Sacramento, CA - December 4, 2007

If you're new to YowTRIP, we would like to welcome you to our free social network of world travelers. We send out a newsletter at the beginning of every month to keep our members informed about what's going on here at YowTRIP.

First of all, we would like to congratulate Sara Safavi, our biggest contributor and therefore our iPod Contest winner!

Over the months of October and November, YowTRIP encouraged each of its users to accumulate Yoints (YowTRIP points) for every action on the site. Sara invited 32 friends; added 57 photos, 1 travelog, and 9 travel plans; submitted comments; and earned herself a brand new iPod Nano!

"This contest was fun, and winning is AWESOME -- but in the process of promoting YowTRIP in the last two months, I've really become addicted to the site. Keep up the great work" - Sara.

YowTRIP to demo in the SF Bay Area!

Also in this edition:

• YowTRIP to hit San Francisco and the Silicon Valley
  
  
• Show your face to the world
  
  
• Have you heard about TourismVolunteer? Learn about YowVolunteer!
  
  
• What did we work on in November?
  
  
• What would you like to get next?

YowTRIP to hit San Francisco and the Silicon Valley

Next week, YowTRIP will have the pleasure of demonstrating its social network in the San Francisco Bay Area. On Monday, Dec. 10, we will have a demo table at the SF Beta Holiday Bash in San Francisco, and on Tuesday, Dec. 11, YowTRIP will be one of the companies demoing its application at the NewTech Meetup Group in Palo Alto, CA.

At the latter, YowTRIP will join the impressive company of previous demonstrators including Veodia, Plaxo and Ning - all partners with Google at OpenSocial. So, if you're in the area, stop by to say hello!

More info:
In San Francisco: www.sfbeta.com ($10/$20)
In Palo Alto: newtech.meetup.com/14 (FREE, RSVP required)

Show your face to the world!

"Hi, my name is Felipe. I'm from Brazil. I love to travel and meet new people. I'm the founder of YowTrip and I hope you're enjoying being part of it!"

See? It's not so hard! If you haven't done so, make sure you add your photo and a description to your profile. People are more likely to contact you or respond to you if they have a better idea about who is on the other side of the computer.

Have you heard about TourismVolunteer?
Learn about YowVolunteer!

TourismVolunteer is a new practice whereby people can simultaneously travel and volunteer to help others in need around the world. YowTRIP strongly believes it to be the best way to visit a country, because you not only get to see it as a tourist, but you get to be a part of it, and learn about the cultural differences that tourists don't usually see.

This is YowTRIP's primary mission, to promote cultural exchange by connecting world travelers. We are seeking volunteer organizations to partner with and developing the YowVolunteer section of our site.

We wanted to share this with all of you now, so that if you have any input or know of any non-profit, worldwide volunteer organizations, you can please e-mail us at yowvolunteer@YowTRIP.com. We will contact them about becoming a partner and encourage them to use YowTRIP to share their experiences and publish their volunteer programs, in which you can get involved!

Of course, this will be a FREE service for both the non-profit organization as well as any of our members who would like to get involved.

One example of a great organization doing great work out there is Schools for Humanity. It is doing some amazing jobs in Shashemene, Ethiopia, and YowTRIP's members will soon be apprised of its next venture and you can volunteer/contribute funds while you're browsing YowTRIP.

To learn more or to donate, please visit www.schoolsforhumanity.org

What else did we work on in November?

November was a very busy month for us!

We made several enhancements to our site, the most important being the YowMembers/YowCities section. Now, when you visit another member's profile page, you can see what they have to say about their hometown, their current home, and the cities they've been to.

Likewise, when you go to a city's page, you can see every YowTRIP user who is from, lives in, or has been to that city. This is a great way to learn more about what other people have done and tips about your next destination.

What would you like to get next?

The iPod Contest is just over and we've already been asked, "What's next?" So, we would like to throw the question back at you: What would you like to get next? (Please, be reasonable :0)

Please go to www.YowTRIP.com/whatsnext and leave your suggestion or vote for a suggestion that has already been submitted. We'll announce our new contest in our January newsletter (so don't unsubscribe! :))

And as always, please keep telling your friends about YowTRIP. We hope to see you on the road someday!

Felipe Coimbra
Founder/Software Developer

Y Newsletter Archive

November 2007: YowTRIP is reviewed and listed worldwide!
October 2007: You can win an iPod Nano this month!