Alternatives To Blogging For Sharing & Connecting On The Road
It’s the day after Thanksgiving and hopefully all of you are happily digesting both the food and love from yesterday. For those curious we deep-fried our turkey (Paul’s dad carries a fryer in his RV), and Paul is currently in process of making his own recipe of Spanish/Cuban-style Croquettas from the left-overs. Yes, I’m a lucky woman.
For today’s post, I thought I’d continue with some additional (inspired) thoughts I had from my darker side of blogging post. More specifically I wanted to touch on ideas other than blogging.
You see many folks that go on the road want to be able to have a record of what they’ve seen and/or stay in touch with friends and/or meet people. The “obvious” answer of “just start a blog” may really not be right for everyone. For some it’s a fascinating challenge, but for others it’s a daunting prospect especially if you feel you aren’t the writing type or just don’t want to have that kind of work or online presence. So, what’s an intrepid traveler to do?
Thankfully there are several other avenues for both telling your story and connecting with others, many of which are FAR less work than blogging. Here’s some ideas:
1/ Facebook
This is not a “new” medium by any means, but for many of us it’s one of the very easiest ways to stay connected to friends and family on the road.
On Facebook it’s effortless to post a comment about something you experienced or upload a few pics and you can do it from every platform (phone, tablet, computer etc.) you own. Friends will know where you are, and can interact with you through the comments. If you don’t want your personal and travel page to be the same, you can set-up a separate page for your travel stories and if you don’t want that page to be public you can simply change the settings to whatever level of privacy you’d like.
The biggest negative to this medium? Facebook has the terrible habit of bringing to the top of your page whatever was commented on last. So, it’s easy to lose the chronological order of things and if someone comments on something you wrote 8 months ago, well then it’s suddenly at the top of your page again. For looking back at your travels (after you’re done) it’s not a great medium. Also you don’t really “own” how your stuff is presented on Facebook. It’s part of their social media platform and you’re constantly at the mercy of what Facebook decides to do (which posts they promote on friends feeds, how they arrange things etc.). This can get frustrating.
On the positive side, in addition to presenting your own travels there are tons of Facebook RV groups (all kinds) which are very social and interactive, so if you’re looking for community this is a super easy place to find it. Many of the RV Facebook groups offer meet-ups and convergences too, so if you want to go to the big show in Quartzsite in January, say and you don’t want to go on your own, you can easily find a like-minded group to join up with. We’ve never had a “Wheelingit” Facebook page, but I keep a personal page (close friends only) and I’m a member of 3 different RV Facebook groups.
2/ Instagram
I didn’t discover this medium until last year, but I’ve come to looooooove Instagram (IG). Just post a pic and write a line or two and you’re done! If you want to write a story or even a whole blog post underneath the pic you can do that too, but it’s completely up to you. Just shoot, upload, enjoy. If you like photography it’s a drool-worthy outlet, plus Instagram keeps your pics in chronological order so you can always go back and relive the moments from the app. And if you add location to your pics (as you’re doing them) you’ll have them all in map-form too!
The main negative of IG? It’s phone (or pad) only, so you have to manage everything via the IG App thro’ those mediums. If you like doing all your stuff on your phone it’s a snap, but if (like me) you don’t like taking pics with your phone and/or you process on your computer that means you have to get your pics from your camera (or computer) to your phone before you can upload them. It’s not a huge barrier, but it does add an extra step to the process.
This big positive of that this medium is that it’s sooooo easy to use that many of the younger RVers I know use it exclusively for their travels. In fact we’ve connected to a whole sub-group of RVers through IG that we would never had otherwise met. Most of the van-folk and airstream-folk I know are on there as well as the younger solos and traveling families. Almost none of these folks read blogs, but ALL of them are on IG.
If you’re new to the road and really don’t want the work of a blog, but you like photos and want a super-easy (and very social) way to present your travels I really, really recommend IG. Both Paul and I have our own accounts there (wheelingit_paul and wheelingit_nina) so feel free to connect with us if you sign-up.
3/ YouTube
Maybe you hate writing, but you love filming? If so there’s a whole sub-culture on YouTube that may fit your interests. There’s folks who do Vlogs (video logs) of their travels, folks who create RV repair or tech videos, folks who tell stories and they run the gamut from amateur to professional-style. I’ve used YouTube many times for looking up tech repairs (loooove RV Geeks) and following friends (like Gone With The Wynns and Technomadia), but we’ve never really done much ourselves there.
