Danielle's+Special+Interest+Community+-+Travel


 * 1/29**

For my special interest community practicum assignment, I want to join discussions, blogs and chat rooms filled with individuals interested in traveling to Italy. Ever since going to Italy for study abroad last summer, I’ve wanted to go back. This project will allow me to share a bit of what I know about Italy with the community, but I’m also hoping to learn something new about Italy and myself. I joined TravBuddy (a site about meeting others to travel with and to discuss travel plans) and I am going to participate in a discussion board about anything and everything related to travel to Italy. Here is the profile I created:



I also joined the Slow Travel Talk chat room (a chat about travel in general) but I did not see anyone in the chat room and I sat in the chat room for over an hour. I hope someone will join the chat soon and actually talk to me! Until then, I am looking out for other travel chats that have more users.

I am officially a member of Travel Blog Exchange as well. It seemed to have a lot of blogs from individuals who've traveled to Italy in the past and who are there now. I hope I can get a discussion going by responding to blog posts and also by sharing what I know about Italy with others who are there now.

That is all for now. Ciao and stay tuned for more!


 * 2/2**

A lot has happened in the past few days. On TravBuddy I found two posts on my wall, someone "smiled" at me, and I've been responding back and forth on forums about traveling to Italy. The most rewarding part is answering someone's question and then maintaining a presence on the forum to see how much (or little) I've been able to help out that person with their travel needs. For example, this is the forum where I am answering and responding to coffeeshoplove's questions about budgeting money for Italy travel and some activities she could do while she is there. I recommended a bike trip in Lucca, since many students from my study abroad program loved doing that last summer:



It's cool to be a part of the TravBuddy community because coffeeshoplove sent me a wall post thanking me for the advice I gave her in the forum, and another member wrote on my wall telling me to create a blog about the restaurants and some of the cheaper, local places to eat in Florence. Of everything I've joined, TravBuddy has certainly been the most welcoming (and friendly since it recommends I send "smiles" to other members). I also decided to start my own post in the forum to see the kinds of responses I get. I will post the responses as they come in.

The Slow Travel Talk chat room turned out to be a fail since I still haven't seen anyone in the chat room (and I've had myself logged into that chat room for at least two hours now). Now I am a member of the Travel Europe fan page on Facebook, where it seems like individuals ask travel questions on the page and they are either answered by other group members or the administrator of the page. I will have to test this out and see what I discover about this fan page.

I also started posting responses to blogs on the Travel Blog Exchange Web site. One blog post was describing the unique drinks you can try in Italy - and some of the drinks are obviously a bit different than the ones in the United States. One is called "Grappa," which is a drink made from grapes left over from wine making and Italians usually have it as digestivo after dinner. The blogger wanted users to comment on travel drinks. Of course I had to respond about the best drink I had in Florence - a caiprioska alla fragola (I seriously wish I could find these things in the United States):




 * 2/4**

So to update everyone on how the special interest community is going, I now have two friends on TravBuddy, started a message on the forum (and I've already gotten a response), have received two smiles from other members, have had three different members post messages on my wall, and am messaging another member back and forth about visiting Bologna, Italy. Here's what my wall/friends status looks like now:



Here's my post on the forum and the response I received. I asked about hostels around Florence and other cities around the area that I should visit:



If anything, I've discovered TravBuddy has a very diverse group of people who don't mind helping out a fellow traveler if they need some advice! Maybe I can find someone who will want to meet up with me if (and when) I go back to Italy.

I have been posting responses to blogs on Travel Blog Exchange. I haven't heard any comments back from anyone, but I am learning a lot about Italy from these blogs - like that to get a spot on the beach in Viareggio you may have to shell out a few euro if you don't want to walk for miles to find a public beach. Large portions of the beach are private - so you may have to pay to get a spot on the sand!

I already posted and got a response from the group that runs the Travel Europe Facebook fan page. It looks like the person who runs the page answers a lot of questions that the "fans" ask, but I want to see if I can help answer any future (or maybe past) questions that people have had. Here's my post and response below. I wanted to know the best time to buy flights from the U.S. to Europe during the summer months:



More later...


