I get it. When I finally (re-)published mine awhile back—after a decade-long absence—I found it far more stressful than I had anticipated. And I wondered if its utility was actually worth it.

Back before sites offered rss feeds, I’d use my own blogroll to surf my favorite sites as an easy way to find the latest posts, more like set of public bookmarks than a recommendation list. We don’t really need to do that anymore—rss works much better for keeping up-to-date on what’s been posted on the sites you read.

But we still need easy ways to discover new sites, and to share interesting sites and pages. I still want to be a part of a human-curated network, sharing the great things that people are doing and writing about.

Recommending friends

Part of my own angst in putting together a new blogroll was that I wanted to link to a lot of people I really like—many of them are “we travel to see each other” level friends, but…I don’t actually read their stuff very much. This made me sad.

Most strikingly, it’s because so many of them don’t post to their own website regularly at all anymore. They did, at one point, but of course that all got swallowed up in social media, back when the platforms were still centered around social interaction—not general entertainment or shopping apps that had simply duped us all into providing an endless stream of free content.

And the ones that did regularly post are doing so because they view it as a business—they’re specifically building an audience they can monetize. It’s not about their own lives or thoughts or ideas or dreams or projects, it’s about The Top Five Things to Bring On Your Next Trip – Summer Gift Guide 2024, or The 7 Best Summer Activities in [someplace I won’t be visiting this decade].

“It’s nothing personal, baby, it’s just business.” For me, these seo-heavy posts aren’t things I’m dying to read, unless I’m actively looking for that specific information¹. Even if they’re something my friend wrote after going there (oh, if I could have just seen a trip journal post instead!)

I mean, I dearly want to support my friends, but I’ve been having a severe allergic reaction dietary intolerance to the whole influencer/social-media-side-hustle for years now. Perhaps I should just avoid it for a while and give my digestive system a break.

Recommending writers

I also included a long list of newsletters I have enjoyed. Of course, as soon as I started listing them out, I realized that I’m in a bit of a lull in newsletter reading this last half-year or so, and that I don’t actually read even half of issues I’m sent right now. That’s not because any of them have gotten decidedly worse, it’s just that my interest in their main topic has chilled a bit. They’re still good reads I’d recommend; I’m just browsing in a different aisle of the bookstore now, that’s all.

But…hmm. It feels a bit odd—maybe even performative—to recommend others read something that can’t be bothered with, at least right now.

But, again, I want to help others find good stuff online, outside of Google or corporate social media. I need some way of sharing what I like and have found valuable.

It’s really two blogrolls, not one

Then I realized that I really have two different sets of blogrolls.

One blogroll is more ephemeral: things I’m actively reading and enjoying right now. It’s the /now version of what I’m consuming. For example, I’m reading a bunch of folks right now who are participating in something called Junited2024, many of whom I followed last month during WeblogPoMo2024. That’s put my reading on hold for some of my normal go-to sites I do actually read all the time. I see this list as being frequently updated, and it’ll be shorter to better reflect how I’m actually spending my recent reading time.

The other blogroll is more semi-permanent: things that I have enjoyed and think you might find valuable too, but that I’m not actively gobbling up right now. Perhaps that’s because I’ve delved much deeper into the personal web recently and there simply isn’t enough time right now, or because I was interested in completing a specific project and now that I’m done with it, the posts aren’t as relevant to me anymore. But they include links I want to keep on the list.

These are more like /bookmarks (some subset of them could even be added to a topical /resources page). But they can also include links to the people I care about and don’t want to leave out, because I really do want to support them even if I’m not reading their latest sponsored trip. I imagine this list will keep growing and growing, as more links get added but only removed if the site disappears or changes dramatically.

A rebirth, not a death

So I’m not going to kill off my blogroll.

But I do think I’ll rebirth it, by splitting it into those two components. I’ll have to consider a bit more what this might look like: whether they become two entirely different pages, or are integrated into other existing pages, or are simply more obviously separated on my current blogroll page. Hmmm.

1. Though I will add them to my own personal search engine to tap into later. ︎

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I didn’t delete the content, but instead reposted it here on my long-standing personal website.

Nearly everyone on social media these days has their own brand, and here I am actively killing mine. I figured I should explain why.

I am not a brand.

The main reason is a five word sentence: I am not a brand.

I’m sure I’ll post more about this in the future, but for now, that’s the main takeaway.

This website doesn’t exist in order to achieve “influencer status,” so that I can charge brands to use me as a marketing vehicle to make you feel bad for not owning what they want to sell you. I don’t “create content” just to generate more clicks. Or post about something simply for the seo juice. I don’t play the follow-unfollow game, use social media bots, or care about my following-to-followers ratio.

