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Sarah is Searching for Citisins who Want to Print their own Tourist Guide
Recently, we were introduced to Sarah, the model tourist in the new Startup Citisins, that wants to revolutionize the enormous tourist guide industry with a technology that allows for a Do-it-Yourself Custom made guide, by selecting your own hotspots on an interface and get a printed version via a Printing-on Demand tool. The founders of Citisins are young and ambitious and have seen the success of the Offbeat Guides. Citisins was a finalist of the Rising Sun Startup Rally at The Next Web conference.
Right now they are looking for beta-testers: travellers all around Europe to test the first version. They are especially looking for citisins in the following cities: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, London, Paris, Madrid, Milan and Rotterdam.
Citisins Introduction Video from Citisins on Vimeo.
Growing Media Market in Russia Digital Perestroika 2.0 (Part 2)
The Dutch New Media Innovation Business Trip will travel to Russia in June 2009. Russia has the highest internet growth figures and is one of the largest European internet markets. The trip will take place from June 15-21, 2009 and we will visit Moscow and St. Petersburg. The trip is organised by Coincide, the company of female entrepreneur Dorrit Gruijters, Marketingfacts and InterimIC.
In 2 articles on The NextWomen, the new and social media, internet, online marketing and mobile landscape in Russia is explained. This is the second article.
RuTube.ru
Online Marketing
Online marketing is limited but growing with almost 100% annually. Being such a large country with 11 time zones and an enormous differentiation in cultures, ethnic groups and buying power, online marketing is the logical choice. In addition, the internet is growing fast as a popular medium, that to reach your audience brands better use the internet. The online marketing budgets are expected to grow from US$ 369 million in 2008 to US$ 685 million in 2009 exclusive of production and creation costs.
Social media
The Russian television is limited and not always trusted for news. Individual journalists on the net might be quicker trusted then the old media publications. (Although Noveta Gazeta is an exception on that rule being the new player in the old market.) Via the internet citizens can stay tuned easily on the latest news. And not being hindered by old ways of doing things (web1.0), Russian consumers easily adapt to the web 2.0 way of communicating. Live Journal, now managed by female Internet executive Annelies van der Belt, is Russia’s most popular blogging site where also President Medvedev is active. Odnoklassniki, a social network has already 28 million members while its competitor, Vkontakte attracted 22 million users. De Russian clone of You-Tube, RuTube, had in 2008 approximately 400.000 unique visitors per day and over 40 million page views per month. RuTube is the place to look for news and entertainment. And as not having a TV yet, consumers go directly to watching PC.
Mobile
Russia had 179.540.000 registered mobile users in December 2008. That is a penetration of 123%, due to many prepaid cards and double subscriptions. Nonetheless mobile internet and mobile applications are very popular. To pay with your mobile, gaming and social media are very accepted. Again, not being very used to a fixed line makes it easier to start immediately doing everthing with your mobile.
For more information (also in English) on the Russian market: www.Rusland2009.nl For participation please contact: dorrit.gruijters[at]coincide.nl Dutch readers can listen to the interview on Dutchcowgirls: http://www.dutchcowgirls.nl/events/2023
A Hollywood Movie and the Global Recession Increases Home Swaps
The Holiday - Catalyst for a Rise in Home Swappers
The recession is proving a profitable time for businesses that have harnessed Web 2.0 to bring people luxuries at an affordable price. For similar reasons that have seen users flock to LoveFilm so too have membership numbers increased on home exchange sites, but whilst LoveFilm provide cheap rental, home exchange sites provide accommodation abroad for almost no cost at all.
The UK HomeExchange website was launched last year by Julie Osborne after the company enjoyed great success Stateside. An article in the BMI inflight magazine recently reported that: although the global recession has definitely had an impact on subscribers, their first injection of additional numbers came after the 2006 release of the film, The Holiday, when users over a two year period increased by almost 80% from 10,000 to 18,000.
Home Exchange sites work by providing one site for all accommodation to be viewed. In return for a yearly fee users list their property’s and search for others they would like to exchange with. Packages of varying price allow for properties to be grouped essentially by value. HomeExchange’s Gold package for example includes Mansions, Chateaux and Castles, although there is a price to pay with a yearly membership fee in excess of £300.
HomeLink, now run by Caroline Connolly was founded in the 1950s, and backs the evidence that these sites are gaining more momentum in direct correlation with the recession. It is interesting to note from the article in the BMI inflight magazine that whilst their total numbers are not as impressive as those of HomeExchange, they have still reported a jump in users since the economy came under pressure.
If you have a home worth swapping, a dwindling bank balance and would like free accommodation why not check out one of these sites.
