Top Ten Travel Social Network Sites for 2010

It’s pretty common these days for someone  to come up with a “top ten” best web sites list or air fare search engine list or applications, and it’s anyone’s guess how accurate or useful the list is since we all have different needs and preferences and us the sites differently.

It’s pretty common these days for someone  to come up with a “top ten” best web sites list or air fare search engine list or applications, and it’s anyone’s guess how accurate or useful the list is since we all have different needs and preferences and us the sites differently.

But I’m always interested in who’s on top.. and on the bottom.

I was particularly interested when Hotel Marketing.com announced that the travel social network entity, Tripatini.com was “the best travel social network of 2010.”

And then the  blog, Housetrip.com also dubbed Tripatini as one of “The Top Ten Social Networks.”

Full disclosure, I do post to Tripatini, and my content gets “feature status.” But still, I didn’t know the New York Post described it as “the Facebook for travelers,” and I never paid much attention to its ranking.

So I read more.

Both HotelMarketing.com and Housetrip touted Tripatini’s ability to bring together travel industry leaders with travelers, allowing travelers to profit from experienced travel voices and helping travel experts get better  branded. One cool feature is its successful integration of travelers with travel experts, especially in its “Ask A Travel Expert” forum, and widget.

From NMT Images

Housetrip also listed Boots N All, Lonely Planet’s Thorntree Forum as a top travel community, specifically calling attention to the site’s useful, timely message boards and forums, often filled with solid travel information culled from the publishing giant.

Trip Wolf  was singled out as among the top ten, and while I find the site text-heavy and too tight, there’s no question the “Tip Gurus” feature, combined with reviews, tips and consumer generated content, makes Trip Wolf a solid travel social network choice.

I was glad to see Trip Say on the list. I like its quirky approach and fun questions, and it’s especially efficient because by “liking” or “hating” a place or destination, users connect only with like-minded travelers and cut right to the chase.

No surprise that WAYN (Where Are You Now) made the list. It’s the largest travel and lifestyle community site out there (16 million members), and like Face Book, you sign up and meet people. The “ Who’s Around” feature is fun, though not unique, allowing users to see which of their friends are available and where.

Check out HouseTrip to see the other top travel social network sites in the top ten list.

There are many travel social networks, but as Housetrip says, not all are created equal. Meaning some are simply much better than others, and this list does a good job of singling out a solid “top ten.”

See for yourself.