World Travellers Keep In Touch With Sms To Blog Travel Diary
Six travellers have set up http://www. http://www.planetreunited.com, a useful website for backpackers everywhere, past and present.
More than 23 million backpackers aged 18-30 are expected to set off around the globe this year, despite increasing
concerns about travel overseas. After the bombing of a backpacker hotspot in Bali and the recent events in the Gulf,
people are understandably worried about where is safe to go. Director Andrea Marston said, “Your parents expect a
postcard every couple of weeks or so, which let’s face it, is a pain. Most backpackers now travel with a mobile phone
but can’t afford to use it. Planetreunited has developed a SMS service where backpackers can send a text to their
parents, family and friends quickly and cheaply, even if they can’t get to an internet café.”
A registered member has access to an innovative new SMS service where a registered user can send one single SMS text to
a +44 number. This text is then sent to a ‘SLOG’ (Travel Diary), which is like a weblog (BLOG) but via SMS. Their
friends and family can be alerted via text or email when the SLOG is updated. All this is done for the price of a single
text. These alerts can be forwarded as SMS, email or both. It’s the flashest, fastest, budget way to send their latest
travel news to friends in a second while at the same time keeping a web travel diary. Parents can also send them a text
via the same service.
But the website does much more than that. There is also a travellers Forum to exchange tips, stories and share
experiences that you won’t find in any guidebook. This is real up to the minute information, with specific, easily
searchable categories. Director Tracey Davies said, “We found that, when we were travelling, the best information on
your next stop came from other travellers. By creating a forum, travellers can tap into a wealth of real experience,
years before it emerges in a guidebook. This is particularly relevant now, when world events are changing so quickly.”
For anyone looking to hook up again, or even just find out “what are they doing now?” there’s the reunited element.
After registering, a member enters the bars, hostels and places they’ve stayed and which month and year that they were
there. They are given their own page where they can add notes and can comment on each place visited. Once registered,
they can search for friends via country, city, bar, hostel, resort etc and read others’ notes. Tracey said “We have
built a website that will not only reunite backpackers, ex-pats, reps and holidaymakers. But this is also a place for
them to call their home away from home. We want to ensure that people never need to lose touch again”. All of this is
free and users can contact as many people as they wish.
PlanetReunited.com has been tested vigorously over the past two months and through hard work and word of mouth, has
over four thousand members. This number is rising dramatically each day, as it spreads around the world like wildfire.
We already have many different members including students that are travelling now, Ex Camp America, Bunac, Eurocamp,
Keycamp, Kibbutz, ski resort workers and many other seasonal workers from Australia, New Zealand, UK and around the
world.