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The internet has long offered online alternatives to the traditional printed travel guide, frequently with more current information and at least rudimentary customization capabilities. A new service from Technorati founder David Sifry, however, takes the concept a step further by tapping into the full wealth of information now available online with a professionally printed and ad-free personalized format that puts all the personally relevant parts in one place. Now in beta, Offbeat Guides creates personalized, up-to-date travel guides to more than 30,000 travel destinations using a combination of search technology and curation by both amateur and professional travel experts. Users begin by inputting their destination, their departure location, their name and their dates of travel. Offbeat Guides' technology base of spiders and crawlers then goes out and finds the best information available on the internet—tapping such sites as Wikitravel, Wikipedia, Yahoo Finance, AccuWeather, Google Maps and Eventful—and combines it with the most current information from a stable of established authors and thousands of locals. The preliminary result is a guide book of some 100 pages including local maps, festivals and events, exchange rates, key phrases in the city's language, weather forecasts and more. Users can then customize that initial report, deleting unnecessary chapters, for instance, or adding information such as their itinerary or recommendations from friends. Once they're satisfied, they can download their guide in PDF format for USD 9.95, or they can order a full-colour, 8.5-by-4.5-inch printed guide for USD 24.95. Based in San Francisco, Offbeat Guides joins a space populated by competitors with similar—yet different—business models, including TripIt (which we've previously featured), Miss Information, Virtual Tourist and Nile Project, which is in beta too. We also can't help but think that sites like Blurb and Life Trackers could enable any travel-savvy minipreneur to produce similar bespoke guides of their own, tailored to each client's personality and plans. Time to launch a little travel-guide expedition....? Website: www.offbeatguides.com
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It may be better to give than to receive, but for those on the receiving end, there's no doubt real-world gifts are better than virtual ones. No surprise, then, that we're seeing the emergence of more and more ways for online friends to give each other offline presents. The latest? GetThemIn, which allows UK Facebook users to send each other real alcoholic beverages. An assortment of wine, beer, champagne, spirits and specialty drinks are available through GetThemIn from brands including Heineken, Newcastle Brown, Blossom Hill, Harvey’s Bristol Cream and Courvoisier; also available are a variety of complementary snacks. Users simply add the GetThemIn application to their Facebook account, and then choose what gift they'd like to send to which friend. Payment takes place through Google checkout, and users compose a message to let their friend know. An egift is instantly sent by Facebook notification and text message, which can be redeemed at any time in exchange for a product voucher that's sent through the post. That voucher, in turn, can then be taken to any GetThemIn participating store—there are hundreds across the UK, GetThemIn says—and used to collect the physical product. GetThemIn has been officially granted the DrinkAware trust trademark license and will be donating a percentage of its profits to substance-abuse treatment center COUNTED4. Meanwhile, the company—which just launched in the UK last week—is already working on launching its application in the US, Canada, Australia and Ireland as well as on Bebo, Friendster, Hi5, MySpace, Orkut and LinkedIn. Increasingly OFF=ON and ON=OFF, as our sister site trendwatching.com would say; what other real-world gifts could be brought to the social networking world....? (Related: Real candy for virtual friends — Real flowers for virtual pals — Snail mail app for Facebook users.) Website: www.getthemin.com
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Not long ago we wrote about New York City's tech-enabled Pod Hotel, and now across the ocean comes a like contender that takes the technology focus even further. Located in the Saint Blaise neighbourhood of Paris's 20th arrondissement, Mama Shelter has equipped each of its 172 rooms with a 24-inch Apple iMac multimedia center. Gone is the oft-seen (but rarely enjoyed) web access through TV; rather, guests can enjoy HDTV, music, radio, CDs, films, DVDs and of course internet, all through their in-room computer. Computer monitors are also built into an oversized table in Mama Shelter's entryway, as well as into columns throughout the hotel; wifi, of course, is freely available too. Through a partnership with French tech provider DirectStreams, meanwhile, Mama Shelter offers what it calls the iBooth—also based on the iMac—giving guests the opportunity to make their mark on