Below is the 2nd edition of the Byteful Travel blog carnival which spans a delightful variety of travel topics. I’m currently on-assignment on the East Coast, so I don’t have time to say much, but I will say that I’m very happy to report that once again there are some articles with great photography included (including some great glimpses of Paris) and some oddly fascinating video clips, as well. And if you happen to be in this month’s edition, be sure to retweet and stumble this article to get more attention to your own blog. It multiplies the reaching power of this blog carnival very much, and you’d be doing your blog a favor.

But enough talk. Come and explore the farthest reaches of the Earth with me…

Travel Destinations

Jennifer Miner presents:
Top Things to Do in Seattle, Washington posted at The Vacation Gals, saying,

“There are so many great things to do in Seattle, this “best” list barely scratches the surface! I loved visiting Seattle, and I hope you get the chance to travel there sometime, too.”

Travel Photography

Laura presents:
Milan. Where Nothing Is What It Seems posted at Travelocafe Travel Blog.

Zhu presents:
Sights of Paris (Part I) posted at Correr Es Mi Destino, saying,

“I’ve been to Paris a thousand of times, as a tourist, a concert-goer, and a student. The only way I can stand the city for more than a few days is by going full tourist mode. In fact, most of the time, I just pretend I don’t speak French. Parisians see me as an idiot but a foreign idiot, so it’s not as bad in their eyes.”

Ryan Murphy presents:
Strange new world posted at Eleven Degrees North, saying,

“I am a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines. This post is about my father’s visit to the country earlier this year.”

Travel Stories

Ryan Peligrino presents:
Schengen Visa, St Malo and the French Couple part deux posted at Wandering Pinoy.

Kristie presents:
Bangalore’s Dancing Priests posted at Culture Shock.

Melissa_Abroad presents:
Sola the Greek, or Everyone has a Travel Story posted at The Innocent Abroad, saying,

“In this article, the author tells the story of a retired immigrant police officer and questions the ethics of telling stories belonging to other people.”

Morgan Schwartz presents:
Body Scanners at Eppley Give Suburban Mom a Cheap Thrill posted at All Cracked Up by Vicky DeCoster, saying,

“In between work, errands, and chauffeur service, Moms in Omaha might not have that many opportunities for excitement in their day. One Mom found the new body scanners at Eppley Airport good for a cheap thrill—and a little awkward self reflection.”

Travel Tips

Susan Howe presents:
How to Save Money While Traveling posted at Get Rich Slowly, saying,

“While traveling, there’s no way to escape all those expenses but there are plenty of things you can do to keep your overall costs low. Here are some easy ways to save while traveling.”

Want to grow your audience?

You too can be a part of Byteful Travel carnival! If you’re a writer, and you’ve written something that relates to travel in some way, I’d highly encourage you to submit a piece you’re proud of.

Why? Because blog carnivals are a fantastic way to get the word out about what you’re publishing on the web. I know this from firsthand experience because blog carnivals have been incredibly helpful in spreading the word about Byteful Travel.

To request an article you wrote to be considered for inclusion next time, please submit your blog post (just one please, and one that provides real value and is not spam) to the next edition of the Byteful Travel carnival using the Byteful Travel carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found in the blog carnival index. (And if you’d like to host the carnival itself, as I have done here, please contact me via the contact page.)

A big thanks to everyone who submitted! Without you, this carnival never would have happened. And if you submitted an article but it wasn’t accepted, it probably was under 300 words or it wasn’t about travel.

Since I’m currently on assignment travelling on the East Coast, I’m not sure when the next carnival will be, but let that stop you from submitting to the carnival anyway!

Looking forward to seeing more of your travel articles next time!

Related Articles

1. Byteful Travel Carnival #1 – Inaugural Edition
2. Carnival of Cities for 2010 May 19

I’m sure you’ve already noticed the most obvious part, the new Byteful Travel logo on the top of every page. The background has also been revamped and text styles have also been tweaked to better match the new look. And seriously, this update is overdue. None of the site-wide graphics had been changed since January, and the site had been in need of an overhaul for a while.

So today, I’m spilling the beans, sharing some of the world’s ugliest webpages with you, and showing you a few core reasons why visual design is pretty darn important.

And the funny part is, I never planned to complete these changes this weekend, but inspiration struck me. I’ll elaborate on that later on, but first I must address the question:

Why are these design changes important?

Well, when designing a website, it’s really important that it be visually accessible, as well as functional. The visual layout and color choice on a webpage has a profound effect on how you process the information on that page. Think about it.

The Ugliest Webpages on the Net

I’ll give you a couple of examples of what not to do, mostly because it illustrates my point, but also because sharing ugly webpages with you is pretty enjoyable in its own right.

And of course, the best place to find examples of what NOT to do when designing a webpage is on MySpace! Here’s a myspace page that illustrates what happens when you don’t know what contrast is: amiecmonjohn

It can get much worse than this though. How much worse? You don’t want to know… at least, you’ll probably want to turn down your volume or mute your speakers before you discover the glory that is this wonderful cacophony of visual and audial insanity: ukcraigb

But animated GIFs and looping MIDIs aside, would you really want to keep reading something on a site that had serious layout or color problems? I realize those two examples aren’t typical, but they’re great examples of how a website’s appearance can dramatically affect how you process information. (Although that song on the 2nd page is starting to get stuck in my head since I’m letting it play as I write this. I know, perhaps I’m crazy but it actually grows on you.)

