Ask The Readers: Your Thoughts On Today’s BNT

By Ian MacKenzie On October 15, 2009 · 15 Comments

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BNT founder and editor Ian MacKenzie asks the readers to weigh in on the magazine.

BNT headers through the years.

I remember clearly the day I knew I’d start Brave New Traveler.

I was walking with a friend (and co-worker at the time) Allison Cross, and I was telling her about this idea I had for a travel magazine. Only it wouldn’t be what most travel magazines are about: hot deals, package tours, cheap flights, etc.

This magazine would be about “why we travel.” It would explore all elements of this question, along with the experience of change that is inherent in every journey.

Allison agreed it was an intriguing idea. She asked what I would call it. I’d played with a few ideas over last week, and the one I’d chosen now rolled easily off my tongue:

Brave New Traveler.

A week later, on Oct 10, 2006, I wrote my first post. Considering today’s date, that means we just celebrated our third anniversary.

The content of BNT has certainly expanded over the years. The concept of “inner travel” has grown to encompass not just personal change that happens during travel, but also back home.

After thousands of articles and comments, I like to check in with the readers from time to time. I like to know what’s working, what isn’t, and what you’d like to see more of. It helps myself and co-editor Christine better tailor content that continues to push boundaries and minds.

So this is your chance, dear reader, to let us know what’s on your mind: the good, the bad, and the ugly (hopefully not too much ugly). And thanks again for sticking around. A magazine is nothing without its audience.

Give us your feedback! Tell us what you think of BNT and what you’d like to see in the future.

About The Author

Ian MacKenzie

Ian MacKenzie is the founder and former editor of Brave New Traveler. He is a now a contributing editor to Matador, and the network's architect. Ian is also a documentary filmmaker, with his first feature (One Week Job) released in 2010.

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Jared Krauss

Expansion is inevitable, to a certain degree. However, I feel that BNT receives it’s “special” something from the it’s sort of grass roots feel. Meaning, while, sure there are people who may have wrote for the New York Times here, this isn’t the New York Times. This isn’t some mainstream travel website that relies on money from destinations and advertisements to progress and run. Rather, in my opinion, BNT gains it’s power through the use of it’s readers. In pieces such as “Get Your Pen Moving” or the recently posted “Micro-Notes” and other such articles. Those are the sort of things that really keep me coming back here. Is the opportunity to see into the head of others in a similar position to me.

Thank you so much for this website and God Bless.

Jared Krauss

http://www.ianmack.com Ian MacKenzie

Thanks Jared! We can’t take all the credit here at BNT – the writing “Pen Moving” and “Micro-Notes” are from the talented editors at The Traveler’s Notebook. I like to think we all share in the special vibes though…

http://www.kaleidoscopicwandering.com JoAnna

I love Brave New Traveler, and while I don’t comment often, it’s not because I don’t read it. Usually the posts leave me thinking and contemplating, but I’m not really sure how to respond, which is probably the point. I often wish I could just say “I read this” to let you know I do stop by because I’m not sure how to contribute to the conversation when I’m not sure where I stand on an issue.

Keep up the good work. I will be a BNT reader for many years to come.

christine

Thanks, JoAnna, and I DO see great, insightful comments from you. Thanks for those, but also thanks for letting us know that you are reading whether you comment or not!

joshua johnson

Happy 3 year! Thank you for vision and action!
BNT was one of my fav blogs (travel or otherwise) before I was a Matador editor, the dynamic content you ninjas bring is top notch…
http://matadortravel.com/travel-community/valodniece valodniece

Generally I think BNT and Matador do a great job, but two improvements that could be made:

1) Less politics. This is more of a problem on MatadorPulse or MatadorChange, but it crops up on BNT as well. People who enjoy travel and exploring new worlds do not necessarily share the same political views. People come to read things about travel to escape, not to be preached at or told their viewpoint is wrong.

2) The new site design! The title bar staying at the top of the screen rather than scrolling away as you go down is a real pain for those of us without large screens, since it cuts into valuable reading space. Considering travelers are more likely to be reading things on the go, and hence using smaller-screen devices like netbooks in place of large-screened desktops, this could be a concern.

But most things here are done splendidly. Keep up the good work!
Carl Hancock

I agree with both these points.

I’m not digging the new network navigation bar at all. I think it could have been done in a much more unobtrusive fashion. I don’t think it needs to be double stacked, move the nav to the right of the logo in a single bar.

I also agree that the fact that it has a fixed position is annoying. I know I can scroll back up. I’m aware of where it is, I don’t need it to follow me.

In general I think a combination of the latest site design and the new Matador network navigation bar make the site look extremely cluttered. You have a header and a nav bar, and then featured articles, and then the Brave New Traveler head and navigation. Just too much going on up there.

http://www.ianmack.com Ian MacKenzie

Thanks for the feedback.

The initial idea behind the nav bar was the fact that many people still don’t know about all the sites in the Matador Network. Also, the search box was tucked away in the corner where very few people noticed it.

I like the suggestion of moving all the sites into the upper nav (instead of double stacked) – the problem is not all the site titles will fit. We’ll continue experimenting and try to make this work.

http://nancythegnomette.com Nancy

I love BNT. It’s probably my favorite section (shhh) in all of the matador network. The kinds of articles on BNT are the ones that truly inspire me to reflect and challenge my notions of myself and my worldview. I have a proclivity towards combining the spirit and travel anyways, but I feel like BNT does so in engaging, versatile ways. Rock on.

http://www.ianmack.com Ian MacKenzie

Awww thanks Nancy…

http://matadorabroad.com Tim Patterson

3 years already!? Here’s to many more – - -

http://www.ianmack.com Ian MacKenzie

Tim, you were a big part of BNT’s growth! Can’t forget Tim’s story roundups…

http://www.theallisoncross.com Allison

Woohoo! Congrats on coming so far.

Glad I could have been a part of BNT’s humble beginnings =)
Ashley

I discovered BNT a few months back and have literally been obsessed since then. I’ve actually taken several of the articles into my cultural geography class for discussion. I say keep it up and don’t change a thing. So far, I think it’s just perfect. I can still experience the world….even when stuck in a classroom.

http://www.ianmack.com Ian MacKenzie

Wow, thanks for the compliment Ashley. Great to hear.

Ask The Readers: Your Thoughts On Today’s BNT

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