Twitter, travel itineraries and travel junkets

I'm so busy writing (two books on Australia) that I have little time for blogging. I could easily spend all day every day doing nothing but writing, but I need to cram coffee breaks with things other than travel writing to keep me sane - like trip-planning (Dubai, Venice and Spain next) and reading:
* You know how I find itineraries fascinating (read this post and this one)... well Heather on her Travels has undertaken an interesting experiment, posting a '36 hours in Berlin' itinerary with a difference. It includes the itinerary she planned before she went to Berlin and what she actually did when she got there. Worth a study for aspiring travel writers.
* In 'Sour Grapes' over at Wide angles, wine and wanderlust, Terry is blogging about a story in the Sydney Morning Herald, 'So fresh, so clean, so not buying', that has us both bewildered. We're not sure what's more objectionable - that the writer proudly discourages readers visiting one of Australia's greatest wine regions to not by the wines (!) at a time when the government and tourism bodies are trying to persuade Aussies to take their leave and do stay-cations to help save the economy. Or the fact that his trip was paid for by the South Australian Tourism Commission.
* At educational travel blog Following the Equator, Eric is enjoying Twitter and has posted a list of 50 Travel Tweepers on Twitter (including moi), while World Hum has posted Twitter Tips from 25 Tweeting Travellers. The latter is being seen by many, including Jessica Spiegel at BootsnAll as a tactic to lure back pro-Twitter travellers who were offended by columnist Rolf Potts' answer to a reader's question "Should I Twitter from the Road?" I'll let you read Potts' response and the heated debate that ensues in the comments, but essentially he likens Twitter users to a former college mate Doug, who he thinks was a "doofus" because he continually updated his answer machine message with mundane details about his comings and goings. Potts believes using Twitter on the road will distract you from amazing local experiences. What he doesn't seem to understand is that Twitter can do exactly the opposite and allow you to connect with (and meet and get advice from) like-minded locals (not only other travellers) in a way that you could never have been before. Jessica writes a fantastic post on the whole twittroversy (?!): To Use Twitter for Travel or Not to Use It: Is That Really the Question? while Vicky Baker at Going Local, also reflects on it. Vicky, who occasionally posts about Twitter, also asks 'Are you a social netsetter?'

Pictured? Camel-trainers exercising their camels in Dubai. That's Terry crouched in between them shooting pics. When we lived at Al Mankhool and before they moved the track, we'd regularly head over there on weekends to watch them train. The second bloke on the camel is on his mobile phone. Most of these guys would either be chatting or texting on their mobiles from the backs of their camels. I wouldn't be surprised if when I return next month I find they're using Twitter.