The Lonely Planet site is an electronic version of travel guide books by the same name. The books are self- described as "ultra-low budget guides of considerable reputation." They are written by experienced travelers who are hired to explore the areas and then write about their findings. The web site is a thick site dedicated to the topic of travel. It is a compilation of basic information provided in the books with the additions of colorful maps and pictures presented in the form of slide shows as well as a comment area with travelers tips that are sent in by travelers in the form of postcards. Although the Lonely Planet updates and maintains a web-site, (in fact they have a staff of 12, called the e.team, dedicated to their web-site) they continue to publish over 150 travel guides that cover almost every country on earth. In addition, they publish phrase books, travel atlases and videos. Naturally, the web-site does not provide all of the information necessary for travelers due to the fact that they still have to sell their publications. So why does Lonely Planet maintain a web-site? What information is provided on the internet, and how is the information constructed and arranged?
This site is organized in the form of a database that is set up for browsers to quickly get "essential information for low-budget independent travel over a major region or continent." Features of the site include: cultural and historical background
The site is mostly self-contained and although it is quite dense in information, there are very few outside links. The site stays focused around the topics that their books do. They do not want the viewer to be side-tracked off onto other sites. I think that they want to prove that their site (and more importantly, their books) provide all of the information necessary to make the journey. The only external links that I found in my search were to a daily weather service for a particular region and to on-line conversations like "soc.culture.australian". The Lonely Planet web site is a reference tool that is both pedagogical and exploratory. This site could be a useful resource in the classroom for a geography course. A student can easily find out basic information about a region or location. The site is well organized and navigation throughout is relatively simple. But, even though it is full of information, and could be both exploratory and pedagogical, it does not necessarily encourage exploration. If a student had the assignment to find out particular information, I think the site could probably provide it. However, it would take a lot of initiative on the student's part to go to this site and simply browse. To be successful in a teaching environment, a site needs more interactivity than this site provides. The browser is given the option to add comments, however, it is purely space for adding, so there is no interaction between authors and users. Also, browsers have the option of sending e-mail messages to the authors, however, the interaction on-site is all unidirectional. It is my assumption that although the Lonely Planet site is primarily for reference and educational purposes, it is still a commercial entity. While the site does provide very useful information, it seems to be more of an advertisement for their published materials. For this reason, I think that the site is not intended for use in a classroom. What is an important consideration before deciding whether or not this site is truly a successful pedagogical tool is establishing the target audience. Yes, this site could work in the classroom, however, I think it's intended use is as a teaching and refernece tool for a traveler. Someone who is planning a trip, wants to explore an area or wants real ‘nuts and bolts' information is going to learn the most. These type of browsers are going to take the time to explore the site. And the Lonely Planet is very well constructed for a browser with this goal. Plus, the browser can get very up-to-date information, which is something that is not necessarily possible with printed materials and makes this medium very attractive.