I’ve been writing on the web for 10 years now. Ten freaking years. And I can’t believe we’re still having some of these same conversations. I’m tired of the tedious discussions, I’m tired of the lazy logic, I’m just tired of seeing the same old tired arguments come up over and over.
Bloggers and journalists are not the same thing. Some journalists have blogs. Some bloggers have journalism training. A blog is a platform, blogging is the act of putting stuff on that platform, be it journalism, narrative, photography, or divisive meaningless crap. Got a blog of your own or are you contributing to one? You’re a blogger. Have fun.
If you take a press trip, you’re a shill. Fine, whatever. Don’t take press trips and don’t read stuff by people who take them.
You shouldn’t write for free. It’s your call, I’m not going to make it for you. If you want to give your work away, go right ahead. I can’t afford to write for free, I’d starve. If you can, you’re in a more enviable financial position than I. Enjoy.
Travel writing isn’t journalism. Anyone who says this isn’t doing much reading. Some travel writing is journalism, some is story telling, some is how-to. It comes in a bunch of flavors, it’s not a one size fits all thing. Go to the library, already, and read something.
Travel writing is hard work. Who cares about this? Not the guys who put the roof on my house or the woman driving the bus I took downtown or the baggage handlers at the airport. Cry me a river.
Content farms are evil. No kidding. Get back to me when you have a strategy for building up the equivalent of farmer’s markets for writing. Until then, don’t write for content farms, don’t syndicate their material, don’t use websites that focus on content farming strategies. And hey, friends don’t let friends read or write farmed content. Step away from the processed words. Those things are full of high fructose corn syrup. No one needs that in their diet.
Tourists are bad, travelers are better. Fake distinction, I’m sick of hearing about it. Get over yourself.
SEO is killing the web. I hate the SEO game as much as anyone, maybe more. But you know what works better than Google for finding meaningful information? Asking people who are experts. Librarians. Readers. Fellow travelers. Think outside the Google. And write outside the Google too. Or, feed the Google monster, go ahead. Ranting about Google isn’t going to make it go away, so I’m going to go around and ask humans for advice. I said “I’m going around.”
You should unplug when you travel. Yeah, and I should eat liver because it’s high in iron. Do what you want, I’m going to go meet some local folks I found online. You can join me; it’ll be fun!
I’m not a writer, I’m a blogger. Are you using written words to express your ideas? That’s writing. Are you really making excuses for the quality of your writing? Because hey, maybe you ought to work on that instead of wasting time on labels. If you don’t think you’re a writer — or aren’t at least aspiring to be one, maybe you should stop writing.
That’s it. I’m done with this little alienation spree.
“The blog posts that were read at the TBEX community keynotes were as well-written and meaningful as anything I’ve read in glossy travel magazines lately.” — Here Comes Everybody: TBEX 10 || Chris Around the World
“…it struck me as the perfect bookend to the panel on travel writing: examples of great stories in action. And I want more more more!” –We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live* – TBEX’10 Wrap Up || Allison Stein Wellner, Perceptive Travel
The links in the list below go to the original blog posts we selected for the TBEX community keynote. In almost every case, we asked the writer to edit for brevity, so the versions you heard at TBEX vary from the versions you’ll find online. Go, tell these people how much you loved their work.
When you’re done leaving comments, come back here and let me know what you thought of the keynote. Too long? Fell asleep? Wanted more? Wished you were in and wonder why you didn’t submit your own story? Want to know more about what we were looking for? Anything else besides “Wow, you sure garbled the pronunciation of Essouaria!” It’s no excuse, but, reading after you’ve had all the moisture sucked out of your body by a New York summer is hard work.
This weekend is The Travelblog Exchange (TBEX). I’m jetting off to New York where I’ll share a HomeAway sponsored apartment in the East Village, walking distance from the conference site (Thank you, HomeAway!) with fellow bloggers Lauren Braden of NW Cheap Sleeps and Kelly Goodman of Travellious.
