You head out to dinner at the last minute, without a reservation, only to find that your favorite eatery that always has tables free is full. What to do? You're bored with the same-old and you didn't bring your favourite restaurant guide, so you decide to send a tweep on Twitter instead. Maybe someone knows of a fab new place to eat in your 'hood? And they do! And you quickly get a dozen other tweeps with tips... So, you can see yourself using Twitter for restaurant, hotel and bar recommendations, and no doubt other travel tips, but can you envisage planning a whole trip using Twitter? The Twitchhiker is, and in less than a week he leaves to travel the world for a month based on the kindness of Twitterers. However, The Guardian's Benji Lanyado has already conducted a variation of that experiment... Inspired by British actor etc Stephen Fry, who uses Twitter to get local suggestions when he travels, and compelled to test it out in Berlin after a flight delay, Benji set off for Paris recently on a 'Twi-trip'. He didn't plan anything in advance, arrived, then asked his Twitter-followers "I'm at the Gare du Nord, what should I do?" Have a read of Benji's Live Twi-Trip to Paris and his Verdict. Essentially, within 20 minutes Benji had received 17 suggestions, and 32 hours and 13 requests later, he'd had 253 suggestions! Apart from a few places being closed and others being miles away, Benji was pretty pleased with the tips he got. A few places he loved, such as Ateliers d'Artistes, Chartier, and Hotel Eldorado's bar, which he thought he might not have found on his own - although they have appeared in guidebooks and in the travel press. But, as Benji admitted, while he might have found lots of great stuff in a guide, he wouldn't have had as much fun. He writes: "The biggest overall impression? I've never felt so accompanied while travelling alone." The aim of Benji's experiment was to find out how Twitter can be used for travel. One thing it certainly demonstrated is, as Benji writes: "If you are at a loose end, or are looking to do something spontaneously, there are plenty people willing to help you." I'm very curious to see whether this sort of use of Twitter is just one more shift in the gradual evolution of travel, or whether it's going to represent a major revolution in the same way the Internet changed how we plan our trips and indeed how we travel.
Pictured? A bar in a very famous city. It's as popular with locals as it is with tourists - and with good reason. Do you know where it is? I bet someone out there does...
You've probably twittered to get a tip from other tweepers on a new place to dine at or have a drink, right? (That was a mouthful). But have any of you ever considered planning a whole trip around Twitter alone? Well, that's exactly what
The Twitchhiker (AKA Paul Smith, writer for The Guardian) is doing. This Twitterer hasn't started his journey yet. Paul is hitting the road on the 1st March to travel as far as he can around the world in a month on the goodwill and advice of twitterers alone. His aim is to raise money for Charity: water while experimenting with Twitter as a travel tool. You can read more about Paul's experiment in this story The Twitchhiker: one man on a Twitter travel mission and more about him on his site. Take a look at the rules that Paul has set himself. For instance, he's not going to allow himself to plan ahead more than three days in advance and he can only accept offers of travel and accommodation on Twitter, from users who are following him @twitchhiker. So Paul will be relying 100% on tweeps and the kindness and suggestions of Twitterers to ensure he doesn’t go without a roof over his head. Already he writes on his blog that he's getting a bit nervous and wondering whether he'll be sleeping on park benches. Another one of his rules: if he's unable to find a way to move on from a location within 48 hours, the challenge will be over and he'll have to go home. Let's hope that doesn't happen as this is going to be a fascinating travel experiment to watch. I'm wondering if it works, whether it will change the way some of us travel, and whether it might represent a travel revolution of sorts... what do you think? One way or another, I think The Twitchhiker is going to take us all on an amazing journey.
The pic? Venice again. I'm curious to see whether our Twitchhiker makes it to cities such as Venice - and Rome, Paris and Barcelona for instance - and whether he gets to visit such major tourist destinations on the generosity of strangers alone.
If you're not yet using Twitter and don't fully understand what it is yet - let alone how it might begin to change the way we travel - have a read of the Twitchhiker's post "What is Twitter? (Clue: It's not Facebook) where he asked his readers to describe what Twitter is and what it means to them, in 140 characters or less of course. These are just some of the insightful responses, but visit Twitchhiker to read more:
@littlecharva: SMS is whispering privately to a mate in a pub. Twitter is speaking loud enough for everyone to hear and including them in the conversation.
@rbourne: A community of thoughts, news and emotions mixed together to create an addictive service for one and all.
@markiina: Pretentious, I know, but to me Twitter is like watching the Tower of Babel being rebuilt, pebble by pebble.
@hydie: Twitter is people watching extreme!
@RachelSMorris: Twitter is like legalised stalking! making friends with strangers, sharing lives, connecting.
@brewster_d: My favourite waste of time. Random thought collector. Superficial social contact provider. Work avoider
@drewellis: Twitter introduces and connects me with new, interesting, like minded people all over the world I wouldn’t normally get to meet so quickly.
@lloydiboy: Twitter is a means of giving everyone a voice. Listen hard and the opinions of millions will touch you, make you laugh or cry.
@Catboy_Dubai: Twitter not only lets you peek through ppl’s curtains like a nosy neighbour but also allows a curtain-gap for ppl to see you.
@bungalowjoe: Twitter breaks down all cultural and class boundaries and allows people to share their viewpoint on everyday life
@maketravelfair: Twitter is a globally continuous thread of conversation that keeps you current, expands your world and engages you in it.
@bskinny72: Twitter to me is a group of new friends, comic conversations I cannot have due to lack of like minded friends, a fun distraction.
@PeteMP1992: Twitter is like loads of different birds which do great things when together, such as carrying whales.
And this one, which I love, from Paul himself:
@twitchhiker: Twitter is a room full of strangers. Talk just to your friends and you’ll leave the party early. Mingle, and you’ll learn, share and grow.
So what does Twitter mean to you and how do you think it will change the way we travel?
The image? A little bar in Venice that's pretty much locals only, apart from the odd tourist or three who are using a very good guidebook, have friends in Venice, or are perhaps getting their tips from tweeps.
How many of you have started using Twitter when you travel? For a while now I've been noticing a few tweets here and there, like "Can anyone recommend a good sushi joint in Castlemaine?" and "Checking out of the Cairo fleapit that was Lonely Planet's author choice. Alternatives please!"or "In Venice. Where are the Venetians to be found?!" But I'm wondering if two Twit-trips by travel writers for The Guardian, a recent one to Paris by Benji Lanyado and one coming up by Paul Smith AKA the Twitchhiker, are extensions of a gradual evolution of travel practices by Twitter that's already underway, or whether these journeys by Twitter represent - or perhaps might inspire - a travel revolution of a kind. Stay tuned for more thoughts on each, but in the meantime, a bit more about Twitter.
Pictured? Two young travellers looking a bit lost in Venice last summer. They could probably have done with some advice from Twitterers - or anyone for that matter. Me? I was working, sorry. It's bad enough poor Terry getting asked every ten minutes to take people's happy snaps when he's trying to shoot several hundred images for a guidebook.
