I've been building the site to cover our travels. It's mostly for friends and family really.

So far I have the intro, a where we're going, we're we are, gallery and blogs for the pair of us (though some of these are just headings at the minute, no content).

Other than that, is there anything else you like to read/see on people's websites?

Cheers,

Dante.

Pictures, lots of them. Not just postcard shots, but of the more interesting little things you see in your travels. Local cats, kids, interesting signs and food make good subjects.

Candid pictures of the local people doing normal things. Not pictures of (or in) buildings, churches, museums, temples or cathedrals. Your audience doesn't care.

Not pictures of vast landscapes that look bloody awful when reduced to a small portion of a tiny computer screen.

And if you are going to the Galapagos or on an African safari, keep the animal photos to a minimum. I already know what a giraffe looks like.

Some good points about the photos - that does make sense to get more pics more natural things, rather than, 'oh look, there's another shot of a tiger'.

So other than pics, when else do people tend to look out for on these things?

Good comments on the pictures. But, even better than pictures are movies. A little short clip on the unique aspects of local life is great.

And personally, I hate the "epic" type blogs. You know, the 20 hour chicken bus ride, etc. They're really not epic anyway considering the locals travel/live this way every day.

I think its a real question of the sort of trip being undertaken, how often the thing is updated, who its intended for and how its written that make what I want out of any given travel blog.

I dont really like to pigeon hole these things. A blog that is written for friends/ family isnt really going to be interesting to the outsider no matter what you're doing. If I'm writing for friends I'm gonna be gunning for a few inside jokes, or things taht might mean something to me or someone else...people already know what you're like...Itsa different form of writing.

If you're on a long trip I dont want day by day accounts but in some circumstances these CAN work (not many, but some).


As a writer I decided to take notes while away so that I could write dsomething readable (taht remains to be seen) when I had time to sit and think what I wanted to write. I feel like I'm still developing out of the early stages of this and theres a long way to go before I feel what I write is any good. As has been said elsewhere, something worth writing about my really only occur half a dozen times in a year trip.

I like a good mix of the locals, the travellers, the scenes, the sites, the funnies and teh lessons. I think that is something that can work well yet with so many bloggers these days there are 100 bad and unreadable blogs for every good one. Oh and I want to know how YOU felt and what YOU thought!

I want to get to know YOU, the writer. I want to feel for you when I should, laugh with you when its appropriate and reflect on your writing in times where there's a serious point being made.

A blog that has 2 lines then a dozen pics followed by 2 lines and a dozen pics doesnt work for me and finding that right balance isnt easy.

I think its also worth noting that when you get back from a long trip its the odd things taht you remember half teh time not that you did this, taht you ONLY spent 300 baht one night or taht you saw a bunch of sights. That I had to egt up sooo early for a trip to 'imsret name here' may be something you want to share witH EVERYONE at the time. When you've had time to reflect on it, its really not important and heck, someone probably had to do that at home too!

A blog that consists of a history lesson on every entry? Forget it, I'm bored in the forst para or 2. The blog that consists of how much you drank and who you ended up in bed with? Really, I couldnt give a toss. A balanced aproach is what counts.


(Oh and dont take a leaf out of my posts, spell check...)

I personally would love to see more pictures of your boyfriend, Alex.

Really? Though I have to give the man credit, he is very handsome.

I wouldn't worry, there'll be at least 10 of him for every 1 of me - the camera is not my friend. I either look crazed, or as if I've been taken over by the Joker from batman!

Great question! I agree with the effort to capture photos of day-to-day life in these different countries.

I'm excited to take lots of photos of the foods I'll be eating. For me, that is a big part of the experience, and I don't see much of it in all the travel blogs I read.

A picture of the author. I want to have a visualization of who's talking to me here.

Other than that: Personally, I don't think that a blog format is working well for traveling. The organization of the information in tedious and frustrating. I mean, honestly, who cares about anyone's journey really (except there is something very special about how or why or when you travel)? It's good to let your family and friends know that you are still alive and are enjoying yourself (without having to write 20 emails each time you visit an internet cafe). That's why I have a 'blog' section on my website as well. What I look for on websites are pictures. I want to be inspired. I want to surf a site for 3 hours and having a look at where you have been and how it looks there (probably adding all those places to my list of 'to visit' places). I don't care about your impression, to be quite frank. I will want to form my own opinion anyhow. I just want inspiration.

A map that indicates where you actually have traveled through is good as well. This way people can see 'where it is possible to travel through'.

(Obviously, I have been referring to the editorial 'you' here.)

quote:

I don't care about your impression, to be quite frank. I will want to form my own opinion anyhow.

I feel differently. When I read someone else's travel blog, I want to hear what their opinions are and what they thought of things. It doesn't mean I'm going to agree with them, but it's better than just "I went here and here and did this and that." If I want a history of the place, etc., I can read a guidebook.

But then again I usually read blogs more for research to learn about places I am interested in visiting and learning about.

And I agree it is nice to have a picture of the author and little bit about them, so you know who these opinions are coming from.

I know I'm a culprit of writing extremely long blog posts, but I know that doing the opposite gets people to read them.

Short paragraphs.

Pictures throughout, and video, if you can.

Short posts.

Lots of short posts will be more reader-friendly than one long post, even if the paragraphs are short and you have pictures throughout.

I like stories. I like reading about the things that I won't find in a guidebook.

On a blog I want to hear about your morning visit to the vegetable market, or how you crossed the Mekong, or what you had for lunch (I love food porn! I like that you have a food link on your blog!), or the day a Komodo tried to eat you.

Things that bore the crap out of me:
- How much people paid for things
- Anything beyond one sentence about the flight.