Travel Tips

Travel Tip: “Checking In” While You Travel

It seems like every time I’ve gotten a handle on all of the social media out there, they come up with something new. Now there’s the trend of checking in…and I don’t mean into your hotel.

“Checking in” lets you alert your friends and followers to your location in real time—a new city, restaurant, or attraction.

Now Facebook uses the Nearby app, which lets you search for places based on your location.

What’s cool is that it’s frontloaded by the places that your friends have checked into or liked. So if you’re searching for a Chinese restaurant near a museum, it will list ones that have been vetted by your contacts.

The Groupon app can get you deals based on where you are at that moment. They just acquired an app called Glassmap, which will enhance that option.

On Foursquare, which pioneered the check-in concept, you can search by zip code and see on a map where other users have been.

But as always, I have to caution about privacy concerns. Limit your settings so that only friends can see your information, and if you’re not comfortable broadcasting your whereabouts, just don’t do it.

For more information, visit the Apps & Technology archives.

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