The Joovelers

Jooveler launched the Beta version of a mashup module that enables any user to create and monitor a list with his favorite news and topics search queries to be fetched and tracked from Twitter messages. The application is available at www.jooveler.com/twitter.

First thing, users will search their favorite topics and terms using Jooveler’s Twitter search interface. The search terms can be filtered so that the returned results match user’s information needs as accurately as possible. When ready, user will click “Save current topic for future use” to save the search query to his favorites list.

For instance, some news and topics users can monitor are new year discount (for seasonal shopping deals), hotel san francisco, travel tool filter:links (for links to travel web applications), or more specific google launch (that will eventually feed you with news about anything Google will launch in the future), traffic chicago peoria (that will return posts of Twitter users talking about the current traffic situation between Chicago and Peoria), ORD (news about airports status), metallica filter:links (everything about Metallica, with links, whenever the news got released), etc.

Attitudes and moods are also accepted in search queries: “?” for Twitter posts containing at least one question, “:)” for posts with positive attitude, or “:(” for posts with negative attitude.

As soon as the favorite topics query formulas are added to user’s left menu, Jooveler will start monitoring and counting updates and news that will gradually be posted on Twitter about each saved topic. This feature is something that we still have under development.

We now need your help for defining the preferred method of monitoring these updates, as well as methods of notification for the new updates about their favorite topics. We initially started working on this module specifically for travel needs, to match Jooveler’s main type of web service, but after a while it seemed to us like being a tool that can easily and safely be expanded to satisfy every Twitter user’s needs.

Other features we announce that are to be implemented for this Twitter favorite topics module are: Twitter authentication and a better method of replying and communicating with users’ that posted twitts matching searched queries, topic categories, integration with current online travel system managed on Jooveler.com.

Dear Friend,

We are a very young website and a very fresh and positively distinct travel system in this world. We, and anybody out there, are not really sure how the travel industry will evolve during 2009, but we really do hope that our efforts in providing you with an innovative online travel system, that is meant to save your time and money for your future trips, will have a positive impact on how the travel bookings will be handled and arranged in the years to come.

What we are sure of is that all of you are now looking, more than ever before, into savings for the future months, as you are also looking into keeping the same plans for traveling next year. Well, Jooveler can help you sustain your travel plans, by significantly reducing the costs associated with any travel services you might need during your trips. All you have to do is spend 5 or 10 minutes on creating your trip profile on Jooveler, then submit your travel inquiry to our selected Travel Operators and specialized agents. By doing this, you will save both time and money while receiving good travel arrangements offers in your Inbox and your inquiry pages on Jooveler.

Create and submit a travel inquiry for your 2009 trip:
http://www.jooveler.com/inquiry/flight-hotel

With these being said, we would like to thank you for using Jooveler travel system and to send our warmest wishes to you for this holiday season. If you travel, have safe and wonderful trips. If you don’t travel, enjoy merry holiday moments with your family and friends.

Have Safe and Happy Holidays!

First stage of Facebook Connect implementation on Jooveler has been released last evening. Our visitors can now choose to connect the two web applications - Jooveler and Facebook -, and share their profile information over these networks.

For instance, after you will successfully synchronize your accounts by clicking on “Connect with Facebook” button under the top banner on the main website, you will be able to:

• Use login credentials and retrieve profile information from Facebook to Jooveler,
• Post stories about your Jooveler activities on your Facebook wall,
• Communicate with your social and professional network users.

Second stage of our Facebook Connect implementation on Jooveler will be released within the next days, having additional features for first-time users and also improved capabilities for logged in users.

Everyone knows that Yahoo! address book can be remotely accessed by third party applications. Jooveler has implemented this feature now, by allowing you to sign in to your Yahoo! account (on their website) and then redirecting you back to our website to do two things with your imported friends list:

• connect with your Yahoo! friends who already use Jooveler, and
• select the friends you would like to invite to connect with you on Jooveler.

We surely hope you get all your friends hooked up to join Jooveler, and spread the word about your travel savings and fun.

Past week we’ve launched Jooveler’s Facebook application, that extends Jooveler’s capabilities by opening the system to your travel needs via your Facebook friends’ network. Here’s what it does so far:

Synchronize accounts
You will be able to synchronize your Jooveler and Facebook accounts to work together in sharing pertinent information needed for displaying your Jooveler pages on Facebook. We are working on implementing Facebook Connect capabilities as well.