the hotel by taking instant pictures and seeing them distributed in the lobby and rooms. Created by the Trigano family—founders of Club Med—along with Parisian philosopher Cyril Aouizerate and designer Philippe Starck, Mama Shelter combines modern, technology-enabled accommodation with a friendly, communal vibe. Each morning a board lists local cultural events, and a variety of live performances take place in the hotel as well. Dining options range from a communal table to cold cabinets stocked with meals available for in-room candlelight dining 24/7. Mama Shelter's rooms vary from 15 square meters to 35 square meters, priced starting at EUR 79 per night—very affordable by Parisian standards. By replacing the ubiquitous in-room TV with the multimedia iMac, Mama Shelter not only mimics the same type of shift going on in many homes, it also ups the ante for hotels in urban centers around the world. Hoteliers: one to emulate! (Related: High design, low touch hotel — New no-frills chic hotel chain opens in Amsterdam.) Website: www.mamashelter.com Spotted by: Murtaza Ali Patel
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Free love can be dispersed in many ways, whether to all those who happen to be in the right place at the right time or to a select group of qualified recipients. Much like SOOPZ, a network through which food bloggers can sign up for the chance to receive free samples, Gitchers is a new site that allows consumers to sign up for the chance to receive a free, branded T-shirt. Gitchers is essentially a database of people who want free T-shirts, either for themselves or for their dogs (special canine T-shirts are distributed through the site as well). To sign up, consumers tell Gitchers what type of shirt they're interested in—featuring the logo of a favourite brand or website, for example—along with key demographic information such as their birthday, gender and location. (Each Gitchers account is associated with only one T-shirt request, so users must create separate accounts—using distinct e-mail addresses for each—to request more than one type.) Participating companies, meanwhile, tell Gitchers what types of consumers they'd like their T-shirts to be sent to—women aged 35 to 50 in Columbus, Ohio, for example—and pay USD 10.99 each for a minimum of 100 shirts. The first Gitchers users in the database meeting the advertiser's criteria are then the lucky ones to receive the shirts. There's no arguing with the power of free love, so it seems likely that there will be increasing opportunities for companies that serve as intermediaries, making the distribution effort more targeted. Consumers get free stuff, companies get targeted advertising, and the world just gets more love! ;-) Website: www.gitchers.com
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Spend USD 100 at a local bookstore, and USD 68 of that money stays in the local community; spend the same amount at a national chain, and only USD 43 stays near home. That's one of the driving arguments behind IndieBound, a new online community dedicated to promoting independent bookstores. Publicly launched this fall by the American Booksellers Association, IndieBound's mission is to help people across the United States share and find independently owned businesses in general, starting with bookstores. Users of the IndieBound community can search for, add and comment on bookstores, append interest tags or other descriptions, and become fans of those they love. Like-minded users can connect as friends, and points are awarded for participation on the site—those who earn 100 or more are eligible to win periodic randomly drawn prizes. The Indie Bestseller List is reported weekly by independent booksellers across America, while the Indie Next Lists—one for grownups and one for kids—feature bookseller recommendations. Users can then create wish lists of the books they'd love to have. IndieBound lists only brick-and-mortar stores, and only those in the United States. One to bring to independent-minded shoppers in your neck of the woods....? (Related: Online bookstore with a voyeuristic twist — 24-hour spotlight for indie artists — Indie music for kids.) Website: www.indiebound.org
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Other contenders may have emerged since we wrote about You Bar's custom-made energy bars earlier this year, but the Los Angeles company appears to be working hard to stay ahead. Most recently, it expanded its offerings with a new line of design-your-own protein shakes. Customers interested in ordering You Shakes begin by specifying up to three protein powders they want included, choosing from among egg white, soy, rice and whey. Next they select cocoa or organic vanilla flavouring—or both—and whether they want organic strawberries or bananas mixed in. Sweetener choices include organic brown sugar cane juice, organic evaporated cane juice or Splenda, and available infusions are vitamins, creatine, spirulina, stevia, bee pollen, fibre, nutritional yeast or a weight-loss blend. For every option customers can request more, less or the normal amount, as well as making special requests. As with You Bars, they can also give their custom-created shake a name. Pricing begins at USD 2.89 per individual, 20-gram shake package. Where will the custom trend hit next? We'll keep you posted. In the meantime, keep the innovations coming! (Related: Mixed-to-order muesli — Custom-blended tea — More custom-blended tea — A customized cup of joe — More custom energy bars.) Website: www.youbars.com/makeashake
