Friday, July 24, 2009
Source From 2001 Resurfaces
Some days the Internet delivers wonderful treasure. Today's one of those days, when I got an email from a guy I'd interviewed eight years ago. With his permission, I've posted the email here. The article in which he's quoted - published in 2001 - is below his note. (Remember, this was before WiFi or iPhones or Facebook.)
World Wide Wandering
Online travelogues are informative and easy to create, even while you’re traveling
By Fred Sandsmark
Most of us create a packing list - at least a mental one - when we prepare for a trip. It has basics like changes of clothes, credit cards, prescriptions, and maps, as well as other helpful things like guidebooks, beach towels, and binoculars. But these days, many travelers are also packing digital cameras and laptop computers to document their trips - and they're posting their adventures on the Web, sometimes right from the road.
Take Brice Wong of Vancouver, British Columbia. Last fall, before embarking on a 10-day road trip with two friends to go mountain biking in Moab, Utah, Wong packed a "mobile office" - computer, digital camera, PDA, several mobile phones, and an inverter (to run 120-volt devices from the cigarette lighter) - in his Mazda B4000 4X4 pickup, along with the bikes. Wong and friends produced a travelogue, hilarious and occasionally profane (this was a pickup-full of twentysomethmg males, after all), and posted it at www.futurelooks.com. The journal's not just for laughs, though; the descriptions of Moab's mountain-bike trails are frequently as vivid as the famous red rocks themselves.
Why did Wong create the travelogue? "People are nosy," he says with a laugh, "so I figured, why not share our fun and adventures with the world? Plus, it gives people who have never been to Moab a true sense of what it's really like. Sometimes travel agents and magazines and promotional materials really don't give you the whole truth, but if you read someone's journal or diary you're going to get the real deal."
What’s my motivation?
Another good reason to keep an online travelogue: It's easier than ever. A handful of Web sites make travelogue creation a simple click-and-type operation that any technophobe can handle. But the motivation for individual traveloguers varies. For Graeme Renfrew - who quit a "subterranean desk job" in Glasgow, Scotland, cashed in his pension, and set out on a 14-monih trip around the world - a travelogue is an easy, inexpensive way to check in with the family (his travelogue can be found at www.travelpod.com). "It's cheaper than phoning home," says Renfrew. "The Web travelogue lets me tell them everything is OK from a distance. And if they aren't interested, it doesn't bother me."
Vanity drives a lot of traveloguing, too. "We refer to it as ego gratification," says J. R. Johnson, chief executive officer of VirtualTourist.com. "It's the same reason that your grandparents sat you down in front of the screen to see their slide show of Europe. There's some bragging involved in showing all the places you've been."
But Johnson thinks most traveloguers who use his service just want to share their knowledge. "For the most part, our members just really like helping other people," he says. "They had a good time, and they want other travelers to do the same." That often means posting specific restaurant and hotel recommendations, sightseeing suggestions, and hard-won "insider" advice.
Some people use a travelogue for capturing impressions, telling personal stories, and flexing creative wings. (Adjective alert: Amateur travelogues frequently contain prose as purple as the final fleeting flares of a simmering sunset over the tranquil waters of a steamy tropical South Pacific atoll.) Other travelers just post a skeleton of their travelogue as they go, recording events in real time, and then flesh out their account with photos, movies, sounds, and Web links when they get hack home.
Bring it on home
You don't need to carry a lot of equipment to create an online travelogue. Even Wong (of the mobile office) tries to be sensible: "I know there are lots of different sorts of gadgets and stuff on the market," he says, "but sometimes you have to really sit and think, 'How practical and reliable is this thing I'm going to be lugging around with me?' Because, man, I tell you, I hate carrying useless stuff."
People who choose to travel light can use public computers in libraries, copy shops, and hotels. There are also cyber-cafes - coffeehouses that sell Internet access by the minute. They're not hard to find in North America, or even abroad. "Last year while in Chiang Mai, Thailand, I saw five Internet cafes side by side," recalls Luc Levesque, who runs the TravelPod Web site. "Just about everyone, from restaurants to coffee shops to public libraries to laundromats, has a PC with a modem waiting for your five dollars."
Renfrew agrees - and says that these spots can often provide a window into the local culture. "There are Internet connections anywhere there are tourists with money to spend and friends to contact," he says. "One of the places I went into to check my E-mail [in India] was just some bloke's two-room house, with blue-washed walls and ceilings so low I had to crouch to get in. There was a shrine to Shiva in the same room as the clunky PC, and his mum and sister were doing each other’s hair and singing behind me. It wasn’t exactly high-tech - but it worked.”
