Trip Around the World with the Help of Twitter

A blogger is undertaking a major journey by trying to travel as far around the globe as possible, and only utilizing the help of fellow microbloggers on Twitter. Paul Smith, commonly referred to online as the Twitch Hiker, is hoping to reach New Zealand and raise money for charity concurrently. Smith will start his journey on Sunday from Newcastle in northern England — and unless the his fellow Internet users pitches to help out,  he may be spending some nights sleeping on benches in various locations.

The freelance writer has come up with several rules for the 30-day challenge. He is only willing to accept travel and accommodation from Twitter members, he will not make arrangements for more than 3 days in advance and if he only gets a single offer, he must agree to it within 48 hours. In an interview with Sky News, Smith said “It’s never been done before, so it has novelty value,” and “What it proves is Twitter is more than just a social network — it’s a human search engine.”