User Generated Content. Is it any good? Is it useful?
Well, ahead of a trip to Warsaw next week we thought we’d see what UGC there is out there…
Typing ‘Warsaw guide’ into Google we were unsurprised to see Warsaw In Your Pocket appear in first place, but as we’re trying to travel with the help of UGC only, we had to resist the temptation to click on the link and download the latest Warsaw PDF.
So instead we headed off to Warsaw Travel Guide by Wiki Travel, the first UGC guide to Warsaw on the list.
It isn’t very good.
Though, according to the history of the article it was last updated in April, it rattles on at great length about the Etiuda terminal at Warsaw airport which serves low-cost carriers. As regular visitors to Warsaw (and readers of Warsaw In Your Pocket) will know, the Etiuda terminal closed last year. No hotels and only a handful of restaurants and nightlife venues are listed, while the list of sights – though relatively comprehensive – comes with no addresses, directions or such like.
The vast majority of practical information is woefully out of date.
So is it any good as a guide to Warsaw? No.
Next we hopped over to Virtual Tourist.
Now, visually a complete mess, you want to run away as quickly as possible. But I persisted, and clicked on the hotel reviews, ordered with the most recent – for the Le Meridien – showing first. It was written on February 12th, 2006. What’s more, the reviews were under ads for booking engines, and surrounded by links to discount hotel bookers. I could stand it no more and fled to the Things To Do section.
The first ‘tip’ (about Old Town) was written by a user called polishchick way back in 2004:
The charming Stare Miasto (Old Town), the oldest part of Warsaw, dates back to the XIII century and has been included on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites Its Ghotic churches and Renaissance and Baroque churches have all been reconstructed following to their destruction by the Germans in WWII. It is surrounded by Barbakan (the old fortifications), and at its center lies the Old Town Market Square, lined with brightly colored facades and always filled with artists selling their wares, horse-drawn carriages and sightseers. It`s an awesome place to go for walks to and a very popular dating spot! You will see a lot of tourist, couples and families. Don`t miss it- it`s simply beautiful!
Hmmm. I have to admit that the tip is reasonably good, and she even gives directions and bus routes at the end. Indeed, like many Virtual Tourist sightseeing tips it is followed up with loads of comments from other users, and in general I have to say that Virtual Tourist is OK… for sights.
But only for sights.
When it comes to practical information it is worse than useless. It is very difficult to tell the difference between paid/sponsored and user links, and there is of course nothing to stop hotel owners etc pasting their own ‘tips’.
Worst of all though is the layout. It is not user friendly at all and putting together anything remotely resembling an easy to use guide to a city would take days. I do not have days.
I then went to something called Travellr. It asked me to login/sign up before proceeding.
No thanks.
Next port of call was Spotted by Locals. They have no Warsaw guide but they do have a Ljubljana guide, and I am off to Ljubljana next.
So I took a look. No hotels are listed, but the layout is simple and attractive and made me want to read more. That was until I actually did start reading.
I started off with the bios of the Ljubljana locals.
In years my taste has changed and now I have to say that I enjoy much more the cozy leisure time in some park or back yard restaurant garden. I also like to take a walk on the cobbled streets in the old part. But what I love the most today in Ljubljana is how it changes every year.
It’s English Jim, but not as we know it.
I took a look at the restaurant listings. While the standard of English was poor, and did not always appear to be objective, there was a photo of every place (though there are only 16 places currently listed) which at least proves the writers have been there: not always the case in the guide book business. So marks here.
Spotted by Locals is not entirely UGC: locals have to be approved before they start posting, and so carry more credibility than the everymen on Virtual Tourist et al. Given that it is (so far) non-commercial it’s certainly our favourite of this new breed. A deeper breadth of listings and regular updates would be nice, and the standard of English is poor. That aside, it isn’t bad.
The last site I tried was Localyte. Here you select your destination, ask a question, and sit back and wait for travel tips.
I asked “I have 24 hours free in Warsaw next week. How should I best spend my time?”
I will post the answers as they come in.
