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| Into the Void, Brazil. Found at Vagabondish |
ON MY MIND
It’s been super crazily busy days. I am so glad I did not make it to Frequent Traveler University as I am barely keeping it all together after my trip to Norway! And I am rejecting potential clients left and right lately so I can bring this blog to you. Ok, I am kidding…I am rejecting them because they are not the perfect fit! “If client don’t fit, I won’t commit” (remember that OJ lawyer line with the glove?) I just made that up!
I am tormented on what to do with my blog…
AFFILIATE LINKS: WHAT’S WRONG WITH THEM?
This is the BEST EVER response I have seen on the subject. It was posted by Seth of the Wandering Aramean in this FlyerTalk thread. I so agree with it! Seth, that was brilliant and so eloquently stated!
There is nothing inherently wrong with them. Like most marketing/advertising, when used in context they are subtle, helpful to the consumer (reader in this case) and everyone wins. When they start to skew the content, however, it becomes a more challenging situation. When, as a reader, I have to stop to consider whether the information is being shared because it is good for me or because it is good for the author that’s more of a problem.
There was a period of time when the revenue side of the points & miles blogging worlds wasn’t such big business. It was easier then to trust that the information you were getting was reasonably unbiased, or at least not motivated by the financial gain of the author. That is a much riskier assumption today vis a vis CC information.
There is also the part where content is being “invented” as a means to push more CC links. It isn’t compelling content without the blatant advertising layered in on top. Too much of that and the average value of the content overall goes down to a level such that it stops being worth parsing through chaff to find the wheat.
I also saw a tweet by Seth this morning that an industry exec said something to the effect of ‘forget miles, it will all be $$$$ based in just two years”. I think he may be off by a year, very likely not more than two!
MILES/POINTS
The Points Traveler has a fantastic introduction to the Basics of Manufactured Spending.
Register for Starwood’s promo for double points for stays from May 1 through July 31, 2013 here.
Looks like so many fellow bloggers are at FTU. Perhaps they take it easy posting this whole weekend so I can catch a breather. Muchas gracias!!And just as I was typing this, Gary Leff at View from the Wing posted a wrapup of the Freddie Awards. I don’t get it….what is it with Marriott winning again so many categories, hmmm.
TRAVEL
16 of the Cheapest ovewater bungalow and water villa resorts in the world. (HT to Million Mile Secrets and Miles to the Wild)
The World’s Tiniest Hotel Rooms. These rooms give Gary Leff horrific nightmares:-)
Under the Greek Sky. Timelapse Video. Wow!
ODDZ & ENDZ
Nada.
Hilton won’t win a Freddy this year.
They will if they learn how to get their members to vote like Marriott does;-)
Neither will Delta
I was at these a few years ago. I sat in a table with a Delta Skymiles exec. I was shocked to see him there and asked him “What the hell are you doing there?”. He was the first one up and beat me to the buffet line:-)
Tormented? The answer is simple; hang in there and keep on blogging. Your readers will thank you. You’re that breath of fresh air we so badly need. I thank you in advance. And besides, your grammar and spelling is superior.
Thank you very much, your kind words are very appreciated. Yeah, I will keep on blogging and see what happens. I intend to keep it fun and not make it take over my life. But sometimes I do wonder if it is worth it and whether I should just move on. The pudding guy moved on…he picked running Marathons.
#Developing
‘I don’t get it….what is it with Marriott winning again so many categories, hmmm.’
George, the freddies are a contest on how many of your customers you can get to vote for you when you alert them via you newsletters, website etc. Marriott has that down to an art.
They certainly do!
Kind of reminds me of the new seven wonders competition not too long ago. That’s all I have to say on that matter. 🙂
I’d suggest a ‘once a week’ cc link, or do as many other ‘smart’ bloggers do, just set up a link above, the way Rick and Darius do. The faster you start with the cc links, the faster you’ll attract new readers (who will take pleasure in bashing you). It’s a win-win!
dhammer53
There is just so much I need to do before I get there…if I ever do. When I do I expect you to click the ^%$# out of them like you promised:-) I won’t then just buy you coffee like some other blogger does, you pick the restaurant and I am buying, you earned it:-)
First, I need to get through this weekend lol
That time lapse video was possible the worst one you’ve ever posted–it was more of an everyday video shot by some guy playing with his camera, BBQ? barb wire fence? trash on the beach? I have that where I live!
In spite of this video, my wife and daughter are visiting Greece in July. 🙂
I am doing my best to get people to go to Greece! Yeah, that was not that good. The one I will post tomorrow will make up for it. You have my word for it, guaranteed!
G-Money — Your links to unusual and cool travel-related articles are the highlight of your blog, imho, and I really enjoy them…well, that and counting the number of exclamation points used per post. 🙂 Keep it up!!
Thanks!
kept it to just one exlamation mark:-)
‘Under the Greek Sky. Timelapse Video. Wow!’
Around 0:50 you can see flies circling a dead tortoise… lol!
Keeping it real:-)
Buzz, we have both been pretty hard on MMS interviews lately and rightfully so. But darn it Buzz, I like these 2 kids in today’s interview, and deserve some kudos for their site and the way they do it. Kudos to TRAVEL IS FREE. gracias, Chico Escuela
I am getting to it. I just never liked their title as Travel is not free:-)
I really like them too. Here’s what they did in Bali, the answer to Daraius’s “What’s your most memorable travel experience?”
“But if we had to pick one, it would no doubt be our time in Bali in January last year. It was incredible. We met a family with a little homestay – Hoky Homestay in Amed, Bali. They realized we weren’t wealthy tourists, so they treated us like family.
Everyday they fed us fresh fish that our friend Made caught that morning. He also took us out on his boat and it was just incredible. We saw hundreds of dolphins… not even joking. They let us use their scooter and snorkel gear. I can’t tell you how much they made us feel like family. The Balinese people are wonderful and it’s a lush, beautiful island with a unique culture.
Since the Bali Hyatt was only 5,000 points I asked if they would join us. They came from poor families and they knew the Hyatt was where Obama stayed. They were anxious and excited and we all spent some time at the Hyatt before we flew out. Made kept thanking me and said “I and my family would never have this opportunity. Not in many lifetimes…” “
Compare that to one more over-the-water bungalow story. To say it doesn’t even come close is just such an understatement. And I love that they don’t buy anything new. My fav of the 3 Rs is “reuse” and I try to implement it whenever possible, which for me is not always. So kuddos to these kiddos!!!
That was one of the most interesting MMS inteviews in a long time. I wonder if I will feel the same if they now have a series of posts with affiliate links in them like the Free Travel Guys (and so many former interviewees had done so in the past).
I like variety. This is certainly a different approach in life. Must be nice not to have any kids. Many thoughts entered my brain as I was reading about their life philosophy. In a way I do admire it but, at the same time, I wonder…how do they make money to live? Do they save for retirement? How will they support themselves if they are no longer working? They do look young, just wait until that first pregnancy test is positive and maybe they will grow up fast:-) Yes the Bali story was wonderful indeed….I ‘ll take that in the place of a dom champagne in a flat bed or another lounge’s “free” snacks