{"id":342621,"date":"2017-06-03T01:28:13","date_gmt":"2017-06-02T17:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?p=1498951"},"modified":"2017-06-03T01:28:13","modified_gmt":"2017-06-02T17:28:13","slug":"sherpa-turns-instagrams-best-photos-into-a-travel-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/sherpa-turns-instagrams-best-photos-into-a-travel-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Sherpa turns Instagram\u2019s best photos into a travel guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

There are a number of places to find travel inspiration \u2013 Pinterest, Google Destinations<\/a>, travel blogs or media sites like Cond\u00e9 Nast\u2019s Traveler<\/a>, among others. But a new application called Sherpa<\/a> launching this week believes that some of the best travel ideas can be found on Instagram. The iOS application curates photos from top Instagram photographers, and turns them into visual travel guides that are augmented with data from other services, like Foursquare and Wikipedia.<\/p>\n

Sherpa co-founder and CEO Paul Aaron<\/a> previously founded NYC-based design studio Modern Assembly, which worked with brands like Coca-Cola, UNICEF<\/a>, Droga5, The Climate Reality Project, and even The Rock<\/a> (Dwayne Johnson). He also spent several years heading digital at Silver + Partners, and previously Crispin Porter + Bogusky.<\/p>\n

\u201cSherpa came about when the digital design and development studio I founded, Modern Assembly, was asked to pitch ideas for a leading travel review website,\u201d explains Aaron. \u201cAs I dug into their business, it became apparent to me that the review system itself was creating an experience that was cumbersome, difficult to contribute to, and prone to fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea for Sherpa was to use the photos we already share everyday to create a travel planning experience that is more authentic, emotionally resonant, and easy to contribute to,\u201d says Aaron.<\/p>\n

The startup is currently working with over 2,000 Instagram photographers \u2013 or, as it calls them, \u201cmicro-influencers\u201d \u2013 across 90 countries. This includes names like\u00a0Andrew Kearns<\/a>, Roman Koenigshofer<\/a>, Marianne Hope<\/a>, Sean Byrne<\/a>, Kirsten Alana<\/a>, Irina<\/a>, Patrick Florian<\/a>, and Lukas Elias Winkler<\/a>, among others.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Sherpa takes their content and turns them into guides that appeal to a variety of types of travelers \u2013 ranging from backpackers to adventurers to luxury travelers and more. At launch, over 500,000 geotagged photos have been organized into 15,000 travel guides that are presented in the app as albums.<\/p>\n

To use the app, you first have to provide your email, connect with Instagram, and tell Sherpa your \u201chome base\u201d (where you live). You can also optionally tell the app where you\u2019ve been, by allowing it to turn organize your own Instagram photos by location. (I\u2019d skip this if you have a private Instagram account, however, as your photos become public in the app).<\/p>\n

You can then browse through Sherpa\u2019s travel guides either by typing in a specific destination in the search box, or by scrolling through its selection of \u201ctrending locations.\u201d While the Wikipedia content helps you get a basic understanding of the locale, Sherpa\u2019s real purpose is to help you get inspired through travel photography.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As you browse the app, you can save photos of places you want to go to your \u201csuitcase,\u201d and, by doing so, Sherpa will begin to boost destinations related to those photos to personalize the content to your interests.<\/p>\n

Because this is largely a visual browsing app, it\u2019s not one that\u2019s best for actually planning the details involved with your travels, such as finding flights, booking lodging and tours, or mapping out your route.<\/p>\n

However, that could change in time.<\/p>\n

\u201cEventually, every photo you see on Sherpa will be bookable, and you\u2019ll be able to search for trending hotels, or book the amazing off-the-beaten path trip that a travel photographer you follow has gone on,\u201d notes Aaron. \u201cAs the platform grows, we\u2019ll monetize these bookings just like an online travel agency does.\u201d<\/p>\n

But today, with its minimalistic design and beautiful imagery, it\u2019s still a good first stop for figuring out where it is you might want to go.<\/p>\n

Brooklyn-based Sherpa is a three-person team, including co-founders\u00a0Adam Gettings<\/a> and Tom Hadley<\/a>. It has raised a small amount of angel funding.<\/p>\n

The app was previously available as an invite-only beta for the past six months, while it built out it location-specific guides and community.<\/p>\n

The app is a free download on the Apple App Store<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\" There are a number of places to find travel inspiration – Pinterest, Google Destinations, travel blogs or media sites like Cond\u00e9 Nast’s Traveler, among others. But a new application called Sherpa launching this week believes that some of the best travel ideas can be found on Instagram. The iOS application curates photos from top Instagram photographers, and turns them into… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n

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