Some resolutions continuously appear (such as John wants to lose 15 pounds) – but never make the accomplishment list. Other resolutions are written only once, and are quickly forgotten (like Tim wants to kill a deer).

What’s most satisfying is to see a resolution become an accomplishment from one year to the next, like when Tim wants to “lrn haw to rid and wrt” became “Tim learned how to read and write.”

In the spirit of the New Year, the three of us here at BNT decided to cozy up around a virtual campfire stretching from Vancouver to New York to Tierra del Fuego, and put together our own lists of accomplishments and resolutions.

A lot has happened in the past year since Ian’s last year-end roundup, and we have big plans for 2008.

Accomplishments

• Feb – The RSS feed passes over 100 subscribers. Ian celebrates by doing a shot of vodka at 7am in the morning..
• May – Ian got married! Then got stung by a scorpion on his honeymoon.
• July – We officially became a paying publication offering $20/article.
• Sept – Ian expands the BNT team to include Tim and Laura
• Nov – Our biggest month ever, with traffic peaking at almost 40,000 unique visitors.
• Nov (again) – Tim’s Manifesto From a Young American garners the record for comments (currently 42)

Resolutions

What’s a year without goals? Here’s what we’d like to accomplish in 2008:

• More Readers – We want to crack 1000 RSS subscribers and triple the traffic to the site.
• Higher Pay – Making money online ain’t easy, but we’re going to continue raising our pay rates to contributors as we can. Starting January 1, the payout will be $25 per article.
• Keep It Real – While some of our advertising has generated controversy, we will continue to maintain editorial independence and publish unique, thoughtful travel pieces
• Keep It Relevant – Gathering continual feedback from our readers is massively important; we want to write about what you want to read!
• Keep It Fun – What’s the point of anything if you’re not having a good time?

As we made these lists, we realized that all of our accomplishments and resolutions depend on you: our wonderful readers and contributors. So thanks for a great year, and here’s to many more!

BNT contributing editor Tim Patterson travels with a sleeping bag and pup tent strapped to the back of his folding bicycle. His articles and travel guides have appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle, Get Lost Magazine, Tales Of Asia and Traverse Magazine. Check out his personal site Rucksack Wanderer.

So without further ado, here’s my sketchy, fairly monotonous video clip:

After you’re done watching, let us know what you think of the new theme! Constructive feedback is always appreciated.

I’ve had the privilege of hiring two new members to our team:

Tim Patterson (Co-Editor) – You may know Tim from his weekly Tales from the Road roundups and his articles in various magazines like Get Lost and now SF Chronicle.

Tim will help edit and prepare new BNT articles for publishing, which saves me from being buried under the avalanche of great content that you’re all sending in.

Laura Kammermeier (Advertising Manager) – is a bird watcher who loves to hike, find new places to explore, and thankfully for me, is now handling advertising for BNT. With a background in web editing and ad management, she’s a perfect fit.

This expansion wouldn’t have been possible without all you readers (and our wonderful sponsors). We look forward to publishing more great content in the weeks and months to come.

Also, keep an eye out for our one year anniversary celebration… announcement soon.

Yes it’s true, after 8 months of slaving over this magazine every morning (and often night), it’s finally reached that magically happy place of attaining decent ad revenue. This comes from a variety of sources, including Google Ads, Text Links, Sponsored Posts, and Banner Ads.

Starting July 1, I will be paying $20 for each original published article. Which means that Brave New Traveler has now entered the ranks of a paying publication.

What is an original published article? It’s an article that is not published anywhere else (including your own blog). This is important for a variety of reasons, but mostly to avoid search engine confusion.

Reprinted articles will remain unpaid, since the reward for an article reprint is usually wider author visibility and traffic sent to their own blogs/websites.

So thanks again to all the readers and writers that have contributed to the success of Brave New Traveler! I’m excited to see what the future holds…

However it doesn’t appear that many readers have theirs set up, so I figured I would take a moment to give a quick explanation.

What Is A Gravatar?

A gravatar, or globally recognized avatar, is quite simply an 80×80 pixel avatar image that follows you from weblog to weblog appearing beside your name when you comment on gravatar enabled sites.

How To I Set It Up?

Head over to the official Gravatar website, sign up (it’s free), and upload a gravatar. You can associate different gravatars with different emails.

How Do I Use It?

Easy. When you comment on blogs that have gravatars enabled (like this one) it will automatically add your photo, based on the email you use.

How Do I Get Gravatars On My Own Blog?

Also easy! They’ve got a great Gravatar implementor’s guide dedicated to information on implementing gravatars on your blog.

I know what you’re thinking. Another new theme? Didn’t you just launch one a few months ago?

It’s true, I felt the previous “Batman” theme was decent. And yet, as a friend pointed out, Brave New Traveler is supposed to signify the bold exploration of travel in the 21st century. So why did the theme feel washed out?

Enter: this brand new theme I slaved over for the past month. It’s clean, bold, positively reeking with fiery passion (or so I like to think).

There are a number of feature enhancements as well – most importantly that each post’s author name now links to their own blog. And if you skim to the bottom right, you can see a list of all our contributors along with their amount of posts.

