The social and mobile future of Travel

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YOU’RE ABOUT TO TAKE A CRUISE TO BERMUDA. You’re not precisely sure why you chose Bermuda in particular, but unbeknownst to you, it was a rather dynamic fusion between the beautiful pink sandy beach that came up in a Google image search late last week, a comment from an old colleague on your Facebook wall that remarked “If you want relaxation, why not go to Bermuda?” and Expedia’s announcement of a special sale on cruises to Bermuda departing from New York (which you were aware of, thanks to the fact that you’re an avid follower of their Tweets).

This Bermuda thing has attacked you from all angles and you, the unwitting participant of this grand social media experiment, went for it hook, line and sinker. But you know, it’s okay. You don’t have to feel bad about yourself, friend. It’s actually a better way to shop for vacations. It’s as if the whole world revolves around you.

Amalgamation!

These days, everything you’ve ever wanted is being amalgamated in one place. You can go to a Facebook page for a destination to see photos, videos and traveler reviews. While you’re deciding how to get around and what to do, Google Maps will show you every attraction within a few miles. You can receive Twitter and Facebook updates blessing you with coupons, travel advice and deal alerts.

More Apps Than You Can Shake A Stick At!

For many travelers, travel-centric apps like Facebook Places, Gowalla, FourSquare, Twitter Locations, Bumped.In, Exploroo, OnTheRoad, TripIt, Driftr, TravellersPoint and ShareTrip will be as second nature as checking your email (which you’ll be doing all through one social media site, soon enough.)

Mobile Phones Are Our Life Support System!

In the future of travel, mobile social networking will take center-stage in the lives of travelers such as yourself. Is your flight on time? What terminal will you find your connection in? Check your app! Need to change your seat or check in? You don’t have to wait in lines or speak to anyone. Your phone is your gateway to everything. Book hotels, rental cars and flights through your mobile, then use it as a GPS device to get from Point A to Point B. Talk to friends and family members while you’re scooting around town and share photos or videos of your travels in real-time.

In the not-so-far-off future you can expect to use your cell phone as a transponder. Those pesky reward tags retailers are doling out will soon be a thing of the past. Instead, an ID tag in your phone will be linked to all your social media accounts and retail accounts to help you access the special members-only deals and discounts.

Social Media Pays Dividends!

Ah, yes, discounts! The future of social media travel marketing has a lot of perks in it for you, my friend. Who doesn’t want a bargain? That’s why you come here, to this overpriced box of irresistible circuitry, isn’t it? Your computer is the portal to deals you would have never come across twenty years ago. Suddenly, hotels, tourism bureaus, restaurants and retailers are dangling all sorts of juicy carrots before your eyes – in exchange for a favorable view, the click of a “Like” button, or a smidge of loyalty.

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Big Brother Is Watching!

You may be noticing that the websites you visit are already tying into your social media experience. For instance, when you visit a news article, you can see what friends have “liked” it. When you log onto a travel site, you can see what your friends have been up to there as well. For instance, on the TripAdvisor site, you’ll login with your Facebook account info to see what friends have contributed to the site and which friends have been to hotels, restaurants and attractions you’re considering.

Do you feel like James Bond with all this espionage yet? Don’t feel guilty about it. Your friends are probably spying on you too. You can link your profiles between sites to share photos and share your TripAdvisor activity if you so desire. Everyone is sharing their positive and negative experiences online these days, so why shouldn’t you?

Perhaps you’re the social butterfly type. You love bumping elbows with people you know around town. It’s so serendipitous, isn’t it? Yet, you can leave less to chance or fate when you “check in” to your current location using your social media login.

Your friends can see when you’re at Starbucks, the gym, relaxing at home, or seated on the same airline. Maybe they’ll come talk to you. Maybe they won’t.

Keeping tabs on people has never been so easy… for better or for worse. It all depends upon your personality, really, but if you don’t like people all that much, you probably think Facebook and Twitter are a bunch of hogwash anyway.

The future of travel and social media is destined to challenge how you feel about privacy. At times, you’ll feel weird and nervous and thirsty. You’ll wonder who is watching your every move online… and why. Yes, it reeks of paranoia, but the truth is – there are people watching you… right now.

They’re not very good at making sense of all this data, but in the future, they’ll get better at watching your search engine meanderings. Travel sites will know when they’ve been part of a sale. They’ll see what you’ve been perusing to know how to better target you for deals. It will seem as though the search engines are reading your mind… which is admittedly creepy, but also a good thing. We want relevance, after all, do we not?

ARTICLE BY JENNN FUSION. Sourced by Elin Coats, content editor for FavorIdeas, a place for personalized favors and luggage tags for your next exotic overseas jaunt — or any event closer to home.

Article by Elin Coats

Elin Coats is a content editor for FavorIdeas, a place for personalized favors and luggage tags for your next exotic overseas jaunt — or any event closer to home.