We bloggers are a lazy lot. It seems the de facto target to direct our readers for further info is always that treasure trove of truthiness: Wikipedia.
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The problem is that Wikipedia reads like stereo instructions – it’s unengaging and lifeless. Which better explains travel: Wikipedia or Rolf Potts’ Vagablogging?
An even better example: Tim Leffel recently described an extreme makeover for the Thai city of Pattaya:
If you have never been to Pattaya, just picture the most seedy and decadent place you have ever been, fill it with hookers until the streets are overflowing with them, put a few bars on every block, then fly in planeloads of sex tourists. Throw in some boy toys so there’s equal opportunity and a few transvestite shows to check out for laughs. (If you ever want to see a transvestite who can really pass for a woman, Thailand’s got them by the klong boat load.)
As far as visuals go, that’s pretty vivid, no? Wikipedia on the other hand:
Pattaya is a city in Thailand, located on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand , about 165 km southeast of Bangkok in the province of Chon Buri. It is one of the largest centers of tourism in Thailand, with some 5 million visitors arriving in 2004. Tourists visit Pattaya for many reasons including luxury hotels, beautiful beaches, friendly people, excellent shopping, reasonable prices and a wide variety of nearby tourist attractions.
Yikes. I almost fell asleep somewhere in the middle of the copy-and-paste cycle for that quote. I won’t presume to tell you which is better or how to blog. But, were I penning a post about Thailand and mentioning Pattaya specifically, I’d much rather point my readers to Tim’s vivid “den of iniquity” description than the snore-inducing, Thai Ministry of Tourism prose of Wikipedia.
Break your Wiki-ddiction! Not only will it differentiate you from every other blogger who opts to lazily link to the same Wikipedia article, but it also demonstrates to your readers that you know a little about what you’re writing. It’s clear to them you’ve done a bit of homework. All it takes is a two minute Google search to turn up a handful of links that are undoubtedly more interesting than anything Wikipedia has to offer.