Dopplr, the UK-based social network for global travelers, is testing a new feature on some of its members which might make the Yelps and Trusted Places of this world sit up and take notice. The new Dopplr feature lets you share tips and recommendations on cities – usually a core feature of location-based social networks. Core Dopplr members are being given access to the feature this week prior to a wider roll-out.
So for instance, as well being able to see who in your network is travelling to Paris this month, you can also see any tips they have on the city. For instance, under Paris, Co-Founder Matt Biddulph has put “Le Potager du Marais vegetarian restaurant… Traditional French dishes done vegetarian.”
However, Biddulph denied the intention with this new feature was to create a “listings” style section:
What we hope people will write in their tips is things like “Walk along the cliffs at Bronte Beach” for Sydney, rather than just reviewing restaurants. It’s all about sharing travel experiences, not creating a directory. A big part of this test phase is to see how testers react to the plain entry form as it is right now. Then we’ll decide how much we need to add in the way of advice and examples.
So, perhaps not something to quite get the ‘networking around location’ startups too worried just yet, but certainly something they will be keeping their eye on.