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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Find more answers by contacting us via email at admin@globenotes.com
My question is not answered here. Where can I send my question?
What is this website all about?
Globenotes.com is officially described as
an "online travel diary and photo hosting service plus an information resource
for travellers".
It is an extremely useful service where travellers can post up their on-going
travel blogs (travel diaries) and pictures to share with family, friends and
the world!
No longer will you need to send hundreds of emails to your friends while you
travel, simply enter the diary once and it can be made available for everyone
to read.
You also no longer need to carry a large travel journal with you to record your
exciting experiences; simply log onto your site from any Internet-enabled
computer and type away.
Try it out for free! You'll wonder how you ever managed without it!
Check out a sample travel blog
here
When you are ready to try it out click
here to register and start writing your epic journal!
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So, what can I do here?
-
Keep an online travel diary
-
Upload photos and movies directly from any Internet-enabled computer without
having to re-size them.
-
Plot your itinerary on a dynamic virtual map.
-
SHARE YOUR ADVENTURES WITH THE WORLD!
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What is a travel blog or travelogue?
A travel blog / travelogue is essentially a travel
diary that is published on the Internet. It is a medium that lets you
share your travel stories and photos with the world, or just with your friends,
via the World Wide Web.
Each travel blog contains your diary entries and your picture entries
for a particular trip, as well as the maps of the countries visited.
Globenotes.com allows you to create as many travel blogs as
you like; you can, for example, create a public travel
blog which contains diary entries that you want to share with the world,
and at the same time create a private travel blog in parallel,
with stories that you only want your friends to read.
They're great fun to read and a great way to share travel stories...
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I'm not much of a writer, can I just put images in my
travel blog?
Yes, a travel blog does not have to have any Diary entries. You can
simply decide to use the Picture Album facility to upload pictures to share
with friends and family.
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Can I put up trips that I made in the past, or do they
have to be current?
Yes, you can put up past trips! We are aware that many people will have
taken fantastic trips years ago, but have never had a means of sharing those
adventures with the world.
Now you can!
We actively encourage people to put up as many travel experiences as they wish,
both new AND old.
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What if I only want to share my travel
blog with my friends?
Globenotes.com enables you to make your travel blog private
if you don't want the whole world to read your travel blog. You do this
by setting a password that guests will need to enter in order to see
your diary entries and pictures.
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What are the requirements to join
Globenotes.com?
All that you require to set up an account with Globenotes.com is a
valid E-mail address.
Once you register with Globenotes.com, you will be emailed a URL that you must
click (or copy and paste into your browser address bar) in order to activate
your account.
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I'm
going to the "back o' beyond"! Will I be able to log onto Globenotes.com?
With very few exceptions, Internet cafés are
available literally everywhere these days... from small islands off Thailand to
the Iguazu falls in Argentina to outback Australia, Internet-access is now a
global phenomenon!
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How long will my travel blog stay online for?
FREE BASIC Accounts on Globenotes.com are "for life" (i.e. they
never expire).
You can continue to use Globenotes.com to keep a record of your travels
for as long as you wish.
FULL PAID Accounts last 6 or 12 months depending on which account is chosen.
After a FULL PAID Account expires, it is reduced to a FREE BASIC Account.
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How much space do I get to store images?
With a FREE BASIC account, you get 2MB of space (space for over 80
pictures) *.
With a FULL PAID account, you get 300MB of space (space for over 12,000
pictures!!) *.
* NB: we use an advanced compression
algorithm so that all pictures are reduced in storage size - to save space -
without significantly reducing the quality of the picture.
This means that 300MB of space will allow you to store over 12,000 pictures! |
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Can I upload videos to my travel blogs?
Yes, Globenotes.com allows its members to upload the
following video types: MPG, AVI, WMV and MOV.
These file types are found in most digital cameras and digital video recorders.
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Can I download my travel blog as a souvenir once my
trip has finished?
Yes absolutely, we offer a full CD backup solution to keep your travel memories safe forever.
Click here for more information on our CD backup facility.
In addition, our full members can download their travel blogs in Word document or Adobe Acrobat PDF format.
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300MB is not enough space for me, can I still get more?
In an ideal world, we would be able to give everyone an unlimited
amount of space on their accounts (as many other sites claim to do - at least
we're honest about it).
Unfortunately the reality is that server space costs money. We decided that
300MB would be sufficient for most people to upload their travel photos since,
through the use of image compression technology, this would allow you to upload
over 12,000 images.
