Once again, I would never have read any of these blogs if it wasn't for Elmaz. Thank you Elmaz!

I realized the reason I would never read these travel blogs isn't because I don't enjoy travel - I love it! The reason I wouldn't have read these blogs is because they inform readers on a very specialized topics: whitewater rafting, Starbucks in Beijing, staying in someone else's house while traveling, and travel anxiety. I found that what really linked these blogs, other than the fact that they were all about travel, was the fact that they were all about very specific experiences within the experience of travel, being on a river, traveling with kids, anxiety about traveling, and Starbucks overseas.

The whitewater post was informative, creative, and to be frank had me on the edge of my seat. I love rafting and the casual language used in the blog was appealing to me because it seemed like someone was telling a very exciting story. The accent that was conveyed in this blog had me laughing out loud. It was such a great personal touch that added so much to the blog. I felt like the conscious choice for the blogger to write in the guide's accent made the story that much more authentic. I was impressed that the images only added to the writing instead of distracting the reader for his very exciting rafting experience.

"Sprouts on Rout" was very specialized but I did't find the information to be all the informative. I felt like Kristen was restating common information. The fact that it lacked the flashy pictures that could be found in the "Starbucks in Beijing"post or the "Vagabonding" blog was disappointing. However, I feel like the fact that it didn't have flashy pictures wasn't necessarily a bad thing for the blog. I am guessing parents who are interested in reading a blog about traveling with kids is more about parents sympathizing with one another and less about "flash".

"Anxiety Town" gave generalized experiences of a variety of people. I didn't find the language of the blog to be interesting or descriptive enough to lure me into being interested in travel anxiety or sympathize with the experiences of people that suffer from it. The pictures were lacking as well.

I found "Starbucks in Bejing" to be one of the more interesting blogs in this series both in written content and in presentation. This blog had a great look. I didn't realize how much I appreciated that until I saw this blog. It got me thinking about the types of magazines and blogs that I frequent. I wonder how much more I am willing to frequent a blog or how much more likely I am to pick up a specific magazine due to it's layout? I loved the use of the pictures - especially the baby "testing" the floor. :) The writing conveyed a personal experience because it compared an expectation of  an aspect of "home". As someone who has lived overseas I completely identified with the experience of seeing how international companies market themselves abroad.