Sunday, October 19, 2014

Facebook Vs Twitter


In terms of related hashtags # that are similar to my topic, I found out about #traveltips, which talks about travel and different peoples tips on travel especially relating to the missing Malaysian airline and the second Malaysian airline which was shut down a few months ago.

Furthermore, with the rise of Ebola, I found the hashtag #travelban talking about a travel ban for affected countries from visiting the United States.

 

Well the first tweet was kind of advertising, showing the best search engines and website to use for searching for an affordable ticket.
 



I used that site to purchase most of my flight tickets both domestic and international, I found out that flight agents buy the seats from the airlines in bulk and often at a discounted prices, hence making their prices cheaper. In the long run you save as much as $50 dollars if you compare current prices with the airline.

 

I am not a great fan of twitter, I personally prefer Facebook for my communication and collaboration with my friends and colleagues, participating in this exercise made me realize that it not possible to edit a tweet, well I might be wrong here since I am just a novice user of twitter. Facebook affords a user to edit, delete or hide a post unlike Twitter which only lets you to delete it.

 

I found Twitter to be a great tool for spreading information rapidly i.e. news, breaking news and life occurrences to your family or friends, although Facebook offers this feature too but the beauty of twitter is that you have limited characters, perhaps that inspires the brevity of the messages or tweets and the use of colloquial slangs to abbreviate meanings.

In my own view, in terms of the ease of use and feel, Facebook is the better choice especially for new social media users.

 

My thoughts on a fellow blogger's post


Hello Barbara, I am very thrilled about your website and your post in particular. It's great to see that you have setup a website blog to document your travel experiences and the new cultural experiences too. I love the pictures, it looked professional and has a high resolution. I love the church buildings and statues at O'Connell's street. Actually that picture looks familiar to a particular street in the CBD (central business district) of Barbados, perhaps the same architect. I also love how you put your itinerary on line, it gives us readers a sense of belonging. I will incorporate the idea in my blog. Your post have made me want to go to Europe again after such a long time. I plan on visiting the UK, France and definitely Ireland over the next holiday and would be taking your advices on bus tour deals as well as posting some pictures and info about my trip on my blog.



In Reply to Barbara Weibel’s blog post


 
Note: The above was posted as a comment

Ebola Scare and its impact on Travel


A news article on the charlotte observer talks about a flight delay after a passenger becomes ill. Ebola, a deadly disease first appeared in 1976 in 2 simultaneous outbreaks, one in Nzara, Sudan, and the other in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo (WHO factsheet, 2014). Its reemergence in West Africa is the largest and most complex outbreak ever since it was first discovered.

 

This disease has spread towards other countries via travel and migration. The first instance of Ebola in Nigeria was brought in by a Liberian traveler (Ibekwe, 2014). This disease causes an acute and fatal illness if untreated (WHO Factsheet, 2014). The incubation period is 21 days, the period it takes the disease to fully manifest in humans. Its only mode of transmission is via bodily fluids.

 

In this article, the flight was delayed for about three hours after a passenger began throwing up in the lavatory during boarding. Although the passenger did not reach the red flag of an Ebola case and no flight from West Africa was involved, she was transferred to the hospital.

 

The rumor of this began on twitter stating that the lady in question had the Ebola virus. This behavior could be expected due to the seriousness and deadly nature of the diseases. A poll in the USA reviewed that over 43% of Americans are very worried or somewhat worried about the virus becoming a major endemic in the USA and feared family members might catch the disease (Chapman, 2014). The first case of Ebola in the USA was recorded in September this year after a man travelled to Dallas from West Africa.  

 

Scientist are still working on a cure for the disease, although you  may have heard of the news that some patients have been given new experimental drugs  but it is probably immature to think that it will change the outcome of the current outbreak.

 

With all these happening, the main thing is to always maintain a good hygiene when travelling and whist visiting countries especially in West Africa. Ebola shouldn’t crash your dreams of exploration.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Why I Love Travelling

Good day this day, I’ve being watching the news lately on Scotland. I’m so keen in what the results about referendum be, will the Scots secede from the Brits. This were the thoughts I kept battling with in the event that Scotland gains independence, new constitution as well as borders and in particular restriction of travel will be put in place. UK visa holders would no longer have the liberty to travel to Scotland. Fingers crossed.
 
