It was very well received, judging by numbers in the room. We had 30 speakers. And more than 200 visitors in most sessions (judging by business cards, roughly one-third splits between students, bloggers/writers and Eastern Europe delegates). So there was a lot said. A day later, here are seven thoughts that have stayed with me from the sessions:
1. SEO Smart Links – Darren Cronian on practical WordPress tips
“This plugin is the biggest time saver for me. Internal linking is just as important as getting links from other websites – so, let’s pretend you have just published a comprehensive post, full of information on New York, and over the years you have briefly mentioned New York in tons of posts – this plugin will automatically link to your new New York post wherever it sees those words within any published blog posts.”
Read Darren’s (@travelrants) full notes from the conference.
2. Noel Josephides
I’ve known the man for 20 years and he has never been anything less than helpful, insightful, creative and generally splendid. He is MD at Sunvil Holidays which employs, among others, blogger Andy Jarosz of @501places. Noel was searingly honest, as ever, and highlighted the difference between social media aspirations and the realities of running an established business. He spends £530,000 a year on brochures, marketing, advertising and PR, he said. But although he doesn’t tweet, blog or FB, he employs people like Andy to blog because he understands there is a new world. “I’m 64, I am not interested, that doesn’t mean we don’t do it.” On Twitter, @rtwflights posted this comment: “Keep thinking about Noel Josephides talk on Wednesday. So honest about travel and the marketing machine. The man is a legend.”
3. Top birds
The four women who took part in the session: The new travel content providers. We put together experienced travel editors Sally Shalam (@sallyshalam) and Kate Simon (@traveltapper), then asked emerging blogger and writer Abigail King (@insidetravellab) to give her take, rounding up with travel PR legend Debbie Hindle (@bgbcomms). All were so on the mark, so honest and so respectful of each other. I can so see these women working together in future as a mega writing co-operative. Some highlights: Sally Shaman – “Newcomers should not try and enter travel writing unless they have a backup career.” Kate – “Adapt, flex, notice where you can shift and change. It’s all about adaptability.” Debbie, on no distinction between bloggers or writers: “A link on twitter can take me to a beautiful piece of travel writing any time of day or night.” And Abigail: “To my surprise, I now earn more from online than print.” And she has hit her business plan already for 2011. Said @WineTravel on Twitter: “Abi King of @insidetravellab explains social media clearly and clinically well (doctor background!). Good job!”
4. Angry birds
The small but vociferous number of afeared/angry freelance travel writers out there. I didn’t respond on Twitter, although some speakers rose to the provocation. Don’t. There is no rational argument. They understandably lash out at the decline in status and earning prospects and snipe at young bloods for lack of experience and grammar while largely declining to adapt. But goodness me, the bile. Expect more backlash in the next three years as print sharply retrenches – the pace is accelerating.
5. One liners
Annie Bennett: “Travel writers are vain. Bloggers: God, they work hard.”
Arantxa Ros: “Klout is only for ego.”
Allison Wightman: “Linked-in is a 24-hour cocktail party” + “Virgin has so far has invested £0 and 3 heads in Social Media – plan for lots more.”
Darren Cronian: “Social media is killing blogs.”
Rich Whitaker: “Keep your blog lens clean – stay clear of widgets” + “There are 60m blogs and 17,000+ new ones born in the last 24 hours.”
Catherine van Dijk KLM: “We have 30 people working 24/7 in social media.”
Kate Simon: “I started out in journalism as editorial assistant at the Brownie magazine.”
William Bakker: ”Give people something to talk about” + ” We’re talking bloggers v journos and measuring ROI in social. Is it 2008 again?”
6.The perfect travel tweet
A fun, fact filled session, with great data from @markfrary and @skipedia:
* The Top 5 symbols on Twitter? £ :) ^ # *
* The best place to put your link to get it retweeted is 25% way through the 140 characters.
* BUT tweets should be no more than 120 characters if you want to get RT’d.
* And Friday, 5pm on Eastern Standard Time is the most popular time to tweet.
Ps: the #stm2011 hashtag from the sessions was used on excess of 1,500 tweets, RTs and replies. It reached 482,000 accounts and generated 3.4m impressions. Thanks to all.
7. The professional touch
It is discernible that those who have had a previous career, both inside and outside journalism, are moving the Social Media debate on rapidly, in terms of professionalism and clear strategy. Gary Arndt (sold an IT business in 1997) receives some criticism for his trenchant views but he speaks as he finds – and posted a great state-of-the-nation blog the day after #stm2011 – Figuring out your social media strategy . Also a hat tip to William Bakker (ex-digital director of British Columbia) for his far-reaching, brain-stretching ideas on how to harness community SM, and Abigail King (formerly a doctor) for her concise, clear approach to SM. I expect to see many examples of collaboration between wise heads and youthful exuberance in 2012.
Mark Frary and Steve Keenan are the founders of travelperspective.co.uk
Image: Steve Keenan
Post Revisions:
- 14 November, 2011 @ 17:04 [Current Revision] by Steven Keenan
- 13 November, 2011 @ 13:07 by Rich Whitaker
Steve and Mark, you guys did such a great job organising STM!
I have to admit that I had no intention of attending WTM in the first place, but Andy Jaroz managed to convince me – he said that this year would be different with social travel market around. And he was right. I learned alot from your sessions and now I’m very inspired and motivated to keep doing what I do.
I particularly enjoyed the session where Sally, Kate, Debbie and Abigail shared their thoughts about the evolving travel writing world. I’m both a travel journalist and blogger myself, and have found their speeches and discussion extremely inspiring and useful. With them to help spread the word, I’m confident we joggers (journalist/bloggers) are here to stay. :)
Thanks for the great experience – I’ll definitely be back next year!