How to create your own travelogue
Many Web sites can help you produce a travelogue. Here are a few of our favorites; all are free and none require technical expertise.
Blogger (www.blogger.com) creates Web logs or "blogs," which are just simple Web sites whose contents are organized chronologically. A blog can produce a serviceable travelogue, but you must provide the Web space to host it.
By Travelers (www.bytravelers.com) lets you link a map from its library with your travelogue. Otherwise, the site is bare-bones, so the focus is on storytelling rather than flashy features.
TravelPod (www.travelpod.com) can send E-mail to a preset group of people every time your travelogue is updated. It also gives the option of assigning a password to a travelogue, so only friends and family can see it. Photos and movies can be added, too.
VirtualTourist (www.virtualtourist.com) is an extensive travel community site that hosts travelogues. It asks specific questions about hotels, restaurants, nightlife, tourist traps, and such to elicit users’ opinions. One clever feature: You can use photos posted by other members (the site boasts more than 140,000 members) as electronic postcards.
AfterWords:
This article appeared in the short-lived Mazda Zoom-Zoom magazine in winter of 2001. It remains one of my favorites, mostly because I had the good fortune of locating wonderful interview subjects. Unfortunately, I've lost contact with them. Brice and Graeme, if you find this, please drop a line!
Copyright © 2001, 2006, 2009 / Fred Sandsmark / Marble Publishing
Hi Fred,
I stumbled over this article on your website while I was searching google for myself haha. It's Friday and I was bored at work...
Emailing just to say hi, as requested in the Afterword of the piece. I remember answering your questions (I must have droned on and on), but wasn't sure of which magazine it was for. In the end I figured it never got published, which I thought was a shame as I never got to read it. Anyway, glad it did get published and I enjoyed your article (even the stuff not about me!), I'd forgotten about using the internet in the Indian chap's little house.
Anyway, thanks for putting it online. I was happy to read it.
Best wishes for your future publishing undertakings.
Graeme
Glasgow, Scotland
(currently in London, England)
World Wide Wandering
Online travelogues are informative and easy to create, even while you’re traveling
By Fred Sandsmark
Most of us create a packing list - at least a mental one - when we prepare for a trip. It has basics like changes of clothes, credit cards, prescriptions, and maps, as well as other helpful things like guidebooks, beach towels, and binoculars. But these days, many travelers are also packing digital cameras and laptop computers to document their trips - and they're posting their adventures on the Web, sometimes right from the road.
Take Brice Wong of Vancouver, British Columbia. Last fall, before embarking on a 10-day road trip with two friends to go mountain biking in Moab, Utah, Wong packed a "mobile office" - computer, digital camera, PDA, several mobile phones, and an inverter (to run 120-volt devices from the cigarette lighter) - in his Mazda B4000 4X4 pickup, along with the bikes. Wong and friends produced a travelogue, hilarious and occasionally profane (this was a pickup-full of twentysomethmg males, after all), and posted it at www.futurelooks.com. The journal's not just for laughs, though; the descriptions of Moab's mountain-bike trails are frequently as vivid as the famous red rocks themselves.
Why did Wong create the travelogue? "People are nosy," he says with a laugh, "so I figured, why not share our fun and adventures with the world? Plus, it gives people who have never been to Moab a true sense of what it's really like. Sometimes travel agents and magazines and promotional materials really don't give you the whole truth, but if you read someone's journal or diary you're going to get the real deal."
What’s my motivation?
Another good reason to keep an online travelogue: It's easier than ever. A handful of Web sites make travelogue creation a simple click-and-type operation that any technophobe can handle. But the motivation for individual traveloguers varies. For Graeme Renfrew - who quit a "subterranean desk job" in Glasgow, Scotland, cashed in his pension, and set out on a 14-monih trip around the world - a travelogue is an easy, inexpensive way to check in with the family (his travelogue can be found at www.travelpod.com). "It's cheaper than phoning home," says Renfrew. "The Web travelogue lets me tell them everything is OK from a distance. And if they aren't interested, it doesn't bother me."
Vanity drives a lot of traveloguing, too. "We refer to it as ego gratification," says J. R. Johnson, chief executive officer of VirtualTourist.com. "It's the same reason that your grandparents sat you down in front of the screen to see their slide show of Europe. There's some bragging involved in showing all the places you've been."
