Why I don’t make resolutions
I’m not a big believer in New Year’s resolutions. This is largely because I’m a foul-mouthed, fat, alcoholic with pathetic will-power, but partly because I think icy, dark January is the worst time of year to be making wholesome pledges.
2010 intentions
I have some vague intentions for the year – focus more on researching stories and destinations I genuinely enjoy, spend more time working on my web projects*, go back to my old school travel methods and rely less on tourist board support. But I don’t want to set anything in stone regarding them.
Surveys
But there is one thing I do want to make a big point of. And that is not taking any surveys and statistics handed to me by tourist boards and PR agencies as gospel. So my resolution is that every time I am sent information saying “X per cent of Ys think Z”, I am going to respond. And I’ll be asking for the sample numbers, information on who conducted the survey where, as well as the precise wording of the questions.
#PRbullshit
If the sender can’t provide me with this information, I’m not using the survey. Actually, a slight correction: I will use the survey, but only on Grumpytraveller.com and Twitter under the tag of #PRbullshit. And I shall gleefully highlight the best examples of PR bullshittery for all to see…
*That’d be Australiaflightbargains.com and a new city guide site that I’m itching to reveal, but still have about 500 pages of reviews and articles to upload…
Tags: prbullshit
100% of travel journalists we surveyed* considered David Whitley’s new blog post an empty threat, with many of those surveyed suggesting that he wouldn’t have the stamina to expose every bullshit survey created during 2010 and would give up after the first 293**
*survey conducted 2/1/10 at Cafe Younes, Beirut, Lebanon. Survey conducted by Matthew Teller. Sample size: 1.
**estimated total. Margin of error =/-292.
100% of David Whitley we surveyed* thought that the likelihood of David Whitley exposing every bullshit survey was bordering on zero purely because there are so many of them. They all thought he’d give it a decent bash though, although conceded that he’d still continue to delete most press releases without reading them.
*Survey conducted 2/1/10 in Sheffield, UK. Survey conducted by David Whitley. Sample size: 1
Problem is… you will get bored doing it after the first couple of months… Single city guide or multiple cities?
Hi,
I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the great work Look forward to reading more from you in the future.
Michael David.