That’s not why I’m here. It’s not why I invest the time to write or interact. It’s not the outcome I’m seeking. It’s not who I am.

Do I want to influence you? Sure, you’re goddamn right I do.

I want you to be a good steward of our public lands—and a vocal advocate for them, too. I want you to travel as much as you can. I want you to fall in love with our national parks. I want to empower you to push your limits. I want you to see as much as you possibly can of this world, and I also want you to slow down and enjoy the journey, too. And I want you to share it with others, and go solo sometimes too. I want you to think intentionally about the choices you make in life each day.

I’m not a logo, or a following, or a curated personality. Nope, I’m just some random dude who wants to help you have more adventures.

When I first launched JustGetOutMore two years ago, I posted this “mini mission statement” in the sidebar.

And that remains the mission of this website, though it’ll have a bit more of a personal touch moving forward. Because, after all, I’m a person—not a brand. I think I’ve always remained genuine and authentic in what I do, so I might as well speak with just one voice, too. And I hope that a more personal voice will make what I post a bit more approachable and relatable, too.

Please note: I am not criticizing everyone who has a separate brand for their website. Virtually everyone I know and care about online has one. But after reassessing my priorities, I’ve just decided that it’s not what I want to do anymore.

Also, you’ve been missing stuff

But that’s not the only reason.

It’s also significantly more work to manage multiple sites (and their associated social media accounts), which was one of several reasons why I didn’t publish as regularly on JustGetOutMore last year. This isn’t a business for me, so the less work it is to post, the better.

As you know, I prioritize travel in my life, so it seems silly that I haven’t done a better job of documenting all these trips—even if it’s just for myself or my close friends. So one of my personal goals for 2019 is to do a better job of posting photos and blog posts about where we went, what we did, and how it went.

As I began to do that, I noticed that it can be difficult to decide where to post things when you have multiple sites. For instance, if you’ve primarily been following JustGetOutMore.com, then you’ve missed out on the five photo-rich posts I recently published on our trip to the South Pacific. Hopefully, having just one personal site will make it easier for both me and you the reader.

Things will get even more complicated later this year when Jen and I launch Inspiring Travelers, a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring and empowering others to travel more. More on this effort in the coming months.

What to expect moving forward

For starters, you’ll see more posts about my own various trips. And likely some stuff about my quests and the progress I make on those quests. And you may be subjected to some other random topics, too. Feel free to skip right on over any posts you’re not interested in.

I know these changes might turn off some readers and that I might lose some followers. I’m perfectly ok with that; I don’t really keep track of that sort of thing much anyway. And the truth is, what I publish here isn’t for everyone. It’s just for those who want it.

If you want it, here’s how to get it

If you’re still along for the ride, here are a few ways you can stay engaged.

Social media

Edited in 2025: Look, I’m generally done with corporate social media, which has run amok and has outlived its usefulness. I may still POSSE a bit, but here’s how to follow along or subscribe.

I renamed my JustGetOutMore twitter account and facebook page, but they’ll otherwise remain like before—primarily just broadcasting whenever new posts go live. Because social media platforms want ad money to show these types of posts (and I won’t be spending any), I highly recommend that you turn on notifications for these accounts so you’ll get pinged whenever something gets posted.

Here’s how to do that. On facebook, go to “Posts from rscottjones.com – formerly Just Get Out More” and the hover over the “Following” button, then select “See First.” And on twitter, go to @rscottjones_com, click the alarm bell icon, then select “All Tweets.” You’ll now get a little ping whenever there’s a new post.

A less effective way is to follow my personal accounts on twitter or instagram. I usually tweet when I’ve posted something, but it’s easy to miss in the firehose that’s twitter. On instagram, you’ll have to catch my Stories to see when I’ve posted something new, as I keep my IG feed limited to nice photos.

Either way, you’ll need to sift through a bunch of other stuff to catch any post announcements. That’s why I have the two broadcast-only accounts mentioned above, and why I recommend you follow those with notifications turned on.

Side note: here’s my personal social media policy, in case you have any other questions and/or complaints.

Email list

Another pretty good way to get notified of new posts is by subscribing to my email list. Keep in mind that I don’t email every time I publish, just occasional messages with links to recent posts along with anything else of note (including stuff I don’t post elsewhere). Think of this as an email digest more than a traditional announcement list.

If you don’t like having your inbox flooded with too many messages, this is a great option. But if you’d rather have a more timely notification of everything new, then I’d stick with the social media broadcast accounts.