But Johnson thinks most traveloguers who use his service just want to share their knowledge. "For the most part, our members just really like helping other people," he says. "They had a good time, and they want other travelers to do the same." That often means posting specific restaurant and hotel recommendations, sightseeing suggestions, and hard-won "insider" advice.
Some people use a travelogue for capturing impressions, telling personal stories, and flexing creative wings. (Adjective alert: Amateur travelogues frequently contain prose as purple as the final fleeting flares of a simmering sunset over the tranquil waters of a steamy tropical South Pacific atoll.) Other travelers just post a skeleton of their travelogue as they go, recording events in real time, and then flesh out their account with photos, movies, sounds, and Web links when they get hack home.
Bring it on home
You don't need to carry a lot of equipment to create an online travelogue. Even Wong (of the mobile office) tries to be sensible: "I know there are lots of different sorts of gadgets and stuff on the market," he says, "but sometimes you have to really sit and think, 'How practical and reliable is this thing I'm going to be lugging around with me?' Because, man, I tell you, I hate carrying useless stuff."
People who choose to travel light can use public computers in libraries, copy shops, and hotels. There are also cyber-cafes - coffeehouses that sell Internet access by the minute. They're not hard to find in North America, or even abroad. "Last year while in Chiang Mai, Thailand, I saw five Internet cafes side by side," recalls Luc Levesque, who runs the TravelPod Web site. "Just about everyone, from restaurants to coffee shops to public libraries to laundromats, has a PC with a modem waiting for your five dollars."
Renfrew agrees - and says that these spots can often provide a window into the local culture. "There are Internet connections anywhere there are tourists with money to spend and friends to contact," he says. "One of the places I went into to check my E-mail [in India] was just some bloke's two-room house, with blue-washed walls and ceilings so low I had to crouch to get in. There was a shrine to Shiva in the same room as the clunky PC, and his mum and sister were doing each other’s hair and singing behind me. It wasn’t exactly high-tech - but it worked.”
How to create your own travelogue
Many Web sites can help you produce a travelogue. Here are a few of our favorites; all are free and none require technical expertise.
Blogger (www.blogger.com) creates Web logs or "blogs," which are just simple Web sites whose contents are organized chronologically. A blog can produce a serviceable travelogue, but you must provide the Web space to host it.
By Travelers (www.bytravelers.com) lets you link a map from its library with your travelogue. Otherwise, the site is bare-bones, so the focus is on storytelling rather than flashy features.
TravelPod (www.travelpod.com) can send E-mail to a preset group of people every time your travelogue is updated. It also gives the option of assigning a password to a travelogue, so only friends and family can see it. Photos and movies can be added, too.
VirtualTourist (www.virtualtourist.com) is an extensive travel community site that hosts travelogues. It asks specific questions about hotels, restaurants, nightlife, tourist traps, and such to elicit users’ opinions. One clever feature: You can use photos posted by other members (the site boasts more than 140,000 members) as electronic postcards.
AfterWords:
This article appeared in the short-lived Mazda Zoom-Zoom magazine in winter of 2001. It remains one of my favorites, mostly because I had the good fortune of locating wonderful interview subjects. Unfortunately, I've lost contact with them. Brice and Graeme, if you find this, please drop a line!
Copyright © 2001, 2006, 2009 / Fred Sandsmark / Marble Publishing
Labels: clips, email, fun, gadgets, Internet, personal history, travel, writing
Friday, March 20, 2009
Cisco Flips for Video
The rumors were true: Cisco has purchased Pure Digital, the company that makes the Flip camcorder.
Cisco, of course, has been a beloved client of mine for years. And I'm a fan of Flip, and have done some mildly crazy things with mine (such as strapping it around my neck while skiing and making a hillbilly VCR out of it).
But what to make of the merger? Cisco historically has been very good at acquiring and integrating other business-focused technology companies into its corporate fold. Its acquisition of Linksys and its move into the home market has been generally well-handled, but that involved a networking company buying another networking company. The Pure/Flip company is a different beast, and I suspect it has a very different customer base. Dumber and cheaper, to be frank. (Remember, I'm a Flip devotee.)
