A new mobile app enables travelers to plan trips with a little help from their friends.The app, called Trippy, links the users with friends in their social networks who have information on a particular city, either through living, studying, or traveling there, who can offer recommendations. “We're in a less is more time now. If you want information on Tokyo, there are a thousand different sites, each with a thousand different ideas, reviews and comments that you're forced to sift through,” said J.R. Johnson, founder and CEO of Trippy.” You need your friends who know you best to narrow the field and tell you where you should be spending your time.” The app is based on the idea that friends have an understanding of the likes and dislikes and the personal circumstances of the person planning the trip. It also allows users to access their itinerary while traveling, along with their friends' tips for each venue. Each venue is plotted on a map, complete with its address and phone number.Users can also create a trip album and share photos directly from the venues that their friends recommended. Hotels can be booked directly through the Trippy website, which is how the company plans to generate revenue. “In 1999, user-generated content was new and hot, and crowd-sourcing was what everyone was talking about at the time,” said Johnson, who founded travel review website VirtualTourist, which was bought by Expedia in 2008. But Johnson said fake reviews have hindered the crowd-sourcing model. He cited a recent study by Cornell University researchers who developed a computer algorithm for detecting bogus reviews on hotel websites.”
