Newly launched Nextstop is aiming to be a sort of Yelp for travelers, drawing on a community of users who recommend things to do around the world and in their own hometowns. Founded by a pair of former Google product managers, the service seems useful enough, if you’re looking for vegetarian restaurants in Denver or places to get mugged in San Francisco. But Nextstop is also rooted in an ad-driven, community-based model that’s proving to be slow and increasingly difficult to monetize — if it ever catches on at all. Much of its content comes from Google’s APIs — maps, local search, and image search — which are integrated with UGC “tour guides” and recommendations. Moreover, it includes familiar attributes of other Web 2.0 services: a recommendation engine based in part on user reputations, a Twitter-like “follow” function for friends and tour guides, and a comments section that’s limited to an SMS-length 160 characters, for cultural reasons rather than technological limitations. - Сова, удочеряющая носок