Suzie Dundas: Assigning Editor at Matador Network, Contributing Editor at SFGate and Freelance Travel Writer

From politics and government to communications and marketing to adventure travel, Sci-Fi and natural mysteries, Suzie Dundas shares her vast array of experiences and knowledge with Angela in today’s episode.

Follow Suzie’s life and work here: https://www.suziedundas.com/ 

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/hikeupyourskirt/ 

X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/suziedundas    

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/suziedundas

SFGATE: https://www.sfgate.com/ 

Matador Network: https://matadornetwork.com/ 

University of Maryland: https://umd.edu/ 

The West Wing: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0200276/ 

George Washington University: https://www.gwu.edu/ 

State Department: https://www.state.gov/ 

Suzie at Matador Network: https://matadornetwork.com/author/suziedundas/ 

Suzie at SFGATE: https://www.sfgate.com/author/suzie-dundas/

Google Flights: https://www.google.com/travel/flights 

Google Sheets: https://www.google.com/sheets/about/ 

Google Docs: https://www.google.com/docs/about/ 

Bigfoot: https://www.fodors.com/world/north-america/usa/california/experiences/news/photos/searching-for-sasquatch-10-places-in-northern-california-to-spot-bigfoot 

Live Aboard Dive Trip: https://www.tripsavvy.com/what-to-know-about-liveaboard-dive-trips-5189369 

Rwanda: https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/rwanda-africa-safari-road-trip 

GuideGeek: https://guidegeek.com/ 

Thank you for listening!  Please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe to the Media in Minutes podcast here or anywhere you get your podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/media-in-minutes/id1555710662  

Transcript

Angela Tuell: 0:05

Welcome to Media in Minutes. This is your host Angela Tuell. This podcast features in-depth interviews with those reports on the world around us. They share everything from their favorite stories to what happened behind the lens and give us a glimpse into their world. From our studio here at Communications Redefined, this is Media in Minutes. In today's episode, we are talking with Suzie Dundas. Suzie is an editor, reporter, author and travel writer based in Lake Tahoe. Her work focuses on adventure travel, the outdoors and unexpected destinations around the world. She is the Lake Tahoe editor at SFGATE, where she reports on issues ranging from housing instability to over tourism, to where to find Tahoes best cheap beers. Suzie is also the commissioning editor of Matador Network and a contributing honeymoon and travel writer at The Knots. She has recent by lines and publications like Outside Magazine, Thrillist, AFAR, Bicycling, Fodors, Scuba Diving mag, and many more. She's also the author of 2021's Hiking Lake Tahoe Trail Guide, and was a contributing author on Lonely Planet Sustainable Travel. Welcome, Suzie. I'm excited to talk with you today.

Suzie Dundas: 1:25

I'm excited too. Thanks for having me.

Angela Tuell: 1:27

So how are things in California?

Suzie Dundas: 1:29

Things are good. It's nice and sunny. I live up here in the mountains. So it's definitely winter and there's snow on the ground. But you know, blue skies outside.

Angela Tuell: 1:38

That's nice. I live in Indianapolis where we have all grey and all winter long. So...

Suzie Dundas: 1:43

Well you get the benefit of having slightly affordable cost of living so I'll take the trade off maybe.

Angela Tuell: 1:48

Much more than California. That is true. It's true. I have to say in preparing for this interview, I was very excited to see you are a fellow University of Maryland Terrapin.

Suzie Dundas: 1:59

Yes, Go Terps, go Terps.

Angela Tuell: 2:02

What did you study there?

Suzie Dundas: 2:04

Oh, well, I think we might have this in common. My major was government and politics.

Angela Tuell: 2:08

Okay, yeah, that was my minor size in journalism.

Suzie Dundas: 2:11

I feel like it's probably pretty popular out there. So close to DC.