Also, I’ve created a new “Community” page dedicated to listing all the other great travel blogs/magazines from around the net.

And even more exciting for comments, they now come Gravatar enabled. Basically, it’s a globally recognized avatar that you can configure from their website.

But this is all a taste of more significant updates to come…so stay tuned. And for the love of all that is fresh, grab our RSS feed now.

What do you think of the new theme? Please share in the comments!

If you’ve contacted me recently and haven’t received a reply, don’t worry, I’m on it. It may take me a few days, but you will receive a reply.

Also, I hope all you readers enjoyed the posts I had scheduled before I left, and thanks to the writers for contributing their work. As promised, I’ve got big plans for Brave New Traveler — likely to launch July 1.

As always, your comments, feedback, and suggestions are appreciated.

Posts may be a little sparser around here. Not too sparse, of course, but if you send me a contact email and don’t hear back right away, it’s possible I’m either a) relaxing on a beach, or b) climbing a volcano.

Anyway, thanks to all our contributors and readers for making Brave New Traveler such a great place to visit. I’ve got big things planned for when I return…so stay tuned.

Regards,
Ian MacKenzie
Editor

That’s because I’ve unveiled a new Brave New Traveler design and layout, incorporating a number of changes I’ve been wanting to do for a while.

Warning: if you’re not a web design geek, I won’t blame you for not reading any further.

But for the rest of our readers interested in things like CSS, layouts, and Wordpress, than by all means, read on. Here’s a breakdown of the most important changes and why I chose them.

Shrunk The Header

I loved the old Brave New Traveler header. It was a great place to showcase an interesting photo. It’s just too bad it took up too much prime real estate on the page.

Website experts will tell you the better way to design a site is to have the juicy content start sooner. After all, when you see the header once, you don’t spend time looking at it again later. You want good content. So the header had to go.

Widened the Columns

While it’s generally best practice to stick with the lowest common denominator in screen resolution, I realized after delving into my Google Analytics that over 75% of visitors have screen resolutions set to 1024 x 768 or larger.

That means most of you were reading the previous Brave New Traveler layout crammed into a 780px wide column. Too narrow, in my opinion. So I stretched the new width to 950px, taking advantage of that extra breathing space.

Added Most Popular Posts

It’s a tragedy for a blog to bury their best work in the archives. There’s no better way to entice new readers to stick around and subscribe than showcasing your most cherished content. Hence the new ‘most popular’ column beneath the categories.

Tweaked The Advertising

In a perfect world, I wouldn’t have to place advertising on Brave New Traveler. But because I would like to pay our contributors one day, I need to start making some cold, hard cash. I briefly considered pornography, then decided it didn’t really fit with the whole “exploration of travel in the 21st century” thing.

So option 2 is fiddling with the placement of Google Adsense, an Amazon store, Text Link Ads, and a variety of trusted affiliate products in an attempt to monetize the site for semi-steady income. (Hint: If you’re enjoying yourself and the blog, clicking the ads and buying the products is appreciated).

Strengthened The Community

One major component I felt was missing from the previous layout was the public support of the wonderful readers that visit Brave New Traveler. These are the readers who comment on the posts, spread the word, and generally make it feel like a thriving travel community.

My answer to this was to include the MyBlogLog widget and filling out the travel blogroll, in the hopes of sending some link love back out into the travel blog universe. After all, it’s the readers who make a great blog. Otherwise it’s just a couple people talking to themselves.

Added ‘More Travel Headlines Feed’

Each week I roundup the latest and greatest links from around the web. Sadly, not all the links end up showcased. But I still end up bookmarking it.

So to help you keep track of the plethora of great content published everyday, I’m publishing a new “More Travel Headlines” rss feed which you can subscribe here or just scan the headlines in the bottom right of the website whenever you visit.

What do you think of the new layout? Feel free to tell it to me straight. I can take it.

I don’t usually make a post on the weekends but in light of some recent updates to Brave New Traveler, I felt a quick rundown was due.

Here’s an overview of the latest updates:

Left Hand Menu – I felt the overall amount of categories were getting out of control, so I decided to group each of the posts into 10 main topics, which you now see on the left.

Brand New Category – Sometimes it can get a little heavy here at Brave New Traveler. That’s why I felt the addition of another category “Life” could feature travel articles of a lighter nature. Look for the first post this week!

Columnists – Now you can read your favourite author’s previous posts with ease! On the left I’ve added direct links to our main columnists, which lists all the posts by that author.

Recommended Travel Blogs – There’s so much great content on the web, but it can be pretty hard to find it. That’s why I’ve created a dedicated section to highlight other great blogs and magazines.

Printer Friendly – Each post now has a tiny little printer icon below the title. Click that for a printer friendly version you can take with you! (Bonus points if you use recycled paper).

RSS feed – If some of you have been wondering what the heck that giant orange icon is on the top right, it’s the widely accepted symbol for RSS (Really Simple Syndication). It’s basically a way to subscribe to Brave New Traveler through your own feed reader. Still in the dark? Here’s a handy guide to RSS.

Well, that’s it for this edition of updates.