I’m excited about visiting New York again — the last time I was there, everyone I encountered treated me like an old friend who’d been away. Tough looking guys in late night delis, taxi drivers, service people at my hotel, anyone I had cause to talk with approached me with a “Why have you been away so long!?” tone in their voice. I could make a case for New York being my ancestral home, as I am the offspring of Bronx Jews, but I was born in California. Never mind. I loved New York because New York, it seemed, loved me. And I’m thrilled to be going back.
At TBEX, I’m sitting on a panel about bloggers and PR. I’m convinced that my role there is to answer the question “How come YOU, little blogger with unimpressive traffic, get to do [x] and I don’t?” though it will be phrased much more elegantly. I like to sit on panels and talk blogging, it’s fun and I’m so happy to share my experience with others. Go ahead, ask me anything.
I’m also part of the TBEX community keynote, a reading of the best of the travelblogs as submitted by — well, I ain’t saying, come to the session. I’ve been working with the funny and sharp Mike Barish. Our goal for the reading is to remind folks that yeah, travelblogging is lots of things, but what makes it magical and worth coming back to is good writing.
Over the past few days I’ve been asking my Twitter pals what’s the big draw about TBEX? Why are you shelling out for three days in NYC? The overwhelming answer? Meet other bloggers. It’s a big social event.
I’m going to participate in the sessions I mention above. I’m also going to solicit your engagement in Passports with Purpose 2010, to learn who’s paying writers these days and to see about getting a piece of that. But I’m also going to meet other bloggers because I’m curious. Why are you blogging and how do you manage? I have questions.My answers are in italics.
Who’s your favorite travel writer? Pico Iyer. Swoon.
What’s your favorite blog for reading about travel? World Hum. Though it’s not really a blog, per se.
How much do you earn blogging? About 200/month. I used to earn more, but I was canceled from World Hum (sniff) and quit my BlogHer gig.
What percentage of your travel is sponsored trips? Maybe half.
Do you have a day job, supporter, other source of income? I work as a freelance technical writer. I’m currently the breadwinner at our home. You can tell when I’m on a tech project because my blogging slows way down.
What’s the last travel book you read? Best American Travel Writing 2009. I’m not done yet.
Where do you come down on Eat Pray Love? ARGH!
Do you think blogging and writing are the same thing? No. I used to, but I’ve changed my mind. There are lots of bloggers who aren’t really writers out there. REVISION: Upon further noodling, I think if you write on your blog, or anyone else’s, you’re a writer. That doesn’t mean I think you’re any good. And no, that’s not personalized. There are good writers and bad writers and BOTH types have blogs.
Why are you blogging? I love to write and share stories about travel. With no money in writing, blogging seems the best way for me to do both those things.
Who have you met at TBEX that surprised you and why? [TBD]
What have you learned while at TBEX? [TBD]
If you wanted to fess up in the comments, we could go straight to less serious topics. If you wanted to poach my list of questions and post your answers on your own site, then you could share with everyone. If you wanted to run when you see me coming because what the hell, why am I getting all up in your business, you could do that, too.
Sunday morning I submitted my resignation letter to BlogHer.
I’ve been with the site from very early on. I watched it go from a handful of unpaid enthusiasts to a sprawling sponsored network with big bucks and dozens of paid contributors. BlogHer pays better than any other network I’ve worked with — that went a long way towards keeping me committed to producing my twice weekly posts. But I was never able to cash in on the company’s growth. Because I take sponsored travel, I was disqualified from the ad network that I hear is quite lucrative for a number of bloggers. And that same travel, because it was sponsored, was off limits as a topic for posts on the BlogHer site. And in a third frustrating twist, I’ve never been considered for sponsored travel through BlogHer’s partners because I’m not part of the ad network.