Angela Tuell: 2:14

Yes, yes, it's a great place to go if you're if that's what you want to major in. I also saw that you spent almost the first 10 years of your career in communications and marketing, beginning with the US Department of State. So how did you go from there to get into travel writing, and then land roles with SFGATE, the Matador network and all the other freelance?

Suzie Dundas: 2:37

Sure, it's sort of a twisted path, and I'll get I'll give you the shortened version. That's so I'm from Maryland, I grew up in Maryland, right outside DC.

Angela Tuell: 2:46

Okay. Yeah.

Suzie Dundas: 2:47

And it was, it was fun. I mean, I was bottom of the And when you live right outside DC, there's no

Angela Tuell: 2:48

Right? such thing as local news. Local news is national news. And most of that national news is politics. So I just kind of grew

Suzie Dundas: 2:56

So you know, my job was I worked in the up in an environment where that was normal. And it was discussed that it was something that everybody was really aware of, regardless of your age. And so I was really drawn to it. And when I went to Maryland, which was a good program for that. It just seemed like a natural fit. Because I was interested in it. Because I was a dorky little kid who was obsessed with watching the West Wing. And I was just like, really drawn to it. So So yeah, so I went to school for that. And then I went to graduate school, also in DC at George Washington University. I was fortunate enough to find a job working at the State Department. And then I took my classes were just that night for some reason. So it worked out really well. totem pole. I was 21. So I was like, as low as you can get on basically Department of Public Affairs. So my job was like herd the pole. journalists around, have the official line handy if someone giving an interview needs, you know, a talking point on this or that. It certainly wasn't glamorous, and my office was in a basement, but...

Angela Tuell: 4:07

No windows.

Suzie Dundas: 4:09

No, no, no. Actually, literally no windows. We're in the bottom. The State Department building is like kind of cement and heavy and not super window friendly in all areas. So so so that's fun. Yeah, and I love doing that. And I always like to travel. So once I got a little burned out on the State Department and had finished grad school and just wanted a change. I bounced around a little bit. I worked up in Vermont, doing communications for a ski resort for a year. I was their ski reporter so my job was basically to ski and snowboard around and post updates.

Angela Tuell: 4:41

Oh cool.

Suzie Dundas: 4:41

Yeah, when 23 years old, and all you want to

Angela Tuell: 4:42

Yeah. do is like ski and play around. That was really fun.

Suzie Dundas: 4:46

And then, you know, I always liked the marketing and comms side of things. So at some point I decided to switch to working on political campaigns. Okay, and I don't know if you know, I hope this isn't like a secret that I'm ruining for listeners, but everyone who runs political campaigns around the country is like 26 years old.

Angela Tuell: 5:08

Oh, yes, I do know that.

Suzie Dundas: 5:10

Yeah, it's funny, because you always have like your one campaign director, and maybe they're I don't know, like 40. But everybody who's working on the campaigns are so young.

Angela Tuell: 5:19

Yes, yes. But the candidates are eighty.

Suzie Dundas: 5:21

Yes, exactly. That's America, I guess. But. So it was, it was fun. And I traveled around to different campaigns, and you work with like minded people, and you're all pushing for the same goal. So in those ways, it feels very fulfilling.

Angela Tuell: 5:34

Yeah.

Suzie Dundas: 5:35

But at the same time, you don't get paid very much at all. You're moving around all the time. You don't really have weekends. I mean, you work every day. So as much as I appreciated the the goal I was working towards and believed in it, and still believe in the thing. It just wasn't a stainable lifestyle.

Angela Tuell: 5:53

Sure.

Suzie Dundas: 5:54

So after doing that, for some time, I basically thought, Okay, I need to try something else, I need to move somewhere else and just kind of figure out what I'm going to do. And I knew a few people that lived out here in Lake Tahoe. I knew that I loved skiing and being outdoors and travel. So I thought, Okay, I'll just go move out to Tahoe for a winter, while I sort of figure out what direction I'm gonna go in.

Angela Tuell: 6:16

Yeah.

