My Blogging Experience: Now and Then

My Blogging Experience: Now and Then

Then: Previous blogging

This wasn’t the first time I’ve had to blog as part of my course work. Last year we had to write blogs in groups for Contemporary Issues in Tourism. The Tough Tomatoes' blogging experience although enjoyable, didn’t offer much freedom. To me that’s what blogging is all about. It’s the freedom to publish your views on a subject, share expertise or maybe just your opinion on something. The initial Tough Tomatoes’ experience focused on four specified topics and instead of publishing our own blogs we posted comments on the Contemporary Issues in Tourism blog. It was beneficial in terms of learning but in hindsight it was a very limited blogging experience. I suppose it becomes more difficult when you have a group of people with differing opinions trying to write one blog. If I’m honest, as I reflect on finishing that assignment exactly a year ago, I didn’t think much of blogging, I didn’t get it. I’d tried it once and I was done!

Now: My Current Blog

Fast forward one year to my Computer Lab Tourism (I really wanted Arm Chair Tourism but alas someone beat me to it) Blog and I feel altogether different about it. I’m sitting here finishing the last bit of CA work of my DKIT student career and instead of willing the end to come with each word I type; I’m instead wondering if I’ll keep up this blog! So what’s changed? I think it was simply more freedom or scope relating to both the blog topics and the fact that it was individual. The topics, some of which were my choice, weren’t too specific. It allowed me to interpret what I thought was most important or interesting. Similarly from a CA perspective the blog has allowed a more casual approach to the subject, in a good way I hope. I have searched information on certain topics and been allowed to choose what I want to discuss. You don’t get that with a twenty page report talking about IMC planning and the SOSTAC framework.

In conclusion, it’s the freedom, creativity and individuality of my blogging experience that I have truly enjoyed. There is a sense of achievement every time I press the “publish” button. That too is another important aspect of blogging. It has allowed me to realize any dreams of amateur journalism; after all I’ve been published online several times. Finally as I look forward to future blogging I would encourage you to do the same. Here are some useful tips for “noobs” to the world of blogging.

The Student Tourist @ DKIT

Student Tourism

For my final year research paper I undertook an analysis of the tourism behavior of students at DKIT. It’s widely accepted that students don’t spend much. They’ve low levels of income if any. However, travel seems to be one area (and yes I’m sure many will argue alcohol is the other) where students’ spend liberally. In fact my research showed students’ have a willingness to go into debt or perhaps live on pot noodle for a whole year to fund an excursion. Just for a little perspective, according to UNWTO, “20% of the 940 million international tourists travelling the world in 2010 were students.” These aren’t arm chair tourists they want to be out there in the thick of it. Now my research didn’t show any direct link between pot noodle and student tourism but it could be argued (so I will) that a student’s affinity for travel and low income often means there’s no choice but a diet of little plastic cups from Welsh noodle mines (there’ an interesting research topic!).

What about the students @ DKIT?

Well you’ll be glad to read, especially if you’re a DKIT student, I unearthed two types of student; the “student tourist” and the “student traveler” (I know for some Irish people the latter may evoke a certain image in your head but bear with me!). Firstly the “student tourist” is typified by participating in more conventional forms or tourism e.g. a weekend away in London, sun holiday in Spain or maybe even two weeks in Florida. Their activities may be that of a typical student but they enjoy the security of having a trip well planned and their return flights booked. The “student traveler” on the other hand is a bit more adventurous. They’re typified by a longer trip duration (2 months or more), very flexible itinerary, if any and often a more long haul destination e.g. Australia, S. America, S.E. Asia. Furthermore the student traveler usually participates in what Greg Richards has termed "Funemployment" and yes it’s exactly what you’re thinking! The “student traveler” often engages in work as they travel to fund, well, more travel. The jobs aren’t glamorous e.g. fruit picking, nor do they sound fun. The “I wouldn’t do it at home” attitude is prominent. The employment becomes fun because they’re in a strange land and surrounded by friends. If every employer could provide this the working world would be a happier place.

So which one are you?

I’m sure you’ve begun to categorize yourself at this stage. Are you a tourist or a traveler? Well if you’re a little puzzled and think you’re a bit of both, you probably are. The “student traveler” often exhibits some “student tourist” behavior, so you can move from one to the other depending on the type of trip. All I’ll say is get out there and travel while you’re a student. You’ll never have this kind of freedom again and the humble Pot Noodle will help you save! 

