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Well, in our eyes, it’s pretty clear that collaboration is the key to success in Social Networking. If you look at the the main players Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare…they all feed off each other. They’re all conduits to each other, sharing  info, making each other look good and developing niches and micro niches.

Which brings us round to the area of ‘niches’. As well see it (being very authoritative today) the future of Social networks is not the fact that you can LinkIn, befriend on follow squillions on people, it the fact that you can develop a sophisticated personal, customised network.

Scotland needs Bagging Scotland, KILTR (and probably a few other networks as well)! We’re looking forward to contributing and to developing and forging links between the two sites. Two sites that are going to be doing very different things for Scotland!

The debate took place in Malmaison Leith and as you’ll see below, a great cross section of Scottish Business was invited. If you click here you’ll be able to read the article in full but basically, far from being a doom and gloom session, blaming everything from Volcanic Dust to The Scottish Weather, there was a lot to take from the evening. Of course, we’d have been daft to ignore a lot of the obvious factors and as I was sitting opposite both Barbara Clark (who heads-up Communications at VisitScotland) and the Chairman, Mike Cantlay, it was a chance to get a true insight, without letting them slip away, having delivered the usual soundbites.

All in all, I think this was an excellent introduction to a good magazine and I’m hopefully going to be meeting up with them and assisting them in some way in the future. I’ve attached all the wee vox pop style images and as it was ‘atmospheric lighting’ as we sat down to dinner, they’re not hugely sharp. However, I think they capture the essence of a very animated, fun and I think, progressive meeting of minds. Basically, it was a bit of a who’s who of Business in Scotland and I made some very valuable contacts.

So, Barbara Clark and Dr Mike Cantlay Chairman VisitScotland as well as the heads of Edinburgh Airport, SECC Glasgow, Barclays Wealth, Johnston Carmichael, Biggart Baillie, Bluegrange, Morton Fraser, Deloitte, Lloyds Banking Group and The Scottish Tourism Forum…It was great to meet you all!

Although whisky consumption in Scotland and the UK in general is actually nothing to write home about (it’s actually decreasing in a lot of areas) it’s a different story everywhere else on the planet.

Sales in ‘developing’ markets are absolutely soaring! Last year, Brazil saw  a 12 per cent increase to £67million,  Russia went up 61 per cent, India up 46 per cent and China increased sales by 24 per cent, to £55million. These figures sound exciting, but what’s really exciting is that we’re only scratching the blinking surface of these absolutely VAST markets, the biggest potential sales territories on Earth. The biggest ‘Whisky Live’ that takes place at the moment is in Taiwan. Least year, over 12,000 thirsty Asian, whisky-lovers turned up, ten times the amount that show up for the Glasgow event!

The late Baggin' Waggon at Caol Ila Distillery on Islay during Feis Ile (Islay Festival) which runs in the second half of May.

Scotland’s in an incredibly strong position here and when you look at distilleries like Caol Ila investing £millions, ‘new’ distilleries opening and most if not all of the others showing impressive growth, it’s a great time to be involved with Whisky. Diageo has spent over £600M over the last six years on Scotch whisky operations.

Last year, we toured round their new Diageo ‘super-distillery’ at Roseisle near Elgin. It’s an astounding place and gives really meaning to the phrase ‘state-of-the-art’ It took us a number of minutes to drive round it! For those of you who reckon whisky’s still a bit of a ‘cottage industry, you can see what we mean, click here!

The exciting thing is as well as the ‘big boys’ there are a number of ‘artisans’ and Independents who are jumping on the Internet Marketing bandwagon. They are now able to really exploit the niche of being small, which a decade or so ago was the very thing that sounded the death knell for a lot of distilleries here. In the 21st Century, small can be good. It also means (if you look at Ardbeg for example) that if you’re quite different and very unique, you can charge premium prices.

Scotch Whisky is UNIQUE and although anyone can make Whisk(e)y, only Scotland can make ‘Scotch’! It’s yet another Scottish aspect on uniqueness that we take for granted! We’re really keen to get native Scots excited, in the same way that the Brasilians, Russians and Chinese are.

