Posted: February 3rd, 2010 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: blah blah blah, web | No Comments »
I had the good fortune to contribute to a cool roundtable post up on the Where I’ve Been blog about visiting Canada. It covers some really good questions about destinations in Canada. I definitely recommend checking it out if you’re ever likely to visit Canada or know someone who is.
I really like the style of those roundtable posts they do at Where I’ve Been. Comparing the different answers from various travel folks gives a different sense of perspective on the topic. Plus it’s neat when all three of the contributors give the identical answer to a question. Then you know there must really be something to it beyond personal opinion. This is actually the second one I’ve contributed to and with some luck I hope to do more in the future. Anyways, check it out!
Oh, Canada: In a few days, epic NBC Winter Olympics montages will remind the world that its rugged environs have provided us photogenic landscapes, hockey, poutine and moose for decades. And while Bob Costas and co. might boost interest, Canada remains a remarkably overlooked tourist destination. Why?
Continue reading Travel Tuesday Roundtable: Canada on the whereivebeen.com blog.
.
// shawn
Posted: February 1st, 2010 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: web | 3 Comments »
There was no shortage of decisions to be made when I decided to make my lifestyle change to become a professional hang-about. Most of those decisions answered themselves or were handled quietly. However, my decision on whether or not to do a travel blog was rather drawn out, and also unusually public. From that discussion on BootsnAll, I came to the point of liking the blog idea as a personal trip record and kind of fun thing to do. I also noticed that a strong travel blog was used by everyone that was turning travel writing into a career of sorts. Whether that’s blogging or freelance writing, or whatever. It was a cool idea to have a strong, successful travel blog, but slaving over search engine optimizations (SEO) and networking sounded like something I wanted no part of. I wasn’t making travel my life focus so that I could grind through a Google Analytics menu all friggin’ day.
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to preview the Travel Blog Success (TBS) site. I can readily say that I learned quite a bit about travel blogging there. It’s made starting this blog much easier and quite a bit more rewarding. TBS is a good deal for a certain type of travel blogger. And possibly not as much for others. Instead of just generally recommending the site to everyone I would like to try and clarify who will really get the most benefit.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: January 18th, 2010 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: web | 3 Comments »
Whether you’re shedding your belongings so you can travel like I am, or you simply want less clutter, Shelfari is an online book collection site that can help you get on with your life. Most folks seem to hoard books, and have plenty of remorse when the time comes to get rid of them. Shelfari is my favourite site for keeping a surrogate hoard online rather than on huge shelves at home.
The main benefit I get from seeing my books on a shelf is triggered memories. I have a hard time remembering what I’ve read in the past. Or more importantly, what ideas I gained from reading a particular book. Periodically seeing them on a shelf triggers my memory of why that book was interesting and keeps the idea alive in my little mind. I suppose, “out of sight, out of mind” is the cliche that applies in this case. While traveling I’m also keen to ditch heavy books once I’ve read them so I can free up bag space for the essentials. Such as pastries. Shelfari is perfect for letting me get rid of the physical books without losing the memory of what I read.
There’s also all the expected social sharing tools in Shelfari. Such as ratings, reviews, discussion groups, friends, recommendations, and so on. A lot of community features that once you get used to them really add value to the enjoyment of reading. There seems to be a group of folks discussing just about every author and genre that exist.
If you are a Shelfari member, or you decide to sign up, definitely add me to your friends list so we can stalk each others questionable literacy.
.
// shawn
photo credit here
Posted: January 14th, 2010 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: web | 5 Comments »
Invariably, if you’re a frequent traveler these days, then you make use of many apps and web sites. Perhaps your style is as simple as using the two kings of social media spamming, Bookface and Twatter. Or maybe you like to get a bit deeper with it and you’re always banging on Nextstop and Kayak from your phone whilst you follow this dodgy blog in your RSS reader. Whatever your taste, here’s two little global web services that in my opinion add a cool flavour to the life of the traveller. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: November 11th, 2009 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: web | No Comments »
Just starting to get things setup. Wee.
.
// shawn