The advantages of YouTube are that it’s a huge medium (waaaay more potential for subscribers), Google Ads pay waaaay better on video (if that’s of interest to you) and you do keep a chronological order of everything you’ve done. Plus video is king in our modern world and if you want to be part of the biggest growth medium (social-media wise) there is no doubt that THIS is the medium to be in.
The big negatives are that video can be a TON of work (especially if you want to present something polished) and it can gobble up a lot of data (always a potential issue for nomads on data-limited plans). Plus it’s open to the world and it can come with all the downsides of internet trolls (which seem to be even worse on video). You do put yourself “out there” more on video IMHO.
4/ RVillage
For folks who aren’t interested in blogging, or vlogging, or IGing or any of that stuff but just want a map of where they’ve stayed and to connect with other RVers on the road, I think RVillage is one of the nicest mediums out there.
Once you’ve created an account just “check in” whenever you arrive anywhere new (for boondockers you can “check in” to a town and not give away your exact location if you don’t want to) and you can immediately see who else is in your RV park or area. Then if you want to connect, just send them a message. Since the whole thing is map-based you can even look ahead on your route and connect to people at your next spot before you even arrive.
RVillage keeps a map of everywhere you’ve checked in so you have a kind of travel map (“my places”) of where you’ve been and also offers a bunch of groups where you can connect with like-minded people too. The big negatives is that it doesn’t really provide a means to present your travel story (there is a blog feature on there, but I haven’t found it interesting) and there’s no chronological history on your “my places” map. So, for keeping a memory of your travels it’s really not the best medium. But if you just want to be social and connect with folks without any of the “media” effort, there is no place easier.
There are lots of other platforms out there for sharing and connecting including RV Forums, semi-blogging platforms like Trip Journal, RV travel groups and plain ‘ol e-mail updates, but the above are my absolute favorites. The bottom line is that you don’t HAVE to blog to share your travels and/or be social on the road. And if you just want to “lurk” and follow others that’s perfectly fine too. In our connected world, there’s something for everyone.
Do you have any favorite mediums that I missed? Feel free to share and comment below.
Nina, are you familiar with Facebook Notes? Earlier this Fall Facebook revamped Notes to turn it into a blogging platform. I have used it some for business – anyway here is a link to an article on the topic. http://thenextweb.com/facebook/2015/09/25/facebook-turns-notes-into-a-blogging-platform-with-revamped-interface/
Medium (https://medium.com/) is also a widely used blogging platform.
No, I haven’t seen that before. It’s a very interesting alternative and a nice extension for those folks using Facebook anyway. Thanks for sharing!
Nina
Both Facebook Notes and Medium (as well as LinkedIn Publisher) still use “blogging” as a way express yourself but avoid the need to set up a “traditional” blog.
Well I was just going to ask the same thing.
I have a blog that family and friends see and this way other friends can follow on FB. I have always used their notes but now it’s even better. I also hash tag any travel related note so I can find them at any time.
I tend to prefer the blog because if I so much as OPEN FB I get caught up in other discussions not to mention administration duties in 3 groups.
I have been thinking about Instagram so thanks for the review.
I’m with you. Facebook can be a HUGE time-sink LOL. I tend to get side-tracked pretty fast whenever I go there. Then again Instagram can be pretty addicting too. Be forewarned 🙂
Nina
That’s why I call it Crack Book. 🙂
First, I really enjoy your blog, so thank you! I use the sponsored links every time I read it.
Second, I’m probably dating myself here, but we have a pretty journal that we use a (gasp) pencil or pen to jot down notes from the day. Someday I’m going to learn how to draw so we can have pictures, but for now, it’s just notes.
Yes, I am a neo-Luddite 🙂
Indeed, I didn’t even mention good old-fashioned journaling (or scrap-booking), both of which can be a very rewarding way to keep track of your travels. Plus you can share them with folks by good ol-fashioned lending and reading. I journaled extensively during my back-packing days and still enjoy reading those old entries. Sometimes the “old” ways are cool too 🙂
Nina
I know you’ve covered this in the past but I get the feeling there might be an ‘update’ so excuse my asking again: bearing in mind we’re not familiar with all the methods you explain above: What’s the best computer-based method of recording one’s itinerary as they go along, a map, with adding ‘pins’ and short campground details along the way, and, can they be built up, added to, and viewable, OFFline?
I’d like to make such a map for all the campgrounds/boondock places we know now, in one color, and perhaps other pins in another color for places you have reviews about, and so forth.
Thanks
Ah yes, mapping is practically a whole other blog post. I’ve written about my own mapping choices HERE, but that’s mostly related to maps for bloggers.
