as I was saying....

Sorry, I had to go deal with my "honking goose" cough and in my absence, Chris took over the computer! Anyway, I read this article about how some people get free trips and payment (money, computers, etc.) for blogging about their trips. I totally think someone should pay me to travel to their country and then blog about it. I say that, but then when I think about it seriously, do I really want that? Do I want to be beholden to some country or city because they paid my way? What if I had a really bad time? Would I feel okay saying that even though I know the reason they gave me the trip/money wasy to say good things?

And, how would anyone know for sure whether they could trust what I said? That's essentially what the article says: You can't know if a travel blog is being sponsored by someone, so take them all with a grain of salt. Seems a bit cynical, but then again, how do you not look at it that way? One thing the article mentions is that some people were flowen over to Amsterdam all expenses paid (flight, hotel, attractions) and in return, the bloggers added a "Bloggers in Amsterdam" logo to their blog. Is that so wrong? I visit sites all the time of regular 'ole people who are bloggers with logos on their site. I've seen a ton with Amazon logos/links. The article kind of turned me off a little bit. It just felt so negative.

I think there is a place for bloggers in the travel industry. I think their travel experiences are valid for them. So what if their trip was paid for, if they genuinely enjoyed their experience, I want to hear about it (actually, I think there's a lot to be said for hearing about the negative too). And speaking of travel blogs, Johnny Jet's is awesome! Makes me want to travel...bad! So, who's gonna ante up to send me to Europe?