David J.
Danto
Business travel
thoughts in my own, personal opinion
eMail: ddanto@IMCCA.org Follow Industry News: @NJDavidD
NOT Traveling Blog, 3rd
Week Of October 2020
David Danto’s ongoing list of disjointed and occasionally random
observations and thoughts as we wait-out the pandemic – mostly NOT traveling
like we used to.
OK, I’ve
now given in to the inevitable and added the year to these blog file
titles. I began writing these “not Traveling” blogs in March of this
year. Back then I couldn’t even imagine
that the pandemic would last a full year, much less go into the next. Because of that I titled the blogs using only
the week and month they’d be published.
Now, if I’m being honest with you and
myself, I can’t imagine a scenario where we’re completely out of the woods
before next summer – and that’s being optimistic. Thusly, the year is now in the title and the
file name. I’m not sure if – when we
reach this anniversary in March 2021 – we should celebrate it, or just weep.
Speaking of celebrations (smooth
segue, right?) one of the things I miss doing during the pandemic is
getting together with friends to celebrate special occasions like birthdays,
anniversaries, etc. One of my industry
friends is having a birthday this weekend, and I did some research to find
services that would help his friends remotely honor and celebrate him. I found a couple of good ones I wanted to
share with you. (FYI - I have no
financial or any other relationship with either of these services.) The first
is Kudoboard. It is a service that lets a user create an
on-line space for friends and associates to leave photos, GIFs,
comments, etc. for a special occasion.
It is the on-line equivalent of passing around a card for everyone to
sign – but adds pictures and videos to the mix.
Creating one that ten people can sign is free, and to move that number
to one hundred users it costs about six bucks (and there are additional levels
as well.) The recipient can then watch
it on line, watch it as a slide show, print it, or order a poster of it as a
keepsake.
I’ll let you know how the recipient feels about the surprise
board when he gets it this weekend, but I can’t imagine that it won’t be
something special he will cherish for years to come. In many ways it’s even better than passing
around a card, as with this one people can participate from around the globe,
and the pictures shared will likely bring-back great memories.
The second service is called HipChip. We wanted to get our friend a gift for his
birthday as well. We discussed ordering
flowers, fruit arrangements, an Amazon gift card, a donation to a charity in his
name, and many other ideas. Every one of
them seemed to point toward me having to ‘be the bank,’ buying whatever it is
myself and then collecting money from all the participants (PayPal, Venmo, check-is-in-the-mail,
etc.) HipChip
took all the banker’s chores out of the equation. I opened an account and set-up a gift card
for my friend. All his other friends
were then able to log in and give as much as they wanted toward this gift
card. (We selected a Visa card so that
he could disperse the money any way he wanted – for purchases, contributions,
etc.)
Each person contributing is charged an extra dollar (to give
ten dollars you’re charged $11.) Then,
the Visa card we selected has a $10 fee as well. (It was only one of the choices of cards that
we could have picked – I assume the cards for stores and restaurants don’t have
the same fee.) Once the collection
end-date I selected comes I log back in and initiate mailing the card to the
recipient. After the initial set-up it
really took all the pain out of all the logistics that I’d have needed to
coordinate a gift remotely. (I was
honestly surprised that on-line shopping services like Amazon didn’t offer a
feature where groups could pitch-in to buy an e-gift card unless the recipient
had registered for a list of things they want – like with a wedding
registry.)
Changing the subject completely, I want to apologize to Las
Vegas. Yes, I am getting all your emails
about free rooms and the perks that go with them. I’d love to come – I really would – but I’m
smart enough to wait till traveling doesn’t involve a significant risk of
death. This same apology goes to Hawaii,
The Bahamas, Europe and everywhere else I wish I could return to. I’ll be waiting till it’s safe again. I know you are hurting and that makes me sad
– but not stupid. This apology does not
extend to the cruise companies. If there
were ever industries that needed to be burned to the ground and restarted in a
much more safe and customer friendly model – the cruise lines go right along
with the US airlines. One would have to
be nuts to schedule and then go on a petri-dish
cruise in the current environment.
Perhaps we should set-up a Kudoboard to send
our apologies to these locations, and our “thoughts
and prayers” to the airlines and cruise companies.
UPDATE: About a week ago I posted a blog that
discussed all the tasks and items I and my family are taking to prevent COVID19
exposure. (I admitted my precautions
were likely ‘over the top’ compared
to most.) Well, thanks to my reader
Peter for writing and letting me know that he followed and liked the
suggestions, and made an additional one, saying he uses this personal
air purifier as well. Now I find
that over the top for my tastes, but if one has to fly on an airplane it sure
seems like money well spent. I notice
they’re out of stock of the purifier unless you buy it in a bundle
with goggles. Thanks Peter – great find!
As always, please feel
free to write to me with comments or items I should add to a future Not
Traveling blog (or if you just need someone to write to.) Stay safe, be well, hug those you’re
sheltering with (but no one else) and do your best to stay positive. We’re going to be in this for a long
while.
This article was written by David Danto and contains solely his own, personal
opinions.
All image and links provided above as reference under
prevailing fair use statutes.
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The Explanation
for my Not Traveling blogs: In 2014 I was voted
by USA Today readers as one of the top ten business travel bloggers in the
USA. Now mind you,
I turned out to be number ten on the list of ten, but I did make it on (with my
thanks to all those who voted.) Now
that we’re all stuck at home and not traveling, I had to think about what to do
with my blogs. I could stop writing them
entirely – waiting till we all get through the current COVID19 pandemic /
crisis. I could wax nostalgic and/or
complain about past trips. Or, I could
focus all of my efforts on my day job – growing the use of collaboration
technologies – especially in light of how many people are now forced to use
those tools for the first time. In
reflecting upon those choices, what I decided to do is compile an ongoing list
of observations during the crisis. Some
of these may amuse, some may inform, some may sadden and others may help. My goal will be for you to have seen
something in a different light than you did before you stopped to read the
blog. I was going to apologize for how
disjointed these thoughts may seem when put together, but then it dawned on me
that feeling disjointed is our new normal – at least for a little while.