Ajungo – The Social Trip Planning Tool

21 thoughts on “Ajungo – The Social Trip Planning Tool”

1. Feedback sought:
    

   Visit https://beta.ajungo.com. Spend no more than 5 seconds looking at the Home Page. Is is clear to you what Ajungo is trying to accomplish as a website?

   5 seconds on the homepage gives me the impression that Ajungo is somewhat similar to a trip planner like priceline, hotels.com, etc.

   Now go through the entire site. Do you find the flow of the site smooth/easy to understand? Or bothersome/confusing?

   Well, I’m very curious.  You say to visit the “entire site” but the site seems very 1-dimensional, meaning I see no other tabs at the top – like most websites have.  I see one tab at the bottom for terms, and I see Popular cities to click on, but I think these are examples or hot buttons to get to those popular searches.  Other than your search bar at the top, I see no other place to go other than planning a trip.  If I were a potential visitor, I would see no other reason to stay or navigate around your site if I had no immediate need to plan a trip to a given place.  I see this as a problem, because your goal is to maximize the time a person spends on your site. 

   Actionable suggestion:  I recommend brainstorming ways to keep visitors on your site.  Adding other tabs would get a first time visitor to check out your content, and if you had a blog, they might browse that every so often.  Making it social by connecting it to facebook helps, but does that keep them on your website, or are you really giving people another reason to stay on Facebook longer?

   What do you find bothersome? What do you like?

   Bothersome – to add onto what I said in the last answer, your site seems very 1-dimensional.  If I am not planning a trip, I would have no need and no use for your site.  As a business, this is a problem, since you want to maximize their time on your website. 

   Actionable suggestion:  First, the obvious solution is to add more content to your website.  That would mean to add more tabs for your content, since your homepage should be dedicated to selling your product.  Second, I would also recommend putting testimonials from satisfied product/service users on your homepage to build brand credibility. Third, I strongly recommend you add pictures of places in some sort of professional-looking collage behind the actual Ajungo wheel.  There is a lot of white space, and a collage of places would add a very relevant background to your site.

   What do you think of the registration process? Are you more likely to register natively? Or through Facebook?

   I registered without facebook, and it was very easy.  Less likely to register thru facebook because I don’t want to give sites I don’t know permission to post.

   What do you think of the Login process? Creating your profile process?
   Creating a profile was easy to do, and uploading a photo was very easy.  Also very easy to post a trip.
   How do you feel when you search a destination and no one shows up in the search results? What would you like to see to improve this?

   I feel very disappointed.  I really don’t know how to improve this in your search engine.  I don’t know where you are drawing your information from.  This seems more like a question about proprietary info. or a trade secret relative to the travel search engine industry.  I think you would get your answer to this if you were to seek out that information among experts in this industry.

   What do you think of the Cruise and Sport & Events tabs from the Home Page?

   I like that you have included this feature to Ajungo.  I think it will bring in even more visitors to your site.

   Would you use Ajungo? If so, would you use Ajungo before, during or after your trip? Would you encourage your friends/family/colleagues to join Ajungo? If not, why?

   I would consider it.  I did post a trip to a place I am going, and it said it would notify me if other travelers register.

   Would you like Ajungo to provide users the ability to upload content (ie photos, status updates) from Facebook? If so, would you be willing to link up your content from Facebook to share with with Ajungo community? If not, why?

   I don’t see how this would hurt.  Adding more content is always a good thing because it promotes users to be more social and interact with each other.  If I developed a sense of trust with Ajungo, then I might be willing to link content from Facebook.  Until then, no.

   If you are willing to share your Facebook content with the Ajungo community would you be willing to upload that content after your trip? Or would you like to have the content pulled from your Facebook account simultaneously as you are uploading photos/status updates to your Facebook account during your trip, ie. a ‘Real Time Journal’?

   Yes.  Same answer as above.  More content and social interactions are better than none.

   How do you think Ajungo compares to other similar sites/competitors (wayn.com, gtrot.com, vacationrelation.com, travellution.com, tripping.com)

   Compared to tripping.com, your site seems 1-dimensional.  Tripping has tabbed pages, and a blog.  I do not see a blog or tabbed pages on your site.  I would expect your site to at least have a blog.  Tripping seems to have more content as well.

   Please share any additional feedback/comments you might have.

   To make your site great, I think you need to add more.  Your current site seems basic, lacks content, incomplete homepage (needs background pics) and does not sell your product/services.

   It is like you made something and just left it at the basic stage.  There are not tabs offering more content, and your actual website usability is low.  You currently only offer one thing to do, and that is search cities, events or cruises.  Need to offer more ways to interact on your website.  If your goal is to get everyone to get the facebook app, then you need to state that on your homepage.  Make your mission clear.  If you need a motto or mission statement to do that, put that on your homepage as well.
    

2. Zeke2100,
    
   This is truly awesome feedback, thank you very much!!! This is not only our Beta but what we are considering a rough draft of our Beta, we just wanted to get as much input as humanly possible based on the idea/concept of Ajungo, the flow of the website, if anyone would use the site and if so how they would use it…you have helped out immensely with everything we are looking to get answers for!
   Cheers!
   Steve Shea
   Co-Founder
   Ajungo.com

3. Spend no more than 5 seconds looking at the Home Page. Is is clear to you what Ajungo is trying to accomplish as a website?
   Unfortunately, no.  I have no idea what the site is about just from looking at the homepage.
    