Web 2.0 international development guru talks in Blueshots (internet TV)
Young social entrepreneur Anna Chojnacka of the development aid platform THE ONE PERCENT CLUB talks in She, the Dutch internet programme of Blueshots, about her ambition to change the world of development aid with a web 2.0 way of thinking. Started only in April 2008, Chojnacka has managed – with no-budget marketing -to launch the website, get people in the developing world involved with 57 projects, attract personal donations of its 1300 members of 60.000 Euro, and involve even Ruud Lubbers, former Prime Minister of The Netherlands and High Commissioner for Refugees at the UN. The government has backed her idea with a grant of almost 1 million Euro; her 600 page booklet was the most impressive and soon the 1%Club goes international. Watch and listen to the Dutch ‘Angelina Jolie’!
SHE, (a programme of Blueshots) sponsored by Bizner Bank, features interviews with women entrepreneurs, female internet heroes and also discuss marketing to women cases. It is presented by Marianne van Leeuwen of Sisteract and Simone Brummelhuis of TheNextWomen.
Ethical and Inspirational Holidays in India
Claire Prest, co-founder of Grass routes
Claire Prest has lived and worked in the Indian Subcontinent since 2000. More significantly she has travelled its length and breadth and quite simply fallen in love with the place.. In honour of this irrefutable bond and in gratitude of the countless people who have shared their genuine hospitality, she co-founded Grass Routes.
The premise of that business is to provide fantastic holidays for travellers whilst enabling them to engage with local communities by working in partnership with local people. In fact, Claire’s company does the best of both worlds, it provides a unique experience for holiday makers, whilst at the same time encouraging responsible tourism.
Proving that not all successful businesses have vast amounts of venture capital behind them, Read more
New Social Network for Travel Bloggers Launched
kim Mace of TBEX
Blogging can be a solitary pursuit, especially for those who are just starting out. When you have questions like how to get traffic to your blog, how to generate revenue and do not know where to turn for the answers, it can be a daunting prospect starting a blog.
But this is all set to change with the recent launch of a new travel blogging social network travelblogexchange.com. Founded by Kim Mance of gogalavanting.com, the aim of the site is to offer a platform where travel bloggers can congregate, offer tips, advice and support to each other. Read more
Travelling Mamas 2009
Traveling Mamas (Beth- third from the left)
There is life after Motherhood, says travel writer Beth Blair. And it is worth writing about. Hence the blog Travelling Mamas. “We realized that by using our sister-like chemistry combined with our experiences, we could start a blog to inspire moms to travel and remind them that life doesn’t end with motherhood .” As the site exists a year this month, we asked Beth to tell us what the mamas have done this year, what 2009 holds in store for the site and the travel industry as a whole.
What has this year been like for you? Read more
Your Safe Planet, the international travelsite with a local outlook
Sally Broom
Finding gluten free products in Russia or organising a ten day tour through Mongolia, Sally Broom, founder of Your Safe Planet does it for anyone who wants to travel internationally with a local perspective.
For those of you unfamiliar with YSP, the concept is simple. You register on the site and tell them where you want to go on holiday and they then tee you up with a local friend or fixer who will help you out with any of their travel arrangements. The key to Sally’s success has been building up a trusted network of local contacts, who are all vetted, and paying them a fair fee for their services. As Sally says: Read more
Essentials for a Traveling Work Environment
Whether you travel the majority of the time, or once in a while, having what you need to be productive on the road is a must. Carol Margolis, founder of SmartWomenTravelers, a recently launched community of businesswomen travelers provides her ‘must-have’ list (apart from phone, PDA and laptop), whether you’ll be working in your office in the sky as well as hotel room desks, client offices and meeting rooms.
Air card
“Connect virtually anywhere and anytime with your air card (available from major mobile phone providers). While there is a monthly cost for air card usage, it is a small price for having the ability to be more effective more of the time. No more downtime while at the airport waiting for your flight or sitting in a taxi. And it’s less expensive than paying for hotel internet if you’re in a hotel for more than a few days each month.”
Scanner
“I love, love, love my scanner from NeatReceipts. Read more
Personalised travel magazine at Heathrow’s terminal 1
Global bank HSBC is offering passengers at Heathrow’s Terminal 1 a chance to create their own in-flight magazine, it is reported.
At a HSBC kiosk in the terminal, travellers can select their articles sourced from global media on topics they’re interested in and have them bound into a hardback form they can take on their flight. They can choose from the topics home and abroad, commerce and politics, health and sport, and media and culture. Passengers can also choose from five writers, including celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and former tennisplayer Björn Borg.
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