“Gaggin’ tae go Braggin” is a BRILLIANT initiative by Yva Young, an English teacher at Clydebank High School, which is all about encouraging all her pupils to be get out and about in Scotland. This all began as a project to celebrate what all the kids knew and loved about Scotland and morphed into essays selling Scotland to others.

Braggers' Site

They used Bagging Scotland as a publishing platform, showing all their blogs and taking a school project out to potentially interact with the whole world.

At Bagging Scotland, our own love of Scotland started at a young age and we’d certainly have welcomed the opportunity to have a dynamic platform to write blogs on and tell loads of people about our home town. It maybe makes us sound old but we think that it’s a pretty exciting time to be a kid – it’s constantly amazing us just how switched on the average ‘web native’ schoolkid really is.

Their innovative online efforts to tell everyone about Scotland are starting to get noticed and local newspaper The Clydebank Post is shortly to be featuring the project.

If you visit their Blog , you can see ALL the Bragging Scotland blogs and we think it’s a magnificent effort. If EVERY Scottish schoolkid spoke about Scotland in the same proud and interesting ways, we might not need VisitScotland in the future! There’s lots of blogs but looking through them there was one paragraph which summed up what Bagging Scotland (and Braggin’ Scotland) is all about.

James Wheelans

“I don’t know where to start, to explain the fantastic country called Scotland. It’s the best country in the world. I will be talking about five features of Scotland. The features I have picked are famous land marks, drinks, sports, mountains and music. These features are not all the amazing things about Scotland, there are so many more.”

As we mention (maybe a bit too much) we think a lot of kids and Students don’t know nearly enough about our amazing country. Foreign holidays mean a lot of young Scots are more familiar with Tenerife than Tiree and we think this a real shame.

We’re already working with a number of Scottish Universities and Schools, and we’re really keen to get involved with Scottish Education leaders at every level, so if you’re a teacher, a lecturer or a student and you’d like to use Bagging Scotland as a dynamic platform for any initiative, we’d love to help. Have a look at the Clydebank High School blogs, they might inspire you!

We’ll help you plan, take piccies and if you’ve got a really great idea, we’d maybe even shoot a mini-movie for you.

Visit the site: Gaggin’ Tae Go Braggin’ 2011

“My mom and dad in Scotland; oh that’s a funny one. I think the first thing that makes this an entirely awkward experience is the fact that my lovely well spoken mother insists on pronouncing Glasgow like Glass Cow instead of Glaz-Go. When I try to correct her, she gets upset. Fine. Mom says ‘Glasgow’ funny, deal with it. When in Scotland all my mom wants to do is shop and call pounds dollars.

My dad: giant camera around his neck, gleaming white trainers, map and jeans that weren’t even cool in the ‘80’s. When my dad is in Scotland all he wants to do is interact with the ‘natives’, take their picture, hear their story, ruin my life.

Welcome to the Highlands!

After the jet lag wears off, my mom and dad are ready to travel throughout Scotland and see the sights. My mom’s observations consist of: everyone in Glasgow wears black, the entire country is well equipped for people with disabilities, the strawberries in Scotland ‘are soooo good’, the eggs aren’t white, the shortbread is yummy (calories don’t count when you’re abroad), people are so pale (or orange) and it’s ok to drink 7 beers, because they’re half pints.

Meanwhile my dad stops every 2.5 seconds to take a photograph, and has no problem stopping a man in a kilt to get his picture taken with him.  My dad thinks bagpipes are the cat’s pajamas and finds the sound really emotional. He attempts to get a photograph of every loch, castle and glen from 500 different angles and fills up his memory card in 2 days. This means we spend an entire day uploading every single picture onto my laptop. My computer now moves at a snail’s pace. Thanks dad.

Walking around Edinburgh Castle with my parents takes exactly 4.5 hours as my mom cleans out the gift shop and my dad literally CAN’T stop taking photos.

Due to my parents’ dissimilar interests my mom and I end up wandering around shops and stopping for coffee at hourly intervals, my dad ends up getting lost trying to find a museum and I get a stomach ache from all the coffee.