   Now go through the entire site. Do you find the flow of the site smooth/easy to understand? Or bothersome/confusing?
   Well, there wasn’t much to go through.  There didn’t seem to be any tabs on the homepage leading to other pages.  The only options seemed to be to go ahead and register or do a search.  Since you already had the search feature set up for South Africa, I decided to go ahead and do a test search with that destination.  The search process was simple, but no results turned up.  So, I decided to search on what I thought might be a more popular destination–Paris, France.  However, I was, in fact, not able to search on anything other than your default location.
    
   Next, I tried my only other option, which seemed to be to register.  After registering, I was able to search for other locations.  I tried Paris, France and London, United Kingdom.  I found no results for Paris, but London turned up one couple living there and two individuals planning trips there, though not for the dates I selected.
    
   Anyway, I would say the flow of the site is smooth and easy to understand, but that’s not really saying a lot because there are almost no options for navigation.  I would love to see some basic copy on the homepage explaining what this is along with maybe some pictures of folks meeting up or posing together in different cities.  I also think you really need to have an FAQ, an about page, a help or user guide page, and other informational pages.
    
   What do you find bothersome? What do you like?
   I like that the search process is simple and direct.  I find it bothersome that there are no instructions or any information whatsoever to introduce me to the site.  You need to sell me on Ajungo: What is it and why should I use it? I also don’t really love that I have to register before I can search.
    
   Regarding the search feature, I thought it was a little disappointing that I could only select one “Trip Interest” at a time.  What if I have more than one interest?
    
   What do you think of the registration process? Are you more likely to register natively? Or through Facebook?
   Registration was easy.  I had no problems.  I registered through Ajungo.  I do not use Facebook.
    
   What do you think of the Login process? Creating your profile process? Posting a trip process?
   I was automatically logged in as soon as I registered, which was great.  I liked that I didn’t have to go to my email account and fish out some code or other.  It was easy to find the My Profile tab in the upper right corner, and the whole process of setting up a profile was self-explanatory.  I could clearly see how to edit my profile, my liaison status, and my preferences.  I also located the Post a Trip button on the right very quickly.  I went ahead and posted a trip, which was very simple.
    
   How do you feel when you search a destination and no one shows up in the search results? What would you like to see to improve this?
   I feel like the site is very young still and doesn’t have enough users.  I don’t know that there’s anything you can do to improve this other than to continue marketing your site wherever you can.  I’m sure that, as more users sign up, results for each city will multiply.
    
   What do you think of the Cruise and Sport & Events tabs from the Home Page?
   I think those are good ideas.  Unfortunately, when I tried to search on your default cruise and event, I got an error message stating that I had to provide a destination.
    
   Would you use Ajungo? If so, would you use Ajungo before, during or after your trip? Would you encourage your friends/family/colleagues to join Ajungo? If not, why?
   If I was going to use Ajungo, I would use it before my trip.  If I was going to meet up with someone new abroad, I’d want some time to get to know them a little and plan our meeting beforehand.
    
   But I have to say that I’m not sure I would use it because I’m a cautious person, and I don’t know how I feel about meeting up with strangers in foreign countries.  The most likely scenario in which I’d use it would be after it got popular enough that I could find other residents in my own area who were planning a similar trip so that we could all meet up once beforehand on familiar ground.
    
   Whether or not I’d encourage my friends and family to use the service would depend on whether or not I liked my experience with it.
    
   Would you like Ajungo to provide users the ability to upload content (ie photos, status updates) from Facebook? If so, would you be willing to link up your content from Facebook to share with with Ajungo community? If not, why?
   I don’t use Facebook, but if I did, I would definitely like to have the ability to integrate Ajungo with my account there.  It would make it a lot easier for me to use Ajungo because I wouldn’t have to input all kinds of info twice. I could just upload stuff to Facebook, send it to Ajungo, and be done with it.
    
   If you are willing to share your Facebook content with the Ajungo community would you be willing to upload that content after your trip? Or would you like to have the content pulled from your Facebook account simultaneously as you are uploading photos/status updates to your Facebook account during your trip, ie. a ‘Real Time Journal’?
   Again, I don’t use Facebook.  However, I can imagine it would be for the best if you offered both options to users.  Personally, I would rather upload content after the trip for safety reasons.  I think it’s way too easy nowadays for someone who doesn’t have good intentions to track you down somewhere or invade your home while you’re gone.  However, I’m sure there are users out there who aren’t concerned about such things at all, and I’ll bet they’d like to have the option to upload info from Facebook to Ajungo in real time, especially if they’re okay with meeting other Ajungo users on the spur of the moment while traveling.
    
   How do you think Ajungo compares to other similar sites/competitors (wayn.com, gtrot.com, vacationrelation.com, travellution.com, tripping.com)
   I haven’t personally used any of those sites.  However, when I visited them, I noticed that they all contained something very important that Ajungo doesn’t have–information about the purpose of the site and how to use it.  Wayn.com, gtrot.com, and tripping.com include some brief explanatory copy on the homepage.  Vactionrelation.com and travellution.com have much simpler homepages, but info about the site is clearly just a click away at various about and FAQ pages.  Three of the sites have inviting photos on the homepage to draw the user in, and two of them feature user profiles on the homepage, which, again, helps to draw people in.  Three of them make it obvious that users can integrate their service with Facebook, so, at this point, I’m not sure what Ajungo is offering that these services aren’t.
    
   Please share any additional feedback/comments you might have.
   Here are my main issues with Ajungo:
    
   1. Homepage design is currently not great.  The homepage needs to be more eye-catching and inviting through the use of pictures, user profiles, maps, or other images.
    
