Social Networking Watch

Kayak Acquiring Rival SideStep

MARKETING PILGRIM -- Dec 30 -- Travel search engine Kayak.com acquired SideStep.com for $196 million. Both sites are search engines to help travelers find the best prices on airfare, hotels, and car rentals. They do plan to keep both sites separate in style and branding but combine some of their technology. Kayak has some plugins and widgets while SideStep has a review site and social network for travelers. Kayak reached about $50 million in revenue this year, while SideStep is at about $35 million. FULL ARTICLE @ MARKETING PILGRIM

Mark Brooks: I use SideStep religiously but hadn't noticed their social network. I'm surprised more sites haven't adopted their approach to search. Their filters are first rate. Choose when and where you want to fly. Then you can tick options for the time of day you want to fly, how many legs you mind taking, and surrounding cities, all while seeing all of the pricing options. Hotwire still has the edge for hotels on pricing. Trip Advisor is stronger for advice.

Vacationing In Facebook - Travel Maps And Many New Apps

INSIDE FACEBOOK -- July 14 -- With Facebook, you can tell about your trip without the ugly schwag. There are over 60 applications in the Facebook Application Directory in the Travel Category. The most popular is map feature Where I've Been by Craig Ulliott. A close second is Cities I've Visited by TripAdvisor.com where you pin visited cities. One of the easiest is Journey Miles by Chris Poe with description and maps. One of the older and more popular is the application by SideStep.com. Lastly, the Currency Converter application by Oanda will provide real-time currency conversion exchange rates. FULL ARTICLE @ INSIDE FACEBOOK

Sidestep Buys Travel Social Networking Site

TRAVOLUTION -- July 10 -- Travel search engine Sidestep spreads its wings into social networking with the purchase of US community site TripUp. TripUp allows travellers to post blogs, reviews, photos, maps and video. The development comes weeks after Sidestep created one of the first Facebook applications for members to plot their previous and upcoming trips. TripUp was launched just ten months ago in the US. FULL ARTICLE @ TRAVOLUTION