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Delta / Facebook / Social Media / Airlines / Airline Industry / Social Media Travel / Technology / Travel Rants / → All Tags

You Can Now Book Delta Tickets Through Facebook, But Who Would Want To?

At the end of last week, Delta announced that they'd become the first airline in the world to offer seamless booking, from the initial search through the final purchase, all via the airline's Facebook fan page. This landmark innovation, which was definitely being developed by EasyJet and probably being pursued by other airlines, will empower Delta's customers to integrate their travel life with the managements of their social networks in the context of... YAWN.

Listen. When Orbitz rolled out their Facebook application last year, that was pretty stupid. The idea was that people would share their itineraries with their friends, then their friends would be inspired to splurge on the same itineraries, then Orbitz would make money. The problem - in sharp contrast to what consultants tell the middle managers of travel companies - is that phrases like "social media," "viral advertising," and "user generated content" aren't actually magical. They have to make sense against the backdrop of how customers actually use products, and people don't buy tickets that way.

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San Diego Zoo / Zoos / San Diego Travel / California Travel / Nature Travel / Foursquare / Facebook / Twitter / Flickr / Technology / Contests / Social Media / Social Media Travel / → All Tags

San Diego Zoo Celebrating 'Panda Week' with Tons of Contests

Our beloved San Diego Zoo has a knack for getting attention with interesting new media stunts, but this time they've really outdone themselves. In celebration of Panda Week, during which three of the Zoo's famous Giant Pandas have birthdays, they've launched a full-blown new media campaign for fans and visitors.

Starting today there are Zoo-sponsored activities and contests across Foursquare, Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr, all revolving around the birthday parties, the Zoo's panda exhibit, and pandas in general.

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Social Media / Social Media Travel / Foursquare / Facebook / Technology / → All Tags

Is Foursquare Really the Next Big Thing in Tourism?

You can always tell when a new social media company has made it, because you start getting consultants telling companies that they'll totally completely no doubt about it die if they don't hop aboard. And while we've outright mocked some travel companies for their inexplicable fascination with Facebook applications, the leap into location-based services like Foursquare makes a lot more sense. And wouldn't you know it, here are a bunch of consultants telling tourism industry officials to "go Foursquare or perish."

The social media completionists at Travelocity have already availed themselves of Foursquare, adding the Traveling Gnome to the network. Pennsylvania's tourism officials have also gotten the memo, setting up Foursquare location badges at a bunch of their historical sites (check out Jaunted's guide to Foursquare badges to see what they look like). The city of Chicago has similarly gotten into the act, setting up a mission that recreates Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

But it's still an open question whether Foursquare will turn out to be a fad or a real presence in tourism.

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