I noticed that the book signings and book store seems to be expanding at South by Southwest (SXSW), the exceedingly large conference I embark upon every year in Austin Texas. Check out the We Blog the World Austin Events section to get an idea of just how extensive it is as you’ll see from our dozens of write-ups on various films, musicians we discovered on and off the streets and Interactive panels and parties on topics that range from startup culture in Africa and South America and how to make video social to happiness, sustainability and gadgets. Al Gore was one of the keynotes but not far down the hall, science fiction geeks shared notes.
I had the opportunity to meet data guru, Stephen Wolfram, who is the genius behind the seminal math software Mathematica, the book A New Kind of Science, and the search engine Wolfram Alpha. To get an idea on the varied topics and authors, Jeff Gothelf signed copies of his book “Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience ” and C.C. Chapman showed up to talk about his latest: Amazing Things Will Happen, which is more about attitude towards life than life itself. A little gratitude will take you a long way.
Since my worlds often collide between my one hat (technology) and my other (travel), I’m always intrigued to find others in this galaxy who have made similar choices. Entrepreneur and writer Andrew Hyde and I had connected in the online world before, including email, but never actually met face-to-face until the latest SXSW. To be precise, it was on kick off night at Scott Beale’s annual Laughing Squid shindig. He describes himself as a minimalist, writer, bootstrapper, designer, user interface builder, user experience creator, thought leader buzzword originator, blogger, politico, biker, runner, backpacker and nice guy.
And like most prolific travelers, he has a few random quirky albeit amusing things about his aspirations and accomplishments. For an example, he has hit a double eagle in golf, can apparently ride a unicycle as well as fixie backwards (huh?), is an Eagle Scout and a Vigil Honor member whatever on earth that is, has rafted the Grand Canyon, build a cabin in Alaska (how cool is that?), dreams of being on This American Life, did an Ironman 70.3 twice, among others. So, when I saw that he was pimping his book This Book is About Travel, how could I not poke my head in and be a bother of sorts?
The book, which I’ve yet to dive into, but is now sitting on the bedside table, covers a two year journey on the road across 15 countries. Stories are shared from Nepal, Colombia, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, Kenya, Qatar, UAE, Panama and more. The book is about the days, people, stories, ethics and philosophy that bridged his trip. He asks: What is modern travel? Why are you not on the road?
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
