Texting and Driving: Don’t Do It
Texting and driving is a dangerous mix. And it needs to stop now. Lives are changed drastically because of the decision to take your eyes off the road to read or send a text. Don’t cause an accident or be part of one.
Image Source – Michael Babcock on Flickr
Verizon and AT&T have joined together to bring awareness to the risks of texting, checking out websites, or watching videos while driving. You can take a pledge to never text and drive. The website It Can Wait contains the pledge and lots of information. The main video about a young man, Xavier will tug at your heart. I know you will want to stop taking any chance of being a distracted driver after watching it.
It seems to be human nature that we think that bad things happen to other people. I admit to sneaking a look at my cell phone while driving. But, when I almost went up on a curb, I stopped. Texting and driving isn’t just a teen problem. Adults do it too. Be an example to your children by taking the pledge.
You can download the Android app Safely Go. It sends automatic text replies that you are driving. Only the top three people that you choose can call or text you while you’re driving. And it’s free. Tell your family and friends about it. Ask them to download and use it. You may save a life.
As a Verizon Wireless Ambassador, this information was provided to me. I am grateful for it and for the ability to share it with my readers. Now, go ahead and take the pledge to stop texting and driving. You can share it on Twitter and Facebook. Use the hashtag #ItCanWait.
Let me know if you took the pledge by commenting.
Image Source – Michael Babcock
How to Find Travel Destinations on Instagram
Guest post by Katja Presnal, the author of “Instagram as your Guide to the World”.
Imagine if you could get connected with almost any travel location in the world before visiting and you could chat with someone who is the expert on the local area when you are planning your trip and see exactly how it looks in the destination right now – and not just a few years ago, when the latest brochure pictures were taken.
Good news for you: you can get this and much more on Instagram. In the past year I have traveled in 15 different countries using different methods of Instagram search to discover new places to visit. The past few months I did more research and wrote a book about the topic. The bad news is that you have to be creative when searching Instagram and it’s not as easy as searching on search engines, but once you get the tricks down, it will be easy!
I would like to share simple tips how to get started by searching specific instagram users.
When you search users, tap on the “Users” on the Instagram search screen. This is easy if you already know of the travel destinations, tourism boards, travel experts or even cities, hotels or restaurants posting photos on Instagram. All you have to do is type their username and find their account and you will immediately find all of their photos.
It takes time to find the people you want to follow, and sometimes your best source for local travel tips can be a small local business owner, instead of a large chain hotel or even tourism board on Instagram. Sometimes even the national tourism board Instagram accounts don’t tell the story of how amazing the country, but luckily many local tourism boards and Convention and Visitors Bureaus are already on Instagram, like VisitRaleigh.
If you are planning on a trip to a certain location, you can often find a local tourism board with a username {visit}+{location name} for example VisitMexico, VisitCalifornia and so on.
However, all local tourism boards are not on Instagram yet, and other local experts might be much better help for you. Sometimes finding the best people is almost impossible by searching based on usernames unless you have a magical ability to guess the usernames. This is why I wrote the book with several additional ways how you can find the experts on almost any location in the world.
EDIT: This is just a very short start how to use Instagram as your travel guide, I hope you join me in the Twitter party on Monday 27th May at 9PM EST to talk more with #IGTravelbook or get my book, Instagram as your Guide to the World – How, What and Who to Search and Follow on Instagram to Help You Travel the World.
Guest post by Katja Presnal. Katja Presnal is the owner of the SkimbacoLifestyle.com online magazine with a mission to inspire you to live life to the fullest. She has partnered with TV networks in the past, featured in New York Times, Forbes, Glamour, Woman’s Day and other national and international media and won Addy Awards for her work as a social media strategist. Her first ebook “Instagram as your Guide to the World – How, What and Who to Search and Follow on Instagram to Help You Travel the World” published in May 2013. Currently she holds a temporary residence in Sweden with her husband and three children.
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