1 These Guys Get It - Web 2.0: Tripit {anchor:These Guys Get It - Web 2.0: Tripit} ~~Use {link:Tripit|url=http://www.tripit.com} to zap together a master travel itinerary, share it with others, and keep up with friends on the road.~~ I recently became aware of Tripit through an {link:endorsement from Joel Spolsky|url=http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2008/01/31.html}. The timing could not have been better as I was right in the middle of scheduling a business trip and was, yet again, frustrated with the waste ({link:Muda|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muda_%28Japanese_term%29}) imposed upon me (the traveler) by the various institutions along the {link:value stream|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_Stream_Mapping}. Womack and Jones, in the book {link:Lean Thinking|url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743249275}, highlight the travel industry as a specific example of a value stream that is overflowing with waste and subsequently ignoring what is truly valuable to a traveler. While Tripit isn't directly banishing the wastes of waiting and hand-offs that plague the travel industry, it is definitely producing a platform for {link:emergence|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergence} of new value to the hurried (and typically stressed) traveler. * __Making Life Easier__: You simply forward all your various email itinerary confirmations to plans@tripit.com. Because it understands all the significant and popular air, hotel, and vehicle rental email formats, it will parse everything you send and shove it into one visually pleasing and printer friendly master itinerary. You do not even have to register. * __A Friend's Advice__: After flattening your various booking confirmation emails into a single itinerary, Tripit will add some helpful information. Who would not want the weather forecast for their destinations, as well as the ever-more-endearing Google maps with driving directions? * __Telling Those Who Care__: Now that you have a succinct message about your upcoming journey, Tripit makes it easy to share the details with anyone you think needs to know (E.g. family, friends, colleagues, etc.). * __Crossing Paths__: Beyond publishing your travel plans to those who need to know, Tripit has turned the social-networking knob {link:up to eleven|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_to_eleven}. You can easily tap your address-book ~~du jour~~ and invite contacts to your Tripit ~~network~~. I pulled from my Linked-in contacts as I travel primarily for business purposes and am always interested in catching up with my like-minded colleagues on the road. Now I can see upcoming trips of those in my network and when we will be crossing ways. Tripit calls this feature "See Who's Close." * __Reusing over Reinventing__: The icing on the cake is that Tripit will export your travel itinerary to an iCal formatted feed that can be consumed by such scheduling mainstays as Outlook or Google Calendar. If you travel more than once in a {link:blue moon|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Moon} you should give Tripit a spin. It might help you remember to bring an umbrella, or it might help you remember to bring an umbrella for a friend that will be crossing your path! 2008-02-06 21:43:07.0 2008-02-06 21:43:07.0