Suzie Dundas: 6:17

And I came out here. I met the person who would become my husband soon after. I got a gig writing product copy for like ski catalogs. So from there, it just kind of transitioned into

Angela Tuell: 6:28

Okay. writing about more ski gear, writing about outdoor gear, writing about outdoor activities, writing about traveling and doing outdoor activities. And it's just kind of like a slow build. That I was able to do, because I already had that comms experience. I already sort of had worked in the communications vein. So there's, there's really some overlap between selling a candidate, selling a product, selling a destination, you know, you learn what kind of things people care about. So true. Yes, I always say that I, that I don't like sales, I'm not a sales person sort of thing. But like, that really is what you're doing.

Suzie Dundas: 7:04

And it's a lot easier to sell something that you believe in and you genuinely like. Like you can tell when you're talking to someone who's passionate about the subject. And it rubs off on people.

Angela Tuell: 7:13

Yes, yes. So we'd love if you could tell us more about your current work you know who you're writing for and your roles at Matador and SFGATE.

Suzie Dundas: 7:22

Sure thing. So right now, I'm the commissioning editor at Matador Network. So that means I'm mostly in charge of working with all of the freelancers that are Freelancer content. Only on the editorial side, of course,

Angela Tuell: 7:35

Okay.

Suzie Dundas: 7:36

And and then SFGATE. I am the Tahoe editor. So SFGATE, we're based in San Francisco. And if you know about San Francisco, you probably know that people in San Francisco love to go to Lake Tahoe on the weekend. So I cover basically anything that could happen in Lake Tahoe that would be of interest to people in the Northern California area. And that's everything from environmental stories to recommendations of great restaurants to here's a hiking trail you should check out that won't be as crowded, maybe you haven't heard of. So that one's a little bit newsier, whereas Matador Network, of course, is travel based, and then I also freelance on the side. Basically, for anyone in the travel vein, who will pay me for a story I share. Across the board on that one.

Angela Tuell: 8:22

Okay, so how did how was it going from being you know, a travel writer, I guess I would say full time, to then the role with Matador Network where you're assigning travel writers and being more of that, like, I guess I would say management type role or word, but yeah?

Suzie Dundas: 8:40

No, it is, a degree of it is certainly management. You know, it's figuring out, what stories do we need to work with? Where are they going to fall on the budget? What days are they going to publish, maintaining a roster of freelancers, that kind of stuff is certainly management. But it does for me, it's still a good deal amount, it's a good deal of writing. So there is quite a nice balance. I think right now between editing and managing and still getting to, you know, pop my byline on stories.

Angela Tuell: 9:03

Okay.

Suzie Dundas: 9:03

It's, it's been fun. I don't know if it's because I'm like a little nerdy, and I just like being organized, but I've enjoyed the balance of it.

Angela Tuell: 9:11

Yeah, so most people will have heard of Matador Network, obviously, especially our audience. But if they are not daily readers, what is the best way to describe the outlet?

Suzie Dundas: 9:22

Sure. So we are a travel publication, Matador Network was founded, gosh, I think like 15 years ago, so it was one of the earlier ones. Yeah, it's been around a while. And the idea is basically to...I think the tagline they used was"Travel Fearlessly," which maybe is a little cheesy sounding now, but the idea was to, to open up travel to people who maybe are new to it or on the younger side or may not have thought that they could even go and explore these places and kind of trying to show that you know, it is possible.

Angela Tuell: 9:54

Yeah.

Suzie Dundas: 9:54

Since, um, since it was founded, obviously our average reader has grown up. They're not backpacking anymore. They're 40 years old and travel with their kids.

Angela Tuell: 10:03

Okay.

Suzie Dundas: 10:04

So the demographic has shifted a bit, it's certainly, I'd say maybe like the early 20s to mid 40s demographic and a bit broader in terms of, you know, people are more interested in luxury and kind of that sort of thing is growing. But in general, it's anyone who wants to travel and explore new places and wants to learn about experiences that they may not find on their own.

