Individual Project

For my individual project I decided to join the site MapSkip because I had ran across it in an article I had read. Having spent a lot of time exploring tools and social networking sites this semester I also thought it would be a good way to expand on the things I had learned. According to the sites creator “our world is a canvas for our pictures and stories” and MapSkip is the site that allows that canvas to be shared with other people around the world. Using the site is really simple and fun. After you join the site…providing your name, and email address, and creating a username and password you are ready to read the stories other people have posted about different places around the world. You can share you own stories as well as pictures that you have taken of your featured location.
I really loved this site….the stories people told made me feel like I was actually there and gave me ideas for future travel. Being a small town girl I have never really had the chance to travel a lot. My husband was in the military and I lived through the stories he told me about the places he had been. A lot of time those places were not vacation spots that I would have liked to go. On this site however people share the best of their travel experiences. For instance one user shared a story about a small intimate restaurant in a historic building in Italy. The user described the atmosphere as being from a time when the world was slower and life had meaning. She talked about the building and its significance and also informed us that it was haunted by its former master. The user posted a picture of the building and it looked just like what I expected it to look like after reading her description. Story telling is something that people just don’t seem to have time for anymore because life is so fast paced…this site breathes new life into the art of storytelling and creates a community type environment that I associate with a Native American tribes sitting around fire pits and listening to their elders tell stories.
For a lot of people sharing stories and experience with others isn’t easy because of the fear of not being taken seriously or looking stupid. This site allows people to share their love of travel with others while being able to hide behind a username. I for one am not a fan of having to share personal information with other so you can imagine my delight when I didn’t have to use my real name. Being able to use whatever user name I wanted also added to the magic of the site. I could be whoever I wanted to be while describing the beauty of places I have been lucky enough to see. For anyone that has a love of reading, of being taken to another place and another time through written word, this site is a must. Even if you don’t post anything yourself join to read what others have posted and view the pictures they have submitted. Contributing to this site and experiencing other peoples life through this site has become such a rewarding hobby for me. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I have.