I have just returned from a week in Manchester at the World Youth Student Tourism Conference where I was the official blogger. It was great event overall. The one thing for me, however, was the lesson in blogging that I received.
I have written before about the dumbing down of travel writing in which shorter “highlight” pieces attract more traffic and readership that lengthy travel articles on the Internet. The same is pretty much the case when it comes to news reporting on the Internet I have discovered.
Quite simply the answer lies in the fact that people do not like to read the Internet. Rather they prefer to scan through a few paragraphs, grab the key points and move on. For me, it was a real lesson in blogging as it meant I really had to focus in on what was the key message – get it across quickly and substantiate it with facts, statistics or a quote. There is no room for building up an argument as there is in traditional media. I certainly found it challenging.
Going forward it really has made me think about this blog and Travel Generation. In particular, who are the audience, what do they want from the information being shared and what is the desired outcome. In Travel Generation it is to build a really informative resources around the community for Xebidy it is to share my knowledge with our readers. Does that mean a change in strategy? At this point the jury is out.
Finally many thanks to the crew at Thumbrella who published many of the blog posts I generated while in Manchester and also to WYSTC themselves for the invitation and support.
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Big ups on the Blogs Dan… It was great to get the best feel for WYSTC as possible from over here!
It’s definitely true what you say about backpackers preffering to “grab the key points and move on.”
I think this is even more important when considering a backpacking audience… who don’t have the time (nor the internet credit) to waste reading war and peace.