Twitchhicker, also known as Paul Smith is a guy who is finding his way halfway across the world with the help of the Twitter community. His aim is to travel from Newcastle upon Tyne, UK to Campbell Island, New Zealand (a sub-Antarctic island 700km south of New Zealand) in 30 days with one of his rules being that he can only accept travel and accommodation offers on Twitter from users who are following him. I had no idea he existed until I saw John Campbell interview him earlier in the evening (here) from his current location in California.
I was very impressed by the whole idea of him setting off and making his way from Newcastle upon Tyne to Campbell Island and it just goes to show the power of social media if you use to your advantage. Paul had an idea, developed it and made it a reality before anyone else got onto it.
One thing that struck me the most during his interview was the mention of Air New Zealand offering to fly him across the Pacific. I did a bit of research and found out that he asked them if they could help getting him from LA to Auckland and they were more than happy to help. Him going out and asking if they could help and actually getting it brought me to thinking about SlyVisions talking about what SXSWi (by the way, Twitchhicker made it to SXSWi as well) taught him (What Did SXSWi Teach Me). The lesson was – Don’t Be Afraid To Ask!
In one week I have gone from reading about not being afraid to ask to seeing another person asking for help to get 10546 km (and more) and getting it. That was my biggest lesson of the week. Just imagine how much further we could get in a number of areas in our lives if we weren’t afraid to ASK?
Follow Twitchhicker here @twitchhicker
It’s great that Air New Zealand got involved. I’ve tried to have JetBlue and Southwest sponsor my trips, but no such luck as of yet.
@MLDina
Air New Zealand did do a good thing in flying him across the Pacific as well as flying him home. I wish you all the best in your quests. Don’t give up and don’t be afraid to ask. Thanks for stopping by.