1) What led you to Blogging, Twitter and Social Media?
I was thrown off the “Twitter Clifftop” (or that’s how it felt) by an enthusiastic Twitter evangelist – Anthea Gerrie AKA @AceGlobeTrotter. She knew that once I took that first step, I would be hooked … and so it has proved. Facebook was more difficult for me but now I see its attraction. And we have just started our own blog www.magellanstraits.com – encouraged, supported and helped by friendly bloggers on Twitter. If it isn’t too rude here to mention other twitter chats – I would add that I have also re-discovered my passion for photography thanks to people like @Eurapart and @MalloryonTravel and all my friends on #TogChat every Wednesday and Charles @HotelPRGuy and Jonathan @EpsteinTravels with their Friday #FriFotos. Am currently growing a Flickr feed!
2) How has social media changed YOU, the way you interact with or do business with others?
That’s a very good question. I have discovered through reading people’s tweets that the people I thought I knew well, had a completely different personality and alter ego – and vice versa. Twitter can’t help but show the real person behind the tweets in the majority of cases – and that transparency is what is so appealing. I think I have changed too – have become more aware of the bigger community out there and what an immediate force for good, social media can be if used correctly. One has to give oneself boundaries and rules however – which some people seems to forget – as it’s quite easy to forget that Twitter is a public forum.
3) Where do you get your inspiration from? Who/what inspires you?
Well – I love people, visiting places and learning more about history, art, archaeology – I am a bit of a polymath. Life every day inspires me and I love sharing information and having fun communicating with all my Twitter friends.
4) We’re a show about food, travel and adventure. Please share:
a) your favorite recipe – My favourite recipe would be for Shepherd’s Pie. Fry up onions, carrots, mushrooms and minced meat (until browned) and add stock and a splash of Worcestershire Sauce (bet you won’t know what THAT is!) – place in a bowl, add mashed potato on top. Drop some chunks of butter on it and place in the oven to brown. Serve when hot with fresh minted peas. Yummy.
b) your favorite travel story – I had always wanted to investigate the San Andreas Fault so my lovely client, Palm Springs Desert Resorts, kindly arranged for a press group that I escorted to go on this trip with an amazing guide, Morgan from Desert Adventures – what a great day tour that was! She is a feisty driver and we went hurtling through the desert, taking no prisoners, with her explaining the eco system, the desert, about the animals we saw etc. She is an extra-ordinary person and this travel adventure I am sure will always be with me – due to her and my co-participants who were equally fab. http://red-jeep.com/about/testimonials.html. I never realized that mountains are permanently moving!
c) most exciting adventure you’ve ever had – Enjoying getting totally lost in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul whilst on a school cruise and needing to find the port again to re-join my shipmates! The lovely Istanbulites from the Bazaar took me under their wing, forgot all about selling me things and showed me the way “home”. When in need, Istanbulites will drop everything just to help you – and I have never forgotten what a great/genuine people they are. They wouldn’t accept anything for their help – their response – “We just wanted you to be re-united with your friends”. The city of Istanbul (or as I tend to refer to it – Constantinople) therefore holds a special place in my heart and is a constant lure for me.
5) Your Top 3 Travel Tips –
1) Keep an open mind, read voraciously and take a valued judgment call on everything you hear about a destination. Remember everyone has their own perspective and sometimes this can colour their judgment.
2) Do investigate a country’s culture and manners before traveling so you are not surprised but are able to show courtesy and consideration to your hosts.
3) Go out and enjoy the world without fear. It’s there for the taking and to be explored. Every day can be an adventure if you view life like this.
6) What’s on your bucket list? Practically every country in the world and every activity – it’s pathetic really – better to say what’s NOT on it! But to give you a few: Definitely to travel on Windstar Cruises, to go to India and Vancouver, to spend more time in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, go on a passage cruise to NYC from the UK – and a new one as of yesterday, take a hovercraft trip over to the Isle of Wight from Portsmouth – that’s probably more do-able in the near future due to my limited budget!
Sue Lowry a.k.a. @MagellanPR is a UK boutique travel PR agency: lovers of art, culture, design, fashion, food, history, London, the ridiculous & travel above all else Magellan PR is a boutique, travel and lifestyle PR company based in Guildford, Surrey. Like their namesake, Ferdinand Magellan, they live to travel and travel to live. www.magellan-pr.com.