Thanks for being avid readers of Brave New Traveler! And as always if you have any suggestions, news tips, or want to write a guest post, feel free to drop us a line.

What do you think of the new updates? Share your thoughts in the comments!

I realized it is already a few days into February and I had yet to publish a roundup of the most interesting posts from last month.

That’s the problem with publishing in a blog format — every post has a fairly limited shelf life (the time it’s viewable from the main page). If you missed any of these gems, I hope you’ll go back and have a read. Enjoy!

• Interview with Derek Wallace from Organic Reform
• Have Money, Will Meditate
• The Artifacts of Genocide
• Preserving the Polaroid, An Interview with Scott Hammond
• To Be (Or Not To Be) A Travel Journalist
• Travel Writing Tips from Mark Moxon

Any favourites of yours I missed?

Well, it’s just about the end of 2006. It’s been an interesting year for Brave New Traveler — or in fact, an interesting 3 months.

When I started this publication in early October I wanted to create an informative, entertaining, and enlightening online travel magazine for the emerging era. With my own posts and the help of some talented guest authors, I think we’ve succeeded.

So to celebrate, here’s a look back at the best of the past 3 months.

October

In our inaugural month, we learned the ecological footprint of the human species has started using more resources per year than the earth can hope to regenerate. In response I wrote about how make your flights carbon neutral which is still secondary to the best idea: fly less.

On the photography end, I revealed the courteous way to steal someone’s soul (hint:ask their permission) along with 5 reasons to keep your travel blog with an online travel community, and how to kick off your travel writing with a bang.

November

Our first interview is a compelling discussion with Heath Johns, resident geek for Hitch50.com, where we discuss cell phones, security, and the future of GPS mapping. This proved all the more topical after it was revealed the US government has been secretly assigning travel terrorist scores unbeknownst to their citizens.

We also began exploring the role of the 21st century traveler, with our series Priviledge and Responsibility.

Guest author Sarah Stuteville wrote the first article “Atheists in the Holy Land” an unflinching report from Israel set during the summer of 2006. This was followed by Sean Aiken’s “Waiting For Life To Begin” recounting his experiences in a Burmese refugee camp, and Cameron Karsten’s inner exporation of “Culture Hopping.”

I also published a sweeping epic post on 12 personal travel websites that will make you quit your day job. If you plan on blogging the journey, you may want to avoid the new travel writer’s most common mistake.

December

Our biggest month yet, December marked some weighty musings on mortality and the myth behind what could actually kill you on the road.

Naomi Liu shares her 5 essential travel photo tips and Pam Mandel asks why should she read your travel blog?

Later in the month, we welcomed Cameron Karsten as the spiritual travel editor. His first two columns explored the art of spiritual travel, and techniques for uncovering inspiration in the present moment.

Finally — I decided the anti-tourist is deluding themselves since we’re all tourists now, and the first casualties of climate change are a warning of things to come.

Looking forward…

That about does it. We’ve got a great lineup of articles coming up, including a guide on getting started in travel journalism and a comprehensive interview with organic-farmer-to-be Derek Wallace.

Remember, if you haven’t subscribed to the RSS feed or signed up for the email updates, you’re missing out on the best way to have the posts delivered right to you!

Thanks to all the readers and guest authors who have graciously allowed me to feature their work. If you’re interested in writing a guest post or want to get involved with the magazine, contact me.

Happy New Year!

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and the purpose of this newly created blog. After all, with so many blogs being created every minute (vaguely I’ve read 80,000 new blogs a day) I figure it best to declare my intentions.

First, the title. “Brave New Traveler” is meant to invoke a number of things, Huxley being one of them. The other is the fact that traveling has now entered this bizarre time of hyper globalized societies that thrive on new technologies like the internet, and following suit, there is a new breed of travelers that benefit from using these new ways to experience the world.

The days of sparse computers, even in remote areas of the world, are disappearing. If you can find a town, chances are you’ll find an internet café or at least someone’s basement with computer access. Digital cameras allow us to document our trips. Scores of online travel communities allow us to stay connected with our friends and families along the way – but at what cost?

Marshal McLuhan said every new technology offers new opportunity, but we lose something else in the deal. For travelers, it’s very easy to feel like you never left at all. Constantly checking email, sending messages back home…the world is becoming smaller everyday. Part of the allure of travel is the adventure into the unknown. To leave our lives behind like an old skin. To reinvent our views of the world. To shatter our egos. But is that still possible in today’s world when every terrain has been uncovered?

Perhaps it’s just become harder to truly experience a new culture, away from all the people and landmarks we know. We have to dig deeper to find what traveling really means: is it a journey to simply pass the time? Drink new brews? Find ourselves? Expand our horizons?

And so this blog is dedicated to exploring the emerging tools that accompany us on our journey. It will vary from the practical (how to store your photos, which laptop is best to bring along, how to save time in an internet café) to the philosophical (should we even take a camera at all?) to news, reviews, opinions, and much more.

I hope to have guest authors accompany me along the way, so if you’re interested in joining me, drop a line here. And if you’ve stumbled across this blog in its infancy, I welcome you.

Stick along for the ride. I promise it will be a journey.