Web-O-Rama: week 4
If you don't own a pair of those awesome fake eyes glasses, you will need something to look at for your computer screen instead of working. We have selected 5 interesting articles to keep you awake for your last hours of the week at the office. And remember to keep a worksheep open in the background to quickly ALT+TAB in case your boss arrives.
This week, we'll see how Facebook is giving more security to its traveling users, especially if you travel to dangerous places like Gary Arndt. But that would be less of a problem if you travel slowly like Jamie and Jess from The Cloud People or if you are just a nice guy like Ross. Internet is also a pre-requisite for Foursquare and you'll need to find an access if you want to be the first to check-in in North Korea.
More on all that in the following articles.
Enjoy!
Facebook Finally Adds HTTPS Support
by Stan Schroeder, Mashable
From the title of the article, you might wonder why I have featured this article in a travel-related magazine. Well, as a former wireless security analyst I can assure you it has everything to do with it and it's a damn good news!
When you travel a big concern is always to find a wireless access point and anything open usually does the job. Since it's open, the communications from your computer to the access point are not secured and the handsome backpacker next to you can easily "listen" ("eavesdrop" is the real term) all of it. Remember when you open your http://facebook.com session? If he uses something like Firesheep , he might just be able to log in into your account as soon as you are going back to discovering the city. Using the secured http protocol (https) prevents that kind of problem. So check your FB settings if you don't want your dirty little secrets to be exposed.
The Slow, Steady Road – Our Travel Style
by Jamie and Jess, Cloud People Adventures
I found this article very interesting and we definitely share the same views. But more than the "slow style of travelling" (already mentioned here), I liked how it stresses the importance of living "real experiences" abroad. We couldn't agree more that travelling shouldn't be only about "ticking off the sights" but also about meeting the locals, connect with their culture and share something with them.
by Gary, Everything Everywhere
Stay alert, careful, observe and trust you instinct. That will usually be enough to avoid dangers of your typical trip abroad. And except for that DJ who tried to slash us with his exacto in Brooklyn, we always managed to stay safe in every country we visited. Actually even in that particular case we were nice, diplomat and smart enough so that the guy would eventually hug us instead of permanently damage our cute faces. Ok, that story is not really connected to Gary's article but I wanted to tell it on Hejorama for a long time...
That article is more about places that are dangerous because of political instabilities, terrorists threats or highly criminal areas like Northern Mexico. Gary has been to several of this places and shares some interesting observations and advices. It's important to be careful but also be able to see what can really be the threat if you go there. Best tip? "Have an escape plan". Even Jason Bourne always has one.
Day 70: Be a Good Guest - Be a Good Human
by Ross, RossRoams
Ross is one of our most recent friend from the Twitter travel community. We regularly get in touch and he seems to be a genuinely nice person. As a proof, I suggest you read this article that might help you become a better person yourself. Not that I think you'd need it since you must be awesome already for reading Hejorama!
Ross travels mostly using Couchsurfing that we also love and he recently told us that he looks for his hosts using the "keyword" function (with "meditation" for instance). I found that really cool and never thought about it. I only check the pictures. Just kidding.
Foursquare Fun Facts: Sanity, Wendy’s and North Korea
by John C Abell, Wired
This article focuses on Foursquare, the location-based social network and gives us some very interesting facts about its usage. I personally got quickly bored of checking in when I arrived somewhere and don't really see the point of doing it. But I've always figured that it would be amazing to have a chance to analyze the data collected. This article offers a preview, thanks to the infographic provided by Foursquare. There's one last challenge for Foursquare users: be the first one to check in North Korea. Apparently it's more complicated than doing it from space!
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That's it for this week! See you next Friday for more news from the interwebs.
Alex
