Where I've Been re-design

Woo hoo!

After a nice, long winter hibernation, Where I've Been sprung to life and launched it's new travel platform early Monday morning for all to explore and discover. Whether you are planning a trip to Berlin, Germany or searching for the nearest Greek restaurant in your hometown, Where I've Been now allows members to search for anything and everything - globally and locally.

But that's not all, folks...


Members can also write, rate, and publish reviews from the home site (www.whereivebeen.com) to their Facebook profiles using Facebook Connect for everyone to read and admire! In fact, reviews are not the thing that can be shared through Facebook. Images, videos, comments, questions, and Trivia of the Day can also be shared to Facebook.



Think you are a know-it-all when it comes to your hometown? Then flaunt your knowledge by becoming an expert. All you have to do is upload videos, add images, write reviews, or post comments on the Where I've Been application to become the 'go-to' person in your city.


Where I've Been is all about giving back to the community which is why we have created Travel Bucks. With Travel Bucks, users can feed a child in Mali, save the rain forest, and other philanthropic acts! To get Travel Bucks, all users have to do is merely interact with the site. Post videos of your trip to Mexico, add images of your family in South Africa. Post a comment or two about Chicago nightlife. The more actions you perform on the site, the more Travel Bucks you earn!

Tripso has written up a fantastic article highlighting Where I've Been's key features. Please view the article "Popular Facebook travel application gets a facelift" for more information on us.

We really hope you enjoy our new layout and design! If you have a minute or two, please let us know what you think on our forum.

Cheers!
Katy Lynch
Community Manager
katy@whereivebeen.com

... don't forget to sign up to Where I've Been for your chance to win an adventure to Australia.

Tripso

Do you know who Christopher Elliott is? He is Tripso’s editorial director who gives phenomenal travel expert tips and advice, solves travel problems, and comments on trends and news within the travel industry. He’s written numerous travel articles for CNN.com, MarketWatch.com, MSN, The New York Times, ABCNEWS.com, and USAToday.com, but some of his best material can be viewed on his personal site elliott.org.

So, why do I like him so much?

Some of the core reasons why I enjoy Elliott's writing style over other travel writers is because he keeps his material real and relevant (... with a twist of his own humour thrown in!). From advice on how to handle the recession to dealing with unfriendly airline staff, Elliott is your go-to man for everything travel-related.

Here are a few of my personal favourite Elliott entries (taken from his blog):

“You have no idea what this tube of toothpaste could do to a plane”

The real reason airlines still serve free drinks

Southwest Airlines: Sorry, your lost bag never existed

Rapping flight attendant: Why shouldn’t in-flight announcements be fun?

Absurd: your airline ticket costs $60; your baby’s ticket is $1,280

Your Community Manager
Katy Lynch
Where I've Been | Twitter | Facebook

Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Yesterday morning, Where I've Been were giving out 2 tickets for the Cubs vs. Cardinals at Wrigley Field (via Twitter and Facebook). The first person to respond to the post won the tickets. Our lucky winner this week was Tom Gaffney. He kindly snapped a few shots of him and his friend at the game. See below:

Cheers! Tom enjoying a delicious beer after the game
The lovely Wrigley Field in Wrigleyville, Chicago.

We're always having super cool contests here at Where I've Been, so please follow us on Twitter (@whereivebeen). In fact, when we launch our new site we will be having a competition to win an amazing adventure trip to Australia. Please stay tuned to www.whereivebeen.com for more details.

Your Community Manager
Katy Lynch
Where I've Been | Twitter | Facebook

Recap of #traveltuesday

Just finished up another great Tuesday with #traveltuesday on Twitter! The topics, photos, videos, and URLs you all shared were fantastic and a really great way for travelers, young and young hearted, to connect!

