Anticipatory Assistants • Focus on: Social, Reviews, Tours, Innovation Blockers, Air Distribution, Space Travel • 180 Travel Briefs • Awesome Travel Photos • Tech Briefs • I Write Like…

I’ve been very busy with my day job, helping to deliver a next-generation travel search and booking site and it has been far too long since I posted a TravelTech News compilation and commentary. As a result I ended up with an extra-large number of articles for this issue. An interesting side effect of having a larger number of articles is that I noticed clusters of articles around some common topics. I’ve grouped a few of these topics into their own sections and labeled them as “Focus on: .”

Long time readers of these posts will remember that I started out compiling separate sections for Travel and Technology, later split them into separate posts and finally dropped the Technology posts altogether. I did this because the WordPress stats for this blog showed that posts with a lot of travel content were usually significantly more popular than those that were focused on technology. However, so many developments around travel today are related to technology that I feel I should include some technology content. With this issue I’ve decided to return to my original model and include travel and technology sections in each post.

Travel

Traveling with AAAs: Anticipatory Artificial Assistants

The next big development in personal technology may be anticipatory systems like Google Now, which synthesize detailed personal data and large online data stores and services. These systems can be helpful personal assistants, acting on your behalf even before you know you want something. Google Now already handles several travel-related use cases, but we’re really just at the beginning of what could be done:

1. Alerting you that your flight has been delayed or canceled and:
   • Reporting the airline’s new estimated departure time
   • Suggesting alternative flight.
2. Monitoring ticket prices for trips you might be interested in and purchasing or putting a hold in for a ticket when prices drop below your personal trigger threshold. I could use such an application. I have many airfare alerts set up on multiple services, but on more than one occasion, I have missed short sales windows. That application would need to know your travel dates. You could provide this information explicitly or the app could deduce it implicitly from your schedule since it has access to it.
3. Alerting you of upcoming events you may be interested in attending based on your past attendance history or stated preferences.
4. Suggesting the best transportation modes based on your currently location and next appointment and reporting maps, schedules and fares. (Google Now already does this.)

Read More:

• Anticipatory Systems. ReadWrite
• Combining Individual data with Big Data. Technology Review
• Google Now. CNET
• How Google Now and Siri work together for iOS users on the go. Skift

Geography

Today’s Geography is not the memorization of place names you were required to do in school. This Geography drives GPSes, Google Maps and Google Street View. It is the compilation, integration and synthesis of vast data sets that tell us “where, what and why.”

Los Angeles Times

Focus on: Social

The integration of social technology into travel may not always take the forms envisioned by industry first movers, but it’s clear that it’s no passing fad.

• The social measure: how Expedia is staying ahead of the curve. EyeForTravel
• So just what does social influence mean in travel marketing? Tnooz
• Millions of social mentions bring the crowd to trip planning. Tnooz
• Mining the Facebook social graph to work out what travellers want to do on a trip [INFOGRAPHIC]. Tnooz
• Mafengwo secures funding round of $15 million, social travel thrives in China. Tnooz
• Turns out Google didn’t sell social followers back to Arthur Frommer. Skift
• Bazaarvoice has compiled some compelling social travel statistics, including:

• 45% of personal travelers and 54% of business travelers have made travel plans based on reviews and experience of others. Google Think Insights
• 39% of millennials say they would not choose a hotel without referencing others’ opinions. Bazaarvoice
• 40% of personal travelers and 46% business travelers use social networking to share travel experiences. Google Think Insights

Focus on: Customer Reviews

• TripAdvisor’s Rave Reviews widget for top hotels & restaurants. Skift
• TripAdvisor steps up process to include more verified reviews of hotels. Tnooz
• TheSmartLocal aims to eliminate fake reviews and adopts blog style for quality reviews. Tnooz
• Homeless hostel ranked in city top ten on TripAdvisor as pranksters game the system. Tnooz
• Spotting fakes, trust issues and responding to hotel reviews [INFOGRAPHIC]. Tnooz
• Honesty is the best policy for high-ranking reviews and measurable returns. EyeForTravel
• TravelShark replaces simple review rating scales with “wordgraphs” highlighting common words found in user reviews. [Editor’s note: while wordgraphs provide some useful qualitative information, there are much more powerful text mining techniques that can be used to extract deeper information from review databases. It will interesting to see how future review applications leverage these techniques.] Tnooz

Focus on: Tours

On my trip to Yangshuo, China earlier this year, I ran into Sally, a self-employed tour guide. Using her self-taught English skills, Sally makes a very modest living hawking local destinations and experiences to foreign tourists. I have little interest in pre-purchased packaged tours, but I don’t mind engaging the services of local guides to get their insights and help the local economy. Hopefully, Sally will have the opportunity to list her services on sites like Airbnb and GetYourGuide and earn more money to support her family.

