Backpacking 2.0
Social Media is changing the world piece by piece with simple yet powerful communication tools - most recently I’ve noticed how the world of backpacking has been turned on its head in just 5 years due to new online tools.
In 2001 I spent a few months bouncing around Europe, and five years on I’ve returned to the backpacker scene with a vengeance. Much of the scene is the same: cramped dorm rooms packed with bunk beds, a much higher proportion of dreadlocks than you’d find in the employed population and strange people working reception (like the guy in Copenhagen who looked like a member of Kraftwerk and treated me like a celebrity because I have the same name as his favorite pop singer…)
The arrival of Web 2.0 has changed how backpackers organize and communicate, in turn the world of the backpacker has become a microcosm of the wider media environment. Five years ago backpackers only used the web for email and a little bit of research, now they use a wide variety of social media to enhance their travels.