The day after Gowalla announced it is to become a part of Facebook, Lonely Planet has launched the unique Wenzani mobile travel guide.
As I mentioned earlier today, social travel is a space waiting for a break out star and Wenzani is the latest to use socially generated recommendations to create a personalized travel guide. What makes this app different and more useful than others is that it taps into content from multiple competitors, er, expert sources, in addition to Lonely Planet. Such expert sources include Time Out, BBC Travel, Eyewitness Guides and Frommer’s Travel, to name a few.
A post on the Wenzani blog read, “Although usually considered competitors, we have joined forces to do something unique and give our users the most comprehensive guide possible.”
Zulu for “What are you doing,” Wenzani certainly seems capable of providing very relevant information based on what users are up to around the world.
What do you think? Is Wenzani a game changer in social travel? Do you think teaming up with competitors is a good idea?
Just when it had started to seem like walled gardens were a thing of the past, and different communities were beginning to mingle… do we really need a travel specific app for all this? It doesn’t sound like it does anything that can’t already be done through any number of other platforms: Twitter, Gowalla/Facebook, Yelp, Foursquare. And with yet another tragic Web 2.0 name like Wenzani it all sounds a bit “try hard”, and a bit late to the party. I want to love it, but I feel a big yawn coming on.
Ouch! Well, we are looking for specific feedback during this public beta so please let know how to make the app more useful and relevant.
I have a question – What’s your business model? 🙂
Sorry, Jenny, it’s only my first impression. I downloaded the app today to have a better look.
What an awful name!
It’s all in the name and the name isn’t memorable?
What I miss about Gowalla is the game aspect. Does this app include any of the “collecting-as-reward-for-exploring” concepts that first put Gowalla on the map…so to speak?