Online Lives: Meet travel blogger and journalist Christine Maguire
Travel blogger and journalist Christine Maguire’s posts online would fill anyone with wanderlust.
Christine, from Dublin, loves travelling, writing, and photography. She writes about her experiences on thetraveloguer.com.
“The Traveloguer is all about celebrating the adventure of travelling, and features stories from around the world, as well as travel guides and advice based on the many mistakes I’ve made on the road,” she said.
“I love photography, so that features heavily too.”
She shares more on social media, including political news. “I live on Twitter for my work as a journalist, but my favourite social media platform for blogging is Instagram, with Pinterest coming a close second.
“My day job as a journalist has me tweeting a lot about the Middle East and geopolitics, but I keep that separate from my travel accounts.”
Although she has found success on Twitter and Instagram, with over 14,000 followers between the two, Christine says she still finds sharing so much a little bit awkward.
“Before I started blogging I wasn’t into social media at all, and I found it quite difficult to share at first. I still find it a bit awkward, to be honest”
Christine found a supportive community online. “I love that its so easy to find people who share the same interests. I am part of a lot of travel communities and travel blogging groups on Facebook, and the sense of community there is really great.
“The Irish blogging community is great, there are lots of really creative, down-to-earth people who share a passion for blogging.”
Blogging and social media have had an impact on her career as a journalist.
“I think the ability to run and promote your own website, build an audience and have a large body of work is something potential employers like to see,” she said. “I find Twitter so useful in breaking news situations and to find experts in my fields of interest.”
Christine has become a jack-of-all-trades.
“I started blogging because I loved to write and wanted to share my travel experiences and photography, but soon learned that in order to be in any way successful, you have to attempt to master multiple social media platforms, be able to self-promote as well as learning other skills like coding and design, and it can feel like a never-ending uphill battle, especially when you compare yourself to others.”
