Tip Sheet.

Travel: Writing As You Roam

By Malcolm Beith

While working as a photojournalist in Africa during the summer of 2000, Joseph Kultgen ran into problems sending out mass e-mails to his friends and family back home. For one, he was limited in the number of people he could include on each list. Sometimes, messages bounced back because intended recipients didn't have enough space in their inboxes. And some of his photo attachments simply didn't get opened for fear of viruses. So he decided to set up his own travel Web site, uploading his photos himself, posting updates as he pleased and editing all the content. Then he had an epiphany: "I thought, 'If everyone could do this, we could create a community'," he says. And so, with the help of cofounder Jeremy Ahrens, Kultgen launched trekshare.com in October 2000.

Over the past few years, self-publishing Web sites that allow travelers to do everything while on the road--from uploading photos to posting "Hi Mom" notes to writing actual travelogues--have become increasingly popular. Trekshare.com's membership has grown at a rate of 20 percent a month and now totals more than 10,000. (Ninety percent of users opt for the free package; 10 percent pay $7.95 a year for the privilege of using an advanced search engine and uploading digital video.) It now boasts 75,000 photos and 15,000 travelogues, which anyone can view after they've logged in. But Web sites like trekshare.com aren't only for aspiring photojournalists or Paul Theroux wanna-bes. For sheer practicality, they can't be beat. If you don't want to clog your friends' inboxes with silly pictures of you in scuba gear in Aruba, or waste valuable Himalayan-trekking time trying to resend e-mails, use one of the following sites to keep in touch with your loved ones while you're away:

trekshare.com: It features easy-to-use and well-designed page templates and offers a monthly top-20 home-page list, which helps if you're looking to keep up with the competition. There's an interesting forum for discusion, too.

virtualtourist.com: When 57---year-old Geoff Wright from Cornwall, England, left for Los Angeles in May last year, he knew he wouldn't be logging on for a day or so. "But my dear wife posted a message on [VT's] forum [saying], 'Where's Geoff?' " says Wright. "Several members replied, all saying that I was perfectly well, and for my wife not to worry." That capacity for comfort through an online network, coupled with an extensive database of travelogues and handy traveling tips (broken down by region and including everything from health warnings to nightlife advice) makes virtualtourist.com a real find. It's free as well. No wonder 400,000 people from 219 countries have signed up.

igougo.com: This free site is much more focused on travelogue writing than on quick notes to your buddies. Those lacking the patience to read a friend's lengthy tome about So Tome should just turn to the message boards for the cut- to-the-chase "Hey, how are ya!" But it does include a rare treat: a special section for cruise-trip travelogues from sophisticated seafarers.