Kaxio! The Google Future is so Bright for travel bloggers so let me start the keynote by wearing my Puerto Rico sunglass.
Google beeeeped us all. After years of providing us with free traffic under the guise of supporting independent publishers, they’ve performed what in the crypto world is known as a rugpull, leaving us caught off guard with our pants down.
I was discussing this with my travel blogger friend Yosh from Poor Traveler. We did nothing when TikTok emerged. We watched and danced along as it gradually enticed the next generation to conduct their searches on the platform, revolutionizing the 1-minute video industry and getting ad revenue from blogs.
Now, AI is delivering the final blow that will render the travel blogging industry worse than dead—it will make it obsolete. Imagine Google’s Gemini AI, which knows all our blog posts due to SEO, has all the flight information, all the reviews of places, and all the operating times. From a customer experience perspective, it’s vastly superior to us because it can create an itinerary for a pintxos hopping tour this afternoon. ChatGPT 4 with DALL-E is so advanced it aims to compete with Google search prompts, becoming the starting point of the internet journey for the next generation.
I even asked ChatGPT to draw an image of the elephant in the room, and the AI understands how we’re feeling here at TBEX.
We stand on the brink of extinction as Google Gemini announces its itinerary capability, and ChatGPT 5 is set to be released after the US elections. I invited my friend Jon, who runs the best bespoke high-end Basque tours, because last night he asked if you can still make a living from travel blogging. We realized that we are the crazy ones. But I am proud to stand with all of you today, shoulder to shoulder, as we face The Age of AI. I cannot win this battle alone. We need to support each other with pintxos and txakolis in hand as we rally to evolve into the next phase of the travel blogging industry.
My objective in this keynote is to move us out of the denial phase, get us all on the same page, let us cry hard today, and tomorrow we fight. I don’t know the answer but I’ll share with you what still works, what we should stop doing, and what it takes to win.
To answer Jon’s question, travel blogging has funded my four boys’ education. I started blogging in 2005 when my first son Aidan was born, and now he is 19 years old and in college. You can check out our story on Instagram @ourawesomeplanet with my lovely wife Rache, known as MrsAwesomePlanet.
We are now in the fifth wave of innovation in the travel blogging industry.
The first wave, from 2005-2010, is known as the OG blogger era. This was when the crazy ones started full-time blogging, literally creating an industry that newcomers enjoy now. This era saw the birth of essential technologies like Google Analytics, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. In this photo, only Bryan Boy and I survived.
The second wave was the vlogging era. I created Team Our Awesome Planet, focusing on video-first storytelling and launching our YouTube channels. I remember collaborating on videos with Mark Wiens when he had only 50k subscribers.
The third wave marked the age of influencers with the rise of Instagram. During the first wave, our audience checked our blogs daily. In the social media age, people turned to Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. I survived this era by maintaining a mailing list to communicate directly with my readers. When the pandemic hit, many so-called influencers changed careers.
The fourth wave blossomed during the pandemic, known as the TikTok or 1-minute video era. Many bloggers just watched as TikTok trained the Gen Z generation to get their information from the platform and seduced advertisers to sponsor TikTok instead of creating blogs. We have a new wave of travel bloggers, and many of you are here today at this historic TBEX.
The fifth wave is the biggest and most disruptive—the Age of AI. I asked ChatGPT for the best pintxos bar in San Sebastián, and it recommended La Cuchara de San Telmo, even generating an image of the place. In this era, you cannot simply create a lazy post listing the Top 10 Pintxos Bars in San Sebastián because AI can already do this. Any bad actor on the internet can generate such a post for their site without evens traveling to San Sebastián.
Let’s start with what we know today about AI. Here are the top takeaways from the latest AI Index Report by Stanford University.
AI excels in specific tasks: AI outperforms humans in image classification, visual reasoning, and English understanding, but it still struggles with complex tasks in its current version.
Ethical concerns: Language Learning Models (LLMs) have been shown to output copyrighted material because they are not trained on ethical considerations or the distinction between right and wrong.
Productivity boost: AI makes us more productive and allows us to create higher-quality output in a short amount of time. We should supercharge our blogs with all the available AI tools.
One crucial thing to know in this era is that we should label our content as 100% made by humans and claim our copyright. AI-generated content cannot be copyrighted, and this distinction is important. All platforms and regulations moving forward will require this disclosure, which is already happening on Instagram and YouTube.
When travel agencies went online, OTAs handled bookings, and travel bloggers provided advice for the free independent traveler market. Now, AI travel assistants, created and trained from this advice, can replace individual travel bloggers.
We must accept the rise of personal AI Travel Assistants. ChatGPT aims to be the starting point of your planning journey and can integrate apps like DALL-E to create images. It’s only a matter of time before OTAs integrate directly with these AI systems. Many platforms are already partnering with ChatGPT. Check out Matador’s Guide Geek, where they created their AI assistant trained on their vast library of travel content.