   2. There’s no readily available information about the site.  There needs to be a little bit of explanatory copy on the homepage, and you need to create informational pages like an FAQ page, about page, etc.
    
   3. Ajungo hasn’t sufficiently explained its value proposition.  There already appear to be several competing sites that offer the exact same service and have been in business a lot longer.  Their sites look more professional and seem to have many more users.  Why would I want to use Ajungo instead of those?  What can you offer me that they can’t?

4. Visit https://beta.ajungo.com. Spend no more than 5 seconds looking at the Home Page. Is is clear to you what Ajungo is trying to accomplish as a website?

   I am under the impression that the site is about traveling and meeting people with are either in that area or who will be. 

   Now go through the entire site. Do you find the flow of the site smooth/easy to understand? Or bothersome/confusing?

   The site is easy to navigate and easy to understand but, the only links you can check out on the site are the city links at the bottom.

   What do you find bothersome?

   I find it bothersome that there is nothing on the site besides looking at cities and profiles, and making your own profile. There is really nothing else to the site. 

   What do you like?

   I like the whole concept of the site.  I like the idea that you can meet up with people while you are traveling.

   What do you think of the registration process? Are you more likely to register natively? Or through Facebook?

   The registration process was very simple and easy to understand.  I would not register through facebook.  I do not like the idea of any site or service having access to my facebook account.

   What do you think of the Login process? Creating your profile process? Posting a trip process?

   I did the login process.  I created a profile and I post a trip.  I found these steps to be easy.  I like the box on the right which helps you to find hotels, flights, etc.

   How do you feel when you search a destination and no one shows up in the search results? What would you like to see to improve this?

   When I searched a destination, people showed up in the results.  I had to a radius of 100 miles though.  I don’t know if there is anything you can do to improve this part of the site.

   What do you think of the Cruise and Sport & Events tabs from the Home Page?

   It’s works the same as the “Destinations” tab. It’s easy to understand and easy to do. 

   Would you use Ajungo? If so, would you use Ajungo before, during or after your trip? Would you encourage your friends/family/colleagues to join Ajungo? If not, why?

   I’m not sure if I would use this site.  I know nothing about the site and I don’t know anything about the “privacy” or the “terms”.  When I clicked on the “terms” a box came up stating “Needs a link target”.  I have no idea what that means.  If I don’t know anything about a site or if I don’t feel safe, I won’t use it.

   Would you like Ajungo to provide users the ability to upload content (ie photos, status updates) from Facebook? If so, would you be willing to link up your content from Facebook to share with with Ajungo community? If not, why?

   As I stated above, I would not use facebook for this service.  I do not like the idea of any service having access to my facebook account.  If I am traveling, I am not sure if I would want people to have a lot of personal information about me.  I don’t think that would be very safe.

   If you are willing to share your Facebook content with the Ajungo community would you be willing to upload that content after your trip? Or would you like to have the content pulled from your Facebook account simultaneously as you are uploading photos/status updates to your Facebook account during your trip, ie. a ‘Real Time Journal’?

   Again, I would not use facebook.

   How do you think Ajungo compares to other similar sites/competitors (wayn.com, gtrot.com, vacationrelation.com, travellution.com, tripping.com)

   Other competitors have more information on their site about their company and service.  You site is pretty empty when it comes to this.

   Please share any additional feedback/comments you might have.

   Overall, your site is empty.  There is no information at all about your site or service.  I think you are on the right road, but there are things which I mention below that are needed to have a successful site.

   You need to add more links to your page.  You need to have “about us” which will explain what your site or service is all about, and the goal of the site.

   You need to have a “contact” tab.  Someone can ask a question on the “feedback” tab, but anyone could answer those questions.  When I have a question, I don’t want some random person answering my question, I want a professional. 

   As for the “Terms” link, it didn’t work for me.  That is something that is very important and needs to get fixed.

   I had no problem with the sign up process, but I was a little confused with what to do once I was done making my profile.  I think this is something that you should make more clearer on the site. 

   I am not sure exactly what all your site provides.  I understand that I can find people who are traveling to the same places that I am, but is that all?  There is nothing to explain what all your service provides, this is where the “about us” tab would come in handy.

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   Feedback sought:
   Visit https://beta.ajungo.com. Spend no more than 5 seconds looking at the Home Page. Is is clear to you what Ajungo is trying to accomplish as a website?
   It seems to me that Ajungo is something of a four-square type application that tries to link people with their network, in order to create an interactive space for travel plans. The description of the site as a social trip-planning tool gives me this impression rather than the design or layout itself.
   Now go through the entire site. Do you find the flow of the site smooth/easy to understand? Or bothersome/confusing?
   The flow of the site is rather smooth and easy to understand, however, akin to Zeke’s constructive criticism above, I don’t really know where to go. I’ve clicked on various links, including popular city and the search query bar, but it just gives me listings of individuals with profiles already created. Shouldn’t there be an “ABOUT” section where you describe what to do and how to use the service? Overall, the site looks great, but it doesn’t really welcome the user in terms of making them feel welcome and comfortable on how to use the services you’re offering. The site itself mechanically works very quickly, no lag time, and the search query and registration works fluidly.
   What do you find bothersome? What do you like?
   There really isn’t anything bothersome aside from the fact that there is no ‘welcome’ or ‘about’ tab. For new users that aren’t already familiar with your offering, we have no idea where to go or what to click. Websites that clearly demarcate functions, have instructional videos that teach you how to use the site, and have other clearly usable options tend to make the entire user experience more pleasant. I find this most bothersome.
   I do like the design of the homepage. It is very clean, modern, and inviting. I would change the bottom footer to be smaller, as right now it is a bit too large and looks a bit sloppy. I like the feedback tab that you have to the left of the page, which many up and coming websites are employing these days.
   I also think the ‘recently created profiles’ widget at the bottom of the page is a fantastic tool and idea; however, I suggest that you make it a two tiered widget with more profiles. Having only five of them is a good start, but the more eye catching options you have to sell your site to the user, the better. Add more profiles so that the user will have another reason to click and get more interested.
   What do you think of the registration process? Are you more likely to register natively? Or through Facebook?
   I registered without facebook and it was pretty easy. I personally am more likely to register natively because I don’t want all my facebook information ported over into the application without understanding how the application exactly works.
   What do you think of the Login process? Creating your profile process?