If you just want to keep a detail of what you’re doing you may actually like Trip Journal. I personally find it a bit tough to read, but it’s definitely an easy (tech-free) way to map where you’ve been and include notes (and pics if you wish) along the way.
There are many other Travel Aps and programs out there, but I’m not very familiar with them. Maybe others will chime in here.
Nina
Thank you for this great list, Nina. I’m a big fan of IG & journaling in my Moleskine. I take photos with my phone & then use IG on my Macbook to post them. Works perfectly but I can see it would be a hassle to take photos with something other than your phone & try to upload them. I deactivate my FB account while we’re traveling due to privacy/security concerns.
Your Thanksgiving Day sounds amazing! It’s so great to move beyond the conventional dinner.
Oh yeah the good ‘ol Moleskin. That’s what I backpacked with too, back in the day. Great journals.
We had a kind of Cuban/American Thanksgiving dinner. Deep-fried turkey with two sides (black beans & rice, plus apple arugula salad) and Cuban Flan for desert. Plus we topped it all off with a big bottle of Prosecco. It was super tasty!
Nina
Good write up. I’ve been blogging for 3 years. Last year, I started adding video as another medium to record my travels. A blog write-up with pictures is a good way to record the breath of an experience, but video lets relive a great specific moment. I got dashcam and started recording scenic roads. I also started experimenting with vlogs this year. It’s a very different experience putting yourself in front of the camera and speaking coherently. It’s probably not for everyone, but, learning how to create and edit video is a neat new skill to learn. I like going back and re-reading my blog posts but it’s even better to be able to go back and see video of a great road or place. A picture brings back a memory. A video lets re-live it.
J. Dawg
I enjoy video for exactly the reason you mentioned, and it’s definitely the biggest growing social medium out there (writing is becoming “old-fashioned”, as many magazines and newspapers have discovered). We may experiment with video at some point since I do like the creative challenge of it, but I’m still not sure. Time-wise it’s yet another big investment. Good to hear you’re enjoying it!
Nina
I with you on video – I would like to add some to our blog but really think we spend more than enough time on our blog as it is. After all we want it to be fun and not that dreaded “work” we all hear about…
Yup that’s what worries me. It’s yet another big time sink. I think I’d enjoy the creative aspect of it, but not sure I’d like the extra work. I’m in awe of the folks who “do it all”.
Nina
Instead of calling today Happy Day after Thanksgiving Day it should be called “I can’t believe I Ate the whole thing Day! “
Thanks for this article, Nina. We are not much into social media but might be interested in one or two of the alternatives you mentioned to stay connected when we begin our rv adventures next year.
I think it’s nice to have a sharing platform when you travel, and blogging is definitely not for everyone. Glad I could give you some ideas for other outlets!
Nina
Thanks so much for including us in your YouTube round-up… we loooove you guys, too! And we’re part of a YouTube “sub-culture”? COOL! Sounds exotic and exciting! LOL!
One other nice feature about YouTube is that you can upload videos as “un-listed”… so you can share moments of a more personal nature with friends or family without the video being visible to the public or searchable (although the link can be forwarded to anyone… and anyone with the link can view the video). There’s a “Private” option that lets you share a video with another YouTube user… but it’s so restrictive that we’ve never gotten it to work very well!
Great write-up as always, Nina! Thanks for sharing!!!
Good tips!! Since I know absolutely nothing about YouTube it’s great to hear from the pros. Had no idea about the unlisted option. Great info.
Nina
Does Facebook keep the trolls out for you? Or do you find a lot of that sort of thing there too?
I love watching good YouTube videos, and enjoy that I can look up anything, any subject, and good video material to watch. But I know what you mean about the comments there. They are brutal, I rarely find anything in the comments worthy of my time. Unfortunately, because a good comment section can be an awesome way to share and learn more for all users of the services.
Have you spent any time on Medium? If so, what are your thoughts on that site?
Facebook can have troll issues too, especially on a public page (not so much on a personal page since you have full control over who you accept as friends). It’s fairly easy to delete comments and ban people there, but it’s not immune to trolling.
I’ve never tried Medium. I know some writers use it, and Paul knows some financial microbloggers that use it (also Tumblr), but I think it may be a tad limited for RV bloggers. Seems to be mostly a text-based platform with not many pics? But I admit I haven’t personally tried it so can’t really say more.
Nina
Thanks for the reply and clarification. Best regards going foreword. 🙂
Hi – I currently use MyTripJournal when we travel – not full time yet – so I may change mediums when we start FT next September!
