trover

Everyone knows agents and brokers have incredible knowledge about the communities they live and work in. Travelers, of course, could benefit from that deep knowledge (as I’ve written about). As could locals, who may not know the area as well as you or are looking to explore a new part of town.

The travel – relocation angle is very real, so much so that we considered pivoting Oh Hey World to focus on it. OHW never had the right product for connecting travelers with knowledge from agents with deep local expertise. We’ve since abandoned the tips and recommendations space entirely (you can read more on that here).

Yet Trover, a Seattle-based startup co-founded by Rich Barton (Zillow’s co-founder) & Jason Karas, does have the exact right product to address this scenario. They enable you to share and discover the hidden gems around you — using photos with short stories attached (used for tips and recommendations).

The more I play with Trover’s product, the more I fall in love with the offering. Their “nearby” tab is beyond addicting as a means to see any place on earth. Look up Antartica, Beijing, or Greenland — or any city, country, or continent in between. You’ll get lost in awesome photos that shed light on the local scene.

I’ve added 39 discoveries such as Katibawasan Falls in the Philippines and Elmina Castle in Ghana to my Trover profile here.

My recommendation:

  1. Go sign up for Trover (iOS app)
  2. Add 3-5 of your own local discoveries.
  3. Create a list for your local city (here is my Seattle list). The awesome thing is you can add other people’s gems to your list — so you don’t have to do all the work yourself.
  4. Share your list with anyone that asks what you recommend in the way of restaurants and things to do in your community.

Why would you do such a thing?

  1. Answer “I’m visiting your city – what should I make sure to do?” inquiries from people you know with your own curated list (rather than rewrite it every time).
  2. People who relocate to cities no doubt travel there before hand – and this is a chance to provide value to them in a light weight way ahead of the process of finding a real estate agent.
  3. Help the business owners you love in your area get additional exposure/business.
  4. Get your name in front of a new community of people in your area. If your city isn’t well-covered with discoveries, you have the chance to have a strong early adopter advantage.

Try Trover (iOS app here & Android coming soon), and come back and let us know what you think in the comments.