 * 2/8**

As of right now, I love the TravBuddy site/forum the best because the members are quick to respond and give you honest advice that I am finding so helpful for if I go through and return to Italy again. Below is a series of messages back and forth with a fellow member about traveling to Bologna, Italy. If I hadn't started a message in the forum about recommended cities to travel to around Florence, I would have never found this individual to message back and forth with. Best part is that travpro11 (the person I am messaging with about Bologna) said there are cheap paninis and gelato right by the train station - and that it was all so delicious. Oh nom nom nom.



Here's a shot of me responding to a discussion in the forum about traveling to Pisa. My recommendation (as shared by other members of the travel community) is to make Pisa a half-day trip. There were cute shops in Pisa and I did try some pizza that doesn't compare to anything I've tasted in the United States (even though Glass Nickel is a favorite), but most members on the site agree that Pisa is not worth an overnight trip.



Ever since we started discussing the word "community" in class, it has helped me put into perspective which of the forums/blogs I would consider a community or make me feel like I am part of a community. It is very interesting to me how different Travel Blog Exchange and Travel Europe feel as compared to TravBuddy - the friendliness on TravBuddy doesn't compare to the others.


 * 2/10**

So I forgot to post some of what I am doing on Travel Europe. There is a discussion about your favorite places to visit in Europe, and I wanted to add in my two cents about Italy. So here you go. Maybe someone - besides the moderator of the page - will respond to my post.




 * 2/14**

Travel Blog Exchange is unique in that it is not just a bunch of amateur bloggers who write about their trips around the world, but it is also a place for these bloggers to connect with travel industry professionals, vendors and advertisers. Some of the bloggers on here are actually professional travel writers too! There is also a Travel Blog Exchange event in New York City this summer where travel bloggers can go and get tips on travel photography, travel writing tips and podcasting. Although I am not a professional and do not currently have the money for a two day event in New York City, it is enjoyable to read and comment on what these bloggers write about in terms of Italy. Adena, one of the bloggers I commented on about Italian drinks, even has the Travel Channel adding comments to her blogs. I recently started following "Lindsey's" blog, and below is my comment about Italian food. I also learned that Lindsey was planning to go on an around the world trip this year (that would have been sweet), but decided against it due to costs and needing to stay at her job.




 * 2/16**

Luggage. It was the one thing that caused me the most problems when I went abroad. I didn't know what to bring. I did not know whether I should use a suitcase, backpack or a duffel bag. I found someone to help out on Travel Blog Exchange about this issue - Sonya, who is going to Verona, Italy - but it is so difficult for me to keep a constant connection with the users on Travel Blog Exchange because I do not have my own travel blog and Travel Blog Exchange does not have "profiles" in the same way as TravBuddy or Facebook. I can follow a blog...but I don't have something for other users to comment on - like my interests, when I've traveled, or where I want to travel.

Check out this difference in profiles between Travel Blog Exchange and TravBuddy:

Travel Blog Exchange:



TravBuddy:



Travel Blog Exchange has a place where I could put my blog - if I were traveling - and it shows whose blogs I've commented on. TravBuddy is more like a profile that you'd see on Facebook, but obviously catered to traveling.

Let's be real now - TravBuddy is absolutely amazing! I came to the realization this past weekend that I need to figure out if my dream of traveling to Italy again will become a reality. I've got numerous messages and back and forth conversations with individuals on TravBuddy about wanting to be my travel buddy or who've seen my posts on forums throughout the site and are messaging me and seeing if I want to travel with them. Sweeeeeet!






 * 2/18**

I am trying to form some connections on the Travel Europe Facebook page - I am responding to people's comments on the site in the hopes that they will write me back.



I am also waiting for people I have responded to on the Travel Blog Exchange Web site to write me back. On the other hand, I have already commented on numerous blogs and have learned a lot about Italy - and hopefully I've been able to share some of my knowledge of Europe with them. I am really excited to go to a beach in Italy now - the pictures I've seen of them are absolutely gorgeous.