• AnyRoad brings tour guides into the digital age, focusing on quality niche tours. Tnooz
• Seismic shift: Airbnb will let hosts sell tours and activities. Tnooz
• Done deal: GetYourGuide buys Gidsy. Tnooz
• GetYourGuide absorbs tours startup Gidsy. Skift
• Yet another Tour Startup: AnyRoad Tries To Provide Anything But Your Typical Travel Tour. TechCrunch
• Tapping into tours and activities: movers and shakers in the peer-to-peer market. EyeForTravel

Focus on: Regulation and Resistance to Innovation

Incumbent capital and labor interests in a market frequently resist innovations. Well-intentioned laws can stand in the way of innovation. The legal woes of Airbnb hosts and the resistance to taxi-hailing apps are examples of such innovation blockers.

• NY official: Airbnb stay illegal; host fined $2,400. CNET
• Taxi-hailing apps are illegal again in NYC, day after launch. Skift
• Spain may restrict vacation rentals for non-licensed properties. Skift
• How San Francisco is working to make the sharing economy legit. Skift
• Uber is first e-hail app to be approved in NYC yearlong pilot program. Skift
• NYC’s largest development reminds residents they can be evicted for vacation rentals. Skirt

Focus on: Air Distribution (It’s In Flux)

Air distribution is changing rapidly. Airlines are emphasizing direct sales on their own sites to avoid commission costs and to sell more ancillary products. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is defining a new data interchange standard known as the New Distribution Capability (NDC) for selling air products, but is limiting participation by GDSes and Travel Agents. The IATA is also proposing to overhaul the existing distribution system by replacing the old-fashioned EDIFACT data interchange standard with XML, but the majority of stakeholders are not on board.

• Airlines want you off OTAs like Expedia, but “When they want to run a special, they need the worldwide coverage and promotions OTAs give them.” MarketWatch.com
• A new problem for OTAs: Airline websites are outselling them in the US. Tnooz
• IATA under fire for levels of input in NDC creation. Travel Weekly
• Google chimes in on airline distribution changes, criticizes closed shop and speed issues. Tnooz
• Travelport executive: IATA distribution initiative is unilateral project. Travel Weekly
• Amadeus explains its qualified support of IATA‘s Resolution 787 (to use XML) and talks NDC. Tnooz
• Spirit Airlines enables travel agents to add a mark-up. Travel Weekly
• Frontier Airlines pushes direct-booking with $100 overhead bin fee if you book elsewhere. Skift
• American Airlines to sell ancillaries in Amadeus. Travel Weekly
• Airlines in Transition: Ancillaries come to the GDS, but websites still hold retail advantage. CAPA Centre for Aviation
• Priceline bypasses GDSes, connects directly to United and American. Travel Weekly

Focus on: Space Travel

Following the first successful powered flight of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, Richard Branson indicated that its first passenger flight to space may occur in late 2013. And check out these must-watch videos: The SpaceShipTwo flight and Astronaut Chris Hadfield channeling David Bowie aboard the International Space Station.

• Virgin Galactic getting Closer to Space. Airline Reporter
• Virgin’s SpaceShipTwo thrusts engines: Suborbital travel one step closer. Skift
• How will space tourism work? Tnooz
• The Era of Private Space Travel Is Just Beginning. New York Magazine
• [Video] SpaceShip2 first powered flight.
• [Video] Further proof that Commander Chris Hadfield is just about the coolest astronaut ever.