My mom insists on walking into cafes and saying ‘do you have lattes here’, as if we’re in some 3^rdworld country that doesn’t have these type of things. Then my mom makes the most complicated coffee order ever. ‘I want coffee, a latte, with skimmed milk, it needs to be decaf’. The latte arrives, the sweetener is on the table and she’s disappointed that you get some stupid Splenda pill instead of the sugary type granules she loves.

My dad insists on ordering food that he’s not completely sure about and then complains that it’s not flavourful enough. He asks for hot sauce for his eggs, makes friends with the waitress and takes a photo with the owner. The funny part is that I know whoever comes in contact with my dad thinks he’s insane, and I know my dad has absolutely no idea what anyone is saying. Ignorance is bliss? Aye.”

Brilliant. So, a few American stereotypes here but it’s easy to see that a lot of the things we take for granted and can even find a bit embarrassing. they’re the very things visitors love! Also, it’s clear that wherever you travel, it’s all about the people. We need to make much more of this Scottish aspect because when it comes to ‘people’ we can be quite good at this.

Their offer’s not really moved on and it leads many people to ask if anything exciting is happening in Scottish tourism up there. Then, this comes along! It’s just received planning permission and because it was daring, different, interesting, challenging, exciting and well… different, the bold peeps at Jacobite Cruises have had to go through all sorts of planning and consultation processes. However they’ve eventually got to the stage where they are today; where permission has been granted.

A few years ago, we went on a memorable Jacobite tour; with the right company and a wee bit of luck with the weather, it’s as beautiful and atmospheric as any trip on this Earth.The Jacobite guys run a tight ship anyway and when this amazing new development is added to it, it’s fantastic news for Scottish Tourism. Well done guys!

When I was young, this was all fields...

That is unless your name is David Booth! Mr Booth, (or ‘Lucky Bugger’, as we’d like to call him) was doing the very same thing in September 2009 but instead of a few old beans cans or some barbed wire, he unearthed four neck ornaments (or torcs) -, in a field beside the Safari Park where he works. Gold, properly ancient and as a result of the Treasure Trove laws, now his! Under Scots Law, the Crown can claim any archaeological objects found in Scotland. Finders have no ownership rights and must report any objects to the Treasure Trove Unit. What usually happens though, to encourage people to report finds, is that they get a pretty generous payout. Read on and you’ll find out in this case, it’s been hugely generous!

The treasure trove (because that’s exactly what it is), dates from between the 1st and 3rd Century BC and this, (ironically, Iron Age) hoard has been secured for the nation after a fundraising campaign. David will now receive a payment of £462,000 after National Museums Scotland secured the necessary funds!

National Museums Scotland said the neck ornaments were “exquisite examples” of Iron Age craftwork, with a unique braided gold wire torc showing “strong Mediterranean influences”.

Museums’ director Dr Gordon Rintoul said: “We are delighted to have secured this stunning hoard for display in Scotland’s national museum”.

David Booth’s also found out that lightning can strike twice because as well as this amazing find (which must surely make him now seriously consider his day job), he’s also found other things since then, including an 800 year-old ring. I wonder if people have taken to following him around when he goes out detecting?

Ramsay MacFarlane - Founder, Bagging Scotland - Keynote Speaker

There were four keynote speakers for the event, of which we were pleased to to be one of them. The speakers were an interesting cross section of individuals representing: A very successful Scottish hotel chain, Scotland’s National Tourism body, A leading research consultancy and us, the Saviours of Scottish Tourism.  Obviously, this was good as all four of us came at it from different angles;

• Apex - how their own online booking engine is transforming business.
• Team Consulting – How Mobile telephony is really starting to change marketing.
• VisitScotland - The path they are plotting to integrate all their digital offerings.
• Bagging Scotland – How social interaction online is influencing tourism behaviour and transforming decision making.

