←→From the Travesphere: Ian of Brave New Traveler

Posted Thursday, March 8th, 2007 · Permalink

Today I’m starting a new interview series called From the Travesphere. In it I talk to other travel bloggers about their travel experiences and their ideas about travel blogging. In this first installment I was lucky to talk to one of the Travvies 2007 finalists, Ian MacKenzie. Some might know him from his early web endeavors, but I like to think of him as having one of the most promising travel blogs in the travesphere: Brave New Traveler.

Brave New Traveler has fun and fascinating articles on experience traveling. It’s written by a group of talented young writers. The quality of everything there is just fantastic. I suggest everyone interested in such things go check out the site. They also have a lot of contributed articles. If you would like to try your hand at travel writing, I suggest you get in touch with Ian.

I sent Ian an email a few days ago asking if he’d like to do an interview for my new series. He said yes. Here’s what he had to say.

When did you first become interested in traveling?

I’d never actually left my province (in Canada), much less the country, before my friend and I decided on a whim to visit a friend in LA. That was back in high school. It was a two week trip and our first taste of freedom without any parents. So I guess you could say the travel bug started then. My first major trip was a few years later when I spent two months in Europe.

What do you like most about traveling?

I love the freedom of knowing you’re always on the move, constantly experiencing new places and meeting new people. Also, as any backpacker knows, there’s an odd sort of instant companionship that permeates the nomad culture; anyone you meet, whether in a hostel, backcountry trek, or camel ride, is instantly your friend. I rarely feel such openness when I’m at home.

What are a few of your favorite places you’ve traveled through?

I must confess, I’m biased towards hotter climates. Fiji was idyllic. Friendly people and beautiful beaches. More recently I travelled through Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Well at some point I’d like to hit Africa, South America, and India. All in due time I guess.

Do you have any favorite travel equipment you would recommend?

I try to travel fairly light, so I don’t have much equipment I’d consider essential. Except maybe a beard trimmer. Some guys can stand having mountain-man hair on their faces, but if you’re in a hot, sweaty climate, a bushy beard is horrible. Other than that, a good pair of shoes, versatile shorts, and journal is all you need.

Do you have an essential Ian’s travel tip?

Never lose your cool. The whole point of travelling is to get out of your comfort zone. So if you’re stuck on an 11 hour ride down the Mekong on a leaky boat that is too small for you to even stand up, and your legs are painfully cramped, and the bathroom is little more than an awkward closet — just remember, this will make a great story later.

Now let’s talk about your blog. What inspired you to start travel blogging?

I’ve always been a writer, and there’s nothing more inspiring than writing about new and interesting experiences. Before blogs, there were long-winded emails, and before that, thick tattered letters. For me, travel blogging a journey is a way to involve your friends and family on a scale unprecedented in the past. It’s not the same as being there, of course, but it’s close.

What makes Brave New Traveler different from other travel blogs?

Brave New Traveler is different from other travel blogs because it’s a blog about travel. Rather than publish stories that are destination-focused, such as reviews of restaurants in Paris, or a personal diary of stumbling through the ruins of Machu Picchu, I concentrate on examining the nature of travel — along with interviews, general travel tips, and more.

What have been some of the challenges for Brave New Traveler?

Like 99% of blogs online, Brave New Traveler exists because a variety of volunteers offer their submissions for free. I personally handle all the design, structure, and promotion of the blog, as well as write approximately a third of the articles. So without the volunteer contributors, it would be very difficult for me to create enough content to keep our readers pleasantly satisfied. At some point, I hope to make enough money to pay our writers, but until then, I can only offer them awareness and an audience.

Besides blogging, what do you do for a living?

By day I work for a small internet company as their blogger and copywriter, along with a variety of other tasks related to new media. By night I operate Brave New Traveler, and side projects such as TravelBlogger.com and the occasional consulting gig.

How do you see the travesphere changing?

I see people spending more time using their Internet and syncing their phones for location reviews and destination tips, rather than guidebooks. After all, in the time it takes to print a guidebook, the information is basically out of date. I see people using the web to automatically update their location via mobile phone (something that’s already pervasive). Basically, I see a shrinking globe, at least in the physical sense. Travel will be more about making authentic connections with real people, rather than the destination alone, which is what travel is really all about.

What’s next for Brave New Traveler?

I’m hoping to continue offering great in-depth articles on the changing nature of travel. But I’d also like to explore the addition of Web 2.0 features, as long as they don’t clutter the site. I believe it’s all about providing value to the readers. If I can continue doing that, I’m happy.

Thanks, Ian.

Be sure to check out Ian’s blog, Brave New Traveler.

Filed under Interviews.