Angela Tuell: 10:25

Yeah, that's what I love about that outlet. And you know, travel writing, in general, I feel like has completely helped people realize they can go on those trips, those things that seems so far fetched. Like why would I go to Egypt and you do this?

Suzie Dundas: 10:40

Yes. I mean, certainly, Google Flights and things have helped to make it a lot easier to play, right. One of the one of the things that I really like about travel writing, it's I think it's very important for everyone in their life to have an adventure. Yeah, but I don't think you need to fly around the world to have that adventure. You know, if for you an adventure is going to your town next door and staying in a new hotel and going to some kind of restaurant, you wouldn't have tried. Like, if you feel that sense of adventure and discovery from that, then that's cool. And that's valid. And that's the goal. So I think having a place where people can go and find these things, even if it is just something like that is really important.

Angela Tuell: 11:14

Yes, that is such a great perspective. I love that. What have you learned -

Suzie Dundas: 11:17

It's all relative, right?

Angela Tuell: 11:18

Yes, it is. That's exactly right. What have you learned in this role as a, you know, in this role now? And what is surprised you the most?

Suzie Dundas: 11:28

Sure. Well, I've gotten a lot better using Google Sheets and Google Docs.

Angela Tuell: 11:34

They say, I don't know about in politics, but for those of us trained like journalism, it's not something we learned. Really.

Suzie Dundas: 11:41

No. Not one bit. Yeah, so I think I've learned that, gosh, in the last five years, I mean, travel writing, it used to be if you are a travel writer, you worked for a newspaper, or you wrote books, right? Like those were kind of your outlets, or maybe you were like on TV. But now it's like travel writing or being in the travel space. It could be bloggers, it could be content creators, it could be people who write marketing copy for websites, it could be people who work in PR, but then on the side, they also freelance or they're photographers. It's just so broad, and the depth of it feels like it's always expanding. Which is something that like I've really learned to look to different areas and paths sometimes when I'm looking for like content from freelancers.

Angela Tuell: 12:24

Sure. What are some of your favorite types of stories to cover? I know you mentioned a couple of recent ones in your bio, something about Narcos theme tourism and one about Bigfoot.

Suzie Dundas: 12:35

Of course, so Bigfoot falls in the category of cryptozoology. It's basically like animals who probably don't exist, let's be real. Ooh, spoiler. Yeah. Don't tell the Pacific Northwest I said that. Yeah, so I love writing about and covering and reading stories about anything that is, I guess, weird. Abandoned places, desired natural wonders, haunted hotels, ghost towns, like anything that sort of hits the sweet spot between like, science, mystery, outdoors, and like a touch of nerdiness blended in. That - I'm all about that.

Angela Tuell: 13:19

Okay. That's great. So how do you find your stories?

Suzie Dundas: 13:25

That's a great question. And I feel like sometimes I'm trying to answer that myself. Um, a lot of it comes from travel, just talking to people or, you know, if you're at a restaurant chatting with a server and asking him what's cool in an area that they live in, and, you know, just conversation. I listened to quite a lot of podcasts, actually. Sometimes on really quirky subjects. Oh, let's see...gosh, I don't know. I have a lot of news feeds where I'll just set up certain keywords for topics I know I'm interested in. And then obviously, I write a lot about Lake Tahoe where I live. So those stories are, you know, a little easier to sus out.

Angela Tuell: 14:02

Right. Right. What about PR professionals? How is best for them to get in front of you with story ideas? And do you have any pet peeves?

