New Look, Same Great Taste

If you haven’t noticed, Tourism Land has a new look…and name…and URL. While the design is not really finished yet, I wanted to update you on this change.

I finally replaced my FrontPage/hasn’t-been-updated-since-2009 website with WordPress last week. If want to know more about this delightful process, check out How to migrate your blog.

• If you’re a life-long fan — and really, who isn’t?! (read with sarcasm) — then please follow me at annehornyak.com.
• If you previously signed up with your Google Reader, the old RSS feed will still work.
• If you previously signed up via email, please enter your email address again. I don’t believe the old email subscriptions transferred. If you’ve already received an email for my How to migrate your blog post (Sept 2), you don’t need to sign up again.

Thanks for your continued support!

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Join the #tourismchat Conversation

#tourismchat is a biweekly twitter chat focusing on Social Media in the Tourism Industry. It’s held on Thursdays at 2pm CST. If you’re not familiar with it, this is your personal invitation to participate, or at least lurk, in the chat!

How?

If you use TweetDeck or HootSuite, set up a search column for #tourismchat. My preference is TweetDeck as it brings in new tweets automatically in real-time.

If you don’t use TweetDeck or can’t keep up with the constant tweets, try TweetChat. This site automatically adds the #tourismchat hashtag at the end of every tweet, which is a great benefit. Tip: sign in with your twitter account and move the refresh speed down to 5 seconds.

Why?

1. #tourismchat is FREE.
2. CVBs and others in the tourism industry share their social media knowledge and experience. For free.
3. It’s like attending specific social media sessions at tourism conferences but better.
4. And if you needed another reason:

So please join us this Thursday, September 1, at 2pm CST when we chat about the use of multimedia (obtaining and using photos, videos, podcasts, etc) in the tourism social space.

Of course I’m partial to #tourismchat but feel free to check out these other Travel Chats on Twitter too.

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Everyday Heroes

There’s something amazing about twitter. It’s so easy to find and connect with people who share similar interests with you. And every once in a while, you’ll create lifelong friendships and find everyday heroes too. A few new names were added to my list of heroes this weekend.

Betsy Decillis and I went on #geekcation this past weekend. We had our first #geekcation, May 2010, in Chicago when we worked on acquiring Foursquare badges. This #geekcation was a little different as it was based on a visit to AJ Bombers, a mecca for social media geeks.

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Google Maps mashups

Maps are an integral part of tourism marketing and creating a custom Google Map is one of the easiest ways to highlight specific parts of a destination. Maps can be made for thematic itineraries, hotels or even for things to see or do around a convention center. They can range from being rather simple with a just an address, website and/or description for each venue to something more complex featuring photos, videos and blog posts.

Tourism Queensland ran a Best Job in the World campaign in 2009 and the winner, Ben Southall, has embarked on another Queensland adventure, The Best Expedition in the World, which started in May and will be completed in September. A Google Map was created to show his 1600km kayak journey from the Town of 1770 to Cooktown, retracing the route of Captain James Cook.

The journey is an incredible feat on its own but the Best Expedition in the World Map is a mashup of Flickr photos, YouTube videos, blog posts and breathtaking 360° views.

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Foursquare’s branded pages and lists

Ever since my #geekcation in Chicago (an excuse to work on Explore Chicago’s Foursquare badges), I’ve said that I would love to see a CVB create a Foursquare guide. Well this is it! Foursquare recently allowed brands to get pages for free and also unveiled a new lists feature on Monday.

What does this mean for you? Get your CVB on Foursquare. Now.

It’s easy to create a page. All you need is a graphic, description and a branded twitter account to get started. Once you’re ready with that, it’s time to add a few tips. You have to add at least 5 tips when you create your page. What’s great about these tips is that they come from your “official” brand and not a personal account.

Lists are an excellent way to group Foursquare venues together into themes, whether it by a list of museums, BBQ restaurants or even neighborhood guides. Three CVBs that have already created Foursquare lists are Visit Savannah, Baltimore and Tuscarawas County CVB.

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Professional Development #tourismchat

#tourismchat is a biweekly twitter chat (Thursdays, 2pm CST) that focuses on how social media is used in the tourism industry.

Our last chat, Aug 4, was about Professional Development. You can read through the transcript [pdf] but here are some of the chat’s highlights:

What blogs are you reading that are not-to-be missed?