   The login process was incredibly easy and very fast. I created my profile (userprofessional, WA DC) in a matter of seconds and messed around with all the profile options. Posting a picture is incredibly simple as is filling out any of the query boxes. Overall, the profile process was simple and user friendly.

   How do you feel when you search a destination and no one shows up in the search results? What would you like to see to improve this?
   It is a bit deflating because it defeats the purpose of creating the account and the sole purpose of the website. However, fusing facebook and the potential rising popularity of this service will likely change the reaction to this question. A recommendation would be when nobody shows up, you can have a graphic that suggests “inviting friends to join you on a trip to so and so…” This makes it so that at least there is a response to the query and is an actionable request—could also lead to more potential users.
   What do you think of the Cruise and Sport & Events tabs from the Home Page?
   This is very cool. The cruise aspect is nice, personally I wouldn’t use it… however, the sports and events tab could be very, very, useful. This is a very clever idea and I think if you added certain functionality and partnerships with this concept, you could have a winner on your hands.
   Would you use Ajungo? If so, would you use Ajungo before, during or after your trip? Would you encourage your friends/family/colleagues to join Ajungo? If not, why?
   Depending on its popularity and ease of user interface and connectivity, I may use it. It would definitely have to be finetuned a great deal before I would opt to use it regularly. I would use it before my trip in order to find travel-mates. I would encourage friends to use it if it had a larger following and there were other features that would make it more of a full-fledged site.
   Would you like Ajungo to provide users the ability to upload content (ie photos, status updates) from Facebook? If so, would you be willing to link up your content from Facebook to share with with Ajungo community? If not, why?
   Yes, absolutely. This is one of the ways in which fine-tuning and consolidating various user interfaces could make ajungo a success. Without connectivity through various services, I don’t think ajungo would be convenient enough for users to want to utilize it. Having it link up with Facebook would only help provide that interconnectivity with the community inside and outside of ajungo.
   How do you think Ajungo compares to other similar sites/competitors (wayn.com, gtrot.com, vacationrelation.com, travellution.com, tripping.com)
   Other sites seem more easier to understand. I would like your site to have an instructional video or an about me tab where you would explain how to utilize the services. There has to be something that sets your site apart from the other companies, and I think that various methods of incorporating social connectivity through facebook, twitter, bitly, and blogging are the way to go.
   Please share any additional feedback/comments you might have.
   Overall, the graphical elements of the site are there. Simple things like the footer needing to be cleaned up, altering the widget to add more of an user-interactive incentive, as well as other methods of connecting to the community could be the road to success. Also, key is to connect to the uninitiated audience through a tutorial or video, so that they can get to know your service.
    

6. Visit https://beta.ajungo.com. Spend no more than 5 seconds looking at the Home Page. Is is clear to you what Ajungo is trying to accomplish as a website?
   I did this before reading the description and my first thought was that it is a travel agency like site – similar to an orbitz or expedia.  My second thought, after seeing “find fellow travelers”, was that it is a group traveling site – travel in packs, easier planning, etc.
   Now go through the entire site. Do you find the flow of the site smooth/easy to understand? Or bothersome/confusing?
   The interface is user friendly and easy to follow.  I had difficulties finding any cruise locations – despite typing in multiple locations ranging from very specific to very broad.  This may be due to the beta state of the site.  Otherwise, everything worked well. 
    
   What do you find bothersome? What do you like?
   I like the look at feel.  It’s modern, fun, and easy to use – thank you.  I also liked that you offer Kayak search on the side.  One bothersome aspect is that until you’ve developed a large friend base, there’s no point in inputting your travels unless you care to let strangers know where you’ll be.  I feel like there should be some sort of concept that encourages interaction between users – group travel, travel ideas, great itineraries, restaurants, local tips.  There wasn’t much value in simply seeing who else is going.  I also would like to be able to enter in multiple interests to find (aka, sports and adventure, AND social and nightlife) – what if I want both?  Perhaps you could institue a check box system, instead of a drop down.
   What do you think of the registration process? Are you more likely to register natively? Or through Facebook?
   Definitely through Facebook.  it’s easier, and if it allows me to invite my current contacts, that will help me build my Ajungo network instantly (and easily).
   What do you think of the Login process? Creating your profile process? Posting a trip process?
   Everything seemed straight forward.  The website is clean and tidy, so it’s easy to follow your instructions, and find how to do things such as login, register, and add a trip. 
   How do you feel when you search a destination and no one shows up in the search results? What would you like to see to improve this?
   When nobody shows up I think that it’s a result of low site activity.  I think that allowing people to connect to their current Facebook contacts, or gmail, yahoo, or Outlook contacts, helps clear up this problem.  You could also invite people to send e-mail invites when they sign up – although I think the instant connect through other social networks/e-mail accounts is far easier.   Another thing that could improve this is simply adding other features to destination spots.  Instead of only featuring travelers, have a tab for “good eats”, “social life”, “outdoor rec.”, where site managers to input material to make up for low user interaction, at least initially, while the site is growing. 

