Why I joined MatadorU

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I’M EMBARKING on my first press trip as a MatadorU student next month to Virginia Beach. It’s an all expenses paid four-day trip that will not only be a fascinating insight on a new destination for me, but also a look at what a press trip actually involves and what it is to be a professional writer.  I’ve steered clear of such trips since I began writing here, mostly because I didn’t understand how they worked and what the writing obligations are, but also because I was too busy building this site.

National Geographic Traveler – Interview Series [Teaser] from Matador Network on Vimeo.

(Get inside advice from National Geographic Traveler’s editorial staff: Keith Bellows, Amy Alipio, Norie Quintos, Marilyn Terrell, Kathie Gartrell, and Dan Westergren. Offered only to students of www.matadoru.com)

Content creation has changed

We forget so easily what life was like five years ago.  In many places it hasn’t changed a great deal, but in the online world things move so fast that five years probably equates to about fifty.  Twitter and Facebook have both become part of the digital furniture in that time, both of which–like Google–are merely advertising businesses masquerading as something far more interesting.  The blogosphere is similar, it’s changed so much.

Noise on the internet has been cranked up significantly; it was once fairly easy to get noticed as a blogger if you had a nice looking site and a a well timed interesting message–that’s how Make Travel Fair won its recognition early on.  Once Twitter came along and Facebook opened up to brands, a blog was no longer the only means of creating content and engaging people in a discussion.  Some said the blog was dead.

To be an ‘influencer’ and a useful asset for advertisers you no longer even need to blog; you can tweet, Facebook, instagram, foursquare and tumble your way to a noteworthy Klout score.

Having the support of a community is vital

The Matador Network has stayed abreast of these changes remarkably well, and built a community that understands it.  MatadorU is a 12 chapter insight into how popular content is produced, what you need to do as a successful blogger, and how you can get on track for a multi-media career as a photographer, writer, or both.  It’s not only a classroom but a community of people asking and enquiring about the same things as you… how do press trips work? how to I get on one? how do I pitch a magazine? how can I make my writing better?

Learn how to write beyond your blog

I’ve learnt that if you are serious about writing then your blog should not be the only home for it, you must reach beyond if you want to generate some income from your efforts.  A few people may still be lured by the illusion that you can actually make a living from blogging, and hope that soon they’ll be raking in advertising dollars.  I’ve never met anyone who lives comfortably in the western world and makes a living from their blog; which leads me to believe that it just doesn’t happen. Either they live a nomadic life, hopping between countries where living is cheap, or are supported by a partner who makes a good living.

Next month I will feel like a writer and photographer when I get on my press trip, and it’s thanks to the help of MatadorU and its community that I’ll be there and that I’m beginning to write in places other than this blog.

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