Tripgems, a site for sharing favorites

NAME Tripgems.com

WHAT IT DOESThis website encourages users to share their destination hot spots -- whether it's a great restaurant, park, museum, bar or other attraction.

WHAT'S HOT When you "add a place," it lets you search by location and then asks you to write a short comment about why you like it. Click on "Popular Places" -- such as Amsterdam or New York -- to see how a city looks.

WHAT'S NOT It's a new site, so there weren't many gems in some U.S. cities. From a user perspective, there could be an easier path to loading photos. You can sign in by connecting through Facebook (and with an email address), but there's no way to add photos quickly with Facebook.

-- Los Angeles Times