   What do you think of the Cruise and Sport & Events tabs from the Home Page?
   I like this, although I had trouble with the Cruise tab – I couldn’t find any cruise locations, which was frustrating.  The sports and events tab is good, but again, I’d like to know what events are going on in a certain city, as opposed to simply posting an specific event in a specific city that I’ll be attending.  I want to learn what I CAN attend in a certain place.
   Would you use Ajungo? If so, would you use Ajungo before, during or after your trip? Would you encourage your friends/family/colleagues to join Ajungo? If not, why?
   I wouldn’t yet use Ajungo, I’m a member of too many other networks, and I really want to find value in everything I do.  I don’t have time to make new friends and post events that nobody in my network will see.  I am huge into traveling and planning, so if this developed into a site that had travel ideas, tips, and such, I’d definitely join. 

   Would you like Ajungo to provide users the ability to upload content (ie photos, status updates) from Facebook? If so, would you be willing to link up your content from Facebook to share with with Ajungo community? If not, why?
   Absolutely!  Why not connect your social network to the biggest, most active social network in the world??  Systems integration would certainly be attractive to me – I’d consider joining more so if this were to occur.  And, who doesn’t love to look at pictures?

   If you are willing to share your Facebook content with the Ajungo community would you be willing to upload that content after your trip? Or would you like to have the content pulled from your Facebook account simultaneously as you are uploading photos/status updates to your Facebook account during your trip, ie. a ‘Real Time Journal’?
   Hmm, I’d like to have the option – but I wouldn’t want this to be mandatory.  Or, I’d also like to have selective simultaneous updating. 
    
   How do you think Ajungo compares to other similar sites/competitors (wayn.com, gtrot.com, vacationrelation.com, travellution.com, tripping.com)
   I haven’t heard of most of these sites, so I can’t say for some – but it seems similar to the couple I do know (vacationrelation, for one).  I think you need to differentiate yourself by becoming something more.  “A virtual travel guide – to anywhere in the world…” Why buy Frommer’s books for a single location, when you can have more information, to any place on earth, for free!  That type of thing – a solid, unique positioning. 
   Please share any additional feedback/comments you might have.
   One concern that Facebook is frequented with is privacy.  If people are able to post trips, photos, and other private information, there should be a way for them to privatize this info, or some of it.  Obviously you need their travel posting to be public for the site concept to survive, but, it’s just something to think seriously about moving forward.

7. 
   Spend no more than 5 seconds looking at the Home Page. Is is clear to you what Ajungo is trying to accomplish as a website?
   

   No, I thought it was a search engine for travel & tickets – not a social planner

   
   Now go through the entire site. Do you find the flow of the site smooth/easy to understand? Or bothersome/confusing?
   

   The function of the round search box in addition to the list of popular cities was confusing.  Once I clicked on a particular city, it was clear what the site is meant to accomplish.

   What do you find bothersome? What do you like?

   I like the circular logo and round search box – its clean and appealing to the eye.I don’t like that you are forced to submit an email address to ‘find fellow travelers’ unless the city is listed below,

   What do you think of the registration process? Are you more likely to register natively? Or through Facebook?

   The registration process is simple and easy to understand – clean.  I would be more apt to log-in via facebook than natively.

   What do you think of the Login process? Creating your profile process? Posting a trip process?

   Log-in is simple and quick, as are all the elements for creating a profile and updating information about a trip.

   How do you feel when you search a destination and no one shows up in the search results? What would you like to see to improve this?

   It made me feel like the database did not have enough travelers to makeup a world-wide social network.  The more advertising and cross-platform integration – like with facebook, will increase the number of active travelers.

   What do you think of the Cruise and Sport & Events tabs from the Home Page?

   I think its too specific…I might not know what kind of event I would like to attend and would like to have the option of searching for ALL events in a particular city during a specific window of time.

   Would you use Ajungo? If so, would you use Ajungo before, during or after your trip? Would you encourage your friends/family/colleagues to join Ajungo? If not, why?

   I would probably not use Ajungo before a trip because I travel for a specific purpose and am with the people I will be socializing with.  I would tend not to want to meet strangers.  However, I might use the site after a trip to share tips & experiences from my trip in the hopes it helps someone else out. I would probably not recommend it to my friends, but if I was a college student or single, I would probably want my friends to be part of the network.

   Would you like Ajungo to provide users the ability to upload content (ie photos, status updates) from Facebook? If so, would you be willing to link up your content from Facebook to share with with Ajungo community? If not, why?

   Yes, I fell facebook integration is essential because most people upload their travel content to the fb pages and sharing info would reduce the need to load photos and update profile multiple times.

   If you are willing to share your Facebook content with the Ajungo community would you be willing to upload that content after your trip? Or would you like to have the content pulled from your Facebook account simultaneously as you are uploading photos/status updates to your Facebook account during your trip, ie. a ‘Real Time Journal’?

   I would prefer my updates be synced with Facebook and updated in ‘real time’

   How do you think Ajungo compares to other similar sites/competitors (wayn.com, gtrot.com, vacationrelation.com, travellution.com, tripping.com)

   I like the simplicity of the site and clear graphics, as well as the ability to add 

   Please share any additional feedback/comments you might have.

