Online social networking has revolutionized the way people communicate via the internet.  Even travelers can benefit from this by using Facebook, one of the leading social networking sites out there.  Here are some ways you can use Facebook as part of your travel experience:

Find people who have been to your destination. One thing I love about Facebook’s search feature is that it’s comprehensive.  The results usually start with the people in your contact list, the groups you’ve joined, and the people who are part of your network.  This means that, if, say, I want to search for “Tuscany”, one of the first results that will come up are your friends who mention Tuscany in their profile (usually because they live there or have been there).  This will be followed by people within your network, as well as groups that are based in Tuscany.  Doing this can be a good take-off point for your research, especially if you’re looking for an insider’s perspective.

Participate in groups. There are many active groups on Facebook which allow you to communicate and interact with other travelers.  Here’s a list of travel-themed groups you can join:

• I wanna travel the world (over 28,000 members)
• Travel Worldwide (over 5,000 members)
• Traveling College Students (over 1,000 members)

Get in touch with people you meet on the road. It’s possible that you meet some new friends while you’re traveling, and Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with them – especially if you forgot to ask for their email or phone number.  All you have to do is look up their name to see if they have an account.

Record your trips. Applications such as the Trip Advisor App and Where I’ve Been allow you to place pins on a virtual map to mark the places that you’ve visited.  You can also mark the places where you want to go.  This map can be placed on your profile and shared with your friends.

As fun as that sounds, it seems like there are downsides to these applications.  The Trip Advisor App is notorious for leaving out several cities, while Where I’ve Been has its own minor quirks.

Point to your travel blog. Many travelers have their own blogs.  Personally, I use Facebook to bring visitors to my blogs, either through the status message or through an application called MyBlogs.

If you have a blog with Travel Pod, there’s a handy application on Facebook that allows you to integrate your TravelPod account with your Facebook profile.

These are some of the simplest ways travelers can use Facebook to their advantage.  Have you ever used Facebook in a travel-related way?  Kindly share your experience with us by leaving a comment.