In light of how the layout and color balance of a webpage affect how you process the information on this website, I carefully designed this major revision to invite you to be even more comfortable while reading Byteful Travel, as well as to attract new readers. And, as a travel site, it’s important that Byteful Travel’s appearance evoke an adventurous, and even mysterious, feeling when you’re visiting here. And I believe these new changes do just that.

Simplifying Type & The Dangers of a Free Typeface

Basically, the header really needed a cleaner, more identifiable appearance, and one of the things I did to achieve that was to remove the secondary text that used to be below the words “Byteful Travel”. Now, the header simply reads “Byteful Travel”, and truthfully, that’s all it ever needed. (Fun fact: this is the first time the header has only included 2 words, and no other types of letterforms, since June 2007. That’s a while!)

You may also notice that I’m using a completely different, and much more relevant, typeface for the logo in the header now. This lovely typeface is called Carolingia, and the celtic brush style to the letterforms lends an older, and more worldly feel to the header. I’ve also taken the time to manually join some of the letters together, as if they were written by an actual inked pen. (I tried it on two letters and realized it would be unwise of me to stop because it looked so much better. Alas, this is what designers do.)

I fully realize that not everyone is going to notice a subtle detail like that, but it’s in my nature to make everything as polished as it can be (within a reasonable timeframe, of course).

However, since this typeface is available for free at DaFont.com, some designers would suggest that I have treaded into unprofessional waters. In fact, some designers look down on any typefaces offered for free as automatically inferior to their commercial counterparts. This bias within the industry has existed for some time, and perhaps it started out with good reason. (Free typefaces used to be utter crap.) But today there is no excuse for passing up a very polished typeface, even if it’s available freely. At any rate, I don’t mind if designers have a problem with my typeface choice. I’m pleased at how it works within the new logo. And unless they can offer constructive criticism, their words won’t factor into my actions.

Inspiration: Before & After

You also ought to notice the newly polished Charamandala (the circular logo to the right of the header). In case you’re not up to speed, the Charamandala was introduced in April 2009 as an abstract logo for Byteful Travel. Some wallpapers were made based on it. It was then completely overhauled in December 2009 in preparation for the complete upgrade and facelift that the site got in January 2010.

Over the weekend, the shape itself wasn’t changed at all, but the Charamandala’s shading and feel of substance has been greatly improved, making it much more visually soothing as well as easier to see from a distance. You’ve got to see a before and after on this, and you’ll see what I mean:

See the Charamandala to the top right? See how it actually has substance now?

Much better!

So why does this new design work?

In fact, looking at the before and after like is a fantastic way to show off why this new design works. Most obviously, the site has gone from a monochromatic look (i.e., way the heck too much blue), to a duo-chromatic look of cyan and dark indigo. The header text is much more expressive and intriguing; and the background gives the entire site much more depth than it had before. (Not to mention it evokes sands or ocean waves, which both imply far-off lands and travel.)

All of this serves to better visually organize the information on this site. In fact, this is the highest contrasting header I’ve ever created for the site, and it works because it draws the eye’s attention to where it belongs, while at the same time soothing the eye. First the eye goes to the logo text, and then it goes down to the title of the article which flows into the body of an article. Chicken Voila! It’s Magic!

You know, metaphorically speaking…

Acting out of Inspiration

Now here’s the funny part. As I mentioned before, the actions that resulted in this new site-wide design were triggered by inspiration. Instead of chaining my soul to my To Do list, I’ve been paying more and more attention to my feelings and what’s inspiring me in the present moment; and I act on those inspirations whenever I can. You could say I’ve been listening to my heart instead of just my head. Perhaps the inspiration for this… inspiration idea has been Steve Pavlina’s 30 day inspiration trial that I’ve been following for the past week. As he correctly illustrates, when we act out of inspiration, we can create higher quality work; and this work will be much more in tune with our hearts, because true inspiration only comes from a heart-based place.

So this weekend, I felt inspired, and instead of writing down “revise yadda yadda something header project” (in classic GTD style, of course) in my to do list, I decided to sit down and act on the inspiration while it was still hot. And the result was that, not only did I finished these revisions much faster than I anticipated, the finished product was also better than I imagined!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy these changes, and I hope you learned something.
I know I did.

I’m going to continue following Steve’s 30 day inspirational trial.
I guess you could say it’s inspired me.

Related Articles

1. Find Inspiration Everywhere with Quotes

Below is the inaugural edition of the Byteful Travel blog carnival which spans a variety of travel topics. And I’m happy to report that the majority of the articles below include some great photography to compliment the text (some of which is absolutely hilarious!).

As I said last month, blog carnivals are one of the best ways to discover new quality content in a vast array of different topics. For this first carnival, I was impressed by all of the articles, but if you’re in a hurry and only have time to read a few, I thought “13 Silly Signs Guaranteed to Make You Smile” (which is really hilarious), “20,000 kilometres by thumb: A hitchhiker’s lap around Australia” (which is pretty extraordinary), and “Hawaii Vacation with Parents and Children – The Waikoloa Petroglyph Field” were especially enjoyable entries.