   I like the idea of this site and feel that it has a strong potential to catch on with traveling college students and young, single professionals.  Having an easy way to update the travel file by linking with facebook and other social media sites is an essential part of a successful plan, in my opinion as it reduces the need to upload statuses and photos multiple times…cross platform integration is key.  I would also add an iphone / android app feature so people can easily update their Ajunga pages on the go.

8. Visit https://beta.ajungo.com. Spend no more than 5 seconds looking at the Home Page. Is is clear to you what Ajungo is trying to accomplish as a website?
   When i first visit, i tot this a is flight company which i can enter the place and date. It’s not clear toward ur business purpose.
   Now go through the entire site. Do you find the flow of the site smooth/easy to understand? Or bothersome/confusing?
   Seriously, the site wasn’t easy to understand. I don’t really get what the site about. It’s too simple. it’s confusing. Until i read about ur description then i just starting to understand what ur site about. It’s still hard to understand.
   What do you find bothersome? What do you like?
   Ur site is too simple, i dont find any bothersome. Just the information is too little. The detail is too little. What i like is that the the blue circle which allow visitor to enter the destination detail. I like the design. At top of ur site allow people to enter email and password which is really convenient.
   What do you think of the registration process? Are you more likely to register natively? Or through Facebook?
   Both of the option also good. The process is easy and fast. i suggest that for the user living city, u should provide a sample of entering it. Let the user know either entering their city then country or country then city.
   What do you think of the Login process? Creating your profile process? Posting a trip process?
   All of it is easy. The login process, creating profile process and posting a trip process is normal and easy.
   How do you feel when you search a destination and no one shows up in the search results? What would you like to see to improve this?
   It might be disappointed. Maybe u provide anyone who is living in that destination who is near to the destination. Or who is travelling near the destinations. At least people see some result instead of nothing.
   What do you think of the Cruise and Sport & Events tabs from the Home Page?
   It’s useful. It’s a good services. I think u should elaborate more about these features.
   Would you use Ajungo? If so, would you use Ajungo before, during or after your trip? Would you encourage your friends/family/colleagues to join Ajungo? If not, why? Yes, i would. I would use it before or during the trip. I would be interest to find out if i have friends travelling in the same place with me. yes, i will encourage my friends, family and colleagues to join. Because it can allow me to improve our communication.
   Would you like Ajungo to provide users the ability to upload content (ie photos, status updates) from Facebook? If so, would you be willing to link up your content from Facebook to share with with Ajungo community? If not, why?
   Yes, if im always using Ajungo service i would like to link it up. It depend on ur service. If ur service is good and really helpful. People will like it.
   If you are willing to share your Facebook content with the Ajungo community would you be willing to upload that content after your trip? Or would you like to have the content pulled from your Facebook account simultaneously as you are uploading photos/status updates to your Facebook account during your trip, ie. a ‘Real Time Journal’?
   It really depends. I would prefer to uploading the content after the trip. Is better u put it an option for the community to choose it on the setting.
   How do you think Ajungo compares to other similar sites/competitors (wayn.com, gtrot.com, vacationrelation.com, travellution.com, tripping.com)
   Compare to the other sites. Ur site is too simple and too little details. They also have alot more features.
   Please share any additional feedback/comments you might have.
   I suggest that u provide more description in ur home page. Provide more features like a live chat for ur community chating with their friends. Also u can make more feature such as showing the place that ur member going to travel. Give them some review about the place. This would can make ur site looks more professional on about the service u provided. mayb u also can provide a map for the community so they can print it down. It is a good service. all this really can help alot of traveller. In ur front page i suggest that u add more picture and detail about ur business. But keep it simple. Above the destination entering feature, which is the blue circle, u can put some background picture and add some description about how ur site works. So that people can easily know what ur site is about. If u have some good service, list it down on top. U also can provide link for the if u know any promotion about the place that they are about to going. This really can impressive people with ur service. Mayb u can charge them for more feature.

9. Feedback sought:

   Visit https://beta.ajungo.com. Spend no more than 5 seconds looking at the Home Page. Is is clear to you what Ajungo is trying to accomplish as a website?

   Not really.  It says it’s a trip planning tool, but the little band telling even that is too light and hard to read. There is not enough information regarding how to use the application. How about a short video tutorial or a “using Ajungo” tab? I definitely felt that the little band at the top was too light – it just doesn’t pop. The gray for me looks drab and boring.

   Now go through the entire site. Do you find the flow of the site smooth/easy to understand? Or bothersome/confusing?

   The way I went through the site was I started by entering a location and dates. I liked the pink box and popped up when I didn’t fill in all the fields. Then I clicked on the find fellow travelers and got the pop-up encouraging me to post my trip. I was glad to find that I could continue without posting it right then. The page with fellow travelers was great. Each tab in the Ajungo circle was easy to follow. Very creative navigation tool!

   What do you find bothersome? What do you like?

   Bothersome was again, that there wasn’t a lot of information on how to use the site and still hate the gray tab at the top (although it was better on the other pages when the blue ball overlaid the gray bar at the top). I also felt like I would never use the site as it could be quite dangerous to broadcast on the web my travel plans! I wouldn’t want people to be able to see when I would be vacationing and where. Perfect setup for getting robbed…

   What do you think of the registration process? Are you more likely to register natively? Or through Facebook?

   If I registered it would be with a fake name and such for security reasons. I would not post my photo to be associated with a specific location. Login was a breeze! I like the look of the login page (except I can’t stand the little blue feedback button on the left – I hope that’s just there for the Beta app).

