Tnooz will continue to operate throughout the Christmas and New Year break, but here are some items to ponder for those heading off for a well-deserved break to recharge the batteries.
In less than three months Tnooz has produced almost 450 articles from its group of editorial nodes around the world.
Here are 20 of the best:
1) Google Sidewiki could be a sideshow for review sites
"Google Sidewiki, just introduced in beta and accessible through an updated Google toolbar, enables anyone to publish and share comments about almost any web page."
2) How the travel industry will save the world with technology
"Those of you who know me well are already aware of what drives my personal ambition as well as my writing: travel, technology and the environment."
3) The internet is ruining travel journalism
"Being a journalist I’m partial to a good headline. And I figured I needed something to grab attention for my first post on Tnooz."
4) TravelTainment builds Microsoft Surface application for travel agents
"TravelTainment, the Amadeus-owned technology brand, is well known for its focus on research and development - an area of the business championed by its enthusiastic chief executive, Andrew Owen-Jones."
5) Inoqo: is it possible to build an entire travel business based on Twitter?
"Twitter being the social-network-of-the-moment has managed to inspire many a company to examine how easy it might be – or not – to monetise its interconnectivity into a viable business."
6) Do agents realise bag and seat charges are a ploy to increase direct bookings?
There is some confusion about extra services (which are mainly non mandatory to the end customer) that are now available on many forms of mainstream travel products such as flights.
Inoqo: is it possible to build an entire travel business based on Twitter?
Twitter being the social-network-of-the-moment has managed to inspire many a company to examine how easy it might be – or not – to monetise its interconnectivity into a viable business.
7) Google helping TripAdvisor to maintain barrier to entry
"When considering an online travel startup you tend to think about three approaches..."
8) Is it possible to crowdsource the airline industry?
"The airline industry is in tailspin, hoping for a recovery some time maybe next year."
9) American Airlines unleashes a GDS earthquake
"The earthquake that rocks the world of distribution was quietly delivered in a session at CASMA last week."
10) Live aircraft movements – the best travel mashup of all time?
"Streaming photographs from another site onto a Google Map is just sooo 2008 – or at least it will be once users have seen Casper."
11) Why the Long Tail of travel is wagging the head of the dog
"PhoCusWright published an article recently with the premise that travel companies in the long tail are taking traffic away from the big online travel agencies."
12) Get Funded Show 2009 – all 18 pitches reviewed
"Eighteen entrepreneurs pitched in front of an audience consisting of angel and VC investors. This is a quick roundup of who pitched and what their services are about."
13) Best Job in the World PR campaign – ten months on
"Tourism Queensland is still revelling in the praise from a kowtowing advertising and PR industry for its offline-online-social media push earlier this year."
14) Tnooz List: First Tweet from 50 travel companies
"Doubts continue over the long term relevancy of Twitter as a meaningful tool to promote product or engage customers – but travel firms across the world have embraced it with open arms."
15) International travel-company expansion in as little as 30 days
"I’ve seen the light and I now can share with your travel company how to crack the nut of international expansion in as little as 30 days."
16) RoomAtlas – look what a retired banker and his son can do in their spare time
"RoomAtlas is a map-based hotel search site and is the plaything – in their own words – of the recently retired former-banker Roger Middleton and his son."
17) Travel Innovation Summit 2009 – every innovator reviewed
"The Travel Innovation Summit took place on day one of the annual PhoCusWright Conference in Orlando, Florida on Tuesday 17 November 2009."
18) One-on-one with Rob Torres, head of Google Travel
"I caught up with Rob Torres, managing director of Google Travel, following his Center Stage slot at the recent PhoCusWright Conference in Orlando."
19) Will Google Wave kill the trip planning sites?
"It dawned on me recently that like so many other Google apps, Wave has the potential to disrupt the crowded trip planning site arena."
20) Ten factors to define a Global Distribution System [GDS]
"Recently we have seen a spate of travel startups describing themselves as a GDS – Global Distribution System."