My Total Media Exposure

What is media Exposure?

Media exposure is something we rarely consider and yet we are continually bombarded by media every waking second of every day. Even while I write this blog for example there’s; the logos on the actual computer, on screen there’s various icons and adverts jostling for my attention, the pen on the table, the bottle of water, the clothing of the person walking by, the poster’s on the wall, the radio. I’ve made my point, I’m exposed. We all are! We only ever realize it when we sit back to think about it. How about trying to put a figure on your total media exposure for the year? Well way back in 2006, according to  Sami Beg, of ABC news, in America, “adults and teens will spend nearly 5 months (3,518 hours) next year watching television, surfing the internet, reading daily newspapers and listening to personal music devices.” It’s a little unsettling and that was only for 2007. Where are we now? I’m sure you’ve begun your own guestimation of your personal media exposure. Before you give yourself an aneurism we get onto an easy way to break it down (the delicious pie chart) soon. Firstly though we must realize we are constantly plugged into the media. It’s impossible to escape but you still have the respite of sleep, at least for now!

My personal Media Exposure: Let’s break it down!

In order to understand the extend of my own personal media exposure I have estimated the amount of hours a week I spend exposed to the media (I’m aware of) listed in the pie chart below and yes there’s more.

The graph is based on an estimated 86 hours of exposure. I guess the most unusual aspect of my exposure would be a relatively low amount of time spent watching TV and on my phone compared to the more traditional media of radio. As readers of my other blogs may already know I don’t own a smart phone, I use my phone purely for calls and texts, and as a time keeping device. My high exposure to radio is simply due to the fact that it’s on in my place of work. My low engagement with television can be attributed to the fact that I do tend to watch TV online.

Similarly social media and e-mailing have taken much of the burden off my traditional mobile phone. It is clear that the internet is the dominant force in my media exposure.

It has become clear that my media exposure is far greater than I would have ever realized. I wonder to what extent it affects my day to day life. To be honest it’s hard to know until I reduce my exposure. Some benefits of limiting media exposure provide some interesting insight on how to go about it. I think it’s something we should all try. I’ll give it a go and keep you posted!

An Táin Arts Centre

For our Integrated marketing/E-Tourism project Rosa McGovern and I decided to tackle An Táin Theatre in Dundalk’s Town hall. The two main elements of the assignment involved the rebranding and online communications strategy. Following extensive research through interviews with Louth Co. Co. Arts officer Dennis Darcy and benchmarking against similar venues in the Northeast e.g. Droichead Arts Centre and

Swan Lane Music Venue, we decided to rebrand the venue “An Táin Arts Centre.” We decided to use the mythology of An Táin Bó Cuailnge across all marketing materials to create a “One Voice, One Look” campaign for the new arts centre.

The tools we used

The online communications strategy focused on redesigning the old  dormant website using a very useful online tool  Balsamiq. Balsamiq allowed us to create a mock-up of the proposed new web pages for An Táin Arts Centre. We carried our theme of “An Táin Bó Cuailnge” across the web pages. We placed an emphasis on Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) with a different set of keywords and title for each page of the website e.g. a person searching with any of the following words: theatre, Dundalk, town hall, Cu Chulainn would be likely to have Cu Culainn Theatre’s web page high on their organic listing. Similarly linking the website to social media such as Twitter and Face book via a live feed on the homepage would help ensure the website was continually updated.

The tricky bit

The most challenging part of the project was deciding on an appropriate layout. The difficulty associated with an integrated assignment is deciding on which content is most relevant and assuring you address both subjects equally. I’d be lying if I said Rosa and I didn’t spend hours at loggerheads debating on the structure and content of the final report. Furthermore the fact I was on vacation in Blackpool the weekend before submission represented a whole other challenge but we’ll save that for a different blog! We got there in the end, we always do.

The best bit

The part of the assignment I found most enjoyable was our Prezi "An Táin Arts Centre Story Board". It allowed us to bring all the elements of theory together in a cohesive way that also incorporated the mythology of An Táin. For me it was a prototype of how the current venue could go about their marketing. Prezi allowed us to demonstrate what we were trying to convey in our report. It explained things better than any paper could.

