Issue link: http://www.wacmagazine.com/i/1107571
40 WAC Magazine | wac.net P H O T O C O U R T E S Y A M Y B O E S 40 WAC Magazine | wac.net GLOBESPINNING What's the downfall of being a creative traveler? The nev- er-ending requests for detailed itineraries from friends and Instagram followers enamored with your journeys. WAC mem- ber and world traveler Amy Boes experienced this firsthand each time she returned from an- other adventure, many of which are taken with her sister, Mandy. "We found ourselves spending hours emailing long lists or for- matted Excel spreadsheets with our daily 'must see' details," Amy says. "But email or a spreadsheet was not a great way to share ideas." Amy knew there had to be a quicker, easier, and more engaging way to share travel tips. She also knew it was basic human nature for friends and acquaintances to seek suggestions. And truth be told, she loves to share! This desire to create a more intimate information-sharing expe- rience led Amy, along with Mandy, to launch Globespinning, a trav- el platform that takes your pictures from a recent trip and turns them into a shareable, social media–ready itinerary. The app uses the metadata in geotagged photos to provide the names, loca- tions, and contact information about sights seen and businesses visited. Officially launched in the summer of 2016, Globespinning is available on iOS, Android, and on the Web. This blending of social and travel is what sets Globespinning apart from other travel apps, Amy says. While other apps use algorithm-based itineraries that list activities for top destinations based on the number of days a traveler plans to visit, Globespin- ning combines the initial trust already established with friends with recommendations about where to eat, shop and play. "If they did it and liked it, so will I, right?" Amy says. "People trust their friends' itinerary over any Yelp review." Amy left her 18-year merchandising career with Nordstrom to launch Globespinning and has since seen it grow into a company that is beginning to explore new possibilities with machine learn- ing and artificial intelligence. The company is also in the process of pursuing an angel round of financing to take Globespinning to the next level of growth. Says Amy: "I always say, if you have a dream, you've got to go for it!" AMY BOES