Watch #traveltuesday here: www.traveltuesday.org

Well done to all who got the Trivia questions right and for those of you who learned something new and exciting. We are constantly trying to come up with bright ideas for the traveltuesday.org and #traveltuesday, so if you have any ideas/suggestions that you wish to see in the future, let us know. Shoot us an email at support@whereivebeen.com

And as promised, here are some great tweets from yesterday:

@ecotrotters: Finding lots of cool guys with #traveltuesday !!! I'm looking forward to your travel tweets

@soultravelers3: Top 10 Family Travel Tips! http://tinyurl.com/6a5pes #traveltuesday #family

@thirstyboots07: http://tinyurl.com/czgzpw Would You Be A Perpetual Traveler Or World Citizen? #traveltuesday

@TravelingAnna: Top Travel Blogs and Resources http://tinyurl.com/d9dn38 #TravelTuesday

@MelanieFineEVI: Going To NYC? 5 Family favorites! http://ow.ly/2OPD #traveltuesday

@migrationology: Twitter tips from 25 traveling tweeters http://tinyurl.com/djyvyo #traveltuesday Great Advice!

@gowithapurpose: Take our #traveltuesday poll: What mode of travel do you use the most? http://twtpoll.com/k5srx0

@mymelange: Travel like a local-do's and don'ts. http://www.mymelange.net #traveltuesday What are some of your do's and dont's? Weigh in!!

@DonnaLHull: What to wear on safari? Here's the scoop. http://bit.ly/1683o #traveltuesday #travel #boomers

Safe and happy travels,
Katy Lynch
Your Community Manager
Where I've Been | Twitter | Facebook

the BEST of #traveltuesday

Hey there travel tweeters!

Early this morning, Where I've Been decided to create the hashtag "#traveltuesday" in hopes that travelers could communicate their thoughts, suggestions, travel stories, quotes, pictures, videos, travel deals, and blog entries easily and efficiently.

Throughout the day @whereivebeen posted various travel-related questions, and recieved a lot of wonderful, thought-provoking feedback. In fact, I would love to share with you some of the best responses I recieved today under the #traveltuesday hashtag!

@MartaR: Travel in one word? Enlightening #traveltuesday

@BrilliantTips: 10 Meaningful Travel Experiences http://budurl.com/uya7 #traveltuesday

@elfiec: To travel is to submerse urself into an alternate culture, to momentarily imitate someone else's lifestyle and forget ur own. #traveltuesday

@Journeywoman: "I'm never happier than when I am alone in a foreign city; it is as if I had become invisible" (Storm Jameson) #traveltuesday

@TiffanyEckhardt: I think I might love #traveltuesday as much as I love #followfriday

@soultravelers3: "the greatest reward & luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the 1st time" #traveltuesday

@pen4hire: What movie inspired you to pack your bags and go there? #traveltuesday

@BrooklynNomad: #traveltuesday I am really digging traveltuesday. Great idea for the travel obsessed to get together and chat.

@travelrants: Not another bloody tag. #traveltuesday (ohhh, travelrants!)

@TransAmericas: @whereivebeen Scenic of course. A good road trip isn't about the destination but the places in between. #traveltuesday http://bit.ly

@aprilcole: @MelanieFineEVI Oh yes, the travel breaks are a necessity. Travel helps me to refresh and reignite my sense of wonder #traveltuesday

@globalculture: "best reason to travel is to discover what you will become after being affected by your destination" http://is.gd/rgJP #traveltuesday

@kag2u: everyday is #traveltuesday for me, travel is always on my brain (and on twitter)

Need an introduction to fellow travel tweeters? View the list of twitterers that I posted earlier today.

Where I've Been are working on launching http://www.traveltuesday.org/ We are always looking for ways to give back to our travel community, so please send suggestions and ideas for this site along at support@whereivebeen.com

Thank you to everyone who generated buzz and participated today in #traveltuesday. I cannot wait to see more travel-related content posted every week. Who knew Tuesdays could be so fun?

Katy Lynch
Your Community Manager
Where I've Been | Twitter | Facebook

Where I've Been introduces #traveltuesday

Does anyone know what day it is? It's Travel Tuesday! I thought that it would be a wonderful idea to gather the thoughts of travelers every Tuesday via Twitter. Tweet about anything from travel blogs, to travel deals, to useful tips, vacation pictures and videos and travel quotes. Let's all work together to make the #traveltuesday hashtag a massive success across the world.