Learning outcomes

There were many learning outcomes from this challenging project but I will just mention two. From an Integrated marketing perspective it was the use of a theme (the mythology) to help maintain a consistent brand message. In terms of E-Tourism Applications I gained a greater understanding of how to make a website more useable and appealing for your potential customers.

Twitter and Me

Is it for me?

Let me start by acknowledging that I think Twitter is a wonderful forum that allows people to share opinions, images and a whole host of other things. I do believe it has many useful applications in business, education etc. but I must admit it’s not for me, not yet anyway! There is an estimated 175 million registered users on Twitter but according to Technolog, of these, “there are 56 million Twitter accounts following zero other accounts, and 90 million Twitter accounts with zero followers.” So it would seem I’m not alone then.

The Big issue

Don’t get me wrong I’m a huge advocate of social media. I’m a keen user of both Face book and LinkedIn. I use them daily. I use Face book for socializing with friends and obviously LinkedIn is for building professional networks. I keep the two separate and I wouldn’t want them linked for any reason. This is my big issue with Twitter personally. I follow friends and perhaps people of interest socially but I also follow organizations and people of interest professionally. This is conflicting for me. I don’t like seeing a page of Tweets from both my social and work life. I like them to be separate, that’s just who I am.

The other issue

Now before this risks turning into an anti-Twitter rant I would encourage you to read the "Why I love Twitter"  blog for a bit of perspective. The other reason I haven’t got Twitter fever is simple. I don’t always have something interesting to say and to be truthful neither do a lot of the people I follow. This means we’re all left with a plethora of, dare I say it, CRAP to read and don’t even get me started on the abuse of hash tags!!!

Finally and on a positive note it has allowed me to follow some very interesting people. It has given me a connection that would never have seemed likely or plausible before. For that reason I won't dismiss Twitter, I just need to learn how I want to use it!

Technology Fast: Past and Present

You want us to do WHAT???

“So we’re going to do a two day technology fast where you’ve no access to your phones or the internet,” declared the lecturer. Some of my fellow students gasped at the notion. It seemed like a fate more terrible than any of the gruesome deaths thought up in the Saw movies. I was admittedly a little apprehensive too. The thought of doing assignments without my brains best friend Google seemed daunting. On the other hand the idea of a technology fast took me back to a very interesting 6 week period in 2009 when my brother and I isolated ourselves from the vast network of the Western world’s communication network.

No phone, no Google, no Face book = good times

The story begins in Auckland international airport. I wake up strewn across some chairs, still a little worse for wear from my farewell party that only ended two hours previous. I took one last look at my phone, my flight departed in 30 mins and I hadn’t even checked in. I left the phone there, knowing it was useless where I was going. I feared the worst as I tried to compose myself for check in. I was already thinking ahead to how I would contact my brother to tell him I’d missed my flight! We were to meet in Hong Kong Airport in a specified location at a certain time. He had arrived from Dublin the day before and I was to meet him. My thoughts drifted to how I could inform him I would be coming on a different flight, I couldn’t ring him anyway his phone didn’t work in China nor did mine. Astonishingly though, and for this reason I implore you all to fly Quantas, they got me through check in, security and on board in 20 mins flat. Relief, plan sailing from here! I arrive in Hong Kong and go to the rendezvous just in time. Two hours later and no sign of my brother and my thoughts start to drift back to how I contact him. I settle on finding a pay phone (yes they still exist) to phone home and find out if they know any details about the hotel I’m supposed to be staying in. Just then he arrives. At this stage I’ve come to realise that we don’t make very good plans these days. Details like the hotel don’t seem important anymore because I can find out at the touch of a button. Well let me tell you when that Swiss Army Phone is taken away, you better hope you’ve made proper arrangements.

The four days in Hong Kong although phoneless allowed access to Face book and Google so we didn’t really feel cut off. However once we crossed into the mainland where none of our familiar internet services are permitted, we truly were cut off. It was 5 weeks of pure freedom. Even if we wanted to contact someone or the other way around we couldn’t. After a couple of days we didn’t even notice, it was great to be so free. I realised through that experience that although these technologies have made life easier, we have become too dependent on them.

The Technology fast this year

This year’s technology fast wasn’t so adventurous but nevertheless I learned something. I was among several of the class competing in the IHI competition. Phones were not permitted and the internet was strictly for research purposes. To be honest it was easy, I didn’t miss the phone or social media, mainly because I didn’t have time to! On the other hand I missed my phone a lot more as a watch and alarm clock than anything else. It just makes me wonder if I need it at all.