Ready? Here we go…

Destinations

William Wallace presents Modern Day London Icon The Millennium Bridge posted at London Is Cool

Zhu presents Ushuaia, The End Of The World posted at Correr Es Mi Destino, saying,

“Traveling to the Southernmost city in the world is pretty exciting. Sure, it’s a silly symbol, but it’s fun to sit by the seaside and imagine that Antarctica is right there, barely 1,000 kilometers away. To know that Canada is 13,000 km north. To reach the end of the road, literally.”

Photography

Katie Sorene presents 13 Silly Signs Guaranteed to Make You Smile posted at Travel Blog – Tripbase

Travel Poetry

Contrecoup presents Sojourn posted at Life observed from the Edge, saying,

“Not so much a tale about a destination, but rather a poem exploring some of the more abstract urges that drive me to continue on down the road.”

Travel Tips

Andy Hayes presents Inspired by the View posted at Sharing Travel Experiences, saying,

“Sometimes a little height is all you need…”

Travel Stories

Jordy Clements presents Tents for Haiti – an Omaha relief effort posted at Omaha.net – Local Writing from the Heartland

Emily Gerson presents An Encounter With Cross-Country Vagabond Sean Robinson posted at Maiden Voyage

Andrea Nicole presents 20,000 kilometres by thumb: A hitchhiker’s lap around Australia posted at InspiringTravellers.com

Jennifer Miner presents Hawaii Vacation Parents Children – Waikoloa Petroglyph Field posted at The Vacation Gals, saying,

“A simple hike in Hawaii with my parents and children became incredibly meaningful to me. I hope you like this post.”

Austin Morgan presents Interview with an American Working at a Preschool in Norway posted at Foreigners Finances, saying,

“Interview with an American woman who moved away from everything she ever knew in Central Illinois to start a new life as a preschool teacher in Norway.”

Vicki Potts presents Fez, Morocco – how I got the travel bug posted at redheadedtravels, saying,

“This goes back 22 years to when I first caught the travel bug and progressed from holidays to travelling.”

Iain Manley presents Travel and Nostalgia posted at Old World Wandering: A Travelogue, saying,

“Travel and Nostalgia is about the difference between how we experience life and how we remember it, something I think travel helps to highlight.”

Want to grow your audience?

You too can be a part of Byteful Travel carnival! If you’re a writer, and you’ve written something that relates to travel in some way, I’d highly encourage you to submit a piece you’re proud of.

Why? Because blog carnivals are a fantastic way to get the word out about what you’re publishing on the ‘net. I know this from firsthand experience because blog carnivals have been incredibly helpful in spreading the word about Byteful Travel.

To request an article you wrote to be considered for inclusion next time, please submit your blog post (just one please, and one that provides real value and is not spam) to the next edition of the Byteful Travel carnival using the Byteful Travel carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found in the blog carnival index. (And if you’d like to host the carnival itself, as I have done here, please contact me via the contact page.)

A big thanks to everyone who submitted! Without you, this carnival never would have happened. And if you submitted an article but it wasn’t accepted, it probably was under 300 words or it wasn’t about travel. If you have any questions about how to submit an article or why your article wasn’t accepted, please let me know.

Looking forward to seeing more of your travel articles in the next carnival!

Related Articles

1. Byteful Travel Carnival #2 – 2010 Aug 30
2. Carnival of Cities for 2010 May 19

Why?

Well, blog carnivals are one of the best ways to discover new quality writers that exist in a niche you enjoy.

Here’s how the magic works: writers submit their post to a carnival on BlogCarnival.com and the website emails the article link to the carnival host to assist in organizing the host’s carnival. Then, the blog carnival host will preview all of the articles, decide which are appropriate to the carnival’s topic (yes, even they get spam), and publish a collection of the best articles submitted.

It’s all free, and since every carnival is moderated by a human being (unlike automated search engines such as Google) the best articles usually come to the foreground, so it’s an awesome way to discover fascinating new writers and articles. Often, a blog carnival will travel from blog to blog, and today Byteful Travel hosts the Carnival of Cities.

What’s special about Carnival of Cities?

Carnival of Cities has been one of my favorite carnivals for a while now because it consistently includes fascinating articles on a topic I love: travel. The carnival occurs bi-weekly, and it’s dedicated to highlighting any aspect of any specific city. No joke: people often say that reading through it feels like a trip around the world.

I’ve been submitting to this carnival off and on for about two years, and it’s an honor to finally host it. Thanks to Sheila Scarborough, maintainer of this blog carnival, for giving me the go ahead.

So in summary, today we’re going to wander all around North America, stop by Europe, and then finish at the mysterious island nation of Sri Lanka.

Ready? Here we go…

American Cities

Glenwood Springs, CO, USA – The Vacation Gals present:
Summer Fun at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park at The Vacation Gals

Manistee, MI, USA – Dominique King presents:
Manistee North Pierhead Lighthouse awaits fate at Midwest Guest

Houston, TX, USA – Joshua presents:
In Houston: Teo Chew Temple at Transmorgified

Luray, VA, USA – Sheila Scarborough presents:
Good food in the Shenandoah: Brookside Restaurant at Family Travel Guide

Chicago, WI, USA – Minnemom presents:
What to Do with Kids in Chicago at Travels with Children by minnemom

San Diego, CA, USA – Shelly Rivoli presents:
Cheap & Free San Diego: Balboa Park with Kids at Travels with Baby Tips

Jacksonville, FL, USA – Alex Garmendia presents:
The Real Guide to Jacksonville, Florida at The Good Life

Montréal, Canada – Boomergirl presents:
“…those nights in Montréal” at Roadstories