Travel comments and tips
You can update your current location in the World by adding some details in the topmost cell of the application. There are other travel-related categories you can add comments and tips to, you will just need to select the proper category from the provided drop-down box.

Friends trips list
Your friends’ future trips list will be displayed on the first page of Jooveler’s FB application. Your trips will be displayed as well. Here you can get friends’ input and comments about the places you are about to visit and discuss with them details about your destinations and travel services you want to use. In return, you should also provide your feedback for your friends’ trips and help them with your knowledge about destinations, hotels, areas, local habits, etc.

News Feed
Based on your privacy settings, Jooveler will write stories on your Facebook wall, containing your recent activity on Jooveler standalone website and on Jooveler’s Facebook application.

Invite friends
Without your friends’ suggestions for your future destinations, it will be harder for you to find out interesting details and advices about what they have already visited and about you are going to visit in the near future. That is why we’ve added this tool to connect your Jooveler activities with your Facebook friends and extend your travel social network.

We hope you will enjoy this release of Jooveler’s Facebook application, and we are here to respond to any of your questions on this matter.

Few days after our startup, we continue to work on adding new useful features to Jooveler.

The news for today is that we’ve introduced a new commenting system, specific for the travel inquiries. On each travel inquiry’s page, any website visitor or traveler, that has some suggestions to help the traveler who launched the inquiry, can add their opinion as a blog-like comment.

For instance, say a traveler initiated a Flight + Hotel travel inquiry for his trip to Brasov, Romania. And say that another traveler reaches the inquiry page on Jooveler, and have some experience with this itinerary route. Well, this other traveler can add his comments on inquiry’s page, and suggest the initial traveler that “Hi, I’ve traveled to Brasov twice this year. You might consider choosing a hotel downtown. Also, for the flight I would suggest you book a flight departing in the afternoon and arrive to Bucharest early in the morning. This way you will gain few hours for visiting beautiful Brasov, because there is a 3 hour drive from Bucharest to Brasov.“

So, if you are a good traveler and you would like to help other travelers with your suggestions for their trips, go ahead and add your comments for travel inquiries on Jooveler.

Today we’ve opened Jooveler to public. We were pretty silent, fired the matches with only a status update on our Twitter account and… this blog post. If everything goes well, eventually the buzz will jump up the following days or weeks.

Later in the day we’ve updated our About page and also have tweaked the header based on first user behavior on the website. Users began to submit their feedback as well, using our opened forum on UserVoice.

Well, we won’t keep you much here on the blog. Enjoy Jooveler!

First invitations for Jooveler.com in private beta has been sent today. Expect more invites to come out the following days.

Jooveler’s official startup is scheduled for August 6th, 2008. Meanwhile you can still have your invitation requested at www.Jooveler.com/beta.

We’ve done it! Please visit Jooveler.com/Beta to get yourself an invitation. First invitations will start being delivered by the end of July 2008. Please follow Jooveler on Twitter or subscribe to Jooveler Blog to find out more news.

How Jooveler really helps:

Custom Travel Inquiries

Help Travelers, free of charge, and protected by Jooveler’s privacy rules, build their custom Travel Inquiries, specific for their travel needs at any time over the year.

Custom Travel Arrangements

Allow Travel Operators to publicly respond with their best Travel Offers and Arrangements for each travel inquiry.

Travelers-Operators Intercommunication

Provide an intelligent multi-communication-channel contacting system that any traveler can use, to have Travel Operators contact them back regarding one or more of their travel offers.

Travel Customer Care

Allow Travel Operators to contact Travelers back using several online and offline communication channels: local or international phone, email, chat and online calls over Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk, Skype, or direct messages on Twitter.

Social Travel Network

Encourage all users to build and continuously expand their social network, as well as their professional contacts graph.

Professional Travel Network

Guide Travel Operators to maintain their internal and external business and professional network.

Not a Classic Travel Tool

Well, it does almost all that our old local ‘06 Goovel.net did not do.

Have safe and wonderful trips!

We are organizing Jooveler’s Beta page, with all the initial information, invitations request form and stuff. Should here from us in a bit!