Don't Get BLOGged Down By Endless Reviews!
by Penney Rudicil
OSSN Eastern Regional Manager

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Do you remember when you would go on vacation to just relax? I do! Those days seemed to have slipped away after I became a travel professional. I started looking at people, places and things very differently. When I am on a cruise ship, visiting a hotel or resort, or taking public transportation, I find myself jotting down notes and snapping photos so that I can write a review. However, many times after getting back to the office, I get so busy that the review doesn't get done in a timely manner. Before I know it, it is months later and my notes are still in the drawer and my memory is a bit fuzzy.

Through this new and exciting technology, you too can post your information while traveling or out of the office. You can write a journal of your travels, including where you have been, what you are seeing and doing, photos, and/or itineraries. Entries will be in date order with the newest showing on top, so that your readers will know what is new.

There are many companies that you can use to set up your blog, including travel-specific sites. Below is a list of a few complimentary blog sites:

www.travelblog.org

www.blogger.com

www.myblogsite.com

If you have a Web site, you can link your site to your blog and visa versa.

There are many travel blogs already on the World Wide Web. Recently I read an article in Travel & Leisure, and this is what they had to say: "A new blog may be born every 7.4 minutes, according to search engine Technorati, but which travel blogs are actually worth reading? The best online travel diaries include a mix of tips, breaking news, and (of course) juicy personal tidbits. In the end, that's what reading someone else's journal is all about."

Some of the travel blogs that I have found interesting and helpful include these sites:

www.travelblog.org

www.fodors.com/blog

www.igougo.com

www.bootblog.com

www.virtualtourist.com

Blogging is not just for computer gurus -- it is for everyone! Agency owners, managers, independent contractors, home based agents, stay at home moms, even student. If you can type, you can blog.

Get out there today . . . and BLOG!