I really do subscribe to this line of thinking
I swear I’m not a pessimist. Really. You may think otherwise with the amount of bitching I’ve done in a few of my other posts, but really, I’m an optimist at heart.
It’s been about two months since I started this site and officially joined the travel blogging community. Sure, we had our blog on our RTW trip, but that was started as a way to chronicle our trip and keep up with family and friends.
The goal now is to somehow make a living out of this whole venture. I’ve done things much differently with this blog, like embracing social media by spending tons of time on twitter, trying to figure out things like StumbleUpon, and reading and researching everything SEO to better help me understand this new business that has popped up from seemingly nowhere.
First — The Optimism
One of the best and most surprising aspects of the travel blogging community has been the camaraderie and support I’ve received from everyone. It has been truly remarkable, and I can’t speak highly enough of the friendly advice I have received.
The blogging community is all about teamwork so far **
Any time I’ve contacted or been contacted by someone within the travel blogging community, they’ve been nothing but helpful with tips and advice for a newbie like myself. Whether it’s bouncing ideas off one another, receiving reviews and comments about different blogging and writing classes, trying to promote one another’s work, or asking how someone has gone about designing, writing, or making money from this venture, I have been blown away by the kindness and help everyone has been so forthcoming to offer.
Many of us have come from another career spanning about everything one can think of. A good portion of people within the travel writing community have worked in a different career, hated the corporate greed and structure that came along with it, and decided to do something different.
We want another way of life. We want to be freer to do what we want when we want. We want to travel, see the world, and live life. We all work very hard to try to make this new life for ourselves and attain these new goals. This is such a new business that we all need each other’s help. There’s no one tried and true method for success, and each day someone is finding a new way of making money and being successful by blogging and writing.
So we share these with one another. We are friendly, helpful, and generous when offering advice. We have no problem sharing information on how we completed a certain task or figured out a new and more efficient way of doing something.
Now Here Comes the Pessimism
Here’s my question: “Is this sustainable?” I hate to think in such negative terms, but can this positive energy and altruistic way of going about business last forever?
Can we give in to the greed?
We have seen it in almost every other walk of life. Something so nice, pure, and innocent gets ruined by greed. Whether it’s your favorite mom and pop store going out of business because of the new Wal-Mart that just moved in, or that ideal, quiet, and pristine country or city you visited less than a decade ago that has been ruined by commercialism and irresponsible tourism. It seems that eventually money and greed seem to ruin everything.
Can We Change the Trend?
So many of us are trying to switch to a new way of life, one that allows us to do something different and against societal norms. Something that allows us to do what we truly love and doesn’t tie us down and make us slaves to a larger corporation that only uses us to make more money for themselves.
Can we be different? Or will we fall prey to what so many others eventually give in to. Money. Success. And ultimately wanting to keep it all to ourselves.
The signs thus far are very positive. While there has only been a small percentage of people who have been truly successful in making a living out of blogging, it’s doable. We all know it’s not easy, and it’s a constant learning process that forces you to stay ahead of the curve.
People like Nomadic Matt and Dave from Go Backpacking are doing it right now and sharing their knowledge with everyone. Others have had success starting online communities like BootsnAll and Matador and remain active and helpful within the community, so these are all great signs.
I have seen nothing thus far within this niche of people that suggests we will succumb to the greed that has taken over so many other businesses. I have been ecstatic with all the generosity I have received from so many people within the community. I really do want to believe that we will be the ones who are different. That we will be the ones to realize that there is enough to go around, and we will continue to share ideas and information with each other.
But I do have to wonder. Will this last forever? Can we be the ones that find the ideal way of making a living and continue to be generous and forthright with information? Or will we ultimately give in to what so many others have given into? Will we start using cut-throat business practices, be greedy with our information and expertise, and want to keep all the success to ourselves?
I’d love to hear other’s thoughts on the matter? What do you think is the future of the travel blogging community? Comment below.
*photo by Kevin Collins
** photo by Andrew Ratto
The Wander Year
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post! I think we can. As travellers I think we are a unique community as we all are used to helping each other and celebrating other’s stories and experiences. It’s what we are all so used to doing. I think we all understand the positive impact travel can have on our lives and our world, so in that are naturally encouraging and positive to others who are trying to break free from the box. I think when you believe in abundance and there being enough for all to share you realize, co-operation actually works and when you bring your unique perspective and niche into it, miracles can happen.
Here’s to the travel blogging community making a difference and showing the rest of the world how its done.
Thanks Caroline! I really do believe we can do it as well. What we all do is fairly unique, and you make a fantastic point about what it takes to travel on a long term basis. Constantly being in a foreign land where nothing is familiar forces you to rely on others and also help others when you can, so I think it’s in most of our personalities to do so. I’d love to see us continue along this path because I really do think that we can make it work. We’re definitely a determined bunch. Thanks again for commenting, and good to luck to both of you with your current situation.
I hope it doesn’t come toppling down any time soon! I swear that it is a pattern in my life. Once I get used to the amazingness of a job/community, things start to change, people get greedy, and everything falls apart.
I do, however, have hope for this particular group of people. I have never met so many people that have a zest for life and faith in humanity. It has been ever so refreshing and inspiring.
Totally, 100% agree with you. I really hope subset of the population gets it right. And I really do think we can and will. Thanks a bunch for the insight.
Adam, this is such a timely post! I’ve been reflecting on very similar scenarios in the St. Louis music blogging circle. There are now several music blogs based out of St. Louis or focusing on St. Louis, my own being the newbie on the block, but there doesn’t seem to be any “competition” for traffic that I’ve seen.
