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Article courtesy of © Anchorage Daily News |
Web postcards share Alaska with the world
Article by: Scott McMurren
One of the mandatory stops for visiting friends and relatives is the postcard
stand, where Aunt Flossie can pick up a handful of funny cards to send off
to her friends in Tuscaloosa.
It's a time-honored tradition. In fact, we have a postcard from Spain on
the refrigerator right now. I love to get them and read about all the cool
adventures friends are having around the world. Of course, Alaska is a big
adventure, especially for visitors. And now there's a new way for visitors
and residents alike to share their adventures with folks around the world.
Instantly.
Livepostcard.com is a new company founded by Kevin Roudebush. He runs ''The Alaska Channel'' which offers visitor-oriented television
programming to many hotels in Anchorage. But the Livepostcard.com concept
is specifically designed around the Internet and offers a way for digital
pictures to be posted on a Web page so friends back home can track your
journey across Alaska.
| Here's
how it works: You can get a free ''adventurer'' number on the Web
site, or at any of the participating attractions, such as Ketchum
Air Service, Phillips' 26 Glacier Cruise, Sourdough Mining Co. and
so forth. |
Phillips' 26 Glacier Cruise |
Then, as you're traveling around Alaska and visit the attractions, you give
them your adventurer number. They take the digital camera out from under
the counter, lead you to a scenic spot for a snapshot and send you on your
merry way.
At the end of the day, the folks who took the pictures upload the photos
to the Livepostcard.com site, and they are attached to your own private
page.
Alaska
Native Heritage Center |
There's
no fee for the service. The site has photo locations stretching from
Kotzebue to Skagway. Visit the site to check out the participating
attractions. At some locations, such as the Alaska Native Heritage
Center, Livepostcard.com has a photographer on the premises who takes
pictures from many different places on the Center's grounds: inside
during the dances, near the artists' area or outside where they're
building boats. |
| ''We
think the Livepostcard.com deal is great,'' said Steve Halloran, marketing
director of the Center. ''It's an Alaskan 'dot-com' that has some
great ideas,'' he said. |
Steve
Halloran |
''I think it's an absolutely phenomenal idea. We have the photographer on
the all-new Klondike Express catamaran seven days a week snapping away --
and the people just love it,'' said Barrie Swanberg of Phillips' 26 Glacier
Cruise.
What's unique about the program is that the adventurers don't have to have
a camera. They don't have to write anything, and they don't have to remember
to bring their address book along. Once the picture is taken, it is uploaded
to the Web site, where a description about the site or attraction is attached,
appearing adjacent to the picture. ''Some descriptions are more interesting
than others,'' Roudebush confesses.
But the traveler's name appears on the top of the page, and anyone with
access to the Internet can visit anytime and witness the progress of the
adventurer's Alaskan trip. The travelers can give their friends and family
their adventurer number to access their Web page with the pictures.
Vacation
Photo Album |
After
travelers get back home, they have the opportunity to buy the photos
and create their own vacation photo album. Or, the Web site can offer
special goodies like coffee cups, mouse pads and sweatshirts with
photos imprinted on them. These items are NOT free. The photos and
specialty items are one of the ''revenue streams'' that Roudebush
identified early in his business plan. |
Right now, Roudebush and his staff are busy signing up new locations to
take pictures so visitors can create a comprehensive photo album on the
Internet.
Some
other Livepostcard.com locations include the Alaska Railroad, the
Musk Ox Farm in Palmer, the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, the Talkeetna
Alaskan Lodge, Mahay's Riverboat Service in Talkeetna, Gold Dredge
#8 in Fairbanks, the White Pass & Yukon Route in Skagway, North Star
Trekking in Juneau and Auk Nu Charters in Juneau.
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How about sending along a note to say how it's going? Well, they say a picture
is worth a thousand words. But you still can send a postcard.
Scott McMurren is an Anchorage-based travel marketing
consultant. Contact him at zoom@toursaver.com. |
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