Tag: blogtipping

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Travel and family blogtipping 12.1.2007

Tip your blogs, not your cows (courtesy Easton Ellsworth)It’s the first of the month and time to join the honored Business Blogwire custom of Blogtipping three blogs that I enjoy and think you might want to know about:

  1. BootsnAll Logues. OK, shameless plug here, because over the next few months the Family Travel blog is going to be transformed into one of these specialized BootsnAll “logues” (short for “travelogue” and yes, I think the term is a little clunky, too.) Despite my editorial grumbling, I know you’ll enjoy the many localized topic areas on the Logues, including Bali, Paris, South Africa, Hawaii, Eco Travel, Adventure Travel and even one for soccer/”real” football, the Offside.
  2. Fly Away Cafe. I’m a big fan of do-it-all Mary Jo Manzanares, who is a writer, editor, speaking coach, lawyer AND a flight attendant. Her Fly Away Cafe blog covers her flight attendant life, and she just started a handy series called “Back to Basics” that can help new and less-experienced flyers in the confusing post-9/11 world. (If you live in or near the Seattle, WA area, also check out her Seattle Traveler blog.)
  3. Globespotters. You can’t get much better; local information written by the International Herald Tribune reporters who live in Rome, Berlin, my favorite city of Hong Kong, Istanbul, London and a few others. There are all sorts of little insights that you won’t get unless you really spend time pounding the pavement for months/years, so it’s great to find experienced writers who live in some of the most dynamic cities in the world.

Thanks for the opportunity to recognize some great blogs out there!

Technorati tags: travel, family travel, blogtipping

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October 1st blogtipping

Tip your blogs, not your cows (courtesy Easton Ellsworth)

Blogtipping is a little online custom from Easton Ellsworth of the Business Blogwire; a nice way of highlighting blog discoveries on the first of the month.

I’ve found three interesting blogs in my recent wanderings:

**  Big in Japan.  This is one of several blogs on the Gadling travel site (you’ll also find Leif Pettersen’s scathingly funny My Bloody Romania there) but I’m drawn to these posts by Matthew Firestone because I lived in Japan. 

He really nails the many quirks that you might miss if you just zip through as a tourist — the weird TV shows, the very NOT staid Japanese getting down at Gas Panic in Tokyo and yummy food like shabu-shabu.

**  Amish America.  I found this blog while researching an upcoming travel article on the Amish in Jamesport, Missouri.  Amish America is written by Erik Wesner, who spends time in Amish communities when he’s not living in Krakow, Poland (what an interesting guy!)  His site is incredibly comprehensive and covers the Amish world from Pennsylvania to Oregon.  I loved his post about playing softball with the kids at an Amish school.

**  Europe String.  This blog is written by Melissa Atienza-Petri and features travel in Europe on a shoestring budget.  It’s part of the b5media Travel and Culture channel of blogs.  Recent Europe String posts include tourist traps in Verona and festive White Nights events.

I don’t quite follow Easton’s blogtipping methodology, but I’m always excited when I get my act together and remember that it’s the first of the month, and time to spread that link love.

Technorati tags: travel, family travel, blogtipping, blogging, travel blogging

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Blogtipping July 2007

Do You Blogtip? courtesy Business Blogwire

Taa-daah! 

I usually never remember that the first of every month is the traditional day for blogtipping (sort of like Web 2.0 cowtipping) but with a Yahoo! calendar email reminder, a thwack with a two-by-four and some other mental pokes, here I am to join the monthly crowd. 

There’s sort of a standard format to these and I never follow it, but no one seems to mind….

This month, I want to highlight three new “old media” travel blogs, just to show that there are no hard feelings from my own recent corporate blogging experience.

1)  The Travel Log blog for the Washington Post travel section.  Team-written by section editors, it has very active comments sections written by experienced, articulate travelers, but I’d like to see more comment responses back from the writers for a better conversation. The recent series on wedding and honeymoon travel was fun to read, and reminded me that the best weddings aren’t necessarily angst-filled expensive blow-outs.

2)  This Just In…. blog from Budget Travel.  These guys cast a wide net and usually update multiple times daily.  I’ve learned about all sorts of new or lesser-known blogs and travel sites, plus late-breaking news like J.K. Rowling’s three-stop book tour in the U.S. in October 2007, which has already inspired me to figure out how to take my teenage daughter to New Orleans (it’s the closest city to our home in Texas) to see the Harry Potter creator.  I don’t even have to stray too far to get the lowdown on New Orleans; just click over to this article on Budget Travel Online.  These guys have blogging nailed, and they twist into creative pretzels to make just about anything travel-related.