I’d considered leaving the network a few times before but never quite jumped ship. Candidly, I needed the money. And this was relatively easy money; I found it fun and effortless to crank out a few hundred words twice a week on some travel related topic — round the world families, the traveler’s view on world events, how much flying sucks now, how to pack for anywhere in one bag, or just, hey, check out this damn fine travel blog. But it’s been increasingly difficult to find inspiration. And over the last few months, while bungeeing between apathy and trips that I can’t write about, I’ve shirked my responsibilities. Meanwhile, my inbox has filled with queries — “We love you to write about our destination for BlogHer.” I’ve deleted them or responded that while I’d love to do so, the editorial policy prohibits it, though if you want to have me out and are interested in coverage on my personal blog…”
Five years ago when I joined BlogHer out of boredom — it’s true, I was hanging out in Austria and feeling at loose ends; I needed something to do — I had no expectations. But I have seen the growth and I have seen the money and I have seen the opportunities. Meanwhile, I’ve sat in my corner, hammering away at my keyboard, while a growing crowd talks at once in the same virtual room. Some days, I’ve had a hard time finding posts that I’d hit publish on only a few hours before. What was, when I joined it, a community of unique voices, looks increasingly to me like any mainstream women’s magazine, Redbook, Family Circle, those old school publications with fashion tips and diet ideas and ways to perk up your relationship and oh, don’t overlook this, we do have one or two real hard news stories.
I sound, I know, like an editorial snob. And you know what? I am an editorial snob. While I think the rise of blogging is freaking fantastic and I think what BlogHer has built shows incredible business acumen, my heart isn’t with the idea of a blog or even with online community, it’s with writing. I have this tyrannical fantasy. In it I get to take over a blog network and then, I go on a heartless firing spree, kicking 90% of the bloggers to the curb. After that, I hire editors, real editors, who carefully review every single post not just for grammar, spelling, and punctuation, but for quality. I cut the number of posts down to a fraction of what they used to be so that I’m not publishing 10000 Google keywords every day, but I am publishing say, 1000 words that are loved, deeply by the writers and then, polished carefully for display by the editors. Rather than a fire hose of words backing us up against a wall, we have an exhibit, we have art, we have ideas, beautifully framed and presented and valued. Yeah, like that’s going to happen. In my dreams.
It’s been five years, can you believe that? And in any job, there needs to be growth, new opportunities, change. You can’t just sit on the bench, waiting, forever. I understand that BlogHer has made a lot of people quite successful. I envy them that, sin that it is, but I just don’t see it happening for me with their organization. It’s time to say goodbye and seek my fortunes elsewhere.
Comments are closed on this post. Winner TBD next week. Thanks!
“Oh my god, you guys are OLD! You HAVE to do video!”
That’s a video blogger I’ve found myself in the company of at a meetup or two and were he not packaged as what otherwise seems like a nice guy, this sentence would end with “and then I skewered him with my chopsticks.” No need. Plus, while I don’t agree that I have to do video, I do see the value in it. I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t a little curious about what I could do with the medium were I to have the tools to produce interesting footage.
“Cut to the chase,” you are thinking, I know it. I’m giving away a video camera. Actually, JVC is giving it away, I’m just the facilitator. The camera is a nice one, the JVC Everio HM-550. I’m doing a random draw– one lucky commenter will their bloggy paws on this compact little gadget that opens a whole world of complicated production questions.
And that’s what you have to do to qualify. Tell me your nagging question about video. Hardware, software, hosting, production tools, whatever… what do you wish you knew about video that you don’t already know? And if you’re a video whiz but just wish you had newer hardware, leave me a tip, some tiny piece of useful advice for a video novice. No question, no tip, no camera. That’s a pretty easy requirement and it helps me know you’re a real human. One comment only, entering more than once disqualifies you and I’ll check, I’m fussy that way. JVC will ship worldwide, though if you’re dinged with custom fees, that’s your responsibility — heads up on that. I’ll close comments on May 31st and draw a winner using Random.org.