Suzie Dundas: 14:12

Well, how do you get in front of me? You know, that part's a little tricky, because we, as a general rule, we just don't accept story ideas from PR people. You know, most of our story ideas that come from freelance pitches are from writers. So I'm not saying it's a little tricky. Um, um, um, the pitching that we have rarely taken from PR professionals are either because they're representing something that's timely and they can provide photos and sources. And by that I don't mean here's a Valentine's Day package that's for sale but more like this giant musical, this giant music fest is coming up and we have all these extra photos we just took that you can use that haven't published, maybe something like that. That's a little more timely. And then honest really the best, the best way to

Angela Tuell: 14:58

Okay. do it is probably to already have us writing about the topic or the destination you're representing. Then I can reach out to them and say, Oh, hey, I need photos for a hotel in XYZ city, or can you send me some photos of the State Park and for a state park roundup we're doing? Usually it's it's tough to take PR pitches from just like the general evergreen. Hey, here's your great hotel and XYZ town. Yeah. So do you tend to I mean, I'm assuming you still get a ton of emails that way?

Suzie Dundas: 15:32

I am not kidding, I probably get 50 to 60 a day.

Angela Tuell: 15:36

So you probably have to ignore them.

Suzie Dundas: 15:39

Gosh, you know, I tried to go through and reply to them. Because, you know, I know. That's right. Nobody wants that just have their email go unanswered. And they know how hard PRs work. But sometimes for my mental sanity, I just have to kick the can on replying to stuff longer than I would like to.

Angela Tuell: 15:54

Sure, sure. Do you have any pet peeves then when it comes to PR professionals?

Suzie Dundas: 15:59

Oh, how much time do we have for this podcast?

Angela Tuell: 16:02

I want to know them all. So tell me.

Suzie Dundas: 16:05

So I should say in fairness, most of the PR people I work with are absolutely delightful and have been so much fun to travel with, and just great. And I understand that a lot of the, you know, sometimes PRs are under pressure from the clients. And it's not always like everything's up to the PR agency, right? The biggest one I've noticed recently is when it comes to prep trips, people will put in an invite, we'd like to offer you a trip to I don't know, so and so town in Europe, quote, in exchange for coverage. Which I know, it's like, it's I mean, I have to say

Angela Tuell: 16:35

Ohhhh. no to that. Right. Even if I wanted to that's way too transactional, it takes away the editorial integrity. And if you want something in exchange for something then that falls into the advertising and sponsored content space, and it's just like, not appropriate for me editorial to be part of it. Yeah. And so there'll be, they'll be saying that straight up front to you. Wow.

Suzie Dundas: 17:00

Yeah. Which I do understand that the the journalism landscape has changed. And that a lot of the people they're bringing on trips, or maybe bloggers or people who don't have the same, like, J school editorial standards. Which is fine, if that's how they operate, but it just doesn't work for professional publication. So that is always I was cringed a little bit when I see that.

Angela Tuell: 17:22

That's a big learning curve we have with clients, not all clients, but a lot of them. I mean, obviously, which you can understand, they're thinking, Okay, I'm going to spend 1000s of dollars on a trip, but it is, it is definitely tough to I guess it's just it's tough to talk through that with them. And to get, to get them to understand that that's not usually the case. And if you provide a great experience and there's story ideas there, you're going to almost always have a story afterwards. But...

Suzie Dundas: 17:51

Right. And honestly, that's my other pet peeve is sometimes I'll get emails for press trip invites. And it's like, Hey, are you interested in a press trip to Switzerland? That's a totally random example. And then it'll say, here's the dates, we're

Angela Tuell: 18:03

Right. going to explore Switzerland. And I'm like, hypothetically, yes, I'm very interested in that, you know. But I don't make decisions for press trips, just based on a place I would like to go. I need to know if it's actually going to lead to work and is a good fit editorially. Right.

Suzie Dundas: 18:19

So sometimes when they say we need to know by XYZ date, but we don't have an itinerary, and we don't know how much free time you're gonna have to go find your own stories. That's always a really tricky balance for me to find, because it's like, well, I don't actually know if this is worth my time to attend as much as I might like to attend.

Angela Tuell: 18:35

Right. You need the details more upfront. To make the decision.