Movie files, on the other hand, cannot be compressed through our technology, so
they will end up consuming vast chunks of your precious space.
To resolve this problem, Globenotes.com will allow you to further increase the
amount of space on your account at a pricing plan to be agreed on a per-user
basis.
To find out more, mail admin@globenotes.com
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Why does it take so long to upload photos to my travel
blog?
Upload speed is usually dependant on the speed of the connection, but
also on the size of the original file you are trying to upload.
Unfortunately, this is something that we have no control over, so you would be
better off trying to find a faster connection (or go to an internet cafe when
it is less crowded as this usually results in a faster connection).
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I have to pay to use Globenotes.com?
No, of course not. Paying for web services is annoying, we agree.
That's why nearly all Globenotes.com functionality is available free of
charge. However, if you're happy with the service you're being provided, show
your support and get a paid account.
It takes money to run websites (for servers, colocation, and bandwidth), and
this seems like a better way to pay for it than blasting you with pop-up banner
ads and spamming you with advertisements.
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Can I upgrade my FREE BASIC account to a FULL PAID
account?
Yes, you can upgrade your account to a FULL PAID account at anytime.
Simply log-in to your account, select 'Upgrade Account' from the left-hand menu
and choose whether to subscribe for 6 months or 1 year.
Note: If you subscribe for 6 months, you may extend this to a full year
for only 4 euros extra! That's a saving of 50%! The only condition is that the
extension must be done WHILE your current 6 month subscription is still active.
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Well, how much does it cost?
You may subscribe to a Globenotes.com FULL PAID account for 6
months or 1 year.
This works out at 1 euro/month on the year plan.
We only accept payment through credit card. We don't actually process credit
card payments on THIS site, but we use the world's most popular online payment
system: PayPal
who will handle the transaction in a secure environment. You will be required
to create an account with PayPal if you do not already have one.
Note: If you subscribe for 6 months, you may extend this to a full year
for only 4 euros extra! That's a saving of 50%! The only condition is that the
extension must be done WHILE your current 6 month subscription is still active.
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So what cool features will I get?
With a full account you get all the basic features plus...
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300 MB of space for your pictures and
videos (space for over 12,000 pictures!!) *
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Back-up your travel blogs to a Word document for safe-keeping
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Access to any new features
* NB: we use an advanced compression
algorithm so that all pictures are reduced in storage size - to save space -
without significantly reducing the quality of the picture.
This means that 300MB of space will allow you to store over 12,000 pictures! |
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I'm not a member yet, where do I sign up?
Click Join up for free at the top of
the screen and follow the instructions.
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OK, I've just signed up. How do I start putting my
diaries/pictures on the Internet?
First of all, make sure you have ACTIVATED YOUR ACCOUNT
by clicking on the link we have
e-mailed to you (or copying the url into your address bar).
Follow these steps to enter your first diary :
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Log-in to your account.
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In order to add a diary entry, you must have a travel blog (diary journal) in
which you can store these entries. So, click the CREATE NEW TRAVELOGUE
button
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Create your first travel blog:
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Select a Title Picture that most represents your journey - you
can put your own photo here when you upload one
-
Enter a Title for your travel blog - e.g. My trip to South
America
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Write a Welcome Message for your visitors - this is a brief
summary of your trip
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Click the 'Password' box if you want to make this travel blog private
- you will be required to enter a password, which you can share with your
friends. You can change this to a public travel blog later on if you wish.
Leave the box blank if you want this travel blog to be viewed by the public.
-
Select a Start Date for your travel blog - this can be any
date in the past, present or future and represents the 'start date' of your
trip.
NOTE: The Start Date is only used to show other people when
your trip begins... you can write diary entries in this travel blog dated
BEFORE the Start Date if you wish.
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Click Finish button to save your travel blog
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You will now see your travel blog (in future, to see your travel blog: select
it from the menu on the left under 'My Travelogues').
Now, before you can start writing your diary you need to add a
country/location to your travel blog.
Click 'Add Locations' button on your travel blog.
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Add your first Location:
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Select a Country - select the country that that your
location is in e.g. Argentina
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Enter Location Name - e.g. Buenos Aires... if you
want to say that this location is where you are right NOW, then click Set
as my current location. If you do not, then un-check the
box.
-
Click the Location position on the Country map - clicking
the map will position a 'red-dot' on the spot where you clicked. If you want to
change the position of the red-dot, simply click it again.
