Driftr: Recommendations And Travel Journal
This is the fourth review in our series of travel applications that offer a journal. For an introduction to this category, including a rundown of features common to all four applications reviewed this week, please see: Travel Journals And Web 2.0.
When thinking of how you want to remember your trip or how you might want to discover new destinations, a map is what you’ll most likely visualize, and it’s a map you’ll get with the travel journal Driftr. Designed with a simple to understand and visually pleasing interface, Driftr uses a large world map as one its navigational tools. Finding new locations is as simple as rolling a mouse over the interactive map, which will give you the number of entries in each location. Roll over California, for example and you’ll see how popular it is, and once you click on it, you’ll see a list of destinations with a thumbs up (recommended), a pen (blog), or a camera, indicating that a user has uploaded some pictures. The map is everywhere in Driftr, even on your page, where it will show all the places you’ve been and are going to.
This is not to say that the map is the only way to get around. Top links, search bar, and buttons take users to a variety of options, including entering a location for your past or upcoming trips. But navigation is not the best part of Driftr - it’s the information, and there are so many ways to put it in. Once you’ve chosen a destination (and date range), you can put in your recommendations to others in a blog or one of the specialized tabs on the trip page. Titled to be very self-explanatory, these tabs let you put in information that puts trip details right in the quick of it: where to stay, what to do, and how to get around. You can also add details and ratings as you like.
One of the better features of Driftr is available when looking at pictures; the slideshow button (a play arrow next to the photo) lets users autoplay uploaded travel pics, which is more enjoyable than clicking through selections. In addition to being a source of information and sharing, users can use Driftr to connect socially with other travelers, adding friends and inviting people as they wish. Messaging and commenting are also worked into Driftr to help you communicate with your new friends.
Driftr handles the task of travel journal and community well, but some improvement could be made. The map, which is one of the main navigational tools, could be made to give local information as well (such as neighborhood and street info), and where we admire that Driftr has resisted the urge to use Google maps, their site could benefit from a stronger map. Even with the current map, Driftr is effective and pleasing to the eye. To find this or similar travel applications, there is the Listio search: travel+share.
Previously in this series: GoAbroad: Travel Journal With Groups
Next in this series: Comparing Travel Journals: Driftr, GoAbroad, MyLifeofTravel, and MyTripBook
Application: DriftrListio Profile: http://www.listio.com/web20/app/Driftr/
Website: http://www.driftr.com
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Tags: discover, find, manage, share, Travel
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