3)  The Taking Off blog from the Chicago Tribune travel section.  Like the WaPo blog, it is team-written, and the writers do try to engage the audience.  Comments are starting to increase, but not to the level of the Post, although a post about kids and flying brought out the usual vituperative anti-child commentary.  Fairly frequent updates, with a Midwestern travel slant (the trans fat-free Indiana State Fair, for example. Who knew?) In an effort to engage readers at the start, there is a 50-day “What state are you in?” road trip challenge. There are some design issues to fix; there’s no way to go to “Previous Entries” at the bottom of the blog front page — you have to go look in the archives.  Comment hot links often show the person’s email, not their blog or Web site URL, which seems like a privacy problem. 

In these days of sometimes forcing journalists to work online, without a commensurate pay raise for the added work, it’s nice to see the newspaper travel sections making an effort (and having some fun with it, if the good-naturedly goofy photos of the Chicago Tribune editors are any indication.) 

Too much travel info is stale by the time it hits the printed street, and blogging allows a good flow of hot topics and info online to complement the in-depth, less-hurried features in print.  It also lets the cash-strapped newspaper travel sections add value to their product and connect with more readers without spending a bunch of money.

Happy Blogtipping Day!

Technorati tags: travel, family travel, blogtipping, blogging, blogs 

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Travel speedlinking and blogtipping

Think Spring! Citrus stand near Homosassa Springs, Florida (Scarborough photo)

We’re going to get two of those birds with one browser, folks. 

I’ve had some good links lying around waiting for a post, and it’s the first of the month so I need to tip a few blogs so you’ll know about them.

Speedlinking first:

**  If you’re planning a trip to New York City and wish you and the kids had more excitement in your lives, check out the Trapeze School of New York for some high-flying fun (as long as you and heights are OK with each other.) 

The only drawback is that you can’t get started until the beginning of May 2007, and classes sell out quickly.  Thanks to the Fodor’s Travel Wire 5 Great Urban Adventures for this tip.

**  Thinking about a spring vacation while it’s still….uh, spring?  Hurry up and look at Smarter Travel‘s top five off-peak destinations, including Seattle, Germany and Costa Rica.

**  The Washington Post Travel section has an incredibly comprehensive list of travel-related Web sites from A to Z, just in case your stack of Favorites/bookmarks isn’t high enough.

**  Does your family like cycling vacations?  There’s a new bicycle route that traces the Underground Railroad used by escaping slaves.  The bike route starts in Mobile, Alabama and ends in Owen Sound, Ontario; you can do the whole thing all at once or just chunks of it.

**  For those considering a family cruise, don’t miss Conde Nast Traveler magazine’s Wendy Perrin and her recent cruise-related blurbs on her great blog Perrin Post.  The New York Times also has ideas for taking the whole clan on a cruise (free registration may be required.)

**  Trying to get around the Midwest on a shoestring?  Take a look at the new Chicago-based Megabus service; it is expanding starting April 2nd to Pittsburgh; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Columbus, Ohio; Kansas City, Missouri, and Louisville, Kentucky. 

**  Travelers to New England can have fun in that dynamo city of Providence, Rhode Island or check out those maple syrup makers.

Time for blogtipping, which I haven’t gotten around to since my first go-round with it in January 2007.  

The “rules” say that I should give 3 compliments and one tip to each of three blogs featured, but the way things are going today I’ll never get this done unless I just write a quick comment for each (I’m covering the Spring Nationals drag races in Houston for both Fast Machines and an upcoming feature story on Texas drag racing for Texas Highways magazine.)

1)  BlogHer Travel, by Pam Mandel.  There’s always something interesting here, so you should go check it out.  Pam has a fine turn of phrase and finds great links.  After that, take a look at the entire BlogHer community (no, it’s not just for women.)  

2)  Inkthinker, by Kristen King.  If you’re interested in the craft of writing, or thinking about freelance writing or blogging yourself, go to this blog.  Kristen is a pro, plus she’s welcoming and a lot of fun.

3)  Gadling.  This “traveler’s Weblog” is frequently updated and full of neat things that make me say, “Gee, I didn’t know that.”  Surf over and take a look.

I need to get back to my drag racing story, but tomorrow I’ll talk about a brand-new blog where I’m one of a team of authors writing about all sorts of travel topics.

Technorati Tags:  travel, family travel