The news this week is the announcement that Internet Brands (www.internetbrands.com) has acquired the Slow Travel sites (slowtrav.com, slowtalk.com, slowphotos.com).
I am pleased to announce that the Slow Travel websites are joining Internet Brands’ family of travel sites. Internet Brands, based in Los Angeles, runs websites in three vertical markets: Automotive, Real Estate & Home Finance and Travel. Read more about them here: www.internetbrands.com.
The Slow Travel websites – slowtrav.com, slowtalk.com, slowphotos.com – join Internet Brands’ other popular travel sites: BBOnline.com, CruiseMates.com, CruiseReviews.com, VacationHomes.com, Vamoose.com, WikiTravel.org, and World66.com.
You won’t notice any major changes in the Slow Travel websites and message board; I am working with Internet Brands to make sure everything keeps running as it does now.
The moderators and I will continue to run the message board. All of us who worked for Slow Travel before now work for Internet Brands. I publish my travel articles and other Slow Travelers articles on slowtrav.com. Chris runs the Classifieds. Kim publishes trip reports and vacation rental reviews and answers the "help" email. Colleen publishes hotel reviews. Charisse from Internet Brands publishes restaurant reviews. The only changes you will see in the future will be good ones to make our websites and community even better.
The Slow Travel websites have grown in size and traffic since their beginning in 2001 and are at the point where a bigger infrastructure is needed to run them. This is where Internet Brands steps in. They will handle the advertising, marketing and bookkeeping, and provide their resources for the operation of the websites.
At the end of October, at Palma’s GTG in Palm Springs when the Slow Chicks did their hilarious song about everyone traveling except Pauline (“And no one’s staying home except Pauline”), I realized the irony – I am running a travel site, but not traveling because running the site has become a full time (plus) job! It was after that party that Internet Brands contacted me. Good timing.
I am very excited about this opportunity. I will be working with Internet Brands to transition the sites and their activities to them, so that I can focus on working with Slow Travel writers and doing my own travel writing for the site. I have started a weekly travel blog, “Views from the Slow Lane”, with topics of general interest to travelers and spotlighting current Slow Travel message board topics, Slow Travel articles and articles/activities from the other Internet Brands travel sites.
John McGanty, General Manager of the Travel Division, welcomes the Slow Travel community to the Internet Brands family. "At Internet Brands we are very excited to have Slow Travel join our growing family of travel guides and communities. This different approach to travel provides a wonderful alternative to the more typical way of visiting destinations. We're impressed with the quality of content on the sites and the enthusiasm of the Slow Travel community and are excited to begin providing support for the Slow Travel sites, both from our other sites and with our various back-office resources."
Please join with me in welcoming Internet Brands to the Slow Travel Community!
We welcome your comments and questions.
(The official press release from Internet Brands will go out in early February.)