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We've already seen partially enclosed pods used to offer naps at airports, haircuts on the go and multisensory break spaces in busy corporate environments. A new, completely private pod from The Oculas Group, however, now provides total immersion in a wide array of multimedia tools. Similar to Yamaha's EntertainmentMyRoom, Ovei is actually a redesigned version of Oculas's original, namesake capsule, reengineered with new materials, finishes and customisation options through a partnership with McLaren Applied Technologies. Measuring 170cm high by 95cm wide by 190cm long, the unit can be opened and closed via an automatically sliding door. Inside is a climate-controlled space with controllable LED colour-changing lighting, leather seating, a retractable and adjustable, flat-screen 26-inch TV and JBL 5.1 surround sound. Everything is controlled via a Crestron tablet, and the Ovei's technologies can also be integrated into other audio/visual installations. Users can customise many details of the unit's interior, such as paint and trim, lighting and type of screen. Available in white, black, silver and gunmetal grey beginning next year, each Ovei is hand-assembled over a 10-week period and then numbered and signed by designer Lee McCormack. Only 500 Ovei capsules will be produced worldwide, UK-based Oculas says, priced starting at GBP 50,000 each. Besides the bespoke pricing and planned scarcity, both of which will surely increase its appeal for the wealthiest elite, the Ovei also promises to offer a highly immersive experience that provides a strong dose of "me time," far removed from the demands of others. Don't look now, but the youniverse just got a little bigger! ;-) Website: www.ovei.co.uk
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Transparency tyranny has already been striking terror into the hearts of companies far and wide, as both customers and employees have begun sharing their experiences and impressions of them for all the world to see. No real surprise, then, that universities are next in line. RateMyProfessors.com has already made faculty popularity public, and now a few new sites offer a way for students to share an insider's perspective on campus life in general. Unigo, which launched last month, is a site that offers tens of thousands of original reviews, videos, photos, documents and more about 225 of America's top colleges. Representing the efforts of 18 full-time editors, 300 on-campus interns and more than 15,000 students, the results are all searchable within an interactive community built around student-generated content. Using the free site, high school students can communicate with one another and with current college students to find the college that's right for them. An "intelligent calendar" guides them through the search/application process, while multidimensional filtering capabilities let them search through reviews by each reviewer’s gender, ethnicity, major, political leaning, hometown and more. The New York-based site plans to expand soon to cover nearly every college in America. San Francisco-based Yollege, meanwhile, also aims to empower college students to share their thoughts and opinions on every aspect of campus life, from dorms to campus hotspots to local culture. High-school students can use the site for help in finding the right school for them, while college students can use it not only to share reviews about their school but also to meet fellow students. As of late September, there were more than 4,000 reviews on the site, Real Simple reported. Launched in April, ad-supported Yollege was recently named one of the top five Best of the Web 2008 newcomers by BusinessWeek. Finally, Pittsburgh-based College Prowler offers both print books and an online guide to more than 250 American schools. Each guide is written by a current student at the college, with the addition of quotes and comments from others in the student population. College Prowler launched online last year; a subscription for full access costs USD 39.95 per year. Traditionally, college review guides have tried to provide information in an objective way, but of course what many consumers really want is subjective information from their twinsumers—those with tastes similar to their own. Add that subjectivity to immediacy, interactivity and free (or low-cost) access, and you just may have a winner. (Related: Transparency tyranny hits the workplace.) Websites: www.unigo.com — www.yollege.com — www.collegeprowler.com Spotted by: David Boyar
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