Fat Passport

Online Travel Journals: Which Is Best...And Are They For You?

August 1, 2007

I’ve always kept a journal on my travels, and I enjoy going back through old journal entries as it takes me right back to that place and time. I had always kept my journal in a hard-bound book of some sort, but over the past few years, increasingly slick web-based journals have become available.

Are online journals for you?

These days, an online web-based journal is a great alternative to a hand-written journal. You don’t have to carry it; you don’t have to worry about losing it; it lets you integrate photos and maps; and it enables your friends and family to share your experiences and stay in touch with you while you’re on the road. Take a look at some of journals on Realtravel and you’ll get a feeling for what an online journal can look like.

I think online journals are often a great way to go, but there are certainly some tradeoffs with this approach:

• You’ll need to spend more time and money at Internet cafes writing your journal

• You’ll be doing your journal on a (usually) rickety keyboard in a (usually) drab Internet café, instead of writing while you sip a beer at sunset, or while you pass time on a plane or train.
• If you’re in remote areas without Internet access, then you may need to also keep a hand-written journal at least part of the time as well
• You won’t have that hand-written record that you can flip through years later.

So those are the tradeoffs. Though not for everyone, for many an online journal is a good way to go.

What’s out there?

At the highest level there are three general approaches for online journals: Using a generic blogging tool (ala Google Blogger or Wordpress); an optimized travel journal site (of which there are many); or Facebook, which is a social network with some integrated travel journal options.

Using a generic blogging tool such as Google Blogger may have the advantage of being something you’re already using, and which won’t require you to register at yet another site in order to simply keep a blog while you travel. However, with this approach your travel content is mixed-up with whatever else you’re blogging on, and you’ll be missing out on solutions that are more optimized for travel journals.

Facebook is a popular choice among backpackers. Many backpackers are already Facebook users, and if that's you, then through Facebook you'll have a familiar environment where your friends are already plugged-in. It’s simple to upload photos, and the integrated travel blog applications work just fine. Of course, you'll have to decide whether your want Grandma or Aunt Mary to see all that you've posted on Facebook...

The next options are the optimized travel blog/journal sites. Many offer similar core capabilities, e.g. free service, integrated photos, and ability to show locations on a map. However, they vary dramatically in look and feel, and also in the various accoutrements. The best online journals produce very slick results.

Selecting an online journal site

I’d suggest you look for an online journal site that:

• Is easy for you to use : Easy to write, easy to post photos, easy to specify your location or route on a map.
  
• Is easy for your family and friends to use : Is it easy for friends to access your journal? Does it require that they join a new site, give out their email address, or do anything else that may cause them discomfort?
  
• Generates a good-looking journal : Different sites present photos, maps, and journal entries in various ways…and some certainly look better than others. Style of photo presentation varies widely.
  
• Is free : There are plenty of good sites around that are free to use, so it’s hard to make a case that you should pay for your online journal.
  
• Let’s your friends post comments to your journal : This is a great way for you, your friends, and your family to all "chat" about your travels while you're on the road.
  
• Automatically notifies your friends and family when you’ve made a new posting : This lets folks check in as soon as you’ve posted something new, without them having to continually check the site.
  
• Makes it easy for you to have a neat, clean hardcopy of your journal when your trip is done . This is a wish, but unfortunately I have yet to find an online journal which provides this capability.
  
• Won’t go dead because the owners didn’t pay their bills . Many of the online journal providers are from small or startup companies, and there’s always the risk that such folks will have to close their doors. It would be unfortunate if they stopped paying their bills such that you couldn’t get at your own journal, though in reality I would expect that if one was about to go under, then they would have the courtesy to email you and let you get copy-off your content.

I counted up about twenty different online travel sites which enable you to generate an online travel journal. A partial listing includes Travelpost, Travelblog, Travellerspoint, Travelpod, Realtravel, Bootsnall, Matador, Mytripjournal, Travbuddy, Blogabond, WorldNomads, Trayle, and Getjealous. Feel free to check them out, and/or see my recommendations below.

Bob’s picks

If you’re already a gung-ho Facebook user and don’t mind sending your family members there, then this is a solid choice. Easy to use, very functional, a site you already know, and there’s no risk that the company will suddenly disappear.

For about everyone else, I’d recommend RealTravel. They have great-looking journals, integrated photos and maps, and the ability for others to post comments to your journal. On the surface, relative to other entrants RealTravel looks to have some momentum as a company, and this may give them a little more staying-power.

I hope this helps. Good luck with your online journal, and best wishes for a Fat Passport!

Bob

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