Tag: Internet

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Blog Podcasts

Travel, tourism and the social web on Blog Talk Radio

Radio....City Music Hall! (Courtesy CarbonNYC on Flickr CC)Last week I enjoyed spending 30 minutes on Blog Talk Radio with Australian entrepreneur and coach Des Walsh.  He has a regular program called Des Walsh and Friends, with a wide variety of guests all discussing some aspect of technology and business.

The noteworthy advantage of Blog Talk Radio (or any “Internet radio” service) is that not only can you listen live, but the shows are usually archived if you can’t be there at broadcast time, plus they’re also downloadable for later listening on your iPod or other digital audio player.

It gives radio/audio the worldwide reach that it never had before, as I discussed in this post about online radio and destination marketing for the Beaumont, Texas CVB (Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.)

Des and I talked about my background in travel, how Becky McCray and I launched Tourism Currents to teach tourism professionals about social media, and why businesses need to ensure a strong Web presence as customer search and interaction preferences shift online.

I loved having a fun chat with someone halfway around the world, and the time zones worked in my favor since it was afternoon my time, but very early morning for Des.  🙂

Here is our episode:  talking social media, travel and tourism with Des Walsh.

(This is cross-posted on my Sheila’s Guide to the Good Stuff blog.)

Categories
50 State Series

Family travel in North Dakota

Jamestown, North Dakota giant buffalo (courtesy minnemom at Flickr CC)Every week until we run out of states, I plan to post about family-friendly vacation ideas, attractions and events in each one of the US states, taking input mostly from Twitter and Facebook.

Yes, I know how to search for travel ideas on a destination or attraction Web site, but a tweet or a Facebook Wall recommendation is a much more engaging and public way to spread the word.

Please don’t email suggestions to me; that’s nice but it is one-to-one communication. Tweet me and/or Facebook me, so that all of our networks can see what’s cool about your state.

We’re going in alphabetical order but started with the end, so our first state for the series was Wyoming, then we investigated Wisconsin , West Virginia , Washington, Virginia, Vermont, Utah, Texas, Tennessee, South Dakota, South Carolina, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Oklahoma, Ohio and now we’re moving on to….North Dakota!

Their state tourism organization is on Twitter at @NorthDakotaTour, plus there’s a Travel Legendary North Dakota blog, a North Dakota Flickr Group for photo-sharing, a North Dakota YouTube channel and here’s the ND Tourism Facebook page.

When I asked for ideas, here’s what came in….

Twitter Travel Tips for North Dakota

***  From the North Dakota tourism office via @NorthDakotaTour on Twitter  —  Lions, Tigers, and Bears are just a few of the animals in our ND zoos. For more ideas see:  What To Do on our Web site.

***  From Dominique King via @midwestguest on Twitter — I’m sure you’ll get several suggestions to visit Teddy Roosevelt Nat’l Park in North Dakota, but it really is not-to-be-missed; TR Park is the main reason we want to go back to ND for a longer trip! We did manage to see the “World’s Largest Buffalo” in Jamestown, ND though.

***  From the Fargo/Moorhead ND tourism office via @FargoMoorhead on Twitter  —  A few great kid-friendly attractions in the Fargo-Moorhead area: Yunker Farm, Red River Zoo, Fargo Air Museum, Thunderroad Fun Park.

***  From Linda via @minnemom on Twitter  — Bagg Bonanza Farm near Wahpeton — see what a big bonanza farm was really like.

***  From Pam Mandel via @nerdseyeview on Twitter — Okay….OH MY GOD, Teddy Roosevelt National Park; you’ve read my weirdly related post, Teddy’s Advice.  Also, the Enchanted Highway.

Facebook Travel Tips for North Dakota

***  From Tammy Carlson Langerud on Facebook  —  Theodore Roosevelt National Park & Medora.

Since I’ve been a kid, I’ve always enjoyed Theodore Roosevelt National Park & the nearby historic, frontier town of Medora. In TR Park, families can hike, bike or horseback their way across the colorful, jagged landscape that inspired a young Theodore Roosevelt. (He called his time in the N.D. Badlands the “romance of my life.”) The park also boasts great wildlife viewing (bison, elk, antelope, wild horse, bald eagle. etc.) https://www.nps.gov/thro/index.htm.

