Everything Everywhere: Around the World Travel Blog Travel blogging around the world

I’ve published my first article for the Huffington Post today. Please check it out and leave a comment!

20 Things I’ve Learned From Traveling Around the World for Three Years

On March 13, 2007, I handed over the keys to my house, put my possessions in storage and headed out to travel around the world with nothing but a backpack, my laptop and a camera.

Three and a half years and 70 countries later, I’ve gotten the equivalent of a Ph.D in general knowledge about the people and places of Planet Earth.

Here are some of the things I’ve learned:

1) People are generally good. Many people are afraid of the world beyond their door, yet the vast majority of humans are not thieves, murderers or rapists. They are people just like you and me who are trying to get by, to help their families and go about living their lives. There is no race, religion or nationality that is exempt from this rule. How they go about living their lives might be different, but their general goals are the same….

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I’d like to formally announce the Everything Everywhere Travel Forum!

This hasn’t really been much of a secret if you have been following me on Twitter or Facebook the last two weeks. I’ve been inviting other bloggers to participate in the forum to try to get things off the ground. Already there are over 150 people registered on the site, and I haven’t had a single bit of spam get past the goalie. (crosses fingers)

My goal in creating the forum was several fold:

• Didn’t like the status quo. I wasn’t happy with many of the current forums dedicated to travel. Some have been around a long time and just died out. Some have horrible software which makes it hard to follow. Some are hosted by huge companies which means you have tons of people who pop in for one question and then leave. You also have no idea who anyone is.
• Social media isn’t good for serious discussion. Many people think that Twitter and Facebook are killing off forums. I am certainly very bullish on both Twitter and Facebook, but they both have their limitations. Facebook is so walled off it is hard to have a discussion that is open to and visible to everyone. The 140 character limit on Twitter makes it impossible to have a real discussion about important issues. A forum solves both problems. It is visible and open to everyone, and it allows for posts beyond 140 characters to discuss issues in depth.
• Community. I wanted a place where people could ask questions about travel and have them answered by real travelers who have been there and done that. I haven’t been everywhere, but between the entire of the travel blogosphere, I think the world is pretty much covered.

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