In case you’re wondering, Trendhunter.com has an alexa ranking of about 18,000 and boasts a user base of over 20,000 trend hunters around the World. The concept and the site are truly inspirational.

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You can view his blog at http://www.wilhelmus.ca.

To give you a quick rundown on how quickly a diverse group can collaborate on a project, here is a time line of events:

• I presented the idea of the “Tips from the T-List” book to Jens over Booster Juices at the Bentall Centre in August.
• After contacting Mathieu Ouellet, the T-List originator, we launched the call for contributions on September 1st.
• Jens got the word out and was able to recruit Kevin May and Yeoh Siew-Hoon to help with editing.
• By September 30th, we had over 50 authors and 120 articles posted on the T-List Book Wiki and submitted through to the T-list email.
• The Editing team reduced the number of included authors to 28.
• Design and layout of the book began on October 4th.
• We got confirmation that the book will be distributed in e-version at the Canada-E-Connect, Travolution, WiredInTravel, and PhoCusWright Conferences.
• Proof Sample was completed by October 11th and sent to contributors for review.
• Several editing issues were found and resolved and the final version was sent to print on October 15th.
• Contacted Bruce Rosard at PhoCusWright to confirm PhoCusWright content in the book. Bruce invited us to host the Blogger summit and workshop at the Conference.
• We increased the print run in order to distribute 200 copies of the book at PhoCusWright Conference.
• Design and layout began for the e-book version on October 25th in preparation for distribution at Travolution Conference on November 1st.

All in all, it took just over a month and a half to go from blog to book. I’m pretty sure that is a record. We are expecting the printed copies on November 5th, just three days before the Canada-E-Connect conference.

Now that the project is almost completed, I am still overwhelmed at how well the project went, how supportive everyone has been, and how professional the book looks. My hope was that the book would bring attention and credibility to the authors who contributed to it. I can only hope that the T-List authors who are profiled in the book will see the book as a valuable addition to their portfolios.

“What I also applaud him for is the strong focus on web based initiatives to get the message out and stimulate market demand. It is today the most effective means of communications with any audience. Also, the tight integration of information with a direct online booking functionality for the entire region will only increase the effectiveness of effort and improve the ROI of any investment.”

I could not agree with Joe more. Although traditional marketing techniques are an important part of any overall marketing campaign, providing a multi-dimensional approach to online marketing provides something traditional marketing cannot, and that is interaction. Users crave interaction, discovery, and adventure. If Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace can focus the DMO on providing compelling content, exciting unique experiences, and the memories that will last a lifetime, then the travelers will come.

On a side note, the issues of using online marketing and technologies to stimulate interest in a destination, online booking, social media and user generated content are all subjects at the upcoming Canada-e-connect conference in Vancouver, BC on November 7-8th, 2007. I will be attending both the conference and the Canadian E-Tourism Awards. While on the judging committee for the awards I had the opportunity to review dozens of sites from across Canada and although many of them were compelling and well designed, we have only scratched the surface in terms of the potential opportunities for marketing destinations online.

I believe that online tourism has a long way to go to catch up with online travel. Thanks, however, to consumer driven trends like online research, peer reviews, and blogging, the distance between promoting tourism in a region to a traveler and that traveler purchasing travel commodities online is shrinking. If DMOs can continue to evolve their content strategies to become online destinations focused on experiences rather than travel, there will be a shift in distribution power from the intermediaries to the suppliers. Regional activity and accommodation suppliers will have the ability to partner directly with DMOs to market their niche products. These products will not be available through traditional channels.

Keep the submissions coming and please let your fellow bloggers know that they need to get their submissions in by September 30th.

Click on the image for a larger view.

I understand the following:

1. Tips from the T-List is freely available on the web. Hence, anyone anywhere in the world can read material published. Readers include executives, managers, and business people but also journalists and other members of the public.

2. My name, photo, brief profile, and website url will be published and, therefore, I will be recognizable.

3. I retain the copyright to my material. I am not required to seek permission to re-use my own work. As an author I can use my contribution in part or in full, including figures and tables (except where copyright is owned by a third party, in which case I must seek permission again) if I want to do so in another book, in another article written for another publisher, on a web site, or any other use, without the need to obtain prior permission.

4. I warrant that the Work does not contain any unlawful statements and does not infringe any existing copyright. I warrant that “proof of consent” has been obtained for studies of named organizations and people. I also warrant that I have obtained the necessary permission from the copyright holder(s) to reproduce in the article, in all media, in all countries and transmit via all reputable third parties, any materials including tables, diagrams or photographs not owned by me. (Please attach any permission documents).

Please complete this form and return to:
We prefer electronic submissions of scanned documents
E-mail : tlist@rezgo.com

Or Via Facisimile Transmittal
FAX : +1 604 648 9651

I wanted to publish the book because I think the power of collective thought and collaboration is intensified when it is condensed into an easily accessible form. The beauty of the T-List and all it’s contributors is the variety of perspectives that are revealed. I think this book is a great way to increase the credibility of the T-List blogging community and to showcase those who contribute as a valuable and deeply committed group of industry insiders. This is an opportunity for you as a blogger to get your work into a book that will be distributed at the first ever Canadian Conference on e-Tourism.

As the time-line for getting contributions is very tight, I need your help to spread the word to other members of the list and to colleagues who may not be on the list yet, but would like to contribute. Here is how you can be part of the first printing of the Tips from the T-List:

Deadline for submission is September 30, 2007.

1. Complete and fax back the following consent form to +1 604 648 9651 or email it to tlist@rezgo.com.
2. Send us three of your best posts. The posts should be your own work and should be things like tips, observations, or helpful hints. Please do not send news items or trend oriented posts because these will become outdated very quickly. Please limit the piece to 300-500 words max.
3. Send us a good quality headshot (if you want it included).
4. Send us a good quality screenshot of your blog or website.
5. Send us your full name, address, phone and email so we can send you a copy of the book.

Only those contributors who make it into the book will receive a copy, however, we will be making a free e-book available for download that you can distribute.

The most recent T-Lists can be found at:

Travolution
Stephen Joyce – Travel Technologist
Jens Thraenhart – Travel INTERNET Marketing