These Guys Get It - Web 2.0: Tripit 
Use 
Tripit 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
endorsement from Joel Spolsky. 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 (
Muda) imposed upon me (the traveler) by the various institutions along the
value stream.
Womack and Jones, in the book
Lean Thinking, 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
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 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
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!
