From first reviewing the varying approaches for analyzing travel writing, it appears that the implications of the genre’s rhetoric are clearly at issue for many critics. However, when placing the lens of critical theory (and also applying postcolonial, gender, feminist theories) upon travel writing on the internet, it seems the problems of audience still remain problematic. In order to test this theory, I will need to synthesize the analyses of travel literature, the critiques of new media and digital rhetorics, and sociological implications of travel as an industry in order to fully illustrate all the possible intended and unintended effects of travel blogs. Using this wide array of background research, I will be able to begin to trace any indications of elitism or exclusion, or any means of manipulation, by further examining specific travel blogs and interviewing travel blog followers.
My desire in this research is to answer for myself the level to which there exists an inherent bias in the creation of content that naturally lends itself toward those of higher socio-economic status. Even I consider myself privileged because of my fortune of having traveled often, and I realize that I am biased toward these sites for this very reason. However, it remains to be seen whether or not the rhetoric of these sites actually intend to exclude certain groups, or whether they hope to open the doors of possibility merely by relating stories that may be of interest to varying audiences. There are only few ways to find this answer, and these ultimately create the strategies for my research.
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