Comments on: Social Media ethics

By: Paul Mags

Paul Mags — Wed, 03 Jan 2018 06:29:47 +0000

In reply to DouchePacker. Thanks for sharing! Great essay. I've been loving the dialogue the article has been creating.

By: DouchePacker

DouchePacker — Wed, 03 Jan 2018 05:45:57 +0000

In reply to Paul Mags.

ok here it is: https://douchepacker.com/2018/01/03/igbad/

By: dudarino

dudarino — Wed, 03 Jan 2018 04:17:57 +0000

In reply to Doug K. I'm partial to "Spring Creek." I would not be surprised to find that one (at least!) of those exists in every state.

By: shawn

shawn — Wed, 03 Jan 2018 01:15:40 +0000

Paul,
Good thought piece. No great answers, other than to continue to encourage people to create their own adventures. I suppose we can each also quietly discourage magazines and online sites from publishing “top ten lists” and “bucket list adventures”. (The Gazette down here in Colorado Springs is horrible about it.) An the extreme would be to ask the Colorado Trail Foundation to stop publishing the CT Guide. Somewhere there is a middle ground.

Similar to your article, I enjoyed Brendan’s piece where he found a great campsite and deliberately would not publish info about it: semi-rad.com/2017/06/the-best-campsite-in-the-world

There was also a great article (maybe in Outside magazine?) about the rock in Norway where you wait over a hour to get your picture taken, just because it is an iconic shot that thousands of others have already posted online. So many other great places to go instead.

On the comical side (or absurd), the “Olympic City” commission here in Colorado Springs arranged for the installation of an 8 foot by 12 foot Big Blue Frame in a spot in the Garden of the Gods where there is a nice overlook to Pikes Peak. They thought it would be a great magnet for tourists to snap photos and post them, leading to great “branding” of COS as The Olympic City. At first, they planned to leave it up for one year before considering a move, but the public outcry was so huge that they ripped it out in less than a week. Small victories.

All the best for adventuring in 2018!

By: Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington — Tue, 02 Jan 2018 21:04:36 +0000

I really enjoyed the TrailGroove article and appreciate your perspective on this. I think the balance you suggest is an excellent idea. Thanks for helping get this idea out there and sparking conversations.

For me what I really hope to see if people getting excited about the wilderness in general — not only getting excited about specific places. There is a lot out there to explore!

By: Douche P.

Douche P. — Tue, 02 Jan 2018 17:26:54 +0000

In reply to Paul Mags. will do!

By: Paul Mags

Paul Mags — Tue, 02 Jan 2018 07:00:25 +0000

In reply to Another Kevin. Just read the excellent post you wrote. I'll write something over there in reply. :)

By: Another Kevin

Another Kevin — Tue, 02 Jan 2018 02:45:03 +0000

Paul, I started replying to this post, and then found that by the time I’d got my thoughts even half way organized, I’d written a blog post https://dftscript.blogspot.com/2018/01/8th-lnt.html . I’d love to hear your thoughts. This is a relatively new concept to me – it resonates well with my thoughts, but I’m not at all sure I’m following the principle!

By: Paul Mags

Paul Mags — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 18:50:13 +0000

In reply to Kayakpro. You may want to read the book Wilderness Ethics. A very prescient book.

By: Kayakpro

Kayakpro — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 17:07:27 +0000

Social media definitely creates a social dilemma about the wilderness. But is hard to isolate social media from the increasingly mobile populations in proximity to wilderness. As an old geezer (I am 64) I am amazed and somewhat disappointed at the impact created by the low cost of entry to wilderness. The cost is not only in terms of low cost transportation, cost of gear, permits, etc. but the reduced risk that comes with the availability of GPS, locator beacons, detailed electronic maps, water reports at our finger tips and the many other technologically driven sources of “security”. People who never would have considered taking the risks are now out and on the trails. So, is it sharing experiences or reduced risks that are the leading contributors? There is no doubt that much of the shared knowledge about risk reduction does happen through social medial; so, maybe it is just the evolution of society that makes wild places less wild? Even more pertinent perhaps is to ask about a solution. The genie will not go back in the bottle.