Suzie Dundas: 18:38

Right. Or if you don't have the details, fine. But tell me maybe there'll be a free day for me to go find a story or something along those lines.

Angela Tuell: 18:44

Right. How - do you like it to be less structured?

Suzie Dundas: 18:49

Generally, yes. Because it does give the individuals on the trip, especially if it's a press trip, time to go independently find different stories, so we're not all covering the same angles.

Angela Tuell: 18:58

Yeah.

Suzie Dundas: 18:59

And then, you know, for me, as a freelancer, whether I'm traveling or at home, I still have deadlines, I still have stories. So as much as I wish sometimes I could go to a destination and just spend 12 hours out playing, I still have to get things out the door. So at some point, like there just needs to be some downtime.

Angela Tuell: 19:17

Yep, that makes sense. That makes sense. What have been some of your favorite trips? I know you recently got back from what sounds like a pretty amazing trip of scuba diving in the South Pacific.

Suzie Dundas: 19:29

Yes, yeah. My husband and I are both pretty avid scuba divers. So we did it's called a live aboard and it's something that I'm sure lots of people who scuba dive do but basically instead of staying at a hotel and going out, you know, and meeting a dive boat every day and going out the dive sites and coming back to your hotel. You just stay on the boat. It's not like a yacht or anything. It's just like a big boat, sleeps maybe like 20 people. And you just basically wake up, dive, come back, have breakfast, dive, come back, have lunch, dive, come back and eat more really. I guess it's mostly about eating than diving. Oh, yeah, yeah. So that was really nice. It was out in Palau, which is someplace I had never been. It was extremely beautiful. So that was, it was a really fun trip for sure.

Angela Tuell: 20:09

Wow. Any other favorites? I know. That's a super hard question when you're a travel writer.

Suzie Dundas: 20:13

Yeah, yeah, it's hard. Mostly just because I love traveling. Like, it doesn't even matter where I go find something to love about it. But one destination that does stand out in my mind recently that I would love to go back to and spend a lot more time there is Rwanda. I went, I went there in March, I guess. And we did, we went on safari, we saw gorillas, we did all the bucket list, amazing things you can imagine. But what was really special to me about Rwanda is obviously the country went through a horrific civil war that ended in the mid 90s, which on the grand scheme of things not that long ago.

Angela Tuell: 20:53

Right.

Suzie Dundas: 20:54

And when you go there, and now they are, people are so friendly. And when they rebuilt, they took advantage of the chance to rebuild in a way that was really eco friendly and sustainable. They have a plastic bag ban, there's no plastic bags anywhere in the country. They have a really strong sense of, of cleanup, and environmental awareness. They have a tourist infrastructure that is really welcoming to all kinds of people. It's just, it was really inspiring. Everybody I talked to was so kind and genuine. And I would love to go back and spend more time there and just get to know the country and the people

Angela Tuell: 21:26

Wow, that's I'll have to add that to my list. better. That sounds that sounds amazing how you're describing it. Are there -

Suzie Dundas: 21:32

Yeah, I don't know what to expect. And it was, it blew me away, even though I didn't even have expectations. It was phenomenal.

Angela Tuell: 21:37

Right. That's always the best too. I feel like sometimes you can have expectations that are really high. And -

Suzie Dundas: 21:43

Yes, thanks to Instagram.

Angela Tuell: 21:46

Right. It's not exactly what you thought it would be, right. Are there any stories you've wanted to tell but haven't yet?

Suzie Dundas: 21:54

Yes. I don't want to say what it is. Because I'm hoping one day, so pay me to just do research for two years to write the story, which I'm sure will never happen. But yeah, there's a few stories that it's sometimes it's like, oh, I would love to write the story if I could find a source for XYZ theory I have or that kind of thing. So because it was like floating in my head that are sort of all fleshed out, but not quite enough to start putting to paper.

Angela Tuell: 22:21

Yeah.

