The internet is an increasingly important space where people converge. And looking at the way this medium shapes and changes the travel discourse, and in particular conversations, can be very interesting. Wanderlust and Lonely Planet offer two different types of on-line conversation opportunities, however, they both fill a need for the community of travelers.

On-line conversations always have the risk of having contributors that mis-represent themselves, however, I do not think that in this case it is a real threat. For example, Salon and Lonely Planet are two sites that are targeted towards the ‘traveler.' This type of topic focus can act as an initial filter for browsers. Chances are the ‘non-traveler' browser may not even make their way to these sites. Obviously, like many other on-line communities, if the on-line travel community were to find out that another contributor mis-represented themselves and wrote bogus stories, they would be upset and offended. This is a definite problem that plagues electronic media.

What I think is more important here, though, is the fact that travelers have a place to go to discuss their journeys. The electronic media provides the space for travelers to talk about their experiences in far away lands; an opportunity that can be difficult even within a community of travelers. It is rare for individuals to have the chance to really discuss what they've seen/done. Other people outside the travel community are too busy to take the time to listen or are simply not interested in hearing all of the details. And within the travel community, while there are more occasions to share ideas and thoughts associated with travel, time and opportunity can still be limited. Locations like these can provide a very cathartic feeling for both the writers and the readers. The electronic media allows travelers the freedom to write and "publish" or exhibit their experiences as much as they please. This seems to almost serve the purpose of a journal, but it's better. Travelers can write all about their journeys, give tips and suggestions to other travelers (like the Lonely Planet), or simply discuss a particular aspect of traveling (like Wanderlust). From there, browsers can read whatever they want, whenever they please. Then they can give feedback if they choose. The original contributor gets comments from people who are interested in their stories; people who have interest enough to take the time to read what is written.

Continue

Home