Author(s): Ben Groundwater

Literature

Blogging: it's a vicious, anonymous world; so why does Sydney Morning Herald travel blogger Ben Groundwater want to go out and start putting faces to his readers' made-up names? Armed with a backpack, a laptop and a cover story in case of emergency, Ben has a plan: to boldly travel around the world, relying purely on the kindness of his sometimes frightening but always entertaining readers. After sending out a cry for help on his blog, he has a full itinerary of supposedly kindly strangers offering up their spare beds, couches, daughters' weddings and bier cellars in the far corners of the globe. Five Ways to Carry a Goat: A Blogger's World Tour is the riotous result. With thousands of his readers scattered across the globe, Ben wanted to explore the nature of a digital community. Who is his audience? What are their lives like? And how does one carry a goat through the middle of Ethiopia? He discovers all this - via 14 countries - and more.