Don't know who to follow on #traveltuesday? That's okay, below is a wee list of people to look out for on Twitter!

@acoupleofchicks
@awayblog
@BootsnAll
@BrilliantTips
@BrilliantTrips
@brooklynnomad
@traveldudes
@cruisemates
@cultoftravel
@dealbase
@EveywhereTrip
@Expedia
@fodorstravel
@GoGreenTraveler
@HappyHotelier
@holeinthedonut
@globtrav
@GoVisitHawaii
@homeaway
@JetBlue
@journeywoman
@lifecruiser
@nerdseyeview
@planeteye
@Soultravelers3
@statravelers
@travel2dot0
@TravelMamas
@TravelMuse
@travelrants
@TravelSavvyMom
@Travelzoo
@trazzler
@TripIt
@tripwolf
@Wanderluster
@WeJustGotBack
@wendyperrin
@WhatATrip
@whereivebeen
@WorldNomad
@writingroads
@WritingTravel

200+ Travel Twitterers via Uptake Travel Industry blog
Can’t-Miss Travel Bloggers & Tweeters via ypartnership blog
50 travel twitterers you should follow via elliott.org

If I failed to mention you, many apologies. I was typing names at the top of my head! Please feel free to add yourself within the comment box or shoot me an email at katy@whereivebeen.com. I LOVE listening to new ideas and suggestions for Where I've Been, our mobile platform, and #traveltuesday so feel free to contact me whenever you please.

Happy Travel Tuesday!
Katy Lynch
Community Manager
Where I've Been | Twitter | Facebook

What are YOU guilty of ... on Twitter?

We've all read articles on Twitter etiquette and skimmed over How-To Twitter blog entries, but there aren't any specific rules to follow on this social networking service. Spamming is certainly discouraged, and swearing about trivial matters is a big no-no, but what other set-in-stone (spoken or unspoken) rules are there?

I have created a list of things that I shake my head at while logged in to Twitter. (I can guarantee that all of us, at some point, are/were guilty of these when we first joined!)

1. For personal matters, using Direct Messaging as opposed to @replies. The whole world doesn't want to hear about your bathroom troubles at 4am this morning. Keep it private.

2. No screaming. The amount of times I log in to Twitter and see a string of "!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" everywhere. Oh, and capital letters are also a form of screaming. See below. Lay off the caps lock.
3. No one likes a show off or a gossiper. Remember, Twitter is like one huge house party, everyone can hear you. Keep conversations interesting, relevant, and fun.

4. Constructive criticism is good and usually sparks great conversation, but lashing out at tweeters is never a good idea, so just don't do it!

5. Over-posting. There's no need to post the same article 4,000 times. Post it once or twice throughout the day. I know you are excited to announce that you got a promotion at work, but don't rub it in!

6. If you come off as a jerk on Twitter, chances are people will treat you like a jerk and/or un-follow you. Be kind, be friendly, be grateful that people chose to follow you based on your interests and personality.
7. Creating multiple Twitter accounts and adding yourself as a follower to all of them. You really need friends that badly? Sheesh...

What are some of the things that make you laugh, cry, or cringe the minute you log into Twitter? Post comments below on @whereivebeen.

Katy Lynch
Community Manager
katy@whereivebeen.com

Road trippin'

After reading all about road trip disasters, I thought I'd post my own little entry on some of the worst things you could say or hear in a small packed car in the middle of nowhere!

1. "Are we there yet?"

2. "Has anyone seen Bernie, my pet snake?"

3. "I just pooped my pants"

4. "MOCK... YEAH... ING... YEAH... BIRD... YEAH..." (Dumb and Dumber, haha)

5. "I think I'm gonna puke"

6. "We've been going the wrong way... for 6 hours"

7. "I wanna go home right now!"

8. "This is the song that never ends. Yes, it goes on and on my friend. Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it, forever just because this is the song..." [repeat]

9. "You're breaking up with me?!?"

What are some of the things you don't want to hear on a road trip with your friends? Share your thoughts and/or stories below!

Katy Lynch
Community Manager
katy@whereivebeen.com