Who can you trust?
seems to be a question travelers should ask themselves after reading Secrets of Lonely Planet in Gulliver, the new travel related blog by the Economist.com. The publishers, of course, claim that this is an isolated incident but who are we to know for sure. The episode shows that the traditional media are challenged by user generated content and traveler reviews that are spreading across the web with great speed. Who the most trusted sources are has always been clear, it’s relatives and friends with a personal experience about a certain destination or hotel but now peers from your wider social network who can easily post their first hand opinions on the web with multi-media to boot, are becoming increasingly important and influential as well.
hi Joe,
you are right, these types of incidents show us clearly how customer - marketer communication has been changing. Travellers often use review sites like trip advisor where travelelrs share their brand experiences in order to help others make more informed purchasing decisions. The importance of other persons like themselves in a purchasing cycle is growing. We just trust them more than anyone else. And the position of us, travellers will be maintained.
Thank you
Ela
April 30, 2008