iPad flight search I’m a big fan of Hipmunk.com’s simplistic approach to travel search. Instead of focusing exclusively on the technology to power their search platform and considering the user experience second, Hipmunk aim to make search as user friendly as possible. Generally speaking, they succeed. Hipmunk launched their iPhone app some time ago (around half a year back) and most recently brought...
Laugh if you like, but I am super excited for Apple’s new iCloud, (read about it here) not just because I don’t trust hard drives as storage mediums (and I don’t) but because of it’s potential to change the way people use apps. Apple has given developers a sandbox style environment to store backup files from apps. The backup actually has 4 APIs that connect apps to iCloud: Regular files Packages...
I won’t bore you with a full-on review of Google Plus – there are about a zillion out there already and climbing. Just some quick observations from my first day on the platform. When I heard about Plus I was a little bit frustrated; yet another network to maintain, build up a following and push content to. Between Twitter and Facebook, I have enough of that already. In the end, my fear of being...
According to this post from Tnooz.com, 19% of all hotel queries are from mobiles, but only 1% actually make bookings via their phone. I read this post a week ago, but couldn’t get the statistics out of my head – what’s going on here, are we too far ahead of the curve with mobile? Probably not. The purchase process in travel isn’t the same as other e-commerce products; it’s confusing, sporadic...
I’ve always advocated following industries and regions that are innovating in social media and mobile. Although it’s exciting to come up with “world first” ideas, sometimes it makes sense to take some inspiration from the leaders, especially when they’re doing amazing work. One of the hot topics at Web In Travel Australia last week was how companies can adapt to the needs...
Woah, posting on the weekend!? I know, it’s not standard Project Wander operating procedure, but when Hipmunk hint at a new feature going live, I have to share it! The Hipmunk posted something quite interesting on their Facebook page today, a little post that did a little more than hint at their future plans: Some fans offered suggestions, mostly around searching for flights based on wither or not...
On Tuesday, I live blogged the inaugural Web In Travel Australia conference. It was a really solid conference, (expect a post on that shortly) but what really frustrated and confused me were some comments that were made during the open question time at the end of the day. I’m not sure what caused it, but one of the speakers launched into a tirade when asked what company wouldn’t be around in 2...
Let’s be honest – everyone loves a good Google controversy – even more so if it comes with a generous helping of saucy internal emails. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, Nilay Patel has meticulously broken down 750 pages of documents released from the court case of Google vs Skyhook into something more digestible. For a mobile nerd like me, this is like Christmas! To break...
This guest post is by Stas Belkov, co-founder of group buying aggregator Dealfetch.com.au. Stas has extensive experience in digital marketing and a deep understanding of the group buying market in Australia. The past 12 months has seen group buying take off in Australia in a big way, with numerous sites launched in Australia following the massive success of US giant Groupon. In its...
I really do love getting the chance to talk to people from outside the travel industry about what we do, and the unique challenges we face as marketers. Most conversations start the same way, “Travel must be using social media really well, right?” I don’t blame people for assuming that this would be the case. Mobile devices are ever prevalent and people love to talk about travel, even while...