One emerging business model is to create your own AI advisor based on your travel preferences and style for your market.
We need to AI-fy our blogs. Start experimenting with tools like Gliacloud, which transforms blog posts into video presentations with ads. I recently activated Stay22 on my site, thanks to Melvin’s endorsement and a fun sunset cruise last night. Additionally, I have a partnership with Automattic from WordPress, and you should take advantage of their “Write with AI” capabilities to enhance your blog posts.
Video will be king in this era and the safer haven.
Video business models will thrive in the age of AI because they offer personalized content, are harder for AI to repurpose, and more travel bloggers are becoming video creators.
But you have to master the video craft and here is what it takes to win with video (the 10,000 hours rule to master your craft)
Youtube
• Provide Engaging Entertainment or Educational Value (long form 3-5 mins)
• Consistent Publishing schedule to build community
• Give up privacy
You earn from Youtube Ads and sponsored videos.
Tiktok
• For You Feed (AI)
• Upload 4-7x a day
• Sound-ON: voice overs & music
• First 3s is crucial (slow swipe)
• Master Video Story Telling in 1 minute
You earn from Sponsored Tiktok (but you need to have a lot of followers.)
FB & IG
• Feed is based on the people you follow
• Vlog content uploaded in FB
• 1 minute reels in IG and FB to tell your story.
• Micro-influencers in IG with focused niche
You earn from Sponsored Reels are preferred by advertisers
We need to elevate our blogging as an art form and treat the content we publish as works of art made 100% by a human being.
BRANDING is crucial
Always distinguish yourself with a unique and consistent brand. For instance, I always wear green wherever I go. Look at our friends Jaycation and Andrew to see how effectively they brand themselves.
MAILING LIST to directly talk to your community
Maintaining a mailing list is the only reason I am still here today to talk to you. If you don’t have one, it’s never too late to start.
TOPICAL AUTHORITY to rank
Google requires you to be an expert on the content you publish and to be cited by other experts. This means you should either be from the place you are writing about, with in-depth background knowledge, or visit often enough to gain insider knowledge about every restaurant, hotel, and destination.
HIGH QUALITY CONTENT that is personalized
You can’t be lazy and just create ho-hum listicles or publish content for the sake of it. Personalize and ensure the quality of your content.
STRATEGIC PARTNERS to co-create events and related businesses
Co-creation is key, and it goes beyond mere collaboration. While collaboration involves two brands working together on projects with a commercial exchange , co-creation means two brands come together to create a new joint venture or brand.
We co-created the Food and Wine Festival in Manila with the Department of Tourism, now in its second year, held every July. This event is part of the strategic push for gastro tourism in the Philippines.
We also co-created our inaugural hawker-style food market in Manila with the founder of Potato Corner, called Gyud Food, located in the heart of the University of the Philippines. Additionally, we co-created Mamonaku Kohi, a Japanese-inspired specialty iced coffee concept with a coffee master, and Flipside Burger, a smash-burger truck with a burger expert.
We need to deep dive into local insights and culture to make our content more personalized. Thank you to Eloisa for hiking in Monte Urgull and introducing me to the best pintxos bar I’ve visited in the old town. I’ve been to San Sebastian three times already because it’s a mecca for Filipino foodies. In fact, my friend Jon of Basque Tours knows all the Filipinos who pass through here.
Oh, by the way, if you are all pintxoed out, you have to try the best Txuleton Burger in town at Bar Desy, located right here in Gros. For all the food and travel writers out there, you can’t miss this local neighborhood bar. Be sure to try the draft beer. S
To close, I’ll share some milestones of regret and the lessons I learned from missed opportunities in my travel blogging career.
In 2008, I regret not starting my YouTube channel when Mark Wiens encouraged me to.
In 2010, I regret not aggressively building my Instagram presence when it first launched.
In 2020, I regret dismissing TikTok as just a dancing channel and not mastering 1-minute video storytelling during the pandemic.
What I know for a fact is that the winners of the Age of AI will be defined by the crazies and innovators during the first year of disruption, which is now in 2024.
Treat your blog and content as art forms, consider sponsored posts as commissioned works by your patrons, and allow yourself to be crazy enough to continue travel blogging against all AI odds.
Let’s co-create with the DMOs in this room and with our travel blogger comrades. Together, we can create something that no AI can replicate.
As I always I say, what matters most is that you live an awesome life with your family and friends.
bizitza izugarria bizi! eskerrik asko!
Live an Awesome Life,
Founder & Digital Creator, Our Awesome Planet
Disclosure: I wrote this article 100% by a human with my biases, opinions, and insights but edited with AI for grammar.
P.S. all pintxo-ed out? Try the best Txuleton Burger in San Sebastian! @bar_desy
The post TBEX: What Does it Take to Win in The Age of AI? appeared first on Awesome! - Our Awesome Planet.