When you are satisfied with the position, click Finish
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Create your first Diary Entry:
First of all you must go back to your travel blog: Click the name of
your travel blog from the menu on the left under 'My Travelogues'. Then,
click Add Diary Entry button on your travel blog.
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Enter a Title for your diary - e.g. First morning in
Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Select the Country and Location for this diary
entry - select country first, then location.
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Write your Diary Entry - If you want to make your text
more interesting, you can add effects like smiley faces or <HTML> links
to other websites. Simply select the item you want from the blue box below and
click Add To Text. A TAG representing the effect will
appear in your text.
Don't edit this tag!! You can also cut and paste the ENTIRE TAG to change it's
position in your text.
NOTE: We recommend you save your diary entry as you write it.
To do this, click Quick-Save and continue Editing button
on the bottom of the screen and your diary will be saved with the latest
updates, plus you can continue writing the diary.
-
Select a Date for your diary entry
-
Click Finish button to save your diary entry for the last
time.
Follow these steps to add your first picture/video :
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Log-in to your account.
-
In order to add a picture, you must have a travel blog (diary journal) in which
you can store these pictures. If you have yet not created a travel blog, first
follow steps 2 - 5 above. Otherwise continue below...
-
Add your first Picture/Video:
First of all you must go back to your travel blog: Click the name of
your travel blog from the menu on the left under 'My Travelogues'. Then,
click Add Picture button on your travel blog.
-
Select the Country and Location for this picture -
select country first, then location.
-
Browse for your pictures - Click one of the Browse
buttons and select a picture/video from either your
digital camera (if it's connected to your computer), memory card, CD, or
hard-disk and click OK.
You can select up to 10 pictures/videos at any one time, by clicking a
different Browse button for each one.
Once you have selected all the pictures/videos you want to upload. Click
Upload.
(Depending on the speed of your connection and the size of your files, the
upload process can take anywhere from 10 seconds to 10 minutes)
-
Once your picture(s) are uploaded you should
see them all listed. From here you can rotate them (photos only can be
rotated), or edit their details by clicking the Edit and
Save links on the right-side of the table
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How do I add a Location?
You must first create a travel blog,
if you have not already done so.
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Click 'Add Locations' button on your travel blog.
-
Select a Country - select the country that that your
location is in e.g. Argentina
-
Enter Location Name - e.g. Buenos Aires... if you
want to say that this location is where you are right NOW, then click Set
as my current location. If you do not, then un-check the
box.
-
Click the Location position on the Country map - clicking
the map will position a 'red-dot' on the spot where you clicked. If you want to
change the position of the red-dot, simply click it again.
When you are satisfied with the position, click Finish
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Why do I need to add a Location before I can add a
Diary or Picture?
Globenotes.com requires that each Diary and Picture has a location associated
with it.
It was decided during the initial design of the site that it would be
very handy if users could organise their diaries and pictures according to
the locations with which they are related.
NOTE: Each travel blog has it's own list of locations, if you
create a new travel blog, even one that is written at the same time as another,
you must add the locations again (even if they are the same name and position
on the map)
Therefore, it is compulsory that at least ONE location is added to a
travel blog before a Diary or Picture can be added.
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I want to show my travel blog to my friends, what URL
(Internet address) do I give them?
Globenotes.com provides its members with a shortcut URL to their
online travel blogs so that friends and family can remember it easily.
This takes the form: http://www.globenotes.com/username
where username is your username.
If you forget this link, you can find it on your travel blog under the
heading Shortcut to my site
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Why is my travel blog set as the 'Default travelogue'?
When a user visits your travel blog site, the Default travelogue
is the one that is shown by default when your page loads up.
You can select which travel blog you would like to be default either by
selecting it when you are adding a new travel blog (choice is not available
while adding the FIRST travel blog since that is assumed to be the default); or
selecting Change Settings on a travel blog which is
NOT the default and ticking the Set as Default travelogue
box. Click Save to make the changes.
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Change my contact details (and/or make my email
invisible to the public)?
Log-in and click Account from
menu on left of screen.
Under the Personal Details tab, you can edit your
e-mail settings or change your personal information.
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Change my log-in password?
Log-in and click Account from
menu on left of screen.
Under the Edit Password tab, you can edit
your log-in password.
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Stop people from adding themselves to my mailing
list?
Log-in and click Mailing List
from menu on left of screen.
You can stop people from adding themselves to your mailing list by clicking the
Change button, so that the setting is 'Not Allowed'.
You may also manage your mailing list from this screen.
