Travel blogs

While reading this weeks blogs I found myself constantly thinking about who the audience was for each piece. The Best Guest blog was the one that got me really thinking about this. The voice was so proper, the information was so basic. Lines like "If you don't want to pend time with someone, get a hotel room", made me crack a smile. This was sound advice, sure, but who is the intended audience? Someone who has never been a (good?) houseguest I guess. It almost read like a lecture from a strict and proper mother. This blog was a to-do list, I'm still not exactly sure who the target audience was. AnxietyTowards Flying, on the other hand, had a very clear audience; those with anxiety towards flying. There were several ideas that came up in the interviews that the blogger shared. First was the idea that knowledge will conquer fear, "I wanted to be armed with information." one interviewee says, and this is echoed throughout the blog. I wondered if that's what made the blogger, Brooke, choose these select, very short interviews to put in her blog. It gives her piece a feel of hope, and a positive tone about what can be a very stressful topic to some people. The interviews are informal and make reading this blog feel like no big deal, a very relaxed feel. The voice of Starbucks in Beijing was refreshing, it was relaxed and comical; giving the reader a feel of Christine's (the blogger) personality. The blog seems to aimed towards those looking for familiar places in foreign lands, who want to hear personal experiences. Christine lets the reader in on her past travels, to give herself credibility as one who compares similar places in different countries. She expresses her expertise on the culture of China with phrases like "Blueberry is like THE fruit in Beijing..." letting the curious potential traveler in on the little things they won't find in a travelers guide. She also focuses on the similarities rather than the differences, this adds to the feeling of familiarity this pieces as, it feels like a conversation with a chatty friend. Last, but not least, we have Whitewater Rafting at the Source of the Nile in Uganda. This blog is more along the lines of what I expected of a travel blog. It takes you through an interesting activity in a far away land. I feel that a blog like this one has a wider audience. Those who are interested in travel, in Africa, in whitewater rafting and those who like to read about exciting things. While there was some jargon that exclude some readers (me/other non-rafters), like referencing the "...international whitewater rating system" and class 6 waterfalls, the author sets up these phrases well enough/explains them well enough so that even I feel like a natural born rafter after reading. The short, choppy paragraphs gave me a feel of things constantly moving, of excitement. The blogger put us in the raft. "...I'd glance around and see belligerent white waves bursting all around us." Bursting, wow. That's great imagery, I've never thought of waves as being able to burst before, and that image stays with me after reading this. I also enjoyed the use of dialog. Having some very close friends from Glasgow, the voice of Lee, the guide, seemed very real to me and I enjoyed the attempt to spell out his speech.