Toronto, Canada – Zhu presents:
Toronto By Night at Correr Es Mi Destino

Ushuaia, Argentina – Bob Berwyn presents:
Beagle beer and friendly huskies in Ushuaia at Summit County Citizens Voice

Quito, Ecuador – foXnoMad presents:
Climbing Pichincha Volcano On The Teleferico In Quito, Ecuador at foXnoMad

European Cities

London, England, UK – Dee Andrews presents:
Trooping the Colour in London at Travel and Travails

Liverpool, England, UK – Natalia presents:
World Museum Liverpool at Let’s do something different

Valencia, Spain – Jack Norell presents:
Surviving las Fallas in Valencia at Eyeflare Travel Articles and Tips

Asian Cities

Tissamaharama, Sri Lanka – Brian Spencer presents:
Postcards from the Road: Tissamaharama, Sri Lanka at Perceptive Travel Blog

Want to participate?

If you want, you too can be a part of the awesomeness that is Carnival of Cities. And really, you’d be silly not to consider this. For any writer, blog carnivals are a fantastic way to get the word out about what you’re publishing on the net. I know, because blog carnivals have been incredibly helpful in spreading the word about Byteful Travel.

To request an article you wrote to be considered for inclusion next time, please submit your blog post (just one, and one that provides real value and is not spam) to the next edition of the Carnival of Cities using the Carnival of Cities submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index.

And if you’d like to host the carnival itself, as I have done here, please contact the carnival’s maintainer at the following email address: Sheila “at” sheilascarborough “dot” com. (But please be patient. She gets a substantial amount of email.)

Also, Byteful Travel is hosting its own travel-related blog carnival in June. If you’re curious, checkout the Byteful Travel Carnival page.

And until next time, happy reading!

Related Articles

1. Byteful Travel Carnival #2 – 2010 Aug 30
2. Byteful Travel Carnival #1 – Inaugural Edition

Does the concept of Oneness relate to travel?

And why is Oneness important?

Today I’m going to discuss some of the answers to those questions. Consider this as a thought-provoking reminder. While you may not consider yourself a creative person, you most certainly are. Even if you never write, photograph, or make a single coherent note, your friendships are your creation. So today we’re going to talk a bit about purpose, growth, oneness, and how they relate to your role as a creative being. Yep, you’re a creative being. Sorry, but its unavoidable; you can’t help it!

You May Have Already Won… Monopoly money! Surprise!

The Element of Surprise is often overlooked as a key element in creation, whether it be visual, audible, or the written word. For instance, travel writers must constantly put their readers into a state of wonder and surprise. Without it, the writing feels stale and predictable. Even if you never write, a good example of creativity in a social setting is humor; and as any comic will admit, surprise plays a key role in humor, as well. Have you ever sat down and asked yourself, “What exactly is humor anyway?” If you think about it, humor can only arise out of an unexpected outcome. It can only arise if there is some flavor of surprise. Good writing is quite similar!

Our Shared Mission on this Blue-Green Planet

As a travel writer, it’s my mission to provide you with enlightening new perspectives of this beautiful blue-green planet we call home. It really is a magical place, and too often we forget that as we sit in our man-made above-ground caves as beauty lurks outside. Life is so much more than our routines. It’s about discovery. It’s about growth. It’s about inspiration.

And as a travel writer, I deeply feel that it’s my purpose to inspire you with these new perspectives, and (if I’ve really done a good job) make you think differently about the world around you. Perhaps through what I share, you’ll realize more and more that the Earth isn’t the dangerous, unforgiving place that some sources would have you believe. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying it’s without danger. Any environment that fosters growth will have dangerous elements, but danger is certainly not the defining characteristic of Earth. In my experience, the defining characteristic is Growth: a natural unfolding of progress.

You’re lucky, because people who live in a growth-inducing (or catalyzing) environment such as Earth’s, will mature over time. And life paths that are dangerous and self-destructive are not a sign of a mature, conscious person. Mature, self-aware life sees itself as a fragment of a larger whole and doesn’t seek to destroy its neighbors because it realizes a universal truth: by hurting others, it hurts itself. Our mission is to always remember and act on this truth.

It Takes 10,000 Hours

A popular idea floating around right now is that it takes 10,000 hours to become a professional at a skill, so it’s no surprise to me that after writing over a hundred articles, I am only now finally beginning to feel good about how I balance length, depth, and personality in my writing. And I’m excited that I can see this improvement quite obviously when comparing some of my articles from years passed. It’s truly a great honor to be able to share my experiences with you, and I feel that I’m just beginning to hit my stride in my writing capability. I’ve realized that as I mature as a creator, I become better and better at discerning the quality of the creations around me, and what I see in the writing sphere is a good example.

What’s the deal with travel sites “churning” out content?

These days, I’m surprised sometimes at how some sites seem to write rather passionless articles again and again. I find myself asking certain questions: Does the web really need another story about how to best spend your money? Does the blogosphere (if that’s actually a thing) need another guide on how to use your time most effectively? Does the computer-internet really need another post talking about how “blogging saved my life”?

Maybe, just maybe, it doesn’t.

Maybe this whole web would be better served if writers were really darn honest and wrote about what they actually cared about instead of what they felt would generate views (or worse, what they were being paid to write so someone else could generate page views). At what point do people begin to stop recycling ideas and start actually doing their life’s work?

