travel
App of the Day: Where I've Been
11/07/07 17:51 Filed in: Reviews
The Pitch:
Where I've Been is in the crowded travel category of Facebook Applications, but developer Craig Ulliott has managed to climb to the top of the heap with an outstanding user interface. The premise of the application is not revolutionary: Remember once upon a time the guy who had a 10-foot map of the world on his wall with pins in it for everywhere he has traveled? This is the Facebook-ization of that concept. Users start with a grey map of the world, then click on the places they’ve visited, lived in or want to visit. The map is color coded with their choices. It sounds silly, and simple, but it’s actually pretty fun to watch the map come to life. The map appears on users’ profile pages, where others can see where they've been. (Edit: One has to actually click on the map that appears in profiles to see where users have been)
The Good:
The user interface is clearly what separates Ulliott's application from the many others out there (TravBuddy, Locations, etc.). Not only is the map visually appealing once color is added the "click, click, click" manner of changing the map is very intuitive — and plenty fast. Since I last saw the application, the UI is much improved and it includes a cool zoom feature. There are now even more countries and plans for adding states to additional places (namely. Brazil and Russia).
Not as Good:
The map has been buggy at times. I have had my maps erased and forced to start over on more than one occasion. It’s like writing a long e-mail and having the computer freeze right at the end. The second time around, one ends up sending a three-sentence e-mail instead of retyping the previous version. It seems more stable now. I think Ulliott was having hosting issues before that might have caused the problems. Looks like he has resolved that.
Monetization Possibilities:
There is no advertising right now — or even, from what I can tell, sponsorship. Ulliott posted on the developer board a few weeks ago, pleading for help or suggestions on hosting. It seems he was facing $400 /month in hosting bills and like many FB Platform developers was just doing this for fun. He put up a donation box that is gone now, so perhaps he has worked something out. His application has grown 1,000 percent since then. It would appear that an application like this would be a natural partnership for a Web travel service like Expedia, Orbitz or STA Travel — or especially for an upstart travel company or maybe a niche marketer for a particular need (regional travel, airlines, hotels, etc.).
Is it Contagious:
Apparently so! The application is at just under 1.5 million users — making it one of the 20 most popular applications on the Facebook Platform. And, as noted earlier, the most popular application in the travel category. It’s also spreading very quickly, as evidenced by the Appaholic graph.
It is interesting
that the application is growing this
fast since it does not really
involve much in the way of
interaction among users. It’s just
an expression of the owner ... a
profile decoration, if you will.
Clearly it’s popular because it is
so well done, and because it taps in
to that need people have to tell
others about themselves. Where they
have been, and perhaps where they
are going next is a popular topic,
especially among frequent travelers.
(Credit Appaholic
for the
graph)
Update: Today the guys over at Inside Facebook have posted a summary of several of the Facebook travel applications, including Where I've Been. They came to the same conclusion we did, Where I've Been is the clubhouse leader among the current travel apps. Updated 7/14/07
A detailed, interactive world map, show everyone where you’ve been, where you have lived and where you want to go...
Where I've Been is in the crowded travel category of Facebook Applications, but developer Craig Ulliott has managed to climb to the top of the heap with an outstanding user interface. The premise of the application is not revolutionary: Remember once upon a time the guy who had a 10-foot map of the world on his wall with pins in it for everywhere he has traveled? This is the Facebook-ization of that concept. Users start with a grey map of the world, then click on the places they’ve visited, lived in or want to visit. The map is color coded with their choices. It sounds silly, and simple, but it’s actually pretty fun to watch the map come to life. The map appears on users’ profile pages, where others can see where they've been. (Edit: One has to actually click on the map that appears in profiles to see where users have been)
The Good:
The user interface is clearly what separates Ulliott's application from the many others out there (TravBuddy, Locations, etc.). Not only is the map visually appealing once color is added the "click, click, click" manner of changing the map is very intuitive — and plenty fast. Since I last saw the application, the UI is much improved and it includes a cool zoom feature. There are now even more countries and plans for adding states to additional places (namely. Brazil and Russia).
Not as Good:
The map has been buggy at times. I have had my maps erased and forced to start over on more than one occasion. It’s like writing a long e-mail and having the computer freeze right at the end. The second time around, one ends up sending a three-sentence e-mail instead of retyping the previous version. It seems more stable now. I think Ulliott was having hosting issues before that might have caused the problems. Looks like he has resolved that.
Monetization Possibilities:
There is no advertising right now — or even, from what I can tell, sponsorship. Ulliott posted on the developer board a few weeks ago, pleading for help or suggestions on hosting. It seems he was facing $400 /month in hosting bills and like many FB Platform developers was just doing this for fun. He put up a donation box that is gone now, so perhaps he has worked something out. His application has grown 1,000 percent since then. It would appear that an application like this would be a natural partnership for a Web travel service like Expedia, Orbitz or STA Travel — or especially for an upstart travel company or maybe a niche marketer for a particular need (regional travel, airlines, hotels, etc.).
Is it Contagious:
Apparently so! The application is at just under 1.5 million users — making it one of the 20 most popular applications on the Facebook Platform. And, as noted earlier, the most popular application in the travel category. It’s also spreading very quickly, as evidenced by the Appaholic graph.
It is interesting
that the application is growing this
fast since it does not really
involve much in the way of
interaction among users. It’s just
an expression of the owner ... a
profile decoration, if you will.
Clearly it’s popular because it is
so well done, and because it taps in
to that need people have to tell
others about themselves. Where they
have been, and perhaps where they
are going next is a popular topic,
especially among frequent travelers.
(Credit Appaholic
for the
graph)
Update: Today the guys over at Inside Facebook have posted a summary of several of the Facebook travel applications, including Where I've Been. They came to the same conclusion we did, Where I've Been is the clubhouse leader among the current travel apps. Updated 7/14/07