My day job is doing guidebooks for Lonely Planet. I've contributed text and/or photos to more than 15 books at this point and am currently at work updating Thailand, Bangkok Encounter and Thailand's Islands & Beaches.
Recently, after spending some time on Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree travel forum, I got the impression that some people perceive the process of writing guidebooks as something of a solitary endeavour, done with little input from readers or locals. I sympathise with this to a certain extent and began to wonder how I could go about getting more of readers' opinions on their favourite sights, restaurants, hotels, etc., for the destinations I'm writing about. It was at about this same time that I started using Twitter, and it struck me that the application has immense potential as a tool to uncover exactly this sort of information. So, starting today, I'll be Tweeting travel- and destination-related questions and queries on a daily basis and would really appreciate your help. If you'd like to pitch in, follow me on Twitter (@austinbushphoto), where my Lonely Planet-related posts will bear the official Lonely Planet hashtag, #lp, supplemented with the name of the destination I'm working on (e.g. #lpbkk, #lpchiangrai).
Thanks!