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Set a password for a travel blog to restrict who can read
it?
Log-in and select the travel blog from
the menu on left of screen (under my travelogues).
On the travel blog, select Change Settings and tick
the box saying Visitors require password...
Add a password and click Save
Now when visitors go to your site, they will need to enter the
username/password that you just entered in order to see your pictures or read
your travel blog.
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Change the start/finish dates of a travel blog?
Log-in and select the travel blog from
the menu on left of screen (under my travelogues).
On the travel blog, select Change Settings. Select
your Start Date and Finish Date.
Click Save.
NOTE: The Start and Finish dates have no major
function save to print out the dates on the travel blog summary of your
site. (i.e. you can add diary entries or pictures at any dates outside
the Start - Finish date range if you wish)
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Set a different travel blog to be the 'Default
travelogue'?
Log-in and select the travel blog from
the menu on left of screen (under my travelogues).
On the travel blog, select Change Settings. Tick the
box saying Set as default travelogue.
Click Save.
Also see: Why is my travel blog set as the 'Default
travelogue'?
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Use the 'Join-the-Dots' screen to determine how my
locations appear on the travel blog maps?
You may have noticed that if you add more than one location to a travel blog
that a line is drawn between the two locations when you look at the map on the
travel blog? These lines are supposed to resemble the routes you
have taken on your journey in a travel blog. One location is marked 'Start'
while the other is marked 'Finish'.
How it works:
Log-in and select the travel blog from the menu
on left of screen (under my travelogues).
On the travel blog, select Join-the-Dots.
You will see two columns: Your Itinerary and Your
Locations.
Your Locations contains a list of the locations you
have added, grouped by country.
Your Itinerary is an ordered list of these locations
(at least one of each of Your Locations must be in
Your Itinerary) which will determine how your locations
are interconnected on the world and country maps.
On Your Itinerary, the top of the list represents the
'Start' point on the trip (usually this would be your home town). The bottom of
the list represents the 'Finish' point (i.e. the most recent location visited,
or back to your home town). All locations in between should be in the order
that they were visited, from top to bottom.
You can move the position of a location up or down by selecting it from the Your
Itinerary list and clicking the 
or  buttons.
On most trips, you will back-track on a location (i.e. Going
from Sydney, Australia to Auckland, New Zealand and back again to Sydney)
and this is where the << Add button comes in
handy...
Taking the above Sydney-Auckland-Sydney example:
| Initially the Your Itinerary
list will look like: |
- Sydney, Australia
- Auckland, New Zealand |
We want to add another Sydney, Australia below the Auckland, New Zealand since
that's our return point. So simply click on Sydney, Australia in the Your
Locations list and click << Add
.
This will add Sydney to the Your Itinerary list
again.
| So finally, the Your Itinerary
list will look like: |
- Sydney, Australia
- Auckland, New Zealand
- Sydney, Australia |
If you want to remove a duplicate location from the Your Itinerary
list, select the location and click the  button.
Finally don't forget to click Save Changes to save
your location map ordering!
| NB: When a New Location is added
to a travel blog it is also added to the END of the Your Itinerary
list by default |
NOTE: You can decide to turn off these lines,
and/or turn-off the 'Start' and 'Finish' text on the maps,
by un-clicking the boxes labelled: I want locations joined by
lines... and I want to show 'Start' and 'Finish'
text... respectively. Click Save Changes
to save all changes.
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Show my 'Current Location' on the travel blog maps?
You can do this either when Adding or Editing a
location.
When Adding a location...
Log-in and select the travel blog from the
menu on left of screen (under my travelogues).
On the travel blog, select Add Location. When entering
a location name, tick the box saying Set as my current location.
Finish adding the location.
When Editing a location...
Log-in and select the travel blog from the menu
on left of screen (under my travelogues).
On the travel blog, select Edit Location. When
looking at the list of locations for a country, select whichever location
you want to set as the current location by clicking Set as Current.
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Change the position of a RED-DOT on the travel blog
maps?
Log-in and select the travel blog from the menu
on left of screen (under my travelogues).
On the travel blog, select Edit Location. When
looking at the list of locations for a country, select whichever location
you want to change by clicking Update Map.
On the map screen the location being updated is represented by a large red dot: 
Click the new position for the location. Once you are satisfied click Save
Changes button.
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Edit a Diary entry?
Log-in and select the travel blog from the menu
on left of screen (under my travelogues).