Travel Briefs

New and Featured Travel Sites, Apps and Services

1. Pintrips launches a collaborative trip planning dashboard for tracking flights & prices across destinations in real-time. TechCrunch
2. Pintrips comes out of beta and pins hopes on crowd-sourced tips. Tnooz
3. Farely is an interesting website that claims to show the actual cost to airlines to fly a passenger from point to point. If Farely is accurate, I’ve been purchasing most of my airline tickets below cost. Tnooz
4. Five early-stage travel startups that want to make planning simpler. Skift
5. The next generation of Kayak wannabes. Skift
6. 10 Apps That May Change How You Travel – SmarterTravel.com. SmarterTravel
7. Five travel startups that hack the current travel user experience. Skift
8. FlyinAway lets the crowd decide which routes to put on sale. Tnooz
9. GetGoing continues mission to reap flight savings for leisure travellers. Tnooz
10. RouteHappy embarks on mission to help people fly better with a happy pill. Tnooz
11. RouteHappy.com: A New Way of Booking Your Next Flight. Airline Reporter
12. Travel writers rejoice! Simonseeks returns after two-year hiatus. Tnooz
13. “Twitter Cards” embed app links into tweets: Travel use cases you need to know about and how to do it. Tnooz
14. Same-day mobile booking services – now there’s a hotel branded app for that. Tnooz
15. Traxo weather alert system tries to bring some sunshine to snowy travel days. Tnooz
16. Vayant has a modern caching solution small travel startups can use to compete with the big boys. Tnooz
17. Hotwire launches airfare-tracking website. Travel Weekly
18. TripReactor helps sites generate revenue with native advertising. Tnooz
19. Davis gives Room Key update, hints at future. HotelNewsNow
20. Rocketmiles raises $2 million funding to turn hotel stays into miles. Skift
21. RocketMiles woos Atlas Venture for $2 million investment package. Tnooz
22. Momondo launches tool for insights on why fares go up or down. Skift
23. GateGuru revamps its app to address user feedback. Ton

Online Travel Industry

24. Airbnb’s Verification Program to Combine Offline and Online Identities. AllThingsD
25. Booking.com Mobile Bookings Triple. Booking.com
26. Shatner and Priceline put pressure on Expedia’s Hotwire. Skift
27. Case study: Expedia’s South America Week. Tnooz
28. Opportunity knocks: Facebook goes after truly personalised travel. Tnooz
29. Google attempts to appease travel search critics, plans tests for new display options. Tnooz
30. Why travel brands are particularly at risk from the next Google Penguin update. Tnooz
31. Applying some Googlezone magic dust to airline retailing. Tnooz
32. HomeAway vacation rental bookings still mired in stone age. Skift
33. Analyst optimistic about new HomeAway service. Business Week
34. HomeAway and Gogobot partner on local travel guides for vacation rental customers. Skift
35. Insider Guides bring Gogobot to Homeaway. Tnooz
36. Kayak finally launches in Canada. Tnooz
37. Blackstone gives up control of Orbitz and Travelport. Skift
38. Priceline: mobile users booking lots of one-way flights. Skift
39. Priceline’s mobile trends show shift in consumer preferences. Tnooz
40. China travel search portal Qunar speaks about the past, present and future. Tnooz
41. Sabre enhances merchandising capabilities with Custom Offers. Tnooz
42. Sabre enables personalized hotel offers. Travel Weekly
43. Traverie taps big data to build trust. EyeForTravel
44. TripAdvisor acquires cruise online-booking site CruiseWise. Skift
45. TripAdvisor acquisition roadshow continues – snaps up technology and team from CruiseWise. Tnooz
46. Online websites still preferred over mobile apps and sites for booking. Skift
47. Travellers still turning to desktop after researching on tablets [INFOGRAPHIC]. Tnooz
48. Tourism Australia study: The space between searching flights and clicking purchase. “The greatest gap between those planning and actually booking online is in China. In the year ending March 2012, 64 percent of Chinese travelers researched and planned online, but only 14 percent completed a booking.” Skift
49. Cramer Charts Course for Online Travel. CNBC
50. California state judge rules online travel agencies not subject to hotel taxes. Skift
51. Five angel investors who rule the travel startup world. Skift
52. Going beyond the traditional city pairs: New retailing dynamics in online travel. Tnooz
53. Dear OTA.com: A customer asks why OTAs don’t offer him a better, personalized, value proposition. EyeForTravel
54. Don’t be fooled: high-tech investments require much more of the human touch. EyeForTravel
55. Top travel sites then and now: How usability has evolved in travel. Skirt