Viareggio - so pretty:



My comments on Viareggio:




 * 2/25**

I truly believe there is democracy on the Internet, even if you are looking at a special interest community. I've got messages started with individuals on TravBuddy that are going much more beyond the whole idea of traveling to Italy. I started talking to one member about meeting up for travel, but now we actually message and talk about things other than travel, such as our other interests, hometowns, and life in general. The community member I am talking to is from Australia, and apparently he lives right on a beach and sees whales out his window. I take this information with a grain of salt in case this individual is lying to me or pretending to be someone he is not, but below is some of what we've discussed:



Yet most of my conversations are actually still about travel to Italy, especially when I first start talking to someone. Here is a conversation I started on the message boards with another member about meeting up and traveling in Italy for nine days:




 * 3/4**

Alright, so I've looked back and realized that I haven't kept up so much with Travel Blog Exchange and Travel Europe on my wiki. So here is my chance to do so! Travel Europe is also a Web site as well as a Facebook group (I am surprised the Facebook group did not try to advertise the Web site more, but that is okay). So after my discovery I decided to check out the site. I was fairly disappointed when I found out that the Web site was nothing more than a place to buy and compare rates on flights and hotels. After being a member of the Facebook group, I thought there would be more to the site than just links to external sites to purchase accommodations and flights. Yes, I was wrong.



Oh well, at least I still have the Travel Europe Facebook fan page. No one has ever responded to any of my posts on the fan page (except for the moderator), which is quite frustrating when I try starting or adding my own pieces of advice about travel to Italy in order to help out fellow travelers.

On the other hand - I am finally feeling like a member of the Travel Blog Exchange community! Yes, I've always felt like Travel Blog Exchange is a community, but because I am not currently traveling and because I do not have a travel blog, individuals on the site do not tend to respond to my posts or send me messages. But I've finally got some contact with bloggers on the site! I've been following "Lindsey's" blog, and I wrote about how I loved the food in Florence and I enjoyed eating at the restaurants off the beaten path with hardly any tourists. The pasta with tomato and vodka sauce I had there still makes my mouth water. Lindsey's partner Blake wrote me back and said that my post reminded him of a restaurant they went to in Siena (and for fellow travelers, you must go to Siena. It is not only gorgeous, but also just a great, all around place to chill, have some gelato, and get away from the bustling big city life). Check out my response below:



I don't know how many high school teachers stressed study abroad to Italy to their students (trust me, mine sure didn't) but I decided to add my own two cents to the issue when I found a blog about this topic started on Travel Blog Exchange:



That's what I've got for now. Stay tuned for more details!


 * 3/9**

Besides visiting Italy, I had the chance to take a small Eurotrip up through Italy to the coast of France, over to Barcelona, up to Madrid, over to Paris, and then back up to London. Some of the TravBuddy members I communicate with are taking Eurotrips that also include stops to other countries that I've also gotten to visit, so I like to give advice about those countries when I can. Below is some of my advice about Barcelona:



Response to a blog post in Travel Blog Exchange about purchasing summer flights to Europe:



Responding to a post in Travel Blog Exchange from "Lindsey" and the part of her trip that included a stop in Paris. This was also part of the same blog that responded to a comment I made about the food in Italy:




 * 3/16**

There's something I realized as I've been doing this project. Instead of just talking about travel to Italy on the various Web sites, I've been talking about other things as they've been coming up in my life. For instance, I found that my going to New York City over spring break has had me talking with other members on TravBuddy and on Travel Blog Exchange about New York City. I am still talking about travel in Italy, as I have below in one post about going by train through Europe (I discussed my experiences with Eurail):



Message back and forth with another member about meeting up and traveling in Italy:



Here's where I started talking about New York City. I really want to learn more about New York City from other forums, but I also want to help out others who may be traveling to New York in the future. Here I am letting another member on TravBuddy know about my recommendations in New York City:



I commented on another member's blog in Travel Blog Exchange about New York City:



Beyond what I've been doing on TravBuddy and Travel Blog Exchange, I had to shut down my membership on Travel Europe because my comments were appearing in online searches like Google when my name was searched. I didn't think this would happen because I was on the group through Facebook, but I guess I was wrong. To solve this problem, I joined CouchSurfing! Below is my profile:



I'll let you know more about the CouchSurfing site as I go on it more. It has forums and areas where you can communicate with other members, whether through allowing them to sleep on your couch or by staying on other people's couches. There is definitely an area where I can discuss traveling in Italy, as well as my upcoming, more recent trip to New York. I will keep you all posted!