   What do you think of the Login process? Creating your profile process? Posting a trip process?

   All of it was super easy. Again, security would prevent me from posting photos or other information about myself associated with traveling to a specific location on specific dates. I don’t tend to want to “hook up” with strangers when I’m traveling.

   How do you feel when you search a destination and no one shows up in the search results? What would you like to see to improve this?

   Again, this is not a site I would use to find people to meet. So, it wouldn’t really matter to me if no one showed up in my search of a particular destination.

   What do you think of the Cruise and Sport & Events tabs from the Home Page?

   Those were interesting. But again, it kinda gives me the creeps to put cruise information on a public site (I was able to find travelers before I signed up too). I would worry about becoming a target. The events tab was something I would be more likely to participate in. I don’t think that would be quite as dangerous. And it would be a good way to meet people with similar interests in a venue that is less threatening (to me) and less time involved (like a concert or something).

   Would you use Ajungo? If so, would you use Ajungo before, during or after your trip? Would you encourage your friends/family/colleagues to join Ajungo? If not, why?

   I think I’ve answered this question, but definitely not. This site has too much potential for making me a target.

   Would you like Ajungo to provide users the ability to upload content (ie photos, status updates) from Facebook? If so, would you be willing to link up your content from Facebook to share with with Ajungo community? If not, why?

   My Facebook information is only available to my FB friends. Sharing with Ajungo would again make my info. too public for my taste.

   If you are willing to share your Facebook content with the Ajungo community would you be willing to upload that content after your trip? Or would you like to have the content pulled from your Facebook account simultaneously as you are uploading photos/status updates to your Facebook account during your trip, ie. a ‘Real Time Journal’?

   If I were willing to link to FB, I think it would be better to have the option of uploading info stratight from FB, certainly.

   How do you think Ajungo compares to other similar sites/competitors (wayn.com, gtrot.com, vacationrelation.com, travellution.com, tripping.com)

   I have never used any of those sites.

   Please share any additional feedback/comments you might have.

   I’m sorry to say that this is not an application I would be interested in at all. The lack of security is scary, I think, and I can’t really imagine any way to change that. I guess for people who are willing to take that risk, this might be a good way to meet folks with the same interests they have from around the world.  I think I’ll stick to taking cookies to my next-door-neighbor.  🙂

10. Visit https://beta.ajungo.com. Spend no more than 5 seconds looking at the Home Page. Is is clear to you what Ajungo is trying to accomplish as a website?

    As I quickly glanced at the home page, I thought it was a booking/vacation site – a site to find the best deals or packages available for your destination location. Also,

    Now go through the entire site. Do you find the flow of the site smooth/easy to understand? Or bothersome/confusing?

    First, when I tried to put in one of my favorite travel locations, Castries, St Lucia, it would not go through. I received a message stating “1 error prohibited this current trip from being saved – destination must be provided”. I understand that it may not be possible to obtain all locations, however maybe a feature that allows the user to add a specific trip for them.
    I find that besides the home page, there is no way to navigate to other pages within the site. Maybe there could be possible events, excursions, tourist attractions, site seeing tours during the period which the consumer is on the trip. Those might be some added tabs to help the consumer plan to meet up with friends/family during their trip.

    What do you find bothersome? What do you like?
    I liked the layout of the other travelers during the time frame. Also those that are listed at the bottom as “locals” is useful as well. The information as to why the other travelers are going to that location was useful as well. At the same time, I felt stuck on that one page. Even though you can change your trip location or dates on the first bar line, it just felt like there was no place to go from that page.

    What do you think of the registration process? Are you more likely to register natively? Or through Facebook?
    Personally, I might link this to my FB account so close friends or family could see when I was coming their way. I did not register using my FB account though. I am kind of selective as to who gets to see what information I am posting. Also very selective as to what other sites can post to my FB profile.

    What do you think of the Login process? Creating your profile process? Posting a trip process?
    The login in process was simplistic. I created a profile with great ease. Posting a trip was done effortlessly.

    How do you feel when you search a destination and no one shows up in the search results? What would you like to see to improve this?
    The trip I actually posted didn’t have anyone else come up. The page looked dim… There is no bold suggestions to aid the traveler to invite others to join him/her. The suggestion is there, but it seems to just all blend together.

    What do you think of the Cruise and Sport & Events tabs from the Home Page?
    I do like that you can add an event or make suggestions for adding an event to be listed as well. This would be great if you could do this for travel destinations as well. I do like that these two are separated from travel destinations.

    Would you use Ajungo? If so, would you use Ajungo before, during or after your trip? Would you encourage your friends/family/colleagues to join Ajungo? If not, why?
    I could see this to be very useful to assist those who travel or have friends/family throughout the world with notification of planned trips. I could also see a good use for it in different business aspects with formulating conference events, training locations, business meetings as well.

    Would you like Ajungo to provide users the ability to upload content (ie photos, status updates) from Facebook? If so, would you be willing to link up your content from Facebook to share with with Ajungo community? If not, why?
    I believe some individuals would want the ability to link content from other social networks (ie, FB, LinkedIn, Tweeter) so information could be shared. I personally would not do this. Again, I am very personal and do not like everyone knowing everything. For many people, privacy is not an issue when it comes to their social network statuses.

    If you are willing to share your Facebook content with the Ajungo community would you be willing to upload that content after your trip? Or would you like to have the content pulled from your Facebook account simultaneously as you are uploading photos/status updates to your Facebook account during your trip, ie. a ‘Real Time Journal’?
    I would more likely to share FB content after my trip by uploading it personally. For the average user, I would tend to think that ease of it automatically being pulled or shared from FB would be okay.

