How to Get a Better Travel Experience Using Social Media

Is there a point to social media? Non-believers might want to give social media a second chance. Travel + Leisure recently sent me to Portland for a quick weekend getaway. My mission: To experience how travel companies respond to social media. After all, no one wants to be greeted with the sound of crickets.

Would my tweets and posts vanish into the Interwebs? And from a trip-planning perspective, could I eat my way through Portland using suggestions gleaned from Gogobot, Yelp, Foursquare, and Foodspotting?

Well, I certainly tried. From booking hotel deals to asking a blogger where to eat, these "9 Rules for Using Social Media on the Road" pretty much sum up what I learned. (Here's the online slideshow.) My only regret is not checking the Twitter feed of Blue Star Donuts sooner. If I had, I would've known that they sell out quickly—and I wouldn't be haunted by this sad photo.

I will be going back for the blueberry bourbon basil doughnut. That's a promise.



Photo credit: Travel + Leisure (top), Amy Chen (bottom)

Pint-size Perks at Cool Companies: Free Beer!

As company culture grows in importance, check out how some companies are going with the flow: Free beer for employees. Pick up the May/June 2013 issue of Draft magazine to learn about the alcohol-friendly policies at Yelp, Arnold Worldwide, and other companies around the U.S.





You can also view Arnie, the Beer Machine, in this fun video. Why settle for a vending machine with root beer when you can get a free bottle of the real thing?