Last year, the ‘My 7 Links’ project was creating big buzz in the blogging world, with travel bloggers clamouring to share and show their greatest links.
Since then numerous new series of posts have begun, but I couldn’t let my nomination by Erin Halvey from A Sense of Place (formerly Visual Vacation) go unanswered as that would be bad Karma. Initiated by the good people at Tripbase, the project aims to give older posts a second life by sharing them with the online travel community.
Erin nominated me to participate in the My 7 Links project 10 months ago, when my website was only a few months old. I hardly even had 7 links total, let alone capable of filling in the topical needs for the project. So…I banned myself from participating in any such posts, but promised to catch up on them once my site was at least 1 year old.
That year has passed and I’m not one to break my promises, so here is my post – better late than never!
Most Beautiful Post
There is something about remote islands with perfect beaches that makes people go crazy. In the Maldives, having your own private island for a game of volleyball is a possibility. It is hard to take bad pictures in the Maldives, they’re such a beautiful destination.
Most Popular Post
5 Crazy Moments from my Most Epic Road Trip
Driving 4000 miles, being scared by wild animals in Yellowstone, losing keys and nearly dying from dehydration seem to resonate well with my readers.
I still say, you can’t say you’ve really gone camping until you’ve had to deal with Bison roaming around your tent at night.
Most Controversial Post
New 7 Wonders of Nature Controversy
This is an easy choice. Last October, a month before the world ‘caught on’ I unearthed some controversial news about the New 7 Wonders of Nature campaign. Let’s just say sketchy business dealing not unlike bribery and blackmail may have helped decide on who won the competition.
The post generated media interview requests as far away as South Africa, Indonesia and the Philippines. It also generated more traffic to my site in one single day than I had received in the 5 months prior.
Most Helpful Post
A Word of Warning about hittheroad.ca
I thought perhaps my post on how to properly enjoy and appreciate Tequila would fit here, but instead something more practical.
Renting a car can be a costly pain if you need to pay for insurance and can’t get a great rate. But if you’re a frequent traveller, you should be able to get a deal through your favourite airline or credit card loyalty program. On the other hand, if you choose another, potentially cheaper, option like delivering a car … you might end up paying more in the end.
Post whose Success Surprised Me
The Largest Stone in the World
Really, it is just a stone. But it happens to be the world’s largest stone!
I love how we’re drawn to weird, quirky and often lame roadside attractions. It could be a huge chair, apple, ball of twine or fork and people will flock to it.
Post that Didn’t get the Attention it Deserved
Some stories have a strong sentimental attachment to them, which I think is hard for many writers to detach themselves from.
That is the way I am with any story I write about Madagascar. It remains my favourite country in the world, yet I know others who were thoroughly unimpressed by it.
Still, any story that has a hint of Wild West to it, including an actual beheading, deserves some attention doesn’t it?
There you have it. 10 months after being nominated, I finally completed this long overdue post. Anyone out there who hasn’t created their 7 links post…go for it and nominate yourself to participate or hop on one of the more recent themes like 7 Super Shots!