On the travel blog, select Edit Diary. By
default, all diaries are shown for this travel blog, but you can filter the
list by Country and Location if you like (press Find once
you have selected the Country/Location).
To edit a diary simply click the Edit link on the
right side of the table.
To delete diaries, tick the box on the left side of the table beside the
diaries you want to delete and click Delete Selected button
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Add HTML or images to a Diary entry?
While writing a Diary Entry, if you want to make
your text more interesting, you can add effects like smiley faces or
<HTML> links to other websites. Simply select the item you want from the
blue box below and click Add To Text. A TAG
representing the effect will appear in your text.
Don't edit this tag!! You can also cut and paste the ENTIRE TAG to change it's
position in your text.
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Change the ORDER of my entries?
Diary entries are ordered by their date (as selected when adding/editing
the diary); most recent dates coming first.
Therefore if you want to change the order that entries appear in, you only
need to alter their dates.
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Edit a picture's details?
Log-in and select the travel blog from the menu
on left of screen (under my travelogues).
On the travel blog, select Edit Picture. By
default, all pictures are shown for this travel blog, but you can filter
the list by Country and Location if you like (press Find
once you have selected the Country/Location).
To rotate an image left and right, click the Rotate Left
or Rotate Right links beside the image.
To edit a picture's details simply click the Edit
link on the right side of the table, this will allow you to actually edit the
details IN THE TABLE!! Click Save to save changes.
To delete pictures, tick the box on the left side of the table beside
the pictures you want to delete and click Delete Selected
button
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Respond to someone's message posted on my site?
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Log into your account
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Click the Messages link on the menu on the left
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New messages will appear at the top of the screen (in blue)... old messages
will appear below (in green)
-
To reply to a message, type your response into the textbox and
click Save Reply
Note: If you want to mark the message as 'READ' but do not
want to reply, simply leave the textbox empty and click Save Reply.
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Customise the title picture on my travel blog?
In order to change the title picture to one of your own, you first
need to upload a picture.
-
Log into your account.
-
On your travelogue menu, click the 'Picture Album' button.
-
Select a country/location combination for your photo (usually the location
where the picture was taken) and then click the 'Browse' button.
From here you can select the picture file (JPG or GIF preferably).
-
Once you have selected your picture, click 'UPLOAD >>'. Now
you have uploaded a picture.
-
In order to change the opening picture, go back to your travelogue menu (by
clicking the 'Travelogues' option on the menu on the left side
of the screen).
-
On the travelogue menu, click 'Change Pic' (the link which
appears directly below the existing title picture).
-
On the next screen, you will be presented with the Globenotes default pictures,
and now you will also see your photo.
-
Simply select your photo (by clicking the dot underneath it) and click 'Save
>>'.
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How can my travel blog be selected as the
Globenotes.com blog of the week?
Periodically we select a travel blog to be featured on the home-page of Globenotes.comas
our 'Travel Blog of the Week'. The advantage of having your
travel blog featured is that it takes centre-stage when the site loads up and
the travel blog's Title picture will be shown in a larger format. This is a
great way to attract people to read your travel blog!
A travel blog must meet some basic requirements (set out below) before even
being considered. If your travel blog fits these requirements, you can send us
an email to admin@globenotes.com and
we will gladly review the travel blog.
To be featured as the 'Blog of the Week', a travel blog must...
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Not require a password to access it (although it's perfectly acceptable if you
have OTHER travel blogs that require passwords)
-
Have at least 3 diary entries
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Having photos too would be a distinct advantage!
Initially, though, your travel diary will be chosen if it
is interesting and/or funny!
Here is an example of travel blog that was featured on our home page:
Longer way round
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Want to blog about your travels but don't have computer skills? It's not a problem with the prevalence of computer learning centers. You can do just about anything at a computer learning center, including learning HTML and taking typing lessons. I have set my travel blog as private, yet my friends only
had to enter the password on the first visit and didn't have to enter the
password after that? Why is that?
The Globenotes.com system for private-access to Travel Blogs is
currently set up to 'remember' passwords automatically so that when someone
enters the correct guest username/password, their browser will automatically
sign them in whenever they return to the page.
If the user happens to empty their Internet browser's cache removing cookies,
they will need to enter the password again when they revisit the site.
In Internet Explorer, to empty your browser's cache, go to 'Tools' -> 'Internet
Options' -> and click on 'Delete Cookies'.
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My question is not answered here. Where can I send my
question?
Please visit our Contact Us page to
find the appropriate place to send your question.
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