Get Spotted
Written by Erin Unger
Bart and Sanne van Poll have been around the block — their block in Amsterdam, and they think you might like to check it out too. That’s the idea of their company, Spotted by Locals, which puts the power vested in guidebook writers in local bloggers’ hands. “We had been to Brussels a couple of times before, and had some bad experiences with the guidebook we were carrying,” he wrote in an e-mail, referring to a 2007 trip with his wife, and business partner, Sanne.
They attempted to rely only on tips from Brussels locals, but had difficulty finding up-to-date information in English or their language. Finally, they found a blog by a local man who posted what he liked to do in Brussels.
“We decided to "follow" the tips he had, and go to the bars and restaurants he frequents, and walk around in the hidden local neighborhood that was certainly not in our paper guide,” van Poll wrote. “We had one of the best city trips ever, because of the tips of this Brussels guy we don't even know!”
And the idea for Spotted by Locals was born.
The series of blogs, easily accessible on spottedbylocals.com, and written by local ‘spotters’ offers travelers another way to see the city—the local way.
Since Spotted by Locals began, van Poll wrote, “…we have found a lot of supporting evidence that city travelers are increasingly looking to learn more about the local culture of their chosen destinations. They do not only want to ‘do a city’ by visiting standard highlights.”
The ‘spotters’ are locals, guaranteed, in fact, each one is personally guaranteed. The van Polls meet each potential spotter in person, and last year traveled for six months, meeting about 200 spotters in 20 cities. There are currently 100 spotters contributing to the site.
“Spotters meet us in their favorite spot in their city,” he wrote. “We have a meeting, to get to know each other. We look for people that are really passionate about their city, and are real locals – speak the local language, having lived in the city for at least a couple of years. Usually, when we go to a new city, there are more people interested than we have “room” for. We make a selection, and pick the best mix of Spotters.”
The van Polls do not want spotters to view this work as just a job to make money, though they do get a share of the total income their cityblog makes. Instead, he wrote, “We want people to be motivated by sharing their passion for their city, and promoting themselves as writers or photographers.”
Spotters are scattered around Europe, in such cities as Madrid and Paris, and van Poll hopes to cover about 50 of the most important cities in Europe by 2010. Plus, they plan to just launched a mobile version of the Web site, an online community for city-lovers and host festivals and events.
Those are things that can’t be done with a paper guidebook. Though you can’t beat the maps in paper travel guides, van Poll wrote, Spotted by Locals offers up-to-date information that those guides can’t beat either. Spotters only write about places that they visit regularly and because cities can change so fast, they frequently update the information, which is written in English.
Users can also see the spotters behind the articles, literally. All spotters have a profile and picture on the cityblogs.
Plus, the motivation does matter.
“Spotters are not motivated by money,” van Poll wrote. “But write because they love their city, and want to share their passion for it!”
That passion can carry over, and perhaps it can change the world.
“By experiencing cities the local way, you learn about the culture and habits of the inhabitants,” the Spotted by Locals Web site reads, “We are convinced a better understanding of different cultures will make the world a better place.”
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