    How do you think Ajungo compares to other similar sites/competitors (wayn.com, gtrot.com, vacationrelation.com, travellution.com, tripping.com)
    After reviewing a few of the other sites you listed, it seems they have more content available to the website user. I would suggest maybe adding some photos of different destinations as some of these sites have.
    Please share any additional feedback/comments you might have.
    I would like to see that individuals could link together on this site. Maybe leave a personal comment for the traveler or private message if they would like to meet up. I think it would also benefit if others could suggest to meet/join on the trip.
    Also, maybe some information available on the destination would be useful. Basic information on weather at time of trip, any cautions issued by governments for travelers, currency/exchange rates, etc. You could also add photos or ask travelers to post photos to destinations (which would be approved by administrators) to locations as well.

11. Visit https://beta.ajungo.com. Spend no more than 5 seconds looking at the Home Page. Is is clear to you what Ajungo is trying to accomplish as a website?
    In looking at the homepage I can see that you are asked for you travel information.  The actual “purpose” statement is in small white print under the information boxes.  After reading that you can notify me of other travelers that are planning the same trip, then it states that you will not share my information with any other travelers.  I find that hard to believe because you have those two statements in the same small purpose statement.  It makes me immediately put my guard up.
     
    Now go through the entire site. Do you find the flow of the site smooth/easy to understand? Or bothersome/confusing? After entering my trip information it was clear and easy to understand.  It had a facebook type interface once your profile was created which helped me to be more comfortable and understand my profile page.
     
    What do you find bothersome? What do you like?
    I found it interesting that someone else is scheduled for a similar destination later on in the year.  I could see offering them some great information about deals and great things I saw or did on my trip.
    What do you think of the registration process? Are you more likely to register natively? Or
    through Facebook?
    I found the registration process very easy and I appreciated that the questions are simple and I expected each of the required fields.  There were no surprises like flight information or hotels reservations etc. that would tell people too much about my plans.  I wouldn’t link it to my facebook because I would feel vulnerable to strangers knowing me too well.  Which is also why I would not post a photo of myself.
    What do you think of the Login process? Creating your profile process? Posting a trip process? Creating a profile and logging in are relatively easy and should not cause any user problems.  I liked how the tab “Post a trip to my profile” is large and at the right top corner of the page.  It’s an easy way to add trips, but also a reminder of the purpose for this site.
     
    How do you feel when you search a destination and no one shows up in the search results?
    When I searched for Palm Beach, Florida I got a message, “Travelers currently aren’t showing any love to this destination, cruise or event this time of year.”  Although current verbage- “Showing love”, it diminishes the professionalism of the service for me.  I would prefer a simpler statement, like no matches found.
    What would you like to see to improve this?
    I would like to see additional tabs that you can click once your trip has been added.  Like a top ten list that you could contribute to for your destination.  Maybe something all people who have entered this destination could see.  Like top ten reasons why I visit…  I think that this site can be social in that it connects people with similar vacation interests, but it cannot connect them in a way that seems invasive.  Most people go on vacation to get away from people and the worries that relationships bring.  The last thing that they want is to create new relationships while on a trip.  If it happens, great!  But most people don’t want to plan for more emotional and social “work” while on vacation.
    What do you think of the Cruise and Sport & Events tabs from the Home Page?
    I’m not sure that I would use the Sports and Events tabs.  I am hesitant about the cruise tab only because I’m trying to think of a reason why I would need to connect before a cruise where I was going to be with people for a long period of time in a relatively small space.   Also, I noticed that on my profile page there was no way to return to the homepage without signing out.  Maybe a Home tab?
    Would you use Ajungo? If so, would you use Ajungo before, during or after your trip?
    If I used Ajungo it would be after my trip to help others find the great shows, deals or accommodations that I enjoyed or discovered while on my trip.
    Would you encourage your friends/family/colleagues to join Ajungo? If not, why?
    Probably not.
    Would you like Ajungo to provide users the ability to upload content (ie photos, status
    updates) from Facebook? If so, would you be willing to link up your content from Facebook to share with with Ajungo community? If not, why?
    I am not interested in linking my Facebook account to anyone but my accepted friends list.  I am just too unwilling to make my information that accessable to strangers.
    If you are willing to share your Facebook content with the Ajungo community would you be willing to upload that content after your trip? Or would you like to have the content pulled from your Facebook account simultaneously as you are uploading photos/status updates to your Facebook account during your trip, ie. a ‘Real Time Journal’?
    If I wanted to post vacation pictures I would like the opportunity to post them directly to Ajungo.
    How do you think Ajungo compares to other similar sites/competitors (wayn.com, gtrot.com, vacationrelation.com, travellution.com, tripping.com)
    I think that on other sites they include maps, advertisements, and accommodation helps.  I think that this site is meant to connect travelers to make relationships before the trip or to help one another with a trip.  I’m just not sure that people want more relationships in their lives while they are planning a getaway.
    Please share any additional feedback/comments you might have.
    In general I think that that the blue circle on a white background is too basic.  I just don’t’ get it.  I would do something more graphic and make the purpose of this site larger and clearer.

12. $5 awarded to zeke2100.

13. $5 awarded to greatfeedback4u.

14. $5 awarded to Sierra12346.

15. $5 awarded to MomKelly2.

16. $5 awarded to UI Professional.

17. $5 awarded to sm3.

18. $5 awarded to ReverseFalcon.

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21. $5 awarded to SueD1.

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