This is the third post in a quite irregular series in which I provide unsolicited advice to my fellow travel bloggers.
Here it is: When someone responds to your request for advice, thank them.
The social media-driven universe we travel bloggers are currently inhabiting is pretty great. We scribble a question into Twitter and magically—or automagically, as this friend has it—we receive an answer. Where should I spend my afternoon on the Upper East Side while waiting for an appointment? What is the best Vietnamese restaurant in Oklahoma City? Which Croatian island will be quiet in August?
We risk a few dozen characters and the brain trust that is our social network comes back with useable answers. It's amazing. And yes, sometimes the answers that come back are not helpful. On occasion they're misreadings of our original queries, or even creepy and weird. But by and large they're coming from real people who we've already vetted on the strength of their knowledge, influence, or connectedness.
So say thank you. Don't demand answers. Don't follow up breathlessly with additional questions before taking time to demonstrate your appreciation. At the risk of hippieing out, you are responsible for shaping and nurturing your own online community. Don't blow it.
This is simple, easy, uncontroversial stuff. Say thank you.
