A travel vloggers field site can be stretched far and wide. Anyone can access their content from any part of the world, at any time. For this blog, I will be focusing on travel YouTuber’s Eamon and Bec.
Eamon and Bec’s ethnographic field site can be divided into four categories; geographical, technical, social and content. These individual factors work harmoniously together to create their ethnographic map.
Before we dive in, it is important to consider the perspective I bring to this study. As a long-time consumer of travel vlogs, particularly Eamon and Bec’s content, I am approaching this from an insider’s perspective and am bringing personal experiences and observations to the table.
Although Eamon and Bec live in Canada, their geographical map is indeed worldwide. Their geographic presence is prominently in the Western part of the world. This may be due to Westerners having greater access to electronic devices and the internet. In saying this, due to their online platforms being public, it is possible for anyone to access their content. Not only is their geographical map online, but it is also largely present in the real-life world. Eamon and Bec are constantly travelling which grants them the opportunity to meet new people everywhere they go. This creates a larger audience for their real and online personas.
The technical field site investigates how Eamon and Bec’s audience finds their content. People might find their content through a brand they have collaborated with, through another influencers page, a friend’s recommendation or through a home page. If someone finds their content through any of these means, it’s likely they have an interest in travel or the content they produce and therefore are more likely to watch them. Their real-life persona’s they present online makes the experience of watching their content personal as you feel like you’re on a journey with them. This may be a key reason as to why audiences join their community.
Eamon and Bec have many different social field sites. They are involved with various communities; such as the van community, influencer community and their fan community. Their social media is their largest social field site, as they are present on various platforms such as Instagram, YouTube and Tik Tok. Social media is a way for Eamon and Bec connect and inform their audience, while also reaching out to potential and unreached audiences. They can do this through comments, follows and shares.
The final aspect of Eamon and Bec’s ethnographic field site is their content. Their main content includes regular YouTube videos and Instagram photos. Additionally, they own an online store which sells chai, presets and cookbooks. This draws in new audiences who may not necessarily be involved with their social media content.
I plan to base my overall ethnographic research on travel vloggers, while using Eamon and Bec as my main example. Skills I will develop by ethnographically exploring travel vloggers include researching audience patterns and behaviours. I am keen to explore if and how travel vloggers contribute to culture, how they create a community and why audiences are interested in their content. Investigating Eamon and Bec’s ethnography in a larger context will help me understand the overall travel vlog audience behaviour patterns.
My research in this area might be of interest to content creators to understand their impact on culture and behaviours. It may also be relevant to content consumers to understand the impact the travel vlogger may have on them, and to understand what they contribute to by watching their content.
Attached are scholarly links I plan to use to back my research:
Stay tuned!
EDITS:
Wednesday 2nd of September 11:50am
WORDS BY THE SEA 