Like the notion of offbeat travel the idea of Offbeat Guides has intrigued me. I received an invitation to test their Beta last year, but I've been on the road and haven't had time 'til now. As I've been curious about the product for a while, I'd imagined a whimsical website with quirky guides to the world's kookiest places. So I was disappointed to see a conservative design of grey and white with splashes of red. I'd envisaged something vibrant, psychedelic even - and not just because they're based in San Francisco. Started by a team that includes former Melbourne Lonely Planet staffer Marina Kosmatos as their 'Content Curator', Offbeat Guides claims to be "the first travel guides that you create online using the most current travel information available on the internet for over 30,000 travel destinations." But what makes these guides so different - and so unique, quirky and original I'm wondering - in comparison to all the other travel guides out there? They claim: "These personalized travel guides give you all of the information that traditional travel guides include, plus more. For the first time, you can personalize your guide based on your travel dates, destination, and personal travel interests." But a number of publishers and websites have been offering custom travel guides for some time now including traditional guidebook publishers DK (check out their 'Create your own travel guide') and Lonely Planet (see their Pick n Mix). As for personalised trip planning, there's Triporati (which I reviewed) and Trip Wolf, which allows travellers to customize and download their own free PDF travel guide. So I can't see anything new or original here. Yet this seems to be what Offbeat thinks sets them apart. Elsewhere on their blog someone writes: "Personalized publishing is a tremendous opportunity in the publishing business - and that printed books have a lot of value, especially if you can personalize them to each individual reader. I’m a big fan of customized product companies like Moo, Cafepress, Lulu, Spreadshirt, Threadless, and JPG Magazine. I think there’s a new sector forming around creating tangible representations of digital creations - and I like it". Like it they may (so do I), but this still leaves me wondering what makes the guides 'offbeat'... let me test them out and I'll report back to you...
How 'offbeat' are Offbeat Guides?
Like the notion of offbeat travel the idea of Offbeat Guides has intrigued me. I received an invitation to test their Beta last year, but I've been on the road and haven't had time 'til now. As I've been curious about the product for a while, I'd imagined a whimsical website with quirky guides to the world's kookiest places. So I was disappointed to see a conservative design of grey and white with splashes of red. I'd envisaged something vibrant, psychedelic even - and not just because they're based in San Francisco. Started by a team that includes former Melbourne Lonely Planet staffer Marina Kosmatos as their 'Content Curator', Offbeat Guides claims to be "the first travel guides that you create online using the most current travel information available on the internet for over 30,000 travel destinations." But what makes these guides so different - and so unique, quirky and original I'm wondering - in comparison to all the other travel guides out there? They claim: "These personalized travel guides give you all of the information that traditional travel guides include, plus more. For the first time, you can personalize your guide based on your travel dates, destination, and personal travel interests." But a number of publishers and websites have been offering custom travel guides for some time now including traditional guidebook publishers DK (check out their 'Create your own travel guide') and Lonely Planet (see their Pick n Mix). As for personalised trip planning, there's Triporati (which I reviewed) and Trip Wolf, which allows travellers to customize and download their own free PDF travel guide. So I can't see anything new or original here. Yet this seems to be what Offbeat thinks sets them apart. Elsewhere on their blog someone writes: "Personalized publishing is a tremendous opportunity in the publishing business - and that printed books have a lot of value, especially if you can personalize them to each individual reader. I’m a big fan of customized product companies like Moo, Cafepress, Lulu, Spreadshirt, Threadless, and JPG Magazine. I think there’s a new sector forming around creating tangible representations of digital creations - and I like it". Like it they may (so do I), but this still leaves me wondering what makes the guides 'offbeat'... let me test them out and I'll report back to you...
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