Lil’ buckaroos will get a kick out of Medora and all its kid-friendly activities. The favorites? The Medora Musical, a professionally produced musical, and the unique pitch-fork fondue. Both are family friendly and held nightly from Memorial Day through the weekend after Labor Day. https://www.medora.com.

Here are two more fun family friendly North Dakota attractions to add to your list.

***  From Emily Arnegard Schneider on Facebook:  Family Friendly Attraction in North Dakota – https://www.enchantedhighway.net/

The scenery along the Enchanted Highway in southwestern North Dakota from I-94 to Regent is truly larger than life. This 32-mile stretch of highway is graced by amazingly large metal sculptures inspired by the prairie and its people.

Continue reading “Family travel in North Dakota”

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Blog

Sleep? What sleep? My new business launches in about a week

Sheila Scarborough, Liz Strauss and Becky McCray at SOBCon in Chicago, where it all started (photo courtesy Sheila Scarborough)Actually, it’s not that bad, but I’m certainly getting some of the frenetic startup-flavored experience as my partner Becky McCray and I prepare to launch a new online business next week.

I’ve been writing about tourism and the social Web on another blog for a couple of months (Sheila’s Guide to the Good Stuff) and now we’re preparing to open the digital doors to a learning community for tourism professionals.

We’d like to think we know something about travel, tourism and social media, so we’re sticking our flag in the ground at the intersection of all that and launching a paid membership site called Tourism Currents.

We’re really excited about bringing useful, practical information to a wide variety of Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVBs,) Chambers of Commerce, PR professionals who work in tourism, heritage/preservation organizations, agritourism, festival planners – really anyone involved in destination marketing.

Continue reading “Sleep? What sleep? My new business launches in about a week”
Categories
50 State Series

Family travel in Rhode Island

rhode-island-4th-of-july-parade-in-bristol-courtesy-oceanstater-on-flickr-ccEvery Tuesday until we run out of states, I plan to post about family-friendly vacation ideas, attractions and events in each one of the US states, taking input mostly from Twitter and Facebook.

Yes, I know how to search for travel ideas on a destination or attraction Web site, but a tweet or a Facebook Wall recommendation is a much more engaging and public way to spread the word.

Please don’t email suggestions to me; that’s nice but it is one-to-one communication. Tweet me and/or Facebook me, so that all of our networks can see what’s cool about your state.

We’re going in alphabetical order but started with the end, so our first state for the series was Wyoming, then we investigated Wisconsin , West Virginia , Washington, Virginia, Vermont, Utah, Texas, Tennessee, South Dakota, South Carolina and now we’re moving on to….Rhode Island!

I couldn’t find their state tourism organization on Twitter or on Facebook.

When I asked for ideas, here’s what came in….

Twitter Travel Tips for Rhode Island

***  From Donna Tuttle via @WriteOnTime on Twitter  —  Proud to be identified as a RI girl. Beaver Tail Beach is amazing. Also, grab a bag of clamcakes in Narragansett and sit on the beach, watch sunset. [Try these RI foods] Coffee syrup, spinach pies, Caserta pizza, grinders, cabinets, jimmies….

***  From Meg Keough via @BackpackToBuggy on Twitter  — WaterFire https://www.waterfire.org in Providence!

***  From Mike Redbord via @redbord on Twitter  — Block Island! Particularly Mansion Beach is a great family beach. If people need lifeguards, State Beach is just down the road.

***  From Shane Donaldson via @Shane_Donaldson on Twitter  —  In downtown Newport, there are the Newport Gulls, a summer college baseball team. Fun atmosphere, low cost. https://www.newportgulls.com

***  From Eric via @NewEnglandInfo on Twitter  —  We have family-friendly RI travel suggestions at https://www.visitingnewengland.com/newengland-rhodeisland.html.

***  From Dominique King via @midwestguest on Twitter — Newport, RI also home to several old houses of worship–one of the more interesting might be Touro Synagogue = oldest synagogue in US. Taking the short synagogue tour at Touro might be interesting for an older child near bar or bat mitzvah. Gansett Cruises – harbor cruises out of Newport (https://www.gansettcruises.com) – the mid-day version includes ice cream & Del’s Frozen Lemonade….we did the sunset version ourselves-great tour and opp for lighthouse photos.

***  From Michelle Riggen-Rans via @mriggen on Twitter  — This is the best family guide to RI around: https://kidoinfo.com/ri Will be happy to provide feedback.

Continue reading “Family travel in Rhode Island”