Interview with the Founder of TripAdvisor Stephen Kaufer

nospam@example.com (Jens Thraenhart) — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 10:23:12 -0800

At the recent PhocusWright Conference in Orlando, Florida, I had the opportunity to spend some time with Stephen Kaufer, Founder, President & CEO of Travel User Generated Content leader and pioneer TripAdvisor.com.

In his presentation at the PhocusWright (picture shows Stephen Kaufer presenting in the background, and myself together with Philip Wolf in the foreground), Stephen was talking about the importance of trust in the travel research and buying process. In order to get trust (the gold dust of the Internet), a site need "honest brokers" (people that give trust), and a "social network" (the group that you can trust). He also emphasized the importance of transparency, and that the monitoring of negative hotel reviews would hurt the integrity of the site, but also would diminish the value of all the real true brand ambassadors. Monitoring is a natural process that happens as part of the online community.

Enjoy the 10 minute interview (please excuse the wind noise), where Stephen addresses the growth of Tripadvisor, what is next with the company, his personal aspirations, as well as his views on sites like Facebook and integrating applications.

7 Questions for Ron Andruff, the dot travel guy

nospam@example.com (Jens Thraenhart) — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 11:50:00 -0700

I am starting a new series where I am interviewing individuals that I respect, that are visionaries, and have had an impact on my career.

First is Ron Andruff, Founder and President of Tralliance (the dot travel registry).

1. Top 3 Websites

a. General www.studiosgo.com Some of the most cutting edge architecture and design available today from a little shop in NYC doing some exciting things. Check out the images under: Residential; Herold Residence …amazing!

b. Travel/Tourism/Hospitaltiy
Live webcams and video from the San Diego zoo… http://www.sandiegozoo.org/videos/index.html Love the Pandacam!

c. Tool/Utility Apart from www.directory.travel (launching April 26^th, 2007) and www.search.travel (sorry, but I can’t help my bias!), check out http://www.oddcast.com/home/demos/tts/frameset.php?frame1=talk She will say anything you type (and note that punctuation also helps). When you move the mouse around, her eyes follow the pointer. When you write something in the left space and then click on "Say it," she says it! You can also change persons doing the talking and the language they speak. Technology today!

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Interview with the Founder of TripAdvisor Stephen Kaufer

7 Questions for Ron Andruff, the dot travel guy