RSS feeds

If you’re among the seventeen people (like me) who still use an RSS reader, you can grab the site feed. There are more options available at my Subscribe/Follow page.

Audio and video

I am toying with the idea of launching an occasional podcast, and I also sometimes post videos on my Youtube channel. You can also subscribe to those, though obviously they won’t include all of the things I publish here.

A few final thoughts on JustGetOutMore.com

• Man, it can be hard to find good domain names that also correspond to available social media accounts. I must have considered more than 200 possible names before settling on JustGetOutMore.com.
• Out of context, some people thought the name sounded either a bit exasperated, or a bit privileged. Neither was my goal. Sorry if that’s how it came across.
• It’s remarkable how important the Rule of Three is in marketing. Just Get Out More is four short words, but virtually everyone struggled to remember it correctly—including some of my best friends. They’d call it Just Get Outside, or Get Out More, or Get Outside More or some other similar variation. Basically, anything close but not quite its actual name. Take note: three words=easy to remember; four words=good luck!
• As a result, I spent a good portion of 2017 looking for a new name. But I just couldn’t find anything that I was really happy with. I was close to pulling the trigger on MoreExploring or MoreAdventuring, but I couldn’t even choose between them (I did buy both domains just in case).
• Speaking of domains, I’ve registered and/or used a stupid number of them for predecessor sites to JustGetOutMore. Starting with GreatHikes.com back in 1998, I’ve also owned ScottsPics.com, NationalParkRoadtrips.com, and VisitEveryPark.com—just to name a few. Here’s an update from 2009 on how I was struggling to get the NationalParkRoadtrips site started.

explore eagerly ︎ travel cheaply ︎ adventure often

The post Why I killed JustGetOutMore in favor of a more personal website appeared first on rscottjones.

Following on social media

Relying on social media to catch everyone’s latest posts is a hit-or-miss proposition. Social media companies are increasingly using complex and ever-changing algorithms to determine which posts users see and don’t see. That means that just following me on facebook, twitter, and instagram doesn’t mean you’ll actually see the latest posts.

Turn on notifications

But you can increase your chances by turning on notifications. On facebook, go to “Posts from rscottjones.com – formerly Just Get Out More” and the hover over the “Following” button, then select “See First.” On instagram, go to @rscottjones, click the three dots for the menu, then select “Turn On Post Notifications.” And on twitter, go to @rscottjones_com, click the alarm bell icon, then select “All Tweets.” You’ll now get a little ping whenever there’s a new post.

Subscribers get exclusive content

Notifications on social media are great, but joining my email list is even better. That’s because I’ll be sharing some things exclusively via email—photos from my trips, links to useful articles I come across, and some “insider” tips that won’t make it onto the blog.

I’ll send these occasionally—maybe more often if there’s good reason, or less frequently if I don’t have much to share. You won’t get a new email for each new post; instead I’ll send a digest of sorts.

What you won’t get

Spam. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

The post Why you should join my email list appeared first on rscottjones.

The idea was to start the blog, build a bit of a readership, immerse myself in the travel writing world, and improve my writing. One day, I reasoned, I might want to write a travelogue of my own, which would focus on my quest to visit various places that played key roles in the history of public land protection in America.

Of course, the best laid plans, right? While I snagged up a few domains, continued stockpiling writing ideas, subscribed to a ton of travel blogs and sought out travel and national park related social media opportunities on Twitter, I’ve yet to write a single freaking post.

Most of that is certainly due to a lack of time and energy – things have been very busy recently, and it doesn’t seem like the right time to try to squeeze something else into the mix. But that’s not all of the reason. I like planning things out, making sure I have done the required homework, and not necessarily one to jump in without giving something a thought. Since I haven’t had time to commit to spending any money getting the blog designed, nor have I had the time to fumble through doing it myself, I’ve procrastinated on doing the most important thing you need to do to have a successful blog – write something compelling, interesting, and useful. Instead, I’m concerned that I haven’t learned the art of Google AdSense, or am wondering which sidebar items are the most important to highlight.

There are some possible big changes afoot, and I’m wondering how much time and/or energy I’ll have to actually get this thing going. In short, I’m wondering if I should, indeed, commit to this project. Am I willing to forgo relaxing after a long day at work to write yet another post? Am I willing to skimp on dinner so I can afford to invest in the blog? Right now, the obvious answer is no. We’ll have to wait and see if it stays that way.

The post Fumbling along on the roadtripping blog appeared first on rscottjones.