As well as the different marketing viewpoints, given the title of the day, the ‘technology’ was also hugely important. There were also lots of organisations exhibiting (too numerous to mention here) who had software applications, websites, online initiatives and other digital technology that will be helping to shape Scottish (and in some cases, World) tourism over the next few years.

Roger Carter, Team Tourism - Keynote Speaker

Andrew Jacques, Apex Hotels - Keynote Speaker

Robbie Parish, Digital Media Director at VisitScotland - Keynote Speaker

We’ve obviously been attending a lot of tourism events recently and more than a few have been quite negative, pointing at Ash Clouds, Bad Weather and 101 excuses for Scottish Tourism not being as good as it could be. We’re glad to say this event was a bit different – we think that the whole focus was much more positive, upbeat and actually quite inspiring.

The one major thing we’ll learn from the event is that we’ve got to take a united approach to the Digital landscape. There were a number of people we met who were clearly very clever, but had never even chatted online or on the phone, let alone been in the same room as each other. A big part of our speech was all about ‘collaboration’ and it’s clear that the various, smart people, driving to sustain tourism in a chilly wee country in The North Atlantic really all need to get to know and co-operate with each other.

The other compelling message was that it’s no longer about telling potential tourists what Scotland thinks, it’s becoming much more about potential tourists telling us what they think. The power of passionate and niche networks that love Scotland and its people,  this is what’s going to be the main driving force in persuading the World to come here on holiday.

Victor 'Bagging' Brierley

Questions from the Audience

A technology presentation stand

“As a foreigner in this country I sometimes happen to notice things that most natives wouldn’t bat an eyelid at. My observations may be irrelevant, immaterial, and unimportant. Yet these observations are just that, observations, and are usually hilarious and true; at least to me. Now not wanting to go down the same route as Gilbert Gottfried, who recently got fired from Aflac for his heinous opinions I promise to keep this light-hearted and will make no reference to Japan (other than to say I am so devastated and sad about the natural disasters which have shattered the country). Getting back to Gilbert Gottfried, I understand that all those reading this blog may not have any clue what I’m talking about, so do your homework and go here you might also learn a thing or two about tasteless tweets.

Raquel Roman. A Chicagoan in Scotland

But alas this isn’t about Twitter or Japan. It’s about the tiny insignificant things that I notice on a day to day basis, things that make me both love and loathe Glasgow. I’ve been here long enough to know that what everyone says about Scotland isn’t always true, I know that Scotland is spelled with one ‘T’ not two, which some Americans have yet to realize. I know that when you get onto a bus or train some old lady will talk to you about the olden days, about the ‘big smoke’, she will offer you a Tunnocks Caramel Wafer and mention how Paolo Nutini is a nice lad but they don’t understand his music, but his mum and dad own a nice fish and chip shop and I should go there.

I know that there are different kinds of rain; small, big, and sideways. The horrible rain ‘pisses’ or ‘pishes’ down, and that’s the worst rain of all. That rain soaks your bones, that rain requires a cup of tea to heal the wounds of your inside-out brolly and your soaked jacket.

Scottish iconic snacking

What I don’t understand is that despite this rain, which has seemingly been around since the dinosaurs, why do 15 year old girls only wear one item of clothing that prepare them for the inclement showers? Ok, they have a brolly but they’re wearing flat shoes with no socks, they have on wellies but no jacket. It boggles my mind.

With the horrible weather comes people talking about the weather. You can have a full 45 minute conversation about the weather and yet never skim the surface about how upset people are about the rain/snow/hail/sleet. Yet what’s so endearing is how happy people are when it’s dry, who cares about the wind or cold, AS LONG AS IT’S DRY!

I know that the more Scots drink the harder it is to understand them, and a bit of banter can easily sounds like a shouting match. I often never know if my neighbours are fighting or having a laugh. Come to think of it, haven’t really heard much from them lately…

I also know that after a ‘piss up’ (Scots really like the word ‘piss’ don’t they?) the only cure the morning after is a full breakfast washed down by an Irn Bru.

But most importantly I know that I’m a brown sauce kind of girl, and if you like ketchup (tomato sauce) on your roll and sausage, we most definitely can’t be friends.”