My advice for Cisco (as if it wants my advice) is twofold: keep Pure's programmers, because I generally like the way FlipShare works (though not its appearance); and create a cheap, capacious battery-powered box that can offload videos from the Flip when I'm away from the computer. (For those of you who don't know: the Flip does not have removable memory, so once it's full, you can't record any more until you offload the videos.) If that box can be a network device too, fine; just keep it simple.
Cisco, of course, has been a beloved client of mine for years. And I'm a fan of Flip, and have done some mildly crazy things with mine (such as strapping it around my neck while skiing and making a hillbilly VCR out of it).
But what to make of the merger? Cisco historically has been very good at acquiring and integrating other business-focused technology companies into its corporate fold. Its acquisition of Linksys and its move into the home market has been generally well-handled, but that involved a networking company buying another networking company. The Pure/Flip company is a different beast, and I suspect it has a very different customer base. Dumber and cheaper, to be frank. (Remember, I'm a Flip devotee.)
My advice for Cisco (as if it wants my advice) is twofold: keep Pure's programmers, because I generally like the way FlipShare works (though not its appearance); and create a cheap, capacious battery-powered box that can offload videos from the Flip when I'm away from the computer. (For those of you who don't know: the Flip does not have removable memory, so once it's full, you can't record any more until you offload the videos.) If that box can be a network device too, fine; just keep it simple.
Labels: gadgets, news, photography, technology, video
Thursday, October 09, 2008
My Hillbilly VCR
I don't have cable TV anymore and haven't yet hooked up a rooftop antenna. I haven't missed television, but tonight I needed to record a news segment for work. What to do?
I got my little LCD TV out of my emergency kit, and put my Flip Ultra on a tiny tripod. It's not beautiful, but it did the job.
I got my little LCD TV out of my emergency kit, and put my Flip Ultra on a tiny tripod. It's not beautiful, but it did the job.
Labels: gadgets, media, technology, TV, video, work
Videos from Oracle OpenWorld
I got a fun assignment at the recent Oracle OpenWorld: to conduct some informal video interviews of people attending the conference. Two of them are posted on YouTube.
I hadn't done something like this before, and I found it a bit intimidating to approach strangers at first. (Especially with a two-page release form for them to sign.) But the interviewees were gracious and funny, and the assignment was a kick.
The videos were shot with a Flip Video Ultra. I was so impressed with the camera that I got my own. Expect more videos soon!
I hadn't done something like this before, and I found it a bit intimidating to approach strangers at first. (Especially with a two-page release form for them to sign.) But the interviewees were gracious and funny, and the assignment was a kick.
The videos were shot with a Flip Video Ultra. I was so impressed with the camera that I got my own. Expect more videos soon!
Labels: clips, gadgets, Oracle, technology, video, work
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Quite Possibly the Most Inept Demo Video Ever
I wonder if Buy.com thinks anybody ever watches the homemade demonstration videos for its products. Case in point: the MySoldius1 Solar Charger. Click the "Watch Video" button on the left side of the screen, under the product image.
Between the one-take-is-plenty-but-lighting-doesn't-matter camerawork, the uninformed mumbling voiceover, and the hairy arms that seem to have never handled the product before, it's quite a piece of work.
My favorite lines: "Just plug it in there the right way and you're set to go," and "There's a few instructions on this sheet of paper right here that comes with your solar charger, and a few specifications right there."
Best of all: I bought the device anyway.
Between the one-take-is-plenty-but-lighting-doesn't-matter camerawork, the uninformed mumbling voiceover, and the hairy arms that seem to have never handled the product before, it's quite a piece of work.
My favorite lines: "Just plug it in there the right way and you're set to go," and "There's a few instructions on this sheet of paper right here that comes with your solar charger, and a few specifications right there."
Best of all: I bought the device anyway.
Labels: fun, gadgets, marketing, sales, solar, technology, video
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Technology Changes
We're trying out some new technology here at the Marble Publishing World Headquarters.
Connectivity: I'm testing out AT&T High Speed Internet Pro here at the home office. I haven't yet turned off my Comcast cable modem service, but expect to soon. Several factors played into this decision: I'm not watching TV anymore so having cable is $1200 a year I don't want to spend; AT&T's service includes use of WiFi at Starbucks; and by consolidating billing I can save a few bucks and simplify paperwork. (I opted not to get the U-Verse service, because [again] I'm not watching TV.) I got the setup kit just before Labor Day and the install worked fine. I left the modem running for the weekend and switched the computer over to the service this morning. The DSL modem (a Motorola MSTATEA) is a tiny thing, just 4.25 x 3.5 inches.
