GoingSocialTV debuts

by Chris Owen on

Travel video is really popular. Following the adventures of travel people all over the world or researching where you might go next, video is cool. Social media is really popular too. Facebook and Twitter have made that world a bit smaller and easier to navigate. A new TV show, GoingSocialTV, brings travel and social media together like never before.

“I created this show to highlight how social media is bringing the world together and how important it is now and how it will become even bigger for businesses” says GoingSocialTV creator JD Andrews.

Andrews comes loaded with what it takes to pull this off. Better known to Twitter fans as @earthXplorer, JD Andrews is an award-winning videographer, editor and producer who has traveled to 75 countries on six continents. Gadling met JD last year on a Twitter #FollowMeAtSea Alaska cruisetour sponsored by Princess Cruises. I was along on that trip and have to tell you: this guy is really passionate about travel.

“I traveled to London and Iceland, asking people in the travel industry (and Social media world) how and why they are using social media.” Andrews told Gadling.

@GoingSocialTV ~ Promo from JD Andrews on Vimeo.

Available on DirectTV channel 354 or live on the web at RRTV.com ,the first 30-minute episode debuted this week. In London, JD interviewed Founder and CEO of Tweetdeck Iain Dodsworth, Editor of Lonely Planet Tom Hall, Producer of Long Way Round & Long Way Down Russ Malkin and Founder of The Tuttle Club Lloyd Davis.

Also featured on the premiere show is a trip to Iceland and a Gears, Gadgets and Gizmos segment to be a regular feature on the program.

“My ideas for future episodes is actually showing how social media is beneficial while traveling, through apps, gadgets and even a simple tweet “I’m in London, where should I go?” said Andrews adding “I had so much help from the Social media community while traveling and that’s what it’s all about!”

In then next show GoingSocialTV travels to San Francisco and New York City to talk to Brian Simpson of The Roger Smith Hotel, Duncan Mitchell of Some E Cards, Craig Newmark founder of Craigslist, Jill Fletcher of Virgin America and Stephanie Michaels aka Adventure Girl.

As travel and social media become more intertwined, GoingSocialTV is one to watch, follow, bookmark and keep track of. Good things will be coming from this new combination of travel and social media which just totally makes sense.

Another great source of video is right here at Gadling where our writers span the globe to bring home the Gadling Travel Talk series like this one our Elizabeth Seward found in her Video of the Day series.

San Francisco from Dave Pinke on Vimeo.

Foreskin for thought: Andrew Zimmern comtemplates cannibalism at circumcision

by Laurel Miller on




You just can’t make this stuff up. Our friends at The Huffington Post have published a highly entertaining, albeit controversial, narrative by the host of the Travel Channel’s “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern.” As the name of his show attests, Zimmern travels around the globe, hanging with the locals and chowing down on the most freakishly weird/unsavory/downright disgusting foods imaginable. You might recall that Gadling’s Mike Barish memorably interviewed Zimmern last April.

Zimmern and his wife are in Madagascar, and while taping an episode of his show, he recently found himself in a position to put his reputation where his, ah, mouth is. It seems they were staying with a family in a remote village at the island’s southern end, and said family was celebrating the circumcision of their five-year-old son (to quote Zimmern, “Don’t ask…that’s just when they do it.”). It is traditional for the paternal grandfather to consume the foreskin afterward, or give it to an honored male guest (in this case, Zimmern).

Understandably, Zimmern is wondering if he can get past our Western taboo of consuming human flesh, especially at the risk of offending his gracious hosts. The foreskin is passed to the boy’s uncle, who places it upon the tip of a banana, as tradition, er, dictates (I promise to give the puns a rest, really). Eventually, the whole shebang was given to the maternal grandfather, who, Zimmern says, “scarfs it down like a hungry drunk at a hotel hors d’oeuvre buffet.” Cue Zimmern heaving big internal sigh of relief.

Zimmern’s a hilarious storyteller, and my synopsis doesn’t begin to do him justice. But the point he ultimately makes in this piece is that cultural differences are what make this big planet of ours such a fascinating place, and that we are enriched by these experiences if we approach them with tolerance and respect. As Zimmern says, “…I (also) live by a creed of acceptance and exploration, curious about everything and trying to experience life and translate that experience for my viewers.”

Tourists returning to Tunisia

by Alex Robertson Textor on

If they haven’t already begun doing so, tourists will soon be returning to Tunisia. Travelmole reports today on renewed interest in traveling to Tunisia following the uprisings that first rocked the north African country in December.

The key fact behind this development is the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s decision last Friday to lift its warning advising against all but essential travel to Tunisia. The FCO is the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. To say that the FCO’s travel warnings are trusted would be an understatement. Tripadvisor saw a 19 percent increase in interest in Tunisia in the days following the warning revision.

Several big UK tour operators announced earlier this week that they would resume selling package vacations to Tunisia in the days following the warning revision. First Choice, Thomas Cook, and Thomson will reestablish normal flight schedules by the first week of March at the latest. This development will do much to comfort prospective tourists that Tunisia is a safe place to travel.