More Honesty = More Value

The more honest you, as a creator, are about your own feelings, the more valuable what you create is. Say it out loud if you didn’t the first time: The more honest you are, the more valuable what you create is. You need to say that out loud because your more likely to actually remember this timeless piece of information. No matter what kind of content you create, it’s very important to be really, really aware that you’re creating for a real person, who may have arrived at what you’ve created from a variety of places. They may be seeking inspiration, comfort, or any one of a million things.

If you’re a travel writer, they may want a specific question answered, they may want to hear a story, or they may want to just look at some of the beauty you captured on your last trip to Galapagos. But no matter what they seek, the more honest you’re able to be with yourself when you create it, the more they’ll be able to identify with what you’ve created. The reason for this relates to Oneness.

You see, when you’re really, really aware of how a person enjoys your work, you can put yourself in their shoes. When you can do this, you can anticipate their needs. When you can anticipate their needs, you can make smart choices about how to frame what you’re trying to say. I’m not saying you should tailor your message to your audience. That would actually be the stupidest thing you could do, because if you depend on your audience for guidance, the chances of you ending up in a place that resonates with your heart’s path is close to nothing. So find the message that resonates with your heart. Then, stay true to your message, but don’t forget who’s hearing it.

How Travel Writing Encourages Oneness

As I see it, one of the highest goals a travel writer can have is to inspire and grow the awareness of Oneness between people, and other kinds of creativity are no different. In the case of travel writing, when you honestly relate your experiences of another culture, not only do you highlight some of the fascinating qualities that are unique to the culture. But more importantly, if you’re honest with yourself, you invariably come to the conclusion that, once you look under the surface-level appearance, the similarities between peoples and cultures far outweighs the differences. And sharing these types of stories affects us on a deep level, because we already know in the unspoken places of our hearts, that we are all One People, and always have been.

An excellent expression of this message is the song “Braided Hair” by 1 Giant Leap. I highly recommend you take a couple minutes to watch this:

“Because We are One, and We Should Know We are One”

In short, by expressing yourself honestly, you help the entire planet. The practice of telling stories and relating your experiences of other cultures is just one example. Through honest communication, we realize more and more how we are so incredibly and intimately connected as a people on this planet, and it serves serves as a wake-up call for us all. The more harmony and cooperation we can create between the differing cultures of the Earth, the more loving and enjoyable this planet will become; and perhaps most importantly, the sooner this planet will become a congruent, harmonious society and that’s poised for exploration beyond our own little star.

I look forward to that day… don’t you?
Let’s make it come faster.
We can, when we decide.

Related Articles

1. It Takes A Long Time to Become Fully You
2. The Top 5 Surprises at the Denver Art Museum
3. Personal Development for Smart People & Travel
4. Travel Writers Need Time to Reflect, too.
5. Create with Passion or DIE

The beginning of a new year is the perfect time to reflect on lessons learned over the past year and, more importantly, to set a vision for the new year. And I’d like you to consider a few questions that, if you answer honestly, will change your life… in a big way.

Questions for today:

1. Are you doing work you’re passionate about, work that you were born to do?
2. Are doing work that provides real value to the world instead of temporary distraction?
3. Are you allowing yourself to explore new territory so you can learn what works for you and what doesn’t?

Today I’m going to show you that, although it takes time to find what you enjoy creating, once you find it you can embrace your unique contribution and start creating for passion instead of just survival.

This is one of the best feelings in the world.

Over the years, the focus of byteful.com has morphed considerably. At first, it was an experiment to see how I felt about communicating through the medium of blogging. (And it’s important to remember that blogging is a medium in the same sense that newspaper is a medium. Blogging is not a genre, and it is most certainly not a verb!) I finally zeroed-in and started focusing on travel sometime 2008, because, after trying lots of different things, I discovered that this focus is something I’m really passionate about. And, lucky for me, it was complimented by my passion for photography, too.

But I didn’t discover this right way. Only after many experiments in writing about different topics and using different styles had I come across a focus that I really felt good about. Not just good: I really love writing about my experiences, and I came to realize that true adventure, the spontaneous exploration and documentation of powerful experiences, was something that I would be more than happy spending years writing about. And because I finally felt really passionate about what I was doing, I would regularly put in the time to write, which meant I would improve more and more at what I was doing. You see, when you feel passionate about what you’re doing, you want to put in the time to get good at it, too.

Something to know about me upfront: I’m really bad at getting up the motivation to write something when I’m not interested in it or if I have any doubt whatsoever that what I’m writing about actually matters from a higher perspective.

I’m not going to be shy about this: certain articles I’ve posted here are complete drivel, and I felt pretty tedious while writing some of them. (Hint for the wise: you’re probably not writing compelling content if you, the writer, are bored to tears.) So why did I write them? Good question!

Every Misstep is a Growth Experience

At the time, for some mindless reason, I felt like they needed to be complete. I felt that articles such as Visiting the Minneapolis Central Library were somehow meaningful.

HAH! Perhaps I felt that way because I wanted completeness in my chronicling of my experience in Minneapolis, but my values were out of whack: my focus wasn’t on creating with passion. My focus seemed to be on completeness instead. With what I’ve learned now, I’m not convinced the world needed another 672 word article describing a public library… (Even if it did have interesting architecture.) Honestly, the article was boring!