Check out the link below for some other thoughts on “why I don’t have a mobile.” It’ll make you wonder about some of the pointless things we all do just because we have that needy toy in our pocket!

Why I don't have a mobile

Mobile Commerce/Wireless Technology

What is M-commerce?

It is basically the extension of e-commerce into wireless mobile devices. It can be simply defined as the buying and selling of goods and services through handheld devices such as a mobile phone or personal digital assistant (PDA). The m-commerce phenomenon is driven by wireless internet access. Wi-Fi has enabled people to access the internet on the go. This has allowed smart phones to offer almost all of the same services and applications as a PC. The graph below illustrates the services offered by m-commerce.

The consumer: from phone to handset?

Today’s typical consumer in the hospitality and tourism industry usually carries a smart phone. The phone/smart device (whichever one of the many names you choose) is the most important influence in the emergence of m-commerce. Today’s Swiss Army Phone encompasses so many applications and services into one device that it seems reasonable to believe all a person will carry in the future is a smart device. In our industry people can use the internet to purchase flights, book a meal, source information, write an online review, recommend to a friend etc. Therefore the importance of m-commerce to our industry is undeniable. M-commerce can be divided into three categories:

1.      Information based: Customers searching for information on a destination, restaurant etc. This could encompass reviews, pictures, direction etc.

2.      Transaction based: The customer can purchase flights, hotel rooms, day trips and a whole multitude of hospitality and tourism products direct from their phone.

3.      Personalised services: This is particularly useful to the actually business e.g. if a potential customer passes through the Wi-Fi of a Cafe it is possible to send an advert or alert direct to their phone and invite them in for a coffee. Similarly the customers data profile and/or location allows the hospitality and tourism industry to target consumers with more personalised adverts.

My–Commerce and Phoneliness

I understand and agree that the emergence of m-commerce is potentially the biggest breakthrough in the business world in the last decade. Despite this however, I remain reluctant to take the leap and purchase a smart phone. Don’t get me wrong I love the convenience of mobile wireless technology. I use my laptop on the go to check e-mails and banking. For me though the smart phone has impacted a person's ability socially, and that’s not good in a business where face time with the client is the moment of truth. I’ve noted my smart phone friend’s tendency to turn to the smart device at lulls in conversions. Is it a crutch, a go to or are we simply happier interacting with a screen than in person. Check out the video, it explains it all. I wonder if for all the benefits of m-commerce if the basic social cost is worth it. For now though I’ve enjoyed m-commerce in small doses from behind my laptop but I wonder what will happen to me when I finally cave in and buy that Swiss Army Phone.

Check out this interesting video on phoneliness!!!

Useful link here that sums up m-commerce quite concisely:

http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/definition/m-commerce

Armchair Tourism

Armchair Tourism

So we’re all a bit sick of queuing and airports, the dreaded early morning to catch a flight to some resort we’ve never been to before but it looks all too familiar.  The average sun holiday in Spain can often feel like being Bill Murray in Groundhog Day! What’s the net benefit of it all we ask ourselves, a sun tan (or a fresh red glow depending on your perspective) and an empty bank balance? Surely there’s more to me than this? Do you endeavour to go somewhere more interesting in search of thrill and adventure? Well ladies and gents I give you Armchair Tourism! For those of us who want an adventure like Indiana Jones but hate snakes too, for those who wish to avoid those endless queues at the airport as long as the Great Wall of China, impressive but unmoving! What if I said I could take you to the Great Wall from the comfort of your own living room, free of charge and still be home for tea? I know Karl Pilkington would be interested. The world of Armchair tourism and virtual tourism do not require travelling physically, but involves exploring the world through internet, books, or TV. And for those of you who love the flights as much as I do, flight simulator offers the chance to endure that wonderful 12 hour flight to see the Great Wall. On arrival I can guarantee you better views and good weather as you flick through youtube videos and for those less tech savvy maybe look in a book.

It’s the ideal holiday for those who just love their bed and care about the environment but somehow I don’t think these truly green holidays will ever replace our love of the pain a holiday can offer! But if you’re not busy tonight maybe take a trip to Santiago; I hear it’s lovely this time of year!!!