I’ve been noodling with the exact model I’m giving away — JVC gave me one to review. My impressions so far?
Wow, it’s teeny tiny! I’m AMAZED by how small and lightweight it is. Stack two Flip cams. It’s about like that. Maybe a little bigger.
It’s fairly easy to use. I haven’t cracked all the features yet, but the controls are well placed and the onscreen tools are easy to use.
I appreciate that it’s got a decent chunk of on board memory. You can buy flash cards, but you don’t have to.
The video is sharp and clear, even in fairly low light.
I don’t know bunk about shooting video. My stuff is shaky and boring as hell so far.
The auto-focus is a little odd sometimes. I shot a bunch of “out the window” stuff in the rain and couldn’t figure out when it was focusing on the rain spattered glass and when it was focusing on the landscape. The photographer in me wants to control that and can’t figure out how.
The battery life seems great, but I always recommend carrying a spare, regardless.
It’s right handed. If you’re a lefty, you might be frustrated by this.
Mac folks, my outdated version of iMovie (6.x) wouldn’t read the .mts files generated by the camera.Also, in the latest version of Windows Movie Maker, the files played but had no sound. There are some compatibility issues, clearly.
And hey, just in case you’re curious, here’s a “video postcard” we shot a few weekends back when the sun was (intermittently) out. I’m keenly aware of the flaws, but if you know more of video than I do, I welcome your comments on how to fix them — and yes, that can count as your entry. Don’t talk with your mouth full of salmon burger doesn’t count, wise guy.
THANK YOU for all the great submissions and participating in 29 Guests! It was great to have the month off, but also, it was great to see so many voices from so many places all here on my little blog. Wow. That was an awesome potluck. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did and didn’t leave hungry. Oh, and hey, is that your casserole dish? We’re keeping the beer and wine, but you should really take that nice bowl home with you or you’ll never see it again.
As for what I did last month, I worked. A lot. As in butt in the chair day job stuff. I have been really grateful for the work and grateful for the generosity of my guests in keeping this little blog lively while I was away.
Now, on to business…
I sent you something. Where’s my post?
It’s one of two places: Lost in my inbox (I got one that I deleted because I thought it was a PR pitch!) or sitting in the queue. I was just short of swamped with submissions and I made the mistake of saying I’d hold slots for a few folks. In short, I got more submissions than I could run in a month and I had to leave some out. I’m sorry I couldn’t run them all.
Are you going to do it again?
Yes! I’ll do a guest post month again, but I’m also going to hold the 29th of each month for a guest post. If you sent me something and it didn’t run, look for it on upcoming 29ths. And if you’d like to be a 29 Guest, read on.
What are you looking for?
Travel stories. Sure, there are loads of how to articles. There are lists of things that might be important if you’re going to a specific destination tomorrow or planning a trip. There are trip reports by the mile — went here, did that — but that don’t present much beyond an itinerary. I am interested in stories. You know, with characters and places where things happen or are at least evocative of place. 1200 words, maximum, and I will run word count. Don’t submit if it’s too long. I won’t run it.
How do I submit?
Email me your story as text only. You can include one photo, but do not send it as an attachment. Send me the URL for the image and I’ll link to it in your post, I will not host your image. Include how you’d like to be credited — Pam Mandel blogs at Nerd’s Eye View — for example. HTML is a-okay!
What about other media?
Sure! A slide show or video is fine, even a single stellar image. Why not? Same guidelines, just send me the embedding code. Your submission must be under 500px wide if it’s video or a picture. Please note: You need to send links, not media. I won’t host your video/image/some third thing.
What kind of stuff is in the reject pile?
Not much, really. Things to keep in mind? Word count. The instructions listed above. The fact that I want a story, a narrative. It doesn’t have to be linear, I’m good with the written equivalent of a snapshot, but I’m looking to be transported to the place you are writing about, this is travel, after all.
