Anyone for Gowalla? Well, not me, actually

TRAVEL VIEW Travel notes

"Gowalla!" said a friend of mine. "It'll be fun." This wasn't anAfrican greeting but an attempt by a techie to get me enthused aboutlocation-based social media apps. Halt the collective yawning andknitting of brows and bear with me.

The rise of these GPS-powered "games" like Foursquare, Gowallaand Facebook Places has lately moved beyond something that teenagersand geeks do to show off about where they are, what they're doing,and who they're doing it with, to become a traveller's tool.

These platforms let users "check-in" online with their smartphone, to places in the real world (bars, hotels, home) and theygain badges and, more lately, rewards from hotels and restaurants.The popularity of these media are rocketing. There were reports lastmonth that Foursquare is up seven million users, from one millionlast year. That's a decent crop of potential customers. Budgetairline BmiBaby recently partnered Gowalla to launch what it says isthe first social media loyalty programme for a European carrier.

Impressive for a concept that is just a couple of years old - butso far, so tedious for me. Who needs another friend finder/onlinedistraction? And as for vouchers and loyalty points: it sounds likeyet more chores to tick off. But perhaps where these social mediacome into their own as a traveller's friend is as a city guide app.

Log-in to Foursquare, for example and you get a map that plotsevery venue within walking distance, pinpointed and reviewed bytravellers and locals who've been there before you. So, if you wantto find the best tapas bar in Barcelona/underground gallery in NewYork/boutique on Paris's Left Bank, "check-in" and see what pops upon your mobile screen. Newer versions learn your likes and dislikesand tailor their findings.

The thing is, you need to be connected to the internet. Fine ifyou can snag free WiFi, otherwise searching for that cheap bistro,as far as I can see, will cost you a Michelin-starred dinner's worthof roaming charges. I'm not entirely convinced. I'd rather "check-out" then go and explore unplugged.

Looking for some summer reading? Ox Travels is a new collectionof writing published in aid of Oxfam (read a full review in Books,page 68). It's full of sharp, dazzling glimpses into other worlds bythe likes of Colin Thubron, William Dalrymple and Sara Wheeler.Thirty six travel writers, established and upcoming, were asked totalk about an encounter that changed them. Among tales of an Amazonexpedition that ends in a death, and a chance meeting with legendaryforeign correspondent, Rudyard Kapuscinski, there's a story fromChris Stewart that is truly brave. Stewart (famed for middle-classcrowd-pleasing books characterised by titles like Driving over aTuscan Sun in Provence) writes about his pilgrimage to a Spanishcurandera, a woman who heals by laying on hands. His ailment?Something he acquired from a nameless lady 25 years earlier. Thestory manages to be frank, funny and somehow sweet. It may not makea movie but could spawn a travel trend: new-age spa holidays for thegynaecologically compromised. Any takers?

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