Dopplr, a social network for travelers, launched a new homepage for New York City yesterday. I used Dopplr when it launched but must admit that I haven’t been keeping my travel log up-to-date. From links on FriendFeed, I can tell that many early adopters are still heavily using the service. These new city pages could be the spark to help Dopplr move more towards the mainstream.

I like the combination of city tips and reviews and the Google Maps integration is quite slick. For me FlyerTalk is still my main go-to spot for help in planning my travels. However this might change after checking out the Questions section (they call the section "tips") which has a lot of activity.

Dopplr explains how the new NYC (and other city pages work), "These Dopplr city pages have been created by automatically adding traveller stats and tips to stunning Creative-Commons-licenced photography of cities around the world, powered by Flickr."

Here’s an example of the new NYC Dopplr page:

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Over the weekend I’ve been playing with a new travel social network called Driftr. They describe the site as, "Driftr is a user-generated content site for travelers, by travelers. It allows you to keep track of your travels, share your trip photos, reviews, and blogs with friends and family, as well as research destinations before you book a trip."

It’s a well-designed site and appears to have a high level of usability. One thing I like is that entering a trip uses pulldown menus to select the cities. They have what appears to be hundreds of thousands of locations built in (and you can add your own if it’s not listed). Photos can be uploaded or pulled from Flickr – love this! If you use Driftr for an entire trip, it can become a complete memory album from photos to trip plans to a daily blog to hotels, etc. No video as of yet but I am sure they are working on adding it.

Driftr is basically a trip blog. Research is completed by visiting other’s trip reports/blogs on the location you plan to visit. Here’s a sample from a trip to New York. I think a Twitter-style feed would make the site more sticky if I could upload live trip updates to the site.

Travel is a highly competitive space with the Web 1.0 sites including TripAdvisor and the Web 2.0 sites including Plazes and Dopplr. If Driftr can get momentum, it just might have a chance. They offer the type of functionality that TripAdvisor should have been offering for years now.

Invite Information: The first 20 people to send an email to hello (at) driftr.com with "CenterNetworks" in the subject line will get an instant invite.

My Profile:

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Dopplr, a social network for travelers who recently picked up a round of VC funding, has announced several updates to the Dopplr service. First up are more cities to use Dopplr in which will allow more people to find uses with the tool.

Next up is a Facebook app called "Where Next?" which also offers friend functionality so you can see who else in your Facebook clan is using Dopplr.

Lastly, while Dopplr is still in a closed beta, they have created unlimited invites for those already in the system. So leave a comment if you want an invite!

I have enjoyed using Dopplr so far and many of my European friends and associates are using it as well.

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