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Gogobot CEO Travis Katz, a former MySpace vice president, said the site sorts recommended hotels, restaurants and "things to do" based on places people in your network have recommended -- so every user gets a different experience. The site also uses check-ins from Foursquare and Facebook to help personalize its recommendations.

Sartori and other social-travel evangelists say that because recommendations come from people in your extended networks, you're less likely to see reviews that have been dressed up glowingly by hotel owners and restaurateurs.

Triptrotting, founded in 2010 by two University of Southern California graduates, takes things a step further, offering a network of "ambassadors" in cities around the world who can help travelers learn the ropes and find local hosts. The Santa Monica, Calif.-based site also uses "compatibility matching technology" -- similar in concept to online dating sites -- to help match travelers and hosts based on their personalities and shared interests.

The founders, both women, know what it's like to land in an unfamiliar place: They grew up in Kazakhstan and Inner Mongolia and moved to the U.S. for college.

Trippy, based in Manhattan Beach, Calif., is among the newest entries in the space but has launched with a bang, lining up a cadre of celebrity endorsers including Randi Zuckerberg, singer Jason Mraz and chef Anthony Bourdain.

Zuckerberg, who runs social media startup R to Z Studios, said she's advising Trippy's team -- which is led by the founder of VirtualTourist -- because they're building "a travel tool that I want to use."

She and Trippy's other advisers each maintain their own "visual inspiration boards," filled with photos from their favorite travel destinations, along with tips and insights for each place. (Zuckerberg's, for instance, includes her favorite restaurant in Buenos Aires, which she said made her "never want to eat red meat again anywhere else in the world.")

Travelers can browse the site's images, collect what sparks their wanderlust and add the photos to their own boards. Think Pinterest for the travel set.

Francis Tapon, a travel writer based in San Francisco, said social travel apps and websites "are going to do to the guidebook industry what Wikipedia did to the Encyclopedia Britannica."

Tapon recently returned to the U.S. after spending three years traveling around Eastern Europe. And, he said, "I never used a guidebook."

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FANCY MEETING YOU HERE:

A growing number of websites and mobile apps aim to help travelers find advice -- and sometimes accommodations -- from people in their social networks. Here are some:

--EveryTrail: User-generated travel tips, photos and interactive maps. Based in Palo Alto, Calif. http://www.everytrail.com

--Expat-blog.com: Forums "by expats, for expats" offer tips like "How to register a marriage in Saudi Arabia." Based in France. http://www.expat-blog.com

--Inbed.me: Social booking site for hostels, beds and couches. Based in New York. http://inbed.me

--Matador Network: Showcases original travel writing and photography and a social network for travelers worldwide. Based in San Francisco. http://matadornetwork.com

--On The Road: Free online blogging tools to let the traveling community connect and share tips. Based in Prague. http://www.ontheroad.to

--Rambler: "Worldwide scavenger hunt" helps travelers find fun things to do around the world and earn points by completing "quests." Based in Chicago. http://ramblerhq.com

--TravBuddy: Forum for meeting fellow travelers and sharing advice. http://www.travbuddy.com

--TripIt: Turns confirmation emails for flights, hotels and rental cars into mobile travel itineraries that can be shared with friends. Based in San Francisco. http://www.tripit.com

--TravelMob: Airbnb-type social marketplace connects hosts with apartments or rooms to rent with travelers in eight Asian countries. Based in Singapore. http://www.travelmob.com

--Tripping: Global community connects travelers to offer travel tips, meet-ups and homestays in more than 175 countries. Based in San Francisco. http://www.tripping.com

--TripWolf: Combines guidebook information with user-generated travel tips on more than 50,000 destinations. Based in Austria. http://www.tripwolf.com