A couple of months back I sat down with the smart cookies at Bangkok Podcast for an interview -- if you'd like to hear about what is involved in running a site like Travelfish, please give the interview a listen -- I've been told it's quite amusing (I've not listened yetas I don't have a fast connection here).
My interview aside, there's a bunch of very interesting podcasts well worth a listen, so do check out the Bangkok Podcast site.
The problem with podcasts is that you can't fast forward, pause or go back.
There's an interview with a guy making a film about bananas at the beginning of that podcast (your interview comes afterwards). My bloody phone kept ringing just as your interview was about to start and I had to listen to that hour long podcast 4 times to hear it all!
But it was an quite interesting talk, especially the bit about cutting down the number of TF accommodation reviews and only mentioning the more outstanding places. Don't you think that this will lead to all the best places being full all the time?
I think it must depend on your listening device - I downloaded the podcast from iTunes to my phone and then you can fast-forward, pause etc. The banana guy was also quite interesting but 4 times would have been excessive! Interesting listen though Somtam.
I'm still yet to listen to it... But best places to stay, well on Fili Trawangan (which I thankfully left a couple of days ago)I looked at over 100 places to stay. Of those we'll end up running with around 30. Partly because some are just awful, others overpriced pits and many near identical.
When you have a halfdozen near identical lumbungs side by side, I think better to pick one and mention others nearby for overflow.
I did the interview a few months ago, so can't remember exactly what I said, but we are shifting to pick a wide range of the best, rather than the lot.
I agree, top 30 would be fine for me. It is frustrating having to look through countless listings. You can always get a heads up on any other worthwhile guesthouse via the forums / additions.
Have you seen hostelworld's % rating system? (I think other booking sites use it also) The star ratings are still there but this % makes it much easier to scan through (and discard duds) quickly. I was never disappointed when I picked a top rated one on there when I was going through China.
I've been looking through TF's listings for Bangkok recently and there are too many choices!!!
somtam2000
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A couple of months back I sat down with the smart cookies at Bangkok Podcast for an interview -- if you'd like to hear about what is involved in running a site like Travelfish, please give the interview a listen -- I've been told it's quite amusing (I've not listened yetas I don't have a fast connection here).
My interview aside, there's a bunch of very interesting podcasts well worth a listen, so do check out the Bangkok Podcast site.
Cheers!
#1 Posted: 2/8/2011 - 18:24
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SBE
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The problem with podcasts is that you can't fast forward, pause or go back.
There's an interview with a guy making a film about bananas at the beginning of that podcast (your interview comes afterwards). My bloody phone kept ringing just as your interview was about to start and I had to listen to that hour long podcast 4 times to hear it all!
But it was an quite interesting talk, especially the bit about cutting down the number of TF accommodation reviews and only mentioning the more outstanding places. Don't you think that this will lead to all the best places being full all the time?
#2 Posted: 3/8/2011 - 14:28
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I think it must depend on your listening device - I downloaded the podcast from iTunes to my phone and then you can fast-forward, pause etc. The banana guy was also quite interesting but 4 times would have been excessive! Interesting listen though Somtam.
#3 Posted: 3/8/2011 - 17:27
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somtam2000
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I'm still yet to listen to it... But best places to stay, well on Fili Trawangan (which I thankfully left a couple of days ago)I looked at over 100 places to stay. Of those we'll end up running with around 30. Partly because some are just awful, others overpriced pits and many near identical.
When you have a halfdozen near identical lumbungs side by side, I think better to pick one and mention others nearby for overflow.
I did the interview a few months ago, so can't remember exactly what I said, but we are shifting to pick a wide range of the best, rather than the lot.
/s
#4 Posted: 3/8/2011 - 19:05
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christay2009
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I agree, top 30 would be fine for me. It is frustrating having to look through countless listings. You can always get a heads up on any other worthwhile guesthouse via the forums / additions.

Have you seen hostelworld's % rating system? (I think other booking sites use it also) The star ratings are still there but this % makes it much easier to scan through (and discard duds) quickly. I was never disappointed when I picked a top rated one on there when I was going through China.
I've been looking through TF's listings for Bangkok recently and there are too many choices!!!
#5 Posted: 4/8/2011 - 00:47