Suzie Dundas: 22:21

Then, as if I'm sure I'll come off as pretty nerdy, but I do have a few ideas for Sci Fi Channel original movies.

Angela Tuell: 22:30

Oh, okay.

Suzie Dundas: 22:31

They would be prime B-list, I'm sure. But maybe one day, if I find myself with way too much free time again, I'll start jotting down one of those.

Angela Tuell: 22:39

That might be your next transition of...

Suzie Dundas: 22:43

From politics to travel writing to a Sci Fi Channel screenwriter.

Angela Tuell: 22:47

Right. What is the most challenging about your career?

Suzie Dundas: 22:53

Hmm. There's, you know, there's a lot. And I'm sure, it's kind of similar to PR, because it is nuanced. I mean, there's no, you don't go to school and you graduate and you're certified as a travel writer. Like it's not a very defined thing. I think for me, one of one of the big challenges that is just sort of, for the length of your career is in a normal job, like a job or you're a full time employee, you have a good sense of what your financial situation is going to be year after year. You know, you make you make a salary, maybe you'll get a 3% bump every year. If you switch jobs, you know, you're not going to take a salary that's too much lower than that. Whereas in the freelance world outlets can go away anytime they can go under, you could lose a contract. So even if you have a year where financial aid is really strong, that doesn't have much bearing on what the next year is going to be. So that is a really different balance from how most people's careers work.

Angela Tuell: 23:53

Yeah, that's true.

Suzie Dundas: 23:55

And then you know, balancing, when you work from home, it can be hard to balance when you're working versus when you're doing something else. And, you know, I work a lot of hours every week, probably more than I would in an office. And sometimes I just have to force myself to be like, no, stop doing this, like shut your computer, just let your brain have a break.

Angela Tuell: 24:13

I am the same way. I feel like I am even more productive at a home office than I am. Like, you're not having those conversations with people. You know, you're just, but work a lot more hours too. And it's like, how is that? I also think you have to have a certain personality, like some people can't do that home thing because things are distracting them and they're like, oh, I need to go do laundry or oh, I need to go do this.

Suzie Dundas: 24:35

Yeah, yeah. To me when people say they prefer an office, but I do understand it's hard to get yourself to focus sometimes. So like for me the logic is because I travel a lot and because I'm really active and like to play outside and I'll skip work for two hours to go bike or something. It kind of makes me feel like when I at home, I need to be taking advantage of that time and trying to work as much as I can. Which to an extent I think is a real good mentality, but I need to get better like, okay, it's 6pm I don't need to work for another two hours, you know, and just kind of like force yourself to have a little separation.

Angela Tuell: 25:08

Yep, that's true. That's true. I do have to ask about GuideGeek, an AI travel assistant that Matador Network created. I would love to know a little bit more since, you know, AI is such a hot topic right now.

Suzie Dundas: 25:22

Yeah. You know, it's an interesting one, because AI have been around for quite a while, you know, with service bots, when you go to a website and you think you're chatting with a person and it's a bot or Google Translate. These are all AI, right, even though we didn't call them that.

Angela Tuell: 25:37

Right.

Suzie Dundas: 25:37

And then I think when Chat GPT came out, I think end of 2022, something around there. Like, that was the first AI that we saw that we were like, Oh my gosh, this was a person like this was going to replace me this is going to take my job. And that obviously, understandably, it was like a scary time.

Angela Tuell: 25:56

Sure.

Suzie Dundas: 25:58

But I think GuideGeek is a little different and a little more fun, because it's it's an individual tool. Like it's more about personal use, and it's closely tied to travel. So it's kind of to me I see it as any other aggregate site that you might go to like an Expedia or whatever. You might go there to research hotels, but GuideGeek is like a personalized version of that that isn't limited to just hotels. So you don't have to be like, it works through WhatsApp. So basically, you will WhatsApp GuideGeek. And you'll say, Hey, I'm looking for suggestions for good restