Farewell LP from a Blogsherpa

For almost three years I have become part of Lonely Planet’s Blogsherpa Program, until recently when Lonely Planet has decided that the program has finally come to the end of the road.

An e-mail that arrived in our inbox brought questions, more than answers, to us. Although we were saddened by the turn of events, we are hopeful that something better will come.

Allow me look back to the good things the program has brought to me and my blog.

1. Meeting a great bunch of online travel writers. We’ve interacted through Google Groups (now Google + Community), Twitter, Facebook, Squidoo, Stumble Upon, and other social media platforms. Some I met personally in my travels and others I hope to meet in the future.

2. Wearing the Lonely Planet Blogsherpa badge. I proudly placed the widget in my site to show readers how proud I am to be part of this program.

3. Writing stories that appear in the Lonely Planet site. As part of the program, it goes without saying that we enjoy this opportunity. Part of me is happy to share my travel adventures, especially done in my very own country, the Philippines, to Lonely Planet online visitors. And we’ve lived up to our name as a blogsherpa – ushering others to travel experiences through our blogs.

4. Hosting & partipating in blog carnivals. I first did a blog carnival with my fellow blogsherpas. I hosted one and contributed in others. It was great reading stories of the same theme from other writers.

5. Publishing an e-book. Yes, it was a great feat among us blogsherpies. We were able to do it through emails and across countries and timelines. I’ve enjoyed collaborating with my fellow blogsherpies. I remember Lonely Planet initiated an article on the World Cup with contributions from the blogsherpies.

But the time has come. As we bid farewell to 2012, we also bid adieu to the Lonely Planet Blogsherpa Program. The links to our articles were already taken down in the country pages. On the other hand, as we welcome 2013, we also welcome what is in store for us in the Lonely Planet site. I’ll keep you posted.