Hotels

56. Hawaii’s increased hotel tax of 9.25 percent will be made permanent. Skift
57. Hotel price-fixing lawsuit adds EyeForTravel as defendant. Skift
58. Hotels check in to your head – The Washington Post. The Washington Post
59. Industry first alert: Google teams up with Hilton brand DoubleTree for interactive YouTube channel. Tnooz
60. Go fishing and other tips for revenue managers in hotels. Tnooz
61. Sticky fingers or sticky guests: do you really know your customer? EyeForTravel
62. These hotels can’t be beat, our Road Warriors say. USA TODAY
63. California state judge rules online travel agencies not subject to hotel taxes. Skift
64. Cancun hotels are the busiest they’ve been in years, reports STR. Skift
65. WordPress is nipping at your vertical: Restaurants, weddings, and now hotels. Tnooz
66. Criticism of WordPress’ hotel vertical website software perpetrated by hotel marketing agencies. Hotel News Resource
67. Was hotel marketing always this complicated? Part One of Three – Birth of the GDS. Tnooz
68. Was hotel marketing always this complicated? Part Two of Three – GDS consolidation and rise of OTAs. Tnooz
69. Was hotel marketing always this complicated? Part Three of Three – The marketer reinvented. Tnooz

Air Travel

70. Lack of functionality remains barrier to mobile flight booking adoption. Tnooz
71. CheapOAir adds US Airways’ Choice seats. Travel Weekly
72. US Airway selects CheapOair in first ChoiceSeats partnership. Skift
73. Sequester flight delays only got solved due to high profile and heavy lobbying. Skift
74. Ethiopian Airlines first to get Dreamliner airborne after six-month grounding. Skift
75. United 787 Makes Uneventful Return to the Skies. CNBC
76. Boeing planning world’s longest-range passenger jet, dubbed 777-8X. Skift
77. Bid to Raise Taxes on Airfares Stirs Debate on Aviation System. New York Times
78. Pinnacle becomes Delta subsidiary with $52 million investment. Skift
79. American Airlines to launch hourly service between New York and Los Angeles. Skift
80. New Virgin Atlantic uniforms to be designed by punk pioneer Vivienne Westwood. Skift
81. Delta and American Airlines match United’s $200 ticket change fee. Skift
82. Airline fees: Average true price up nearly 30 percent – The Denver Post. The Denver Post
83. Heck yes I’d rent one of these–they beat the airport bench I spent the night on not long ago: Abu Dhabi International Airport the World’s First Airport to Launch ‘GoSleep’ Sleeping Pods. Abu Dhabi Airports Company
84. The 10 busiest airline routes by passenger volume: Asia dominates. Skift
85. People hated American Airlines’ outage, but loved its Facebook updates. Skift
86. Airbus wins $6 billion British Airways jet order. Skift
87. Alaska Air Doubles Down on Discomfort. SmarterTravel
88. Two investment firms interested in Frontier Airlines. The Denver Post
89. The Case for Flipping the Terminal – Urban Planning and Design. GenslerOn
90. Emirates becomes latest airline to tee up activities and inspiration as part of trip search. Tnooz
91. Global Air Traffic Infographic. Amadeus
92. Who’s traveling where in what class and when they book [INFOGRAPHIC]. Tnooz
93. American Airlines Grounds Flights Computer glitch grounds American Airlines’ flights nationwide. eTurboNews
94. United flight diverted after family complains about movie. NBCNews
95. Virgin America best US airline performer in 2012. Yahoo News
96. Why airfares are on the rise. SmartPlanet
97. The low-cost airline that will connect India and China even if they don’t want it. Skift
98. Southwest apologizes to overweight passenger. Skift
99. Airline capacity reductions felt across U.S. cities. Skift
100. EasyJet follows Ryanair’s lead and kills the airport check-in desk. Skift
101. Solar powered plane begins historic flight – in the dark. Tnooz
102. The top 20 most colorful airlines in the world. Skift
103. Photos + Video: First Airbus A350 Comes Out of Paint. Airline Reporter
104. Review: Flying (like a boss) In a Boeing Business Jet. Airline Reporter
105. Viking Air & The NEW Twin Otter Series 400. Airline Reporter
106. Amazing Video: Airbus A340 Lands in the Fog.
107. This one’s for a certain Hello Kitty enthusiast in my office: Flying on EVA Air’s Hello Kitty themed plane: a flight to remember. TERMINAL U

