Welcome to the wired traveler

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the wired world.

People often talk about the connected traveler and the wired traveler. In reality, the connected traveler and the cable traveler are generally the same person. But first, let’s remember … (insert dream transition sequence as we reminisce about old times …).

Dear reader, if you are as old as I am, you will still remember the days of “snail mail,” that old and almost lost art of letter writing. When men (and women) of letters sent home lengthy reports detailing their adventures as they crossed the world meeting strange and exotic people, in lands they had only read about in geography class before. You remember geography class, right?

If you didn’t have time to write lengthy reports, you could always get away with a FOR AIRCRAFT * letter.

Do you remember them? Bought from a local post office, they were one-page, prepaid, pale blue, lightweight sheets of paper with gummed edges, which had to be folded in a particular sequence before they could be placed in any mailboxes they came across.

The really lazy traveler always settled for postcards. At least the postcards gave him the added bonus of including a picture of a famous landmark or an island sunset to make the people of his country envious of his exciting adventures.

You can still receive postcards, of course, but I haven’t seen a letter by airmail in years, and as for long letters home, they’re a thing of the past too. Because today we live in a connected world and the connected traveler wants to work fast, cheaply and online.

Yes, the cable traveler is constantly online, on, instant messaging, and uploading to their Facebook, MySpace, Blogger, Twitter, WordPress, Flickr, YouTube, or personal websites. In fact, the truly connected traveler is likely to stay in touch through all of the above portals.

Now, while traveling the world, you can take pictures of the pyramids with your mobile phone and instantly upload them to any number of free websites. Or you could send them to everyone on your phone contact list and really make your friends at home jealous as they sit, chained to their work desks, dreaming of their own overseas escapades.

The wired traveler moves around the world with a GPS phone and never has to worry about getting lost in a strange city. You can check your email on the go and reply while enjoying a cappuccino in London, a slice of pizza in New York, or a kebab in sight of the pyramids.

The cable traveler can go to their nearest internet café and Google their favorite fashion chain, before heading out to try on the latest summer fashions, whether they are in Paris, Milan or Rio. Now that I think about it, you can do it from your mobile phone.

If your mobile phone is up to the task, a new opt-in service Google is testing called, Google Latitude lets your friends and family know exactly where you are in the world, at any time, at the touch of a button. . While there are some privacy concerns, the security-conscious people among us will be much happier knowing that our movements can be tracked in real time as we travel the world in search of new experiences.

It won’t be long before you can press a special key on your phone, to send an alarm to the nearest police station if you are caught in an emergency, allowing law enforcement to know exactly where you are and to track down your movements as they approach you and those who threaten you, if it can’t be done now!

Welcome to the wired world, indeed.