Sure, some of the pictures are interesting, and the bit about the moving bookshelves was cool in an “I, Robot” sort of way, but really. If I don’t enjoy reading my own article, I don’t expect YOU to either. I promise.

That bulbous blubber of an article never helped anyone, did it? The only person it may have helped was me. Do you know why?

It helped me because, every mistake, every misstep, is another experience mark on the chalkboard, another experience you can grow from, another step toward success… if you have the ability to learn from it. You’ve got to find how to get into your own creative flow, and you learn that through experience, through DOING.

This is the crux of everything I’m saying here.

I focused on being thorough instead of writing with passion for far too long, and do you know what resulted? Boring beige blather. Perhaps I used thoroughness as some kind of demented crutch, I don’t know.

Perhaps I was hypnotized at points, like some kind of sleepy polar bear. Yeah, maybe I should release a formal statement that goes: “Sorry folks, I was in a zombie-like walking-coma for the year of 2008 and probably at points in 2009, as well.”

All joking aside, metaphorically that’s not far from the truth. In some of the articles, I was like a zombie of heartless thoroughness, but never again. Over time, I have grown much in my wielding of the art of communication. The blubber has been going down and will continue to go down as I improve as a writer, as I align more and more with creating with passion.

Walt Disney once said,

“We don’t make movies to make money,
we make money to make more movies.”

Now slow down. Take a breath. Read Disney’s words again. Inside this quote is the essence of creating with passion. So, why should online content be any different?

It isn’t.

You Will Suck… but it’s temporary!

In the early days of byteful.com, I wrote a little article giving myself permission to make mistakes as I grew as a writer. I recognized that experience is the only way to improve, so I embraced the fact that I was definitely going to make mistakes and probably write a lot of boring beige blather (though I didn’t call it that at the time). I knew I was going to suck… a lot.

For a long time.
And the best part is: that’s okay!

Do you think anyone is born knowing how to write compelling articles or compose an inspiring photograph? Heck, no! Each success is marked by uncounted reams of blather: learning experiences about what works and what sucks. And it’s okay because I was doing something that I enjoyed, something that I would continually improve upon.

And please don’t get me wrong. I don’t claim that I’ve stopped sucking, only that my level of suckage has reached a tolerable level in such a way that my work is actually shared between people now. Remember, this is a journey. As long as you keep working at it, keep creating with passion, you will improve! And if you stick with your passion long enough, you’ll start creating content that really speaks to people on a deep level. When you’re passionate about something that’s important to you, you can’t help but do this.

People are Starved for a Message that Speaks to Them

A good explanation of this was discussed at last year’s South by Southwest conference. Merlin Mann and John Gruber held a panel on this subject and have even offered the discussion as podcast for free download. If you create web content, or any kind of creative output at all, I highly recommend you listen to this. I cannot recommend this podcast enough. I’ve linked to it at the bottom of this article so you can grab the mp3 of their panel discussion once you’re done here.

Some of my favorite ideas from the podcast:

“People are starved for content that speaks to them that’s not a reality show.”

“You have a certain obligation to reinvent yourself.”

I would tweak the first statement and say that, beyond content, people are starved for a message that speaks to them. All content has a message whether you realize it or not, and last time I checked, the Earth could use more empowerment and more gratitude in its messages.

We’re all here to do What we’re all here to do

Khalil Gibran once wrote, “Work is Love made visible.” And I’ve never come across a better way to describe the mindset of what it feels like to be doing the work you were meant to do.

When you commit to putting time in doing work you’re passionate about, you will “level-up” in your ability to do what you’re doing. Here’s a useful analogy that came to me while writing this article: The difference between one level of skill to the next level is similar to the feeling you get when you’re trying to see a 3D hologram embedded in a 3D stereogram.

For a long time, you squint and squint, but you just cannot see the 3D image embedded in the pattern. After a while, someone comes along and tells you to focus beyond the image and suddenly:

BOOM.

Your eyes relax as they focus beyond and an amazingly detailed hologram of a dinosaur, or a boat, or Merlin Mann’s face appears in front of you and has depth. And for the first time, you see that this new perspective is pure magic and you say, “Wow! I never realized I could do that, but it makes so much sense: Focus Beyond…”

This is what it feels like when somebody shows me something I’ve suspected in the back left-hand corner of my mind, but never fully articulated. The work of people like Khalil Gibran, Merlin Mann, or Steve Pavlina make truths pop-out in 3D for me every now and then. It’s ineffable, and I’m so grateful for them.

Create with Passion or DIE

You see, when you create with passion, you use your divine ability to create something new that also shimmers with the love energy you put into it. If you get proficient at this, it will be significant on a very deep level. Life is too short not to create with passion. Yet many people misuse their abilities and write drivel that’s only designed to be a momentary distraction with no longterm benefit to the reader. Some writers don’t even realize they’re doing this. And from a higher perspective, this is very disrespectful to the reader. The most valuable gift you can receive from anyone is their time, and when someone gives your article attention, they are giving their time to it. Thankfully, smart people have gotten wiser about what articles they actually decide to read and which ones are just fluff that only deserve a 3 second skim. So, do you really want to end up in the fluff pile?

It’s all about flow. It’s about embracing what your unique contribution is, whether it be writing, photography, videography, animation, speaking, or anything creative really. The more aligned you are with what you’re passionate about, the more congruent you are with your work, the easier it is to be in the flow and to start doing some seriously great work.

