, enabling broader testing of approved applications by allowing public installation. MySpace members can now discover and add new applications including Cities I've Visited, Local Picks and Traveler IQ Challenge from a variety of categories, to both their home and profile pages.
"Bringing Cities I've Visited, Local Picks and Traveler IQ Challenge to MySpace lets millions interact on a topic they're passionate about -- travel," said Keith Fitzgerald, software architect at TripAdvisor. "MySpace's strong user community is the perfect environment for travelers to adopt the TripAdvisor applications and use them to explore the world around them."
As with all MySpace Developer Platform applications, Cities I've Visited, Local Picks and Traveler IQ Challenge will be able to safely access publicly available profile information including a user's friend list, interests, photos and albums, video, as well as status & mood. Cities I've Visited, Local Picks and Traveler IQ Challenge will have real estate in five places within MySpace including:
- A MySpace application profile (users can "friend" the apps)
- Access to embed applications on the user homepage (inward facing-for you to see)
- Access to embed applications on profiles (outward facing widget-for friends to see)
- An application gallery listing
- A canvas page
"TripAdvisor's success in building online communities makes them an ideal developer for the MySpace platform, and their new travel applications are just the type of activities that our members will find stimulating," said Kyle Brinkman, vice president and general manager, MySpace Developer Platform. "We are committed to creating an open environment for developers, and through them, enriching our user experience."
For more information about the MySpace Developer Platform, please visit http://developer.myspace.com.