Everyone seems to have found their niche and is happy to promote their neighboring blogs when there’s new and/or interesting posts. It’s a good feeling!
I’ve wondered about this, as well. It might change a small bit as things get more competitive, though I believe at least some of the helpfulness will stay for good. I think part of this is the nature of how mutually beneficial certain online activities can be. A link exchange is very beneficial to both parties. A guest post gets the guest author exposure to new readers, while it relieves the blog author of having to generate content that day. An exchange of advertiser information helps both bloggers pay their hosting fees. And so on. I’ve blogged for a personal finance website for nearly three years, and their community is similar in the sense that they also do link exchanges, guest posts for each other, participate in carnivals, etc. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if the travel community was tighter than others due to the experiential nature of travel.
I would like to think things will stay how they are and I think to an extent they will. I can’t help but think with any potencial business comes the people who will look to take over the market.
Excuse this example (I’ve been watching a lot of the tour de france) but I worry that everyone is working together at the moment becuase we want to get established (in the race) but there may be people, once we get close to the end who start to push on for the finish (of the race) and then it becomes a free for all with everyone one fighting to finish in the best position.
I don’t think these problems will come from anyone currently blogging but people who see the success and want in. With the lovely travel people that you all are though, whats to say we can’t continue to support each other and keep any potencial ’spoilers’ from having their way.
Thanks for all the comments everyone! I appreciate the feedback.
@dave–that’s great to hear. I seem to hear this about all blogging circles, not just travel blogging, so that’s another very encouraging sign. I think music people are similar to travel people as well, so it makes sense.
@emily–great points about how we all seem to need each other. Hopefully that will stay and the helpfulness and camaraderie along with it. Again, good to see this is happening amongst many different sectors of blogging, not just travel blogging. It’s such a new business though that it seems as though we HAVE to help each other out. I wonder if it will change if/when it becomes established?
@ poi–I think it will change a bit, just because there are assholes in every business, and there are always people looking to make a quick buck. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), making a quick buck is not really what this is all about (obviously). But if the market changes and there is a way to make some quick money by blogging, then we will see a change, for sure.
Interesting post and question. Like Gary Arndt says, right now travel blogging is the wild west. As the travel blogosphere “settles down” and becomes more corporate, we probably will see some of the negative attributes found in other communities arise. But I don’t think it will be by the “average” travel blogger. As the community becomes more accepted by PR reps and companies, that will mean more advertising money. That will in turn encourage non-travelers and corporations to establish their own travel blog sites. I think that is when we’ll see some of the more cut-throat qualities found elsewhere.
Interesting topic. I think travel blogging is somewhat different than other industries. If you are trying to make a living off of your site with advertisers, etc, there are plenty to go around that no one can horde the market alone. Also, so many bloggers have something unique, making their appeals lasting because they are so diverse. Also, travelers by nature I think are more open, prone to new experiences and exchanges and always looking for that acceptance no matter where they go. In the end, I have only been at the whole travel blogging thing for a year and the help from other travel bloggers and writers has never ceased. Sure, at times I do see hints of jealousy among bloggers at getting free trips, discounted tours, but in the end, it seems to be a “community” not a “business” so to speak.
Great post. I’ve found that over time online communities tend to get into a positive-feedback loop of self-selection. That is, only certain types are attracted to travel and blogging — and the herd tends to move all in the same direction. I just hope that we can attract new people whose views and attitudes and politics differ substantially! But, with the shared interest being travel, I don’t see that being much of a problem!
Interesting post . I’ve read somewhere that there are over 10 million travel blogs..so I don’t think one can feel that “comaraderie” with everyone of those folks. We started on our open ended world tour & travel blog in 2006 and because of that we were early to Twitter ( before most travel companies or icons even, let along travel bloggers.).
In my first year of using Twitter, I thought the travel writing/blogging community was very small, but it has grown SOOOOO much since 2008 ( thanks to the economy, tech & 4HWW) that it is impossible to keep up with just the top travel folks on Twitter alone. Especially, if you are actually traveling while you are writing/blogging. Let alone all the related communities like minimalist, location independents, digitalnomads, perpetual travelers, 4HWWers, Workshifters, photographers, non-conformists etc etc I try to keep up, but there are only so many hours in a day and my kid takes priority.
My travel list on Twitter is almost 500 people ( couldn’t add any more) and is a tiny fraction.
Almost all of the people who started travel blogging when we did, no longer do it. Many that came later are no longer doing it. Very few travel bloggers are making a decent living from their travel blogs. Very few travel bloggers actually travel that much and blog because it is hard to do both ( without interns or paid help). Your best friend now in travel blogging may not be the same in 5 years. In many ways, the longer you blog & the more popular you get, the harder it is.
Yes, for the most part the travel blogging community is helpful and fun, but I find that true of almost ALL communities. I don’t think a travel writer should limit themselves “ONLY” to the travel community…any more than they would limit there travel to only one place.
You will find good and bad in every place and every community. You will find some people that you like or trust more than others. I actually think it is an illusion to think the travel community is any closer or “purer” than any other. I think ALL people ( no matter what country or niche) are basically good. I am open to all, keep close with the ones that prove themselves so and I enjoy, and those that prove themselves otherwise, I just ignore and wish them well.
Blogging just doesn’t work unless you are “generous and forthright with information” so I don’t think that will ever change. But will your interpretation of the “travel community” be different in 5, 10, 15, 20 years? Yes, I think so.
{ 2 trackbacks }