What is Dopplr?

“Dopplr is an online service for frequent travelers. It was created
by an international team of world travelers. We saw a need for this
kind of service, but discovered that no one was offering it. So we
did it ourselves, and are delighted that other people are liking it
as much as we do.”

The basic concept of Dopplr is that it allows frequent travelers to
share future travel plans with friends and colleagues. It also
reminds you of friends and colleagues who live in the cities you’re
planning to visit. According to the web site itself, if you travel
more than five times a year and have friends who do as well, then
Dopplr is for you.

-How did Dopplr get started?

Dopplr, which was founded in 2007, began as a tool for a small number
of friends who spent a lot of time on the road.  As the number of
people who were interested in the web site grew, the founders decided
that it was time to begin expanding the web site and eventually open
it to the general public.  Although the web site is currently in
private beta, it is slowly moving towards becoming available to the
general public.  According to TechCrunch, although Dopplr is not yet
open to the public, the company claims that Dopplr’s users have
already shared 110 million kilometers (70 million miles) of trips to
over 2000 cities around the world.

-Who created Dopplr?

Although the web site only states that Dopplr was created by an
international team of world travelers, according to the Guardian
Unlimited, Dopplr has three main founders.  The main founder of the
web site is aFinnish designer named Marko Ahtisaari, while the other
founders include Matt Jones and Matt Biddulph (both former employees
of the BBC).  Dopplr currently has a staff consisting of five members.

-How much funding has Dopplr received?

Although the amount has not been disclosed, Dopplr announced on
September 4th, 2007 that it had received early-stage financing from
Martin Varsavsky, Joichi Ito, Reid Hoffman and The Accelerator Group
led by Saul Klein.  According to the official Dopplr blog, these
companies have made investments in other successful internet
companies, including Last.fm, Joost, FON, LinkedIn, Flickr,
Technorati, Wikia, Xing, Stardoll, Six Apart and Netvibes.

-What are the key features of Dopplr?

According to the official Dopplr about page, the web site offers the
following main features:

Add Trips: Each time you travel, you can easily add the trip to your
Dopplr account.

Find Colleagues or Friends Using Dopplr: Like most social networks,
Dopplr has a built-in search function.  Once you find the person you
are looking for, you can make that person a “fellow traveler.”

See the Trips of People You Know: If your friends would like you to
see their travels, they can easily invite you to do so(and you can
also easily invite them to see your travels).

Be Notified When a Colleague of Friend Visits Your City: By clicking
on your home city, you can easily see when your colleagues and
friends are visiting your city (and Dopplr will also show you if you
will be out of town during that time).

-Does Dopplr have any competitors?

Currently, Dopplr does not have direct competitors.  However, this
does not mean that they do not have to worry about competition from
other sources.  One of the main criticisms of Dopplr is that it could
easily be “a single feature of a social network.”  For example,
something similar to Dopplr could be fairly easily created as a
Facebook application.  In the worst case scenario for Dopplr, their
entire concept could be replicated and integrated into an entire
social network like LinkedIn.

-How much traffic does Dopplr receive?
Even though it is still in private beta, Dopplr’s traffic has grown
significantly over the past four months.  Traffic estimates show that
Dopplr received less than one thousand visitors in June, but received
over thirty-five thousand in September.