Cruises

108. Royal Caribbean announces new Quantum ship to be based in New Jersey. Skift
109. Navigator of the Seas to get virtual balconies. Travel Weekly
110. Europe’s woes could lure more Americans to cruise there. Travel Weekly
111. Disney updates its 15-year old Magic cruise ship. Skift
112. ‘Cake Boss’ bakery debuts on Norwegian cruise ship. USA TODAY

General Travel News

113. Op-Ed by Richard Branson: Defeat terrorism through travel. Skift
114. Government travel warnings do more harm than good, says Richard Branson. Skift
115. Three companies we admire in travel business information. Skift
116. Foreign tourism boards urge travel to Boston. Skift
117. Weak Yen will bring Japanese tourist destinations record Golden Week crowds. Skift
118. Four megatrends that the travel industry is talking about tonight. Skift
119. Taiwan ramps up its tourism marketing efforts starting in Thailand. Skift
120. Gabriel Garcia Marquez inspires Colombia’s new tourism campaign. Skift
121. U.S. travel habits: Where people wanted to go and where they really went. Skift
122. Best travel ads: Czech, Jetstar, Colombia, SAS, norther lights. Skift
123. EU lifts all Myanmar sanctions, expect big investment rush in travel industry. Skift
124. Thai tourists flood Japan looking for bargains thanks to weakened yen. Skift
125. Best And Worst Jobs In 2013 For Travel, Tourism And Hospitality. International Business Times
126. VisitEngland taps cartoons Wallace and Gromit for domestic ad campaign. Skift
127. RailEurope’s B2B and UK sites are rebranding as Voyages-SNCF. Tnooz
128. Universal Orlando expanding Wizarding World. Travel Weekly
129. Harry Potter to join Universal Hollywood theme park in $1.6B expansion. Skift
130. From booking to bidding: Barteo brings a new twist to travel distribution. EyeForTravel
131. As economies shift, new classes of luxury travelers emerge. Travel Weekly
132. Vacations Boost Pleasure, Expedia Study Finds. Expedia Media Room
133. Best travel ads this week: Five videos highlight evolution of travel. Skift
134. Saudis, Australian, and Chinese are world’s top travel spenders. Skift
135. Wikipedia launches a travel-based encyclopedia called Wikivoyage.com. NBCNews.com

Consumer Travel News, Advice and Deals

136. New Trick to Get the Best Seat in Coach. Yahoo! News.
137. TSA Pre✓™ Expands Expedited Screening Benefits for International Travel | Transportation Security Administration. TSA.gov
138. The end of the free upgrade: the great airline business upgrade auction is ready for take-off. The Independent
139. How Klout Can Score You the VIP Airport Treatment. Mashable!
140. Airlines reserving special treatment for the privileged few. Skift
141. Not so funny money tricks the travel industry likes to play. Elliott.org
142. How a Few Simple Tricks Can Make Your Vacation $5,700 Cheaper. Condé Nast Traveler
143. The Budget Traveler’s Guide To Cut-Price Restaurant Meals. Gadling Travel Blog
144. How to make your paper passport book last 10 years. Jaunted.com
145. Everything you need to know to renew, replace, or just get a passport. USAToday.com
146. Europe’s most affordable cities for 2013. USA TODAY