I know quite a few RV folks who use My TripJournal. I certainly like how easy it is to use, especially for travelers (the map integration is great), but I admit I do find the format a tad limiting & hard to read. It’s nice to have options.
Nina
Hi- I just wanted to say that I just found your blog, and absolutely love it. I’m a young sixty, very independent, planning to sell my home in two years, purchase a fifth wheel, and take off with my Jack russell and parrot.
I’ve only read a few of your posts so far, but they are impressive that you put so much effort into being so descriptive and helpful. Your photos are also amazing.
I also love writing and photography, and not sure I will have a blog, but want to write about my travels.
I look forward to reading your previous stories to catch up, and follow your posts.
Reading about where you’ve been, and seeing the photos, makes me want to go now!!
G;ad I found this,
take care
Barbara
Welcome to the blog!! You have a wonderful plan and will be in the company of many other inspiring ladies on the road. If you haven’t seen my post on solo ladies, you may want to read and connect to some of the fabulous gals in there. Click here -> RVing & Travelling As a Single Lady
Nina
Hello,
I’ve been interested in starting a blog, and have a ton of questions. I’m wondering if you could answer a couple.
First, assuming I’m using WordPress, is it possible to try it out offline without having a webhost site? I’d like to practice and see if I have the knack without having to commit to something online beforehand.
Second, are you able to create a new blog post without Internet access, then upload it when it’s available? I’m at the mercy of free wi-fi when I travel, but would like the option of writing and formatting it while I’m offline.
Been reading your blog for a couple years, and while I’m not much of a commenter, appreciate hearing of your experiences. I used to be a West Coaster, so especially enjoy reading of your PNW travels.
Thanks!
JimS,
1/ Yes you can signup for a free-hosted version on WordPress.com. Takes less than 10 mins to setup, doesn’t cost a thing and you can try out blogging for as long as you like before you self-host. I did this with my own blog for the first 4 years or so. It’s a great platform and you don’t need any tech know how to use it.
2/ On Windows you can use Windows Live Writer to write your blogs offline and publish later. Works great with just a few minor negatives (e.g. you can’t caption pics). I know many bloggers who use it. I’m not a Mac person so don’t know if a similar thing exists for Mac users.
Nina
Thanks for the great info, Nina. Facebook — nope, not going there. It would be a black hole for me. Instagram is intriguing, but in reality, our blog keeps me busy enough as it is. I kept a written journal for many years, and transitioning to a blog felt natural. I love reading blogs, and appreciate the time and skill involved in crafting an interesting post.
I love reading blogs too. I feel like I’m following along with a bunch of friends on their travels. Reading other people’s blogs is definitely part of what inspired me to start my own.
Nina
Nina, Was so nice running into you at Sam’s this morning. As I told you we still have 6 years. Can’t be fast enough. Just seeing you in person got me thinking how nice it will be on the road full time. Enjoy and thanks for sharing your life with us.
Bill
It was nice to meet you too! Wish you all the best of luck w/ your future plans. It’s great that you’re getting “out there” now even if it’s just for short trips.
Nina
Just discovered your blog about a week ago and I’m addicted to it! We will start full-timing in April. Your blog is so helpful and entertaining. We also love the PNW. Being born in Tacoma, I have rain in my blood! Thank you!
Cheryl
We loooooove the PNW, but I have to admit mostly in the summers. Still haven’t tried a winter there (maybe one day). Welcome to the blog!
Nina
hoping to go full time very soon, i just wanted to say THANK YOU for all you do..the blogs, the campground reviews, your you tube channel…THANK YOU so much,,,,thants it,,:-)
Just tuned in again to you, and how lucky with your alternative posting ideas!! Been following you for years and almost ran into you in a coastal campground once! It’s the Mt. Shasta folks again here…would still love to host you if you ever come down the dreaded I-5 trail. I had a blogger web presence for 6 yrs, My Sister Was a St.Bernard, and then it seemed I couldn’t resize pix well…ditto w/ WordPress, but FB does ok.
Need to revisit as well as explore the options you recommend. Best wishes and we shall meet someday! We have a teensy Aljo, but still haven’t found a good haul for it that’s reasonable, but a nice hottub and creek and woodsy parklike setting just north of Mt Shasta city/burghlette. Been here close to 40 years, so we can suggest like crazy for travelers! Very happy trails to you guys and all!
Aaargh !!! video blogs ! What active person has time for them ?
edward
It’s a huge investment of time, no doubt. I like the medium and I admire the folks who have the bandwidth (so to speak) to do them, but I haven’t been able to get into it so far.
Nina