Today I will be talking about why I love to travel and the importance of travelling. I engage in traveling not just for the fun of it but to actually learn something new. Traveling itself is an education as you get to learn about new cultures, people and environments. Most people travel to mark birthdays, marriage ceremonies or honey moons which is good but for me traveling is a way of life. I try to make at least two major international trips every year so as to explore other lands and learn one or two things from there. The reason I write about my experience is to motivate and encourage others so that they would engage in the act of traveling and making new friends. It is not a must to travel to other countries as it were but the goal is to explore your locality, i.e. traveling to the next town or visiting a heritage site within the same country.  Traveling helps us to know ourselves better, and it eradicates doubts and perceptions about different cultures. Travel can help you unravel many false beliefs. Many go something like this: Americans are this, Spaniards are that, Italians are so…, Africans always…, French people are the most… etc. It’s easy to accept someone else’s opinion as you own without even realizing it (Mansaray, 2011). Traveling will help to get the right views about things from a firsthand perspective. Furthermore, traveling is a great way to relieve stress, away from the hustling and bustling of what you are used to. It is a great way to rejuvenate and you learn and meet new things in the process. In addition there, one can engage in business and other activities while sojourning in a different land; examples include selling merchandize and small menial jobs i.e. building and construction. This helps to develop oneself mentally and emotionally. I surely recommend traveling to anyone as the benefits and advantages are numerous and rewarding. As for the Scotland referendum issue, the polls will be finalized in a few hours time. Till then.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Why I'm Interested in this Topic?

Good day people and how has your week been. Mine has been stressed out with lots of work and assignments due all at the same time. Now I’m glad I’m finally getting there. This week I will be discussing about why I chose to write this blog. I have always wanted to start a blog about travel and exploration of cultures and events but always lacked the zeal or push to jump-start it. This university unit has open the door or I’d say giving me the motivation to write, especially writing about what I love to do.

I chose this topic about travel and exploring cultures because it is one of my hobbies. I had dreamed of travelling to a far country and meeting new people and interacting. In addition, travelling excites me: the feeling of take-off and landing in an airplane adds to my whole experience of it. Watching movies and eating onboard far above 30,000 feet is a joy to experience. Furthermore the expectation builds as you imaging what the final destination will be like, the people you meet and talk to, the different weather and climate at your destination are some of my reasons that interests me in travelling.

I can remember my first trip with my brother from Lagos to Anguilla, a Caribbean Island. That singular trip ignited my joy of wanting to travel more. I cannot say in particular that I didn’t feel afraid of flight and all but after a while, you get used to it. I noticed that the Caribbean was very homely and had a laid back attitude. There is always either one party there or another or one major carnival coming up. In the Caribbean’s, the main stay of the economy is tourism, with people from North America and as far as the UK visiting for their holydays, honey moons, or marriage ceremony, as the case may be. 
 
Another reason for choosing this topic is that I believe I will do well in it when explaining about the various aspects of travel, it being my hobby.

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Representing the Self/Avatat

Hello my fellow readers, this week is about the avatar and selecting an appropriate image that will be used to represent myself as I write and fill you in on my traveling escapades. I particularly chose this image because it encapsulates my whole idea of traveling and exploring the different cultures of wherever I go. I feel comfortable using an image of myself as an avatar because I am real and would want to connect more with my readers. Although most people will take advantage of the anonymity the avatar creates or the sense of new identity. There are examples of people using a male avatar when they’re females and vice versa. Whatever the reason maybe, I strongly believe all bloggers should use their images in their blog or at least a caricature of drawing of themselves.


 

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Welcome

Hello You all, I am Olumayowa, or David as my Australian friends call me. I love to travel a lot and love the idea of visiting new places and experiencing new cultures. In this blog I will be sharing some of my experiences of traveling and different cultures and their food. I am plan on touring Europe this December so I promised to talk about that and share some pics when that is done. Stay tuned.