Jim Moore’s blog: Innovation, Strategy, Public Policy

RealTravel features
travel and travelers, and is based almost entirely on user-generated
media.  It is a nice service within which to browse imagined destinations.  A good complement to traditional travel guides and formal/commercial media on particular destinations.

http://realtravel.com/

1. The user contribution
strategy is to expand the range of primary source material and informal
content, by encouraging the creation of personal profiles and travel
blogs.

It’s user participation format is “travel blogs” that it
hosts, and that thus expands the range of informal media available on a
given topic..

Here is the sign-up page

http://realtravel.com/login.aspx?redirect=%2fmypage.aspx

A user may create a personal profile that is highly visual and, I think, compelling.
The profile page in turn is a kind of top ten sources link page to
other bloggers on related subjects.  Here is a profile of a young
traveling couple Jan and Marge

http://realtravel.com/member-m585885-jan__marge.html

Here is a travel blog by Jan and Marge in Africa

http://realtravel.com/africa-trips-i619529.html

2.  The site enables both search and browsing.

Search is done with keyword augmented by check the box suggestions/options–a very good idea

http://realtravel.com/search-results.aspx

Browse is by geographical region and destination

http://realtravel.com/destinations

3. 
The coolest thing:  Browsing leads to top ten sources-like pages of the
best blogs on a given destination.  Reading these blogs really gives a
sense of the place..

Here are top blogs on Bangkok

http://realtravel.com/bangkok-thailand-reviews-hotels-d20461.html

Here are photo sets from Bangkok and Thailand

http://realtravel.com/bangkok-thailand-photos-d20461-7.html

4.
Commerce is very well integrated, and the site includes “deals”
especially for participants and a kind of built-in travel buying service.

http://realtravel.com/travel+deals

5.  The founders come from Adforce, which was at some point acquired by CMGI.

http://realtravel.com/about-us.aspx#team