Last but not least: Social media goes real life
Who are the people behind the virtual profiles on Twitter and Facebook? Bruno Santschi and Markus Tschannen from Bern are investigating this question in a two-week trip through Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The journey, entitled RL Tour, begins on August 24, 2011, and RL stands for Real Life. Along the way, Santschi and Tschannen want to meet bloggers, Twitterers and Facebook friends and document their experiences in real time. The social media goes real life project is not intended to remain a private experience. In the travel blog rltour.com and on their social media profiles, the two want to report on their encounters in real time. They want to be constantly online for two weeks, uploading photos, answering questions and arranging new meetings.
Under the names @prunio and @souslik, they have made a name for themselves primarily on the microblog platform Twitter. But they have also taken a liking to Facebook, the new Google+ and the world of blogs. "It's not the technology, but the people behind it that make social networks exciting," says Tschannen.
Santschi and Tschannen are being supported on their trip by four sponsors. Data traffic abroad is being covered by Swisscom, the communications agency Klarkom is sponsoring the hire of a hybrid car including CO2 compensation, open source pioneer Puzzle ITC is covering various other expenses and photographer Barbara Hess, alias Pictura, has offered a professional photo shoot to provide the first images.