About the “angry birds”:
Many freelance newspaper and magazine writers feel threatened by “new media” in general, not just by bloggers. And the threat isn’t just about earnings: It’s also about competition for press trips and comps.
Ten or 15 years ago, the number of travel writers in the U.S. or UK who competed for press trips was probably in the hundreds for each country. As the Web made inroads into traditional travel publishing, the mix of invitees began to change from, say, half a dozen print writers to four print writers and two Web writers. Today, with blogs and “social media” joining the fray, DMO and vendor trip budgets are being spread even thinner–and there are fewer trip slots or comps for freelance travel writers who traditionally have relied on PR people to fund their travel lifestyles.
More food for thought: Right now, there’s a lot of warm and fuzzy “community” among travel bloggers, but that’s going to change as bloggers become segmented into haves and have-nots or professionals and hobbyists. While watching the video of the WTM “How to Work With Travel Bloggers” panel that was posted here, I was struck by how often I heard terms like “industry” and “business model.” By next year, the most audible twittering of angry birds may come from bloggers who feel left out, not from print travel writers who feel that they’ve been left behind.
I completely agree Durant. There will absolutely be a survival of the fittest situation as the industry matures and it will get much more competitive.
@Durant, that day has already arrived.
@Steve, I am obviously the person you were speaking about who “rose to the provocation”. I’m not saying I’m proud of it, but all I heard was incorrect stereotype after incorrect stereotype about bloggers. This is my chosen profession (yes, profession) and I am a loud advocate for it. I know it probably did more harm than good, but it is a subject on which I am easily baited.
Hi Durant
Canada, Sweden, Spain and Austria – just four of the DMOs I’ve heard creating extra trips for writers who blog. And, as a bonus, who video, do audio as well as tweet. Because traditional media can only take so many features, and their space is declining rapidly. So DMOs are looking to social media to expand their portfolio. It’s not a question of vendor trip budgets: it’s about how DMOs are beginning to wake up to the fact that there is an explosion of good content out there that they can harness.
And if print writers have no wish, or ability to adapt, then the squeeze surely is on them rather than those unleashing the range of technologies at their disposal.
Having said that, I agree with the oft quoted sentiment that crap writers will inevitably fail, old or new school.
Great round-up, wish I could have been there. A couple of points Nellie and Durant picked up on.
Firstly I a new blogger but with a journalism background. I trained back in 2009 and event though it was only two years ago the course didn’t understand social media and online writing – they were still training for a print model, while the vast majority of people on the course now write for on-line publications. So we essentially had to learn about social media on the job.
Secondly the warm and fuzzy feeling Durant speaks of is the main attraction for many newbies but even in my short time participating in the community I have noticed small cracks appearing. In any community there’ll be those at the top and those struggling to get noticed.
I think bloggers need to remember that, in the final analysis, platform (print, mainstream Web site, blog, TV, etc.) is less important to potential trip sponsors than audience (circulation or traffic, audience interest or intent, and audience demographics).
Consider: In the U.S., a site called Examiner.com was getting a lot of attention two or three years ago. It had several thousand “Examiners” (a mixture of hobbyists, out-of-work newspaper writers, and struggling freelance writers) who collectively produced millions of pages per year. For a while, “Examiners” were getting invited on press trips because PR people who didn’t understand the long-tail publishing concept had mistaken ideas about the exposure they were getting. Today, Examiner.com has some 40,000 “Examiners,” PR people have learned that the average Examiner.com article is ready by only a few people, and contributing to Examiner.com is no longer an easy way to score free travel.
Two more thoughts about press and blogger trips:
- Traditional press or blogger trips (“we’ll show you our destination, you’ll write about it”) should be a means to an end, not an end in themselves. As one of the WTM panelists suggested, it doesn’t make sense to accept a trip that isn’t right for your mission and target audience. If you do, you’re no better than the many freelance newspaper and magazine travel writers who are “in it for the trip” (and whose fortunes are subject to the whims of DMOs and travel vendors).
- Some DMOs are now sponsoring blogger trips that are run like events, with the expectation that invitees will take part in publicity stunts and/or contribute material to the sponsors’ Web sites. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but career-oriented bloggers need to balance the benefits of a free trip against the distraction of providing free content to a third party.
Hi Gary
You were one of many having a pop, and good for you. Stick to what you know – which is considerable, as I said in No7. And Mike C: I agree. I did some guest lectures back in 2008 at Goldsmith’s in London as the token social media evangalist – and had to raise the prospect that none of the students may find a job in old media. But quality will always shine in old and new media worlds – look forward to hearing much more about you.
Steve
once more, I have to say THANK YOU, for inviting me to speak in your event.
I have to say I expected sort of final “combat” between Gary and Jeremy, but “combat” was via twitter between Gary and Nikki, which it was also interesting to follow.
Great debates, great insights, getting different perspectives from different profesionals was fabulous.
I agree with Durant, next year, bloggers without a place in the digital universe, will make noise.
I firmly believe, quality and professionalism will shine after this complicated moment for travel and tourism Industry and also for media.having a travel blog is not enough to have a place, as Rich said, thousand of blogs see the light every day.
It was great hearing, as a “newbie”, the way some travel bloggers are moving forward. Very professional and some amazing role models. It does make me worried about being left behind though as you do see the same people getting invited time and again. I think there will be another huge shift from a lot of bloggers who are trying to monetise/hop on trips that will give up because they were in it for a quick buck. As they mentioned, 17,000 blogs a day is ridiculous! How do you stand out from the crowd? Hahahaha wouldn’t a lot of us love to know.