Gadling Podcast: Travelistic

by Erik Olsen on

The online video space right now is hotter than Georgia asphalt…hotter in fact than a griddle sitting on a bonfire burning on the surface of the sun. YouTube cashed in to the tune of $1.5 billion when Google scooped them up recently, making several lucky individuals quite rich, and leaving the rest of us wondering whether GoogleTV will come to dominate the online video space. I, for one, hope not. And given the nature of the Web, I doubt it. New players are constantly emerging, finding satisfying niches to fill and offering legions of camera-toting Spielbergs the opportunity to become stars…even if just to a few friends and family members.

One genre that seems ripe for new players and opportunities is travel. You and I both know that if you were heading to, say, Cambodia, in a month or two, you’d love to peruse the various travel vids that others have done. Especially if they were informative (as opposed to people lighting their farts on fire in front of Angkor Wat) you’d get to find out what the best hotels are, and which ones you should avoid. You’d meet all sorts of new people, right from the cozy confines of your cubicle. Video is the new word, as it were, because we all know that a picture can be worth a thousand words.

And it is with real enthusiasm that I announce another Gadling podcast with the leader of a new company called Travelistic who is squaring off to compete in this new travel video space. We blogged about them earlier, and drew their attention, and so their CEO Nicholas Butterworth asked us to come down and have a quick chat. Which we did. The new site officially launches on Monday, but we got a sneak peak and learned a bit more than we knew about online travel video. There’s a lot to learn, including how YOU can possibly become the next “Rocketboom” host of a travel show.

We offer you a chance to hear that conversation, here and now.

(Time – 10:30)

LP Less Than Three

by Erik Olsen on

Aspiring filmmakers out there pay attention. Lonely Planet, the guidebook colossus, is offering a big time travel opportunity to folks who send in the best travel film that lasts, and here’s the gimmick, less than three minutes. That may seem like a short duration, unless you actually spent time watching some folks’ homemade travel video, (which believe me, I have), in which case you know that some folks are just not meant to be filmmakers (what is so hard about holding a camera steady?).

It seems like a pretty good deal. If you check out the FAQ, you can read that LP is offering a first prize of 10,000 Australian dollars (which comes out to, what? about $780? JK!) to help pay for your own Round-The-World economy flight, an STA travel voucher and the choice of either hanging with LPTV folks in Melbourne (LP’s home base) or taking the rest of the cash and heading out on your own “dream journey”. Hmmm….hanging with the LPTV folks would be fun, buuuuuttttt….so the hitch is you actually have to produce the film, make it under three minutes and, here’s the catch, make it interesting enough that people will actually WANT to watch it.

Antarctica: The Land Waaay Down Under

by Erik Olsen on

Years ago, when I set foot for the first (and so far last) time on the barren soil of Antarctica, I stood there and looked around me with a measure of amazement and wonder. I was amazed because I could hardly believe I’d made it, having hitched a ride as I did on a Chilean Navy vessel. I was filled with wonder because I had no idea what the heck I was supposed to do next. Antarctica is like the moon. It takes an immense effort to get there, you have to travel across a vast dangerous space (i.e. Drake’s Passage) ,and once you reach it, you feel an immense sense of accomplishment. Then when you survey the world you wonder, OK, what now?

Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, Carolyn Swindel finds the “getting to” part the same as I did. A pain, but a worthy one. Yes, she makes it and finds Antarctica a bounty of icebergs, seals, penguins and birds. Now don’t get me wrong. I loved going to Antarctica and I agree with Swindel that its a worthy adventure. In fact her piece here really rekindled my interest in the continent waaaay down under. I’d go again. And even if Antartcia was like the moon, hey, I’d go to the moon, too.

Hungry Planet: The Book

by Erik Olsen on

It’s already been pretty much established that America is a fast food nation. In fact, a book by Eric Schlosser with that exact title pretty much spells it all out. Many of us eat our own weight in hamburgers and fries every year, and you could fill a Volkswagen with the amount of grease that oozes its way though our bodies in a lifetime.

But is America unique in this respect? I’m always reading articles about how the Chinese are becoming increasingly obese. Same with the Europeans…yes, even the culinarily snooty French. But it still raises a very interesting question: What does the world eat?

In an amazing-sounding book of photos and text called Hungry Planet, photographers Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio offer a study of families from around the world, revealing what people eat during the course of one week. Each family’s profile provides a description of their weekly food purchases and is accompanied by photographs of the family enjoying food at home as well as shopping and out in their community. There is also a main shot showing the family surrounded by, well, food. The book also contains essays by a gaggle of well-known writers like Francine R. Kaufman, Corby Kummer, Charles C. Mann, Michael Pollan, and Carl Safina. I’m actually listening to Pollan’s Botany of Desire right now on my iPod, so I’ve been tuned into these “What do we eat and why” books, shows and articles.

Anyway, I thought this was one of those really simple, but cool, ideas that reveal a lot about how we live in this fast food day and age.

Marathon Tours

by Adrienne Wilson on

Only 17 days remain between now and the moment in which I’ll run my first 26.2 mile full marathon in Detroit. Am I excited? Heck yeah, you bet I am. And you probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you this, but I despise running. I hate the high impact and grueling feeling it has on my knees. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy the sense of community and spirit amongst runners, the feeling of achievement and most certainly the opportunity to go places, but it’s so hard for me to remain mentally positive when my body is wondering why I’m pushing it the way I am. Anyhow, what I’m trying to say is if you’re in Detroit or Windsor on October 29, come out and cheer me on! I’ll need the support.

Moving right along now that I’ve managed to squeeze my own shameless promotion into the plug, I suppose I should point running loving individuals or people who may want to get into the sport to this Marathon Tours site. First off, if you’re truly a marathon fanatic you’re probably already aware of this site, but even then I encourage you to check it out and start planning some serious marathon trips. Perhaps you’ve exhausted some of your options, favorite races, scenic routes or whatever. Why not run Antarctica or Dubai? To be quite honest it’s destinations like these and doing some so crazy that may keep into all this running jazz. Seriously, how cool would that be? Marathon Tours makes it easier if you’re looking to head abroad and check out the local scene in places like Iceland, Jamaica, Stockholm, Kenya and Australia. With all the other prep going into the race I’d imagine their services to be a huge load off one’s plate.