 * 3/21**

Today I joined some of the groups on the CouchSurfing Web site. One of the groups is the Europe group and the other group is the Florence group. Here is a screen shot of some of the posts on the Florence group. Unlike TravBuddy, a lot of the posts are from people who are already in Florence or who want to stay on someone's couch at the last minute. I thought there would be more comments from people in general who want to visit Florence. There are a few, as some people on the site are looking at buying train tickets and are trying to figure out the costs associated with that. But in general I've also noticed that the comments are answered by Florence locals - and not just those who have visited Florence before.



It is also interesting to mention that CouchSurfing has a Wiki. Who knew?


 * 4/6**

Well after a semi-relaxing spring break, it is back to the school work and time to prepare for the last few weeks of the semester. Pretty crazy how fast time has been flying by. Here's some of what I've been up to lately on all of my sites.

On TravBuddy, the members I talk to a lot are actually Facebook friends with me now. It seems like the people I get closer with on the site swift away from the site and start messaging me on other sites. I think this may be because TravBuddy, although very user friendly, is not as familiar as sites like Facebook and Twitter. I think there is a level of comfort with Facebook that people (even myself included) would rather form a deeper connection on Facebook as compared to another Web site. I still use TravBuddy though, but I seem to use it more for interacting with people who I don't know very well. I am also still actively posting on the forums as well.





Unexpected encounters are very common on these forums, too. On Travel Blog Exchange, I got a rather interesting comment from an individual who apparently was intrigued by my profile. It was a little strange, as I have never gotten a comment like the one below on any of my profiles!



Comment someone left on one of my posts on Travel Blog Exchange!



Also, here is a post in the Europe group on the CouchSurfing Web site. Here I am giving my advice about not planning too much ahead of time before traveling to Europe!




 * 4/17**

I have a cool story to share about CouchSurfing and how the site brings together individuals from all different walks of life. Last night I was at the Union with my sister, two international grad students and two girls from Minneapolis. We all got to talking as to how we all met the international grad students, and it turns out that the girls from Minneapolis met the international grad students through CouchSurfing! Over spring break our international friends wanted to spend time in Minneapolis and contacted those girls on the Web site to see if they had a couch to stay on. The girls let the international students stay on their couch and then they all got to see the city. I then told the girls that I had recently joined CouchSurfing but I do not have any vouches yet and I haven't gotten any requests from anyone to meet up in Madison. The girls were super nice and said they could vouch for me on the site! It is so crazy how everyone is connected in this small world.

Anyway, as far as my trip to Italy this summer goes, I'm holding off on it for now since one of my friends who studied abroad with me last summer is going to do a spring semester program in Bologna in 2011. I would love to meet up with her and travel around Italy then since we had a blast together last summer, and I could probably find a cheaper flight if I went during the winter months. But there is always time for me to change my mind and buy a ticket to Italy now! I am still having fun giving advice about Italy and talking with individuals on the sites who have an interest in travel.




 * 4/18**

Here are the updates from my travel sites. Below is the recent friend request and message from a user on the TravBuddy Web site:



On Travel Blog Exchange, one of the blogs I was reading was discussing train travel in the United States and how it was similar/different to train travel in Europe. I went by train in Europe a lot, so I know a lot about how train travel works, how quick the trains are, how comfortable they are, etc. Below is my response:



When I was on the CouchSurfing Web site, I got a message from an individual from Italy who wanted to meet up and get coffee. Considering I don't actually have a ticket to Italy, I don't think I'll be meeting up anytime soon.



Below is a post I wrote on CouchSurfing, and hopefully I'll get some responses and can post the information on my wiki!