Destinations and Experiences

147. Best places to pop the question around the world: CNN
148. Luxury hostel no longer an oxymoron: Haute Hostels Put to the Test in Europe. New York Times Travel
149. If you were to rename Iceland, what would you call it? Skift
150. Hawaii asks airlines to warn tourists about drownings. Skift
151. In Mexico, Eco Concerns Where Sea Lions Romp. New York Times Travel
152. The giant rubber duck that’s turning heads in Hong Kong harbor. Skift
153. Fowl play? Giant duck drowns in Hong Kong – CNN.com. CNN
154. Dubai aims to triple tourism income and double hotel rooms by 2020. Skift
155. Panama City Rising. New York Times Travel
156. Egypt boasts booze and bikinis to boost tourism by a fifth this year. Skift
157. 9/11 museum to charge a mandatory entrance fee to cover building costs. Skift
158. The best 100 restaurants in the world, are mostly located in Europe. Skift
159. Anthony Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown” episode 1 recap: Tony goes to Myanmar. Skift
160. China’s travel restrictions on Tibet eased, as tours ready to restart. Skift
161. The Art of Non-Conformity » Lessons Learned from 11 Years of Travel. The Art of Non-conformity/ChrisGuillebeau.com
162. Putting Africa on the map: the lions are roaring. EyeForTravel
163. Taming China’s Yangtze. Travel Weekly
164. Monday Inspiration: Ukok Plateau, Russia. IndependentTraveler.com
165. 14 photos taken cycling from Oregon to Virginia. Matador Network
166. 50 stunning ice formations from around the world [pics]. Matador Network
167. 23 houses built into nature [pics]. Matador Network
168. Warning: Ronn Murray’s aurora photos are addictive. Matador Network
169. Vagabonding Field Report: Around Iceland. Vagablogging
170. Your hitchhiking days are over, young lady! Seattle Globalist
171. David Landsel: 10 Terribly Overrated Destinations (And Where To Travel Instead). The Huffington Post
172. How to use a guidebook. Reid on Travel
173. 8 Trips You Must Do Once…I’ve done 3 of them, how many have you done? [Denise] BudgetTravel.com
174. 10 places you never thought you could afford…you can. [Note from Denise: I just got back from Peru, it is indeed cheap outside of Machu Picchu!] USAToday.com
175. Hillman Wonders is the authoritative list of 100 things every traveler must see in one’s lifetime. [Denise: I’m only at 35]… HillmanWonders.com
176. …but if you REALLY want to travel, aspire to join The Century Club- by visiting 100 nations! [Denise: I’ve got 51 down, just 49 more to go] O.Canada.com
177. The 25 least visited nations on earth. I’ve never been to any of them- have you? Garfors.com
178. A list of truly inspiring travel quotes. MatadorNetwork.com
179. Google Street View’s the gift that keeps giving, this time hyperlapse video. Skift
180. Weird, fake cities around the world. MatadorNetwork.com

Travel Aspirations: Photos that Will Make you Want To Travel

• From city to summit: Trekking Nepal’s Langtang Valley. Matador Network
• Utah’s Zion National Park Offers Rare Look at Stunning Canyon. First to Know
• 13 arresting travel photos from Nat Geo’s 2013 contest. Matador Network

Tech

Tech Briefs

1. Exclusive First Look at Xbox One. Wired
2. Onion’s Twitter account hacked by Syrian Electronic Army. CNET
3. How the Syrian Electronic Army Hacked The Onion. Onion Inc.’s Tech Blog
4. Anti-hacking measure: Onion Twitter Password Changed To OnionMan77. The Onion
5. Mark Zuckerberg and Kevin Systrom on What Really Happened When Facebook Bought Instagram. Vanity Fair
6. Mark Zuckerberg spent $1.2 million in Facebook money for private jets. Skift
7. The Future of eCommerce Looks Very Much Like eBay and Amazon. Business 2 Community
8. Etiquette Redefined in the Digital Age. NYTimes Bits Blog
9. Watch this: quadrocopters perform amazing pole-catching acrobatics. The Verge
10. I was in the same organizational unit as James Hamilton when I started at Microsoft. Then as now, he had a memorable coiffure and he was brilliant: Why Amazon Hired a Car Mechanic to Run Its Cloud Empire. Wired
11. Lockheed Martin Harnesses Quantum Technology. New York Times
12. Bubble or No, Virtual Bitcoins Show Real Worth. New York Times
13. Who’s Winning, iOS or Android? All the Numbers, All in One Place. Time
14. Dutch Man Said to Be Arrested in Powerful Internet Attack. New York Times
15. The Rise of the Hacker Space. New York Times
16. Wikipedia is now drawing facts from the Wikidata repository, and so can you — Tech News and Analysis. GigaOM
17. White Men Wearing Google Glass. Tumblr
18. Inside Operation InVersion, the Code Freeze That Saved LinkedIn. Business Week
19. Hijacking airplanes with an Android phone. Help Net Security

Just One More: I Write Like Cory Doctorow! Find Out Who You Write Like.

A family member alerted me to the website “I Write Like” (http://IWL.me). You paste a sample of your writing into IWL and it uses an undisclosed statistical algorithm to tell you what famous author you write like.

I write like Cory Doctorow. Flattering for me, insulting for Doctorow.

I checked the validity of the IWL’s algorithm by pasting in a couple of actual paragraphs from a Boing Boing article written by Doctorow. Amazingly, Doctorow writes like Doctorow.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to TCTReview collaborator Denise Jones for her help in curating links for this post. You can read Denise’s travel blog at TravelPod