Comments

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  Tripatini October 15, 2010 at 9:15pm

  Also now in Ask A Travel Expert is a question about courses in making travel documentaries. If anyone would like to offer advice, please CLICK HERE. Thanks much!
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  Ed Wetschler October 15, 2010 at 8:37pm

  Rand McNally editor seeking freelance contributions:
  The Digital Content Director for Rand McNally is looking for talented freelancers with deep knowledge of places in the USA. Emails ideas@randmcnally.com with pitches.
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  Sarah Conrad October 15, 2010 at 8:22pm

  @Doug Bardwell - Thanks for the suggestions. I appreciate it.
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  Doug Bardwell October 15, 2010 at 8:08pm

  @Sarah - try subscribing to MediaKitty.com & Travelwriters.com. Lots of good info there for someone starting out.
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  Tripatini October 15, 2010 at 7:48pm

  We have a query in Ask A Travel Expert on pitching to travel pubs. If anyone wants to offer advice, please CLICK HERE. Thanks!
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  Max Pesling October 15, 2010 at 1:17am

  Just caught this tweet on Twitter:
  
  AdviceToWriters "Being a good writer is 3% talent, 97% not being distracted by the internet." Anonymous (via @Quotes4Writers)
  
  My first reaction was that I got a good chuckle, but then I started thinking... Apart from Tripatini, of course, how much time do I spend surfing the Web? Sure, I get lots of intellectual stimulation from it, but how much faster could I work without the distraction? Can we ever really focus on what we're writing, the way we used to, know that those little Outlook alerts pop up on our screens every time an email comes in? Can we hold one intelligent train of thought for more than a minute these days? So to what extent is the Internet making us less productive, less deep, less thorough?
  
  And beyond work, how many sunsets have I missed because I was staring at my screen (or lately at my iPhone!!)? How many strangers have I failed to smile at, because I was too busy texting? How many conversations have I missed?
  
  I don't know. Just seems we're missing some pretty important stuff. And concentration on our work is just one of them.
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  Sarah Conrad October 14, 2010 at 5:34pm

  Hi All. I am new to travel writing, although I have been a journalist for 10 years. I look forward to getting to know some of you. I will be specializing in travel to the Caribbean, Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica. I work for AllinclusiveOutlet.com, which is an Internet-based high-discount travel agency specializing in all inclusive resorts. Right now if anyone has any tips for someone just getting started, or any organizations to get press releases from regarding travel in those areas, or in media organizations that are important for journalists writing about the Caribbean, Mexico, Panama or Costa Rica, please share. I have only been at this a week.
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  Simon & Baker Travel Review October 14, 2010 at 12:57am

  I think there's a way to block them from framejacking your site...
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  Ed Wetschler October 13, 2010 at 10:57pm

  Thanks, Josh; I hadn't looked up and noticed that. Good link you provide here for info about framejacking, and it makes me glad that I use bit.ly. The ethical issue here is not just that framejacking annoys people, but that it is, in a sense, a form of plagiarizing. I guess the funny part is that about.com has, in effect, saved $ by "borrowing" information about Seville -- but that information is wrong.

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  Ed Wetschler October 13, 2010 at 8:52pm

  This just in: "Seville, on Spain's eastern coast, offers a Mediterranean climate [with] moderating temperatures."
  
  On Spain's east coast, you say? That's news to me. Worse, this is not from some fly-by-night little blog; this is from about.com:
  http://goeurope.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=goeuro...
  
  What other goofs have you found lately?