I love that the NYtimes Travel section is supporting an interactive means of providing its readers with travel destination information. Matt is traveling through Europe on a low budget, sharing his experiences and recommendations via blogging and vlogging once a week. He prompts his readers to send in suggestions and recommendations on where to go, what to see and where to eat. I am impressed by the amounts of people commenting on his posts and sending in recommendations. However, I am unimpressed by the way they are presented on the blog – yes, as a list of comments. I’d love to see the NYtimes make use of this fantastic data after Matt’s 12 weeks are over. So many sites are adopting viewer participation (thumbs up!) but none are presenting their viewer’s data in a clear and usable way.
This summer, the Frugal Traveler is embarking on the Grand Tour, reimagining the classic European journey as a budget-minded, modern-day jaunt. Over 12 weeks and on less than 100 euros a day, Matt Gross will circle the continent in search of cool hotels, memorable meals and contemporary culture. New columns and videos will be posted every Thursday, with updates and frugal tips throughout the week. (link)
Another travel related endeavor which I am very excited about was created by the company I work for – Endemol. The GAP YEAR is produced by Endemol UK in collaboration with bebo. It follows six young British youth on their gap year adventures, documenting their adventures, thoughts and exciting moments. Fans are encouraged to vote on tasks for the contestants. In addition, produced videos are constantly released, while the travelers themselves update blogs and photo albums with their thoughts. An exciting project, extremely successful in the UK, with a real potential to get people excited about meaningful travel.
Gap Year HQ have sent six travellers – Amy, Andre, Cara, Dave, Lewis and Roxanne – around the world on a six-month trip of a lifetime. We’ll be bringing you a brand new video every single day of the week, giving you the latest exciting and memorable footage from every corner of the world. As well as this, the travellers will be sharing their own photos, blogs and videos on their individual profile pages, which you can check out below. (link)
[tags]travel,gapyear,nytimes,interactive[/tags]