But even as the FCO officially deems Tunisia to be safe and UK tour operators opt for a return to normalcy, caution prevails elsewhere. Disney decided to cancel Disney Cruise Line and Adventures by Disney sea and land packages to Tunisia earlier this week.

[Image: Flickr | ahisgett]

Breaking: Delta Air Lines to add Seattle’s Best Coffee

by Chris Owen on

You don’t have to fly first-class to get the best coffee on Delta Air Lines. Starting March 1st, Delta’s brand will be Seattles Best Coffee. That might not sound like a really big deal but it took a lot of work to make that happen.

Coffee is best when brewed with water that is 197 degrees, just shy of boiling. The problem with brewing coffee in flight (you were right, there was a problem) is that at 30,000 feet, the altitude affects barometric pressure and how hot water reacts to coffee. Enter the Green Coffee Quality Team at Seattles Best Coffee.

Coffee expert Kim Giroir from Seattles Best quality team told Gadling they experimented with a bunch of different blends and finally came up with what they call “Level 4” coffee that is just right for brewing in the sky.

When Seattle’s Best says they want to “bring great coffee everywhere” that’s not just a slogan. Back at the Research and Development labs at Seattles Best, they brewed test blends in a barometric chamber, mimicing the conditions of brewing in the air.

It’s been a meticulously tedious process finding the right blend but taste tests in November had all the cabin crew buzzing about the new coffee. That’s nothing new to the coffee company that relaunched it’s brand at Starbucks headquarters in May.

%Gallery-115933%

Seattle’s Best thinks they have come up with the perfect cup of coffee, no matter where it is served. A big hit on Royal Caribbean cruise ships, it just made sense to take to the air too.

Delta is no stranger to fine cuisine either, taking in-flight dining seriously for quite some time now, especially in their BusinessElite product.

As the official airline of the Food Network New York Wine and Food Festival, Delta Air Lines brought along its roster of six consulting chefs to venues throughout the event.

In 2006, Delta revealed an on-board menu created by celerity chef Michelle Bernstein. As Delta’s consulting chef, Bernstein designed entrees and side dishes which became part of Delta’s continued effort to enhance its BusinessElite product, creating a more inviting and entertaining experience.

In 2007, Delta tapped top chef Todd English to create selections for its food-for-purchase menu being developed for customers flying in its Coach Class on flights within the United States.

“The back of the plane is where the real challenge is,” said English, adding that he plans to help Delta devise business-class meals in the future.

In 2009 hand-served entrees and signature dishes created by Miami celebrity chef Michele Bernstein and master sommelier Andrea Robinson, expanded dessert options and improved Japanese meal options created by Delta’s flight kitchen in Tokyo.

After all that, a good cup of coffee just made sense.

4 reasons why you need a Travel Expert in your pocket

by Chris Owen on

This is the person you want to have on your side when planning travel. Not a Travel Agent, many of them are order takers who fill in the blanks on computer screens. Others try to be everything to everyone and that is just not possible.

Your Travel Expert specializes in one particular area of travel. It might be cruise vacations. They will know what cruise line will work best for you, keep on top of commodity-like cruise pricing and add a great deal of value to your vacation experience. It might be trips to Russia your Travel Expert specialized in. That person will know all there is to know, have been there a bunch of times (if not lived there) and probably speak a good amount of Russian. That’s the person I want helping me plan my vacation. Here are five reasons you need one of those people.

They know what to do in an emergency. You can bet that travelers on the ground in Egypt who have a Travel Expert on their side that knows the lay of the land are glad they do. Any travel agent with the right credentials can book a trip to Egypt. Someone who has visited there a lot or lived there will know specifically what you should do. You will be one of the people that made it out of the country while others lagged behind.

They will be honest with you. Any Travel Expert will tell you without hesitation if what you are looking for is not realistic. The last thing you want is a journey planned by a “yes” man who will say anything to get a sale. If you ever feel you are getting anywhere close to that situation you are not dealing with a Travel Expert. Look for your Travel Expert to speak at functions, teach classes, be involved with travel organizations and be easy to find publicly, like via Facebook, Twitter or a simple Google search.

They will insure a rich experience for you. That same knowledge that can give you an advantage if you had to evacuate a travel destination much more commonly works to enrich your travels. A Travel Expert knows people on the ground where you are going. Regardless of how you get there and what you want or need to see, its the people that will make the difference. A Travel Expert’s recommendation will get you in the door of places you might not ever see without his or her thumbs up.

They will encourage education. Everybody wants to talk about the fabulous places you will visit and things you will see. A Travel Expert will want to give you the knowledge over time that will allow you to appreciate what you will see and experience when you travel. In the olden days they would have given you a travel guide to read, maybe one printed by AAA, a leader in those sort of things. Today they will point you to sources like specific blogs, travel guide sites, and maybe send you a copy of the book they wrote.

You may end up paying one of these people for their expert advice. Be sure that advice comes gift-wrapped with that is called an Errors and Omissions insurance policy backing. That is insurance against loss if something goes horribly wrong directly due to advice you may have received from pretty much anyone in the travel business. Travel agents have it, so do Travel Experts who make a living selling their advice.

Photo: Wiki Commons