Don’t forget the words of Disney. He didn’t make movies to make money. He made money to make more movies. He created his company because of his passion, and that’s the exact mindset that all of the Master Creators embody, the exact mindset I seek to embody more and more. So this year, I’m going to tweak the experiment that is byteful.com: I’m not going to be quite as constricted about which topics I write about for this site anymore as long as the topic relates back to embracing freedom, which is one of the core messages. My focus is on passion. And I can assure you that Disney answered all three of the questions at the beginning of this article with a resounding, “Yes.”

So, what would it be like if you embodied this attitude in your own creative work? How would you feel? And what effects would it have?

These questions are important to consider in this new year. After all, the year is what you make of it. Make it a year you’ll look back on with warm gratitude at how far you’ve come. Don’t die with your music still inside you.

Create with passion!

~~~~~~~
- Merlin Mann and John Gruber’s Panel Discussion -

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As you probably have guessed by my unexpected hiatus, I’m currently on-assignment exploring the world while I still have time.

Last September we talked about the options a travel writer has for staying fresh and current on the web: either wait until after a trip to write to gain perspective, blog from the road, or find a balance between the two. And as I’m sure you can see, I’ve been leaning towards the first option thus far on this current (and quite extensive) tour through various cities. This hasn’t always been by choice, but equipment occasionally fails at inopportune times.

Believe me when I say your positive thoughts and intentions toward my travels are greatly appreciated and truly do help!

Touching Down to Write

During this current hiatus, I’ve gained some new clarity toward those three options mentioned above.

When I wrote about the options a travel writer has, I was not in a travel mode of thinking, and I didn’t realize I was actually looking at the scenario from the outside looking in. When I wrote that article, my life was physically, mentally, and spiritually “on the ground” in the metaphoric sense, but now that I’ve “taken off” into a mode of long-term travel, I realize more and more the importance of finding a place to “touch down”, a place to allow my mind to become quieter and ease into more of a reflective, writing mode. I don’t expect this is true for everyone. But as for myself, I find that I’m able to reach greater depth of reflection and objectivity when writing about a place when I’m able to transition, if only for a while, into my writing mode.

When I look at the time that has passed, I see that this hiatus is giving me a new perspective on this weblog, and I sense a turning point is approaching. And I suspect this hiatus will be a catalyst for more than just new photographs. Beyond that, we shall see.

Many Stories are Ahead

In the meantime, I’m looking forward to sharing my explorations of cities such as Denver, Portland, and San Francisco with all of you. Many photos and many stories lie ahead.

All is well. I leave you now in love and light of the Infinite Creator.

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Cite This

If you’ve ever been in a university or college environment before, you know that academic citations are important when writing a research paper. If you’re not familiar with academic citations, they’re basically an agreed-upon way to reference where the writer is obtaining outside information, whether it be quoted or paraphrased.

Think of the Students!

A few months ago, I realized that I was missing out on making it very easy for a whole subset of my readership to take full advantage of the site. I thought, “The students! The students and academia! Does anyone think about the poor acadamias?”

So, in the chance that someone may want to include ideas from Byteful Travel in their research paper, I have installed a nifty little plugin, creatively named Academic Citation plugin, which automatically generates a citation, in five popular formats such as APA, MLA, and AMA, just above the comment section of every article. These formatted citations are bibliography-ready, thereby saving you the time of manually gathering and formatting all the information required for an academic citation.

A Unique Feature

Interestingly, of the roughly 100 travel blogs I’ve explored over the past few months, none of them offered this feature. And they’re missing out on an opportunity to encourage their proliferation. Perhaps in a few years, as the mainstream media becomes less relevant and attention further shifts to online media, the use of this plugin will increase as blogs are taken more seriously in the academic arena. After all, just because someone’s work isn’t published in a fancy journal doesn’t mean it isn’t relevant, right?

To see these generated citations, click on the “[view academic citations]” link just above the comments. I’ve colored it orange so it’s easy to find.

Find Related Posts (Finally!)

You may also notice that just above the orange link is a list of related posts. Yes, I’ve finally installed a related posts plugin. I chose Yet Another Related Posts Plugin because it offered many options and radiated digital warm-fuzzies. This plugin offers unparalleled control over how related posts are calculated and ranked, and it’s free. It also has the ability to add related posts to entries inside of RSS feeds, as well. If you’re looking for a related posts plugin for your blog, I recommend you check it out.

The wonderful effect of a related posts plugin is that now when you finish an article you enjoy, you will see links to articles that are similar and your reading pleasure can continue!

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An idea practically hit me over the head on Sunday: what if people could share their nutritional choice in a supportive, yet unobtrusive and attractive way? I wondered why anyone hadn’t tackled this design challenge before. I’d never seen anything like the idea in my head before. Thus, the Powered by Plants badge was born.

Leafy Choices

The basic design for the graphic was already in my head, but it would take graphic design skills and patience to create something attractive and versatile. I decided to follow the design style I started when I created the CommentLuv badge for Andy over at ComLuv.com, which is really excellent plugin for Wordpress and other blogging platforms that encourages blog discussion. The difficult part was deciding on what kind of leaf to use. I experimented with lots of different leaves (including some kind of 7-pointed leaf, but something didn’t quite fit) ,so I eventually settled on a broad leaf you see below.

Spread the Word about your Conscious Choice

