New travel apps, Twitter music and the demise of the postcard

Planning a visit to the US? Looking to get from A to B using local transport? Then read on. This week we heard about a new US based app Wanderu, which, according to their website, makes it "effortless for you to find and book inter-city buses and trains between any two points in the country". The mobile friendly application searches through thousands of routes, operators and timetables – clever stuff. And they seem to be on the right path, attracting attention and acclaim at this year’s SXSW. With 12,000 users already signed up, it’s a healthy start for this new technology business. The app will route a journey from point-to-point, so will include those all-important walking directions to the bus stop. And who’s their target market? The digitally-savvy twenty-something’s who are accustomed to finding the answer to life, the universe and everything via their smartphone. We’re pretty sure that’s a big enough market to aim for. It’s a thumbs up from Siren Communications.

We all like to see out friend count on Facebook rising, but when that means accepting friend requests from our bosses it turns out we’re not so sure. According to statistics one in three people know someone who has been in trouble at work for posting inappropriate content on the social networking site. According to a survey it is not only our bosses that we need to worry about but our co-workers too, apparently 23% of co-workers have lost respect for their colleagues due to inappropriate posts.

This week social media played a key part in the emergency response to the dreadful bombings at the Boston marathon. The Mayor of Boston, Tom Menino, retweeted information from the official account of the Mayor’s office which responded quickly to the fast-moving events, tweeting advice and instructions to the public. The Boston Globe was also praised for the speed of its social media reaction with updates and information to those in the area along with Google who quickly launched a people-finder tool to help people find loved ones.

As part of a campaign to boost Air New Zealand’s brand as the best choice for business travellers flying from Los Angeles International to London Heathrow, the airline has taken their first focus group to the skies with a selection of "uber-frequent" flyers on board. The experiment will attempt to find out how frequent flyers handle long haul flights with ease and aims to pick up tips on how its customers can avoid the feeling of "lag". The airline plans to share its findings with its followers on the @AIRNZUSA Twitter feed throughout April including advice on the best position to sleep in, pre-flight rituals, what to eat and secret jet-lag remedies.

Social media has killed the humble postcard – that’s the latest claim according to new research unveiled this week. Apparently less than 6% of travellers now take the time to send traditional ‘wish you were here’ postcard to their nearest and dearest compared to 26% who use Facebook and 24% who text friends and family to update them on their travels. We can’t help but feel a little nostalgic – here’s to a postcard revival!

And finally – the wait and the rumours are over – Twitter has finally launched its new standalone music service. The social media superpower unveiled the new platform on Good Morning America, as well as posting this blog post. The free app will detect and promote the most popular tracks and emerging artists. Users will be able to follow musicians and in turn learn more about who they follow – leading to further musical discoveries. There are many more features and lots more details – just far too much for us to fit in our round up. With that in mind, we thoroughly recommend checking out Mashable for more information.

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