Related question: the DSL modem has a sticker reading: "To maximize connection speed, leave this modem on for 10 days after DSL installation is complete. Please note: You can use your DSL service during this time. It is not necessary to leave your computer on, only the modem." Any idea what that's about?
PDA: I've sprung for an Apple iPod Touch. I got the base model on the Apple Refurb store for $200. (It's been months since my Palm Zire died.) I couldn't justify the monthly charges for an iPhone. So far I'm very, very happy with the Touch. I've got it loaded with music, videos, and photos, along with my calendar and contacts. I'm using it occasionally for email and web surfing (including on the AC Transit M Transbay Bus). I haven't bought any apps yet, but I'm looking at some sort of password database.
Desk phone: Call me old-fashioned, but I still have a landline here at World Headquarters. However, because I consolidated phone numbers (510-538-5263 is no longer connected), I wanted a cordless desk phone with an answering machine and two handsets (one for downstairs). I got a Panasonic KX-TG9342T, and so far I like it very much. (Thought the Talking Caller ID is kinda creepy ...)
Wireless router: I got a Linksys WRT54G2. I haven't had WiFi in the house for a while, and bought this router without a lot of comparison shopping. Perhaps a mistake. It works great with the Touch but not with my old G3 iBook. I have yet to figure out what's up there, but haven't put a lot of effort into it yet. I may end up wishing I had splurged on an Apple Airport with Airtunes, especially once I move more of my music collection in that direction.
Connectivity: I'm testing out AT&T High Speed Internet Pro here at the home office. I haven't yet turned off my Comcast cable modem service, but expect to soon. Several factors played into this decision: I'm not watching TV anymore so having cable is $1200 a year I don't want to spend; AT&T's service includes use of WiFi at Starbucks; and by consolidating billing I can save a few bucks and simplify paperwork. (I opted not to get the U-Verse service, because [again] I'm not watching TV.) I got the setup kit just before Labor Day and the install worked fine. I left the modem running for the weekend and switched the computer over to the service this morning. The DSL modem (a Motorola MSTATEA) is a tiny thing, just 4.25 x 3.5 inches.
Related question: the DSL modem has a sticker reading: "To maximize connection speed, leave this modem on for 10 days after DSL installation is complete. Please note: You can use your DSL service during this time. It is not necessary to leave your computer on, only the modem." Any idea what that's about?
PDA: I've sprung for an Apple iPod Touch. I got the base model on the Apple Refurb store for $200. (It's been months since my Palm Zire died.) I couldn't justify the monthly charges for an iPhone. So far I'm very, very happy with the Touch. I've got it loaded with music, videos, and photos, along with my calendar and contacts. I'm using it occasionally for email and web surfing (including on the AC Transit M Transbay Bus). I haven't bought any apps yet, but I'm looking at some sort of password database.
Desk phone: Call me old-fashioned, but I still have a landline here at World Headquarters. However, because I consolidated phone numbers (510-538-5263 is no longer connected), I wanted a cordless desk phone with an answering machine and two handsets (one for downstairs). I got a Panasonic KX-TG9342T, and so far I like it very much. (Thought the Talking Caller ID is kinda creepy ...)
Wireless router: I got a Linksys WRT54G2. I haven't had WiFi in the house for a while, and bought this router without a lot of comparison shopping. Perhaps a mistake. It works great with the Touch but not with my old G3 iBook. I have yet to figure out what's up there, but haven't put a lot of effort into it yet. I may end up wishing I had splurged on an Apple Airport with Airtunes, especially once I move more of my music collection in that direction.
Labels: Apple, gadgets, Internet, ISP, technology, TV, work
Friday, February 08, 2008
Somebody Talk Me Out of Getting an iPhone
I dropped my Palm Zire 72 and now it's dead. Calendar and Contacts are recently backed up; other stuff may be gone, but that's not a huge deal. (Maybe the password database is a huge deal, but a surmountable one.)
So now I'm tempted to get an iPhone. I'm pretending that I can justify it by not having to buy another Palm and because my Nokia phone is aging and will need replacing soon. Somebody please stop me before I spend a bunch of money on a gadget.
So now I'm tempted to get an iPhone. I'm pretending that I can justify it by not having to buy another Palm and because my Nokia phone is aging and will need replacing soon. Somebody please stop me before I spend a bunch of money on a gadget.
Labels: Apple, budget, gadgets, technology