• @BeckyMcCray:  I love the insights at Rural Tourism Marketing by @ruraltourism http://ruraltourismmarketing.com
•  @YfactorInc: Blogs I like are by @unmarketing and @dmscott they are marketing/SoMe focused but can be applied to
  any field
• @jennrush03: I’ve learned a lot from SocialMediaExaminer.com – great info on using twitter, facebook, linkedIn, video, etc.
• @bsepos: I read http://www.wilhelmus.ca/ from the always insightful William Bakker of @ThinkSM
• @WhosYourAnnie: the @travel2dot0 and @tnooz blogs are some of my favorites. Also Jaunted, Ad Age and PhoCusWright Connect
• @rednikki: yes, Jaunted and HotelChatter as well
• @Amy_Brock: I’ve always been a fan of http://dotcomconfessions.com/ (Jennifer Barbee’s) blog. Good stuff.
• @marcellinho_nl: Tnooz, Phocusright, SocialMediaExaminer.com to name a few

What other chats do you participate it?

• @DigitalKaitlyn: I just finished with PRWebChat and #Smmeasure, both excellent chats for marketing professionals!
• @scullyano: I’ve dipped into #blogchat on Sunday nights, but it’s a lot.
• @BeckyMcCray: For a firehose of blogging info, join #blogchat on Sunday nights
• @Amy_Brock: the #luxchat is a great one, lots of travel and pr discussions there.
• @TourismCurrents: We recommend #eventprofs if you want to connect w/meeting planners, and #assnchat for association
  meeting planners.

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Ask Oregon

Oregon, a front-runner in social media, just launched Ask Oregon, a program that connects visitors to Oregon experts through twitter, Facebook and email.

There are 14 ambassadors who are experts in areas around the state as well as interests such as cycling, rafting, fishing, golf, wine, beer and history. These experts have credibility and only enhance the customer service experience that is part of social media for tourism organizations.

Just send a tweet with the #askOR hashtag, post your question on their Facebook page or head to their special Ask Oregon Facebook tab for a link to send an email. It’s a great concept!

Well done, Oregon!

Disclosure: Ask Oregon is managed though Travel Oregon and Sparkloft Media, my employer.

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#notatDMAI11: the non-conference

It seemed like everyone in the tourism industry was in NOLA for #DMAI11 last month. Well everyone except for a few lonely people on twitter who felt like they were missing out. What started as a playful conversation became an incredible occasion to connect with other tourism professionals on twitter.

Troy (@travel2dot0) mentioned the #notatDMAI11 hashtag in a tweet and a few of us started to run with it. While the real #DMAI11 conference attendees listened to Dom Sagolla speak, one of the co-creaters of Twitter, we had some random tweets like my “Twitter has 140 characters. #notatDMAI11” tweet. But the non-conference hashtag was quickly evolving into something more than that and within less than an hour, we had a #notatDMAI11 twitter list and a non-conference non-logo logo, courtesy of Beth Conway.

Next came the idea of hosting a #notatDMAI11 twitter chat. It was the perfect opportunity to show the community aspect of hashtags and the learning potential of twitter, with or without a conference. The chat was scheduled for that Friday, the last day of #DMAI11, and focused on using social media at conferences. For more info on the chat, check out the #notatDMAI11 twitter transcript [pdf]. By the end of the chat, only three days after the hashtag was created, there were over 270 #notatDMAI11 tweets by more than 50 twitter accounts.

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Tourism Rockstars

I don’t take myself seriously most of the time so when I saw that I was at the top of this Tourism Professionals on Twitter list, I was blown away. Especially since I’ve been taking a lot of personal twitter breaks lately.

I was in Portland for work when this list was published so I didn’t have time to fully absorb all of it. And then there were #DMAI11 tweets, #notatDMAI11 tweets and an amazing #notatDMAI11 twitter chat.

So when I was searching for something else, I happened to come across Dave‘s tweet again last week. This may be the all-time nicest thing anyone tweeted about me/my profession. Thanks, Dave!!

This list was compiled by Betsy Decillis, an incredible friend and my #tourismchat partner in crime. And no, I didn’t bribe her for my ranking. The methodology she used is based on a combination of the percentage of tourism followers and klout. Check out the entire list: Top 100 Most Influential Tourism Professionals on Twitter

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Is your CVB social?

Calling all CVBs!!

I’m researching how CVBs are using social media, especially with niche accounts, and could use your help. Please take a few minutes to send me the names/URLs of your social media accounts in this google doc or use the form below.

Thank you!

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