Adventure Girl: Experience the World

Millions of people visit her website, AdventureGirl.com, to check out the places she has been and get tips on exciting places to visit. Her love of travel started at a young age and she has been involved in the  industry for a long time. Even though she has maintained a  strong presence online, Stefanie is relatively new to social media outlets like Twitter.

But that didn’t stop her from quickly carving a place for herself in the space. In just six months she jumped to 1 million followers and admits to being a Twitterholic. Don’t get this confused with people who tweet too much, Stephanie maintains a good balance and won’t overwhelm you.

Let’s get to know Adventure Girl and find out what life is like when the world is your playground.

Five Questions with Stefanie Michaels

1. You were born and raised in LA and still live here. After all of the amazing places that you have traveled to around the world, what draws you to this city?

It’s funny, because I am not here that much, and when I am- I consider it more of “base camp”. If I’m not catching-up on meetings and business-I’m usually so exhausted from traveling, that I use the city to reconnect with friends, take in a restaurant that may have opened while I was away, and or go to one of my favorite haunts to chill. Just try and enjoy my city and “un-traveling” while I can- it’s where I find my downtime. It’s “home”.

Although, after I’m home a while, I get anxious and cranky, and look forward to being on the road exploring again. I always say that the jet fuel I smell when I get to the airport gives me butterflies in my stomach= it means I get to go somewhere cool, somewhere diverse, and a place I can learn and grow with new experiences I encounter.

2. What can your followers expect to see in your tweet stream? For example, the most valuable info that you specifically give that a large site like trip advisor wouldn’t have?

Initially in March 2009, when I finally got my @adventuregirl site into my hands from a squatter who usurped my namesake, I was really one of the only travel people on Twitter. So, I would tweet travel deals off releases that would come across my desk. I had done an e-mail blast to everyone I knew in the travel industry, alerting them I was now Twittering- within 3 weeks, I had 175,000 followers- many who were in the travel industry. I think a light went on for them, and many created their own sites offering the same information there after.

I decided then, and when people were inquiring about my “life adventures”- like what was I wearing in a photo?, where was I going next?, that I decided to share a more personal “me”, more personal information than just sharing travel deals.

It was a big learning curve, and of course truly what social media is about. So, I do still share travel deals, but my page shares more of personal opinions about a place I’ve experienced. I’ve also tried to make it a point of giving others a platform and voice on my page, by RT’ing their information, travel stories, charitable endeavors, other’s “life adventures”.

3. How has your life changed since hitting one million followers on Twitter?

I’ve experienced this on slot of notoriety that I had only had a sliver of as a travel writer and editor. I’ve been known in the travel industry and to my own fans for a while via adventuregirl.com, but Twitter opened me up to a whole new genre of people who were like minded, who were tech-minded (my people). Here I was this struggling traditional print journalist, recently unemployed because of what is happening to publishing, to within 6 months of being on Twitter, walking a red carpet, an expose in People Magazine, and networks bringing me in to talk about how we can work together. It’s a trip really.

4. What is your favorite tool for connecting with your audience, and why?

I am simply a Twiterholic. Really, that’s all I do. It’s quick, immediate, to the point in 140 characters, and I love the people I have met on it. I always say, I would have never met or had the opportunity to meet the people I have met via Twitter on any other network. There is something about it that creates this instant pen-pal ideal for communication like non other.

There is just something magical that happens with Twitter, and I thank the founders every morning when I wake up for helping not only change my life, but given so many opportunities for others.

It is also transparent. I can point anyone to my Twitter page, and they can see it, click on links, experience what I am doing alongside of me without having to join Twitter. Facebook isn’t like that, neither MySpace- and I find that annoying really. It’s like joining an exclusive club, and leaving others out. I’ve never been a big fan of leaving people out. The Facebook I’ve experienced is “clicky”, and people I know on it really only want to communicate with their own friends- not reaching out to strangers- it much more insular. I do blog, and still write for the Huffington Post, World Hum and Tonic News, and am in a site redesign for adventuregirl.com and my blog there.

5. What’s next for you?

I’m heading to Macau, China in about a week on assignment. I’ll be tweeting from there sharing everything I come across and experiences with my followers. Also from Macau, speaking at a conference in NYC via Skype- a first time for me and for the conference. I love technology!

I’ve been working with Operation Smile on my 140smiles.org campaign, raising money via Twitter to help 140 children get new smiles through life changing surgeries to correct facial deformities. It’s a personal mission for me to eradicate facial deformities, such as cleft palates. My brother, who had died before his surgery, had been inflicted with this, and it’s heartbreaking. After all- a smile is how we communicate. So, I hope through social media I can continue to raise awareness and create new smiles for children everywhere.

It looks like I’ll be heading overseas with doctors and helping some of these kids and parents during their surgeries early 2010. I am truly humbled for this. I would have never had this opportunity to help children in this capacity had it not been for Twitter. Another reason Twitter has changed my life.

There are some other exciting things coming up, which I can’t quite share at the moment! But, I promise as soon as I can lalawag will be the first to know!

(Photo provided by Stefanie Michaels)

Follow her on Twitter @adventuregirl and check out her website AdventureGirl.com