Whether you’re a macrobiotic eater, fruitarian, vegetarian, raw vegan, or normal vegan, these badges are a snazzy way to spread the word about your conscious nutritional choice. If you use one of the badges, I would very much appreciate you spread the love and link back to the Spread the Word page so that others can get a Powered by Plants badge that matches their own nutritional choice. Spread the word that, by making conscious nutritional decisions, we become healthier creators. If there’s some “-ian” or “-gan” that you’d like for your own site that I haven’t included here, please let me know in the comments.

Checkout the Spread the Word page to choose a badge.
— — —
UPDATE: White versions of the small badges are here!

And if you have any questions or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments below.

No posts relate.

During my adventure to Chicago, I began consider this question:

If you’re a traveller, should you blog your adventure as the adventure is happening or should you wait and write about your adventure when things settle down or you return home?

If you decide not to blog and wait until you return home, will this allow you to become more immersed and engaged in the midst of your adventure? Or is it better to take extra time during an adventure to try and blog about your experiences as the adventure is in full swing, perhaps a couple times a week? Does having to write about your adventure, as it occurs, take you out of the element?

Option 1: Wait to Gain Perspective

Each approach has its own advantages and disadvantages. Obviously, I chose to wait last month and probably have enough material to last me until the end of this year. Currently, I find it beneficial to wait until after an adventure to write about it. Giving my unconscious mind time to process the adventure and allowing some time to rest helps me get a better perspective on the journey as a whole. However, this clarity does come at a price: no one gets to experience the trip with me as it’s happening.

Option 2: Blog from the Road

The alternative is to take some time every day, or every few days, to reflect on the journey so far. However, creating the typical travel blog entry takes more time and more steps than you may realize. Blog entries need to be roughed out, written, refined, and corrected; and photography needs to be imported, post-processed, and uploaded. All of this takes time, and time is a funny thing. Whenever someone says “Yes” to something they must say “No” to hundreds of other alternatives.

The advantage of this method would be a higher degree of freshness to this blog. In order to pull this off, I would need to be especially careful to remain balanced. Perhaps setting aside one day a week is a good balance. During my next trip, I plan on experimenting to see what travel blogging rhythm works best for me.

Option 3: Balance Blogging and Travelling

Of course, there is always the third option, and this third option is used by many longterm travellers who blog: Do Both!

Releasing multiple updates a week, perhaps just photos, maintains interest for the reader and keeps them coming back for more. These “updates” wouldn’t be full entries, just something to keep the interest alive. Then, perhaps weekly, a travelling blogger can write a spotlight entry on a certain location they’ve been to that week, complete with pictures or a video, the whole shebang.

And there are other ways to provide fresh content, as well. By implementing Twitter into the conversation, a traveller can provide up-to-the-minute news about how their adventure is going and even teasers about what will be coming out next. I plan on using the bytefulcom twitter account in this way next time I travel, and I anticipate this little life experiment will be easy to implement since twittering from my iPod Touch is pretty effortless.

By using both techniques, the traveller can provide both refined content and more spontaneous content, therefore keeping the site fresh, but not allowing it to digress into a blog without compelling, well thought out content.

Up to You to decide

What about you? Would you wait until after a trip to write about it, try to make time while on a trip, or try to balance spontaneous with refined content?

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In that time, the Byteful Project has come a long way. Over the past year, the Byteful Project has launched Byteful Gallery, Byteful Video, and more recently redirected its focus into Byteful Travel. And I’ve had the pleasure of networking with some great people. Once again, thanks and a big mahalo to everyone who helped this site grow!

When I first created the Byteful Project, I had much to learn about spreading the word; but over time I’ve received some excellent advice from experienced people in the blogging field. A special thanks goes out to Steve Pavlina for his inspiration. His insight has been invaluable.

Through a greater web presence, the Byteful Project is poised to grow greatly over the next year. As prime creator of the Byteful Project, I can tell you the adventure has just begun.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to one byteful year!

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Recently certain individuals have helped in the growth and development of Byteful Travel, and I would now like to take this opportunity to thank them publicly.

With Deepest Thanks

Firstly, Barbara from BloggingWithoutABlog.com has provided valuable feedback on the development of this website — as well as highlighting this website in a recent article pertaining to keywords. Being highlighted was a singular honor. Thanks again, Barbara!

I am unable to read a large number of blogs because of time restraints — not to mention how I would go completely nuts if I sat at my desk and read blogs all day. However, I read Blogging Without A Blog because Barbara provides practical advice for bloggers with a down-to-earth writing style.

Secondly, Jessica from SewingMyShadowOn blog provided me with a free copy of “The Renaissance Soul” by Margaret Lobenstine. After coming across her book review, I emailed her saying that I would like the book if she was indeed willing to mail it to someone who wanted it, and she sent it. While I’ve already thanked her privately, tales of her kindness ought to be told publicly because she literally walked a mile to the post office for me. Thanks again, Jessica!

I’d also like to thank everyone who has provided feedback on the site thus far. Your words of encouragement are most helpful.

Gratitude Opens One Up

Has someone done something good for you lately? Have they done it publicly? Don’t they deserve a public “Thank You”?

Public thanks is important because they set a positive example for others and helps spread goodwill among people. By publicly thanking someone one expresses gratitude and encourages others to show gratitude, as well. Gratitude opens one up to receiving more blessings in one’s life. I’m not sure why this last part is true – I can only say that it has worked for me.

Are you past due for saying, “Thank You”?

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