In the time between my first big overland trip and now, some twelve years, the methods that we use to both record and communicate our exploits have changed considerably.
Back in Africa in 2001 I recorded my adventures and communicated with home and the outside world via a travel diary, email, letters, post-cards and land-line telephone calls.
Now, twelve years later these have been supplemented by blogs, face-book, personal websites, skype, texting and mobile voicecalls.
On this trip I have stuck to some old habits, and struggled to acquire new ones. The travel diary lasted less than a month. Updating this, multiple facebook pages and our website proved just too time consuming – so the diary has been replaced by the blog.
Obviously two very different media with a couple of key differences.
The diary was private and for personal review in later years, and a great cathartic outlet for bitching and moaning, with little risk of the subjects of my bitching ever finding out the venom I had poured forth onto those pages. Obviously blogging should include a bit more political forethought!
The other major difference was reach, my diary to this day reaches one (unless Cheryl has been invading my privacy!?). In the last month even our tentative first steps into cyberspace received over a thousand hits.
And therein lies the danger – with blogging comes a degree of personal responsibility? I am discussing countries, cultures, religions and peoples homes and businesses.
The savvy businesses should be aware of this, in our world of tripadvisor.com, the HUBB and detailed blogs, so I would hope this drives them to ever greater levels of customer service.
I also fervently hope I have been balanced in my records.
If a business, service or location is good, I aim to put why.
If it is poor I do the same.
But I am by no means infallible and am the first to admit that in places I may have been unfair and if you think so please let me know (then I can re-open my private diary and slag you off…).
I think a problem I have is that I also advise others, and my advise could be out-of-date pretty quickly. For instance I slag off the Adventurers Inn in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. I say what my problems are with it (cleanliness and hygiene mostly) and I tried to balance this with the small positive (friendly staff).
But staff and owners change, places get cleaned up, places get run down, so I guess I should add a health warning to my records in that (just like Lonely Planet) what I write has a limited time span.
I got thinking about this when I recently read a blog about an area we have been to. It contained just seven words. “Don’t bother. It’s a waste of time”. In those seven words the place has been completely discounted, but with no explanation as to why?
It’s a good time for comparison as I am currently penning my thoughts on that place right now. We thought it was an incredible, beautiful, awe inspiring experience.
Two very different experiences, recollections and records – so who is right?
On the count of experience – both of us are right.
The other blogger had a crap time – I can’t argue with that – it’s factually correct. We had a superb time – also factually correct.
On the record though – I record why we find it good.
The other blogger does not record why they found it bad, and I am afraid I find this a bit…
incomplete – certainly,
irresponsible – possibly?
If you decide not to go to this place on the strength of those seven words alone, I think you could really miss out…
This other blog also starts with advise “Don’t bother” but does not say why (weather?, fellow travellers?, wrong route?). I think it is wrong to discount an area, attraction, country, business/service provider or experience in such a way, and worse still, advise others, without sufficient evidence or constructive criticism to allow the blog follower to make up their own mind?
Anyhoo...back to my Chinggis vodka...
Back in Africa in 2001 I recorded my adventures and communicated with home and the outside world via a travel diary, email, letters, post-cards and land-line telephone calls.
Now, twelve years later these have been supplemented by blogs, face-book, personal websites, skype, texting and mobile voicecalls.
On this trip I have stuck to some old habits, and struggled to acquire new ones. The travel diary lasted less than a month. Updating this, multiple facebook pages and our website proved just too time consuming – so the diary has been replaced by the blog.
Obviously two very different media with a couple of key differences.
The diary was private and for personal review in later years, and a great cathartic outlet for bitching and moaning, with little risk of the subjects of my bitching ever finding out the venom I had poured forth onto those pages. Obviously blogging should include a bit more political forethought!
The other major difference was reach, my diary to this day reaches one (unless Cheryl has been invading my privacy!?). In the last month even our tentative first steps into cyberspace received over a thousand hits.
And therein lies the danger – with blogging comes a degree of personal responsibility? I am discussing countries, cultures, religions and peoples homes and businesses.
The savvy businesses should be aware of this, in our world of tripadvisor.com, the HUBB and detailed blogs, so I would hope this drives them to ever greater levels of customer service.
I also fervently hope I have been balanced in my records.
If a business, service or location is good, I aim to put why.
If it is poor I do the same.
But I am by no means infallible and am the first to admit that in places I may have been unfair and if you think so please let me know (then I can re-open my private diary and slag you off…).
I think a problem I have is that I also advise others, and my advise could be out-of-date pretty quickly. For instance I slag off the Adventurers Inn in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. I say what my problems are with it (cleanliness and hygiene mostly) and I tried to balance this with the small positive (friendly staff).
But staff and owners change, places get cleaned up, places get run down, so I guess I should add a health warning to my records in that (just like Lonely Planet) what I write has a limited time span.
I got thinking about this when I recently read a blog about an area we have been to. It contained just seven words. “Don’t bother. It’s a waste of time”. In those seven words the place has been completely discounted, but with no explanation as to why?
It’s a good time for comparison as I am currently penning my thoughts on that place right now. We thought it was an incredible, beautiful, awe inspiring experience.
Two very different experiences, recollections and records – so who is right?
On the count of experience – both of us are right.
The other blogger had a crap time – I can’t argue with that – it’s factually correct. We had a superb time – also factually correct.
On the record though – I record why we find it good.
The other blogger does not record why they found it bad, and I am afraid I find this a bit…
incomplete – certainly,
irresponsible – possibly?
If you decide not to go to this place on the strength of those seven words alone, I think you could really miss out…
This other blog also starts with advise “Don’t bother” but does not say why (weather?, fellow travellers?, wrong route?). I think it is wrong to discount an area, attraction, country, business/service provider or experience in such a way, and worse still, advise others, without sufficient evidence or constructive criticism to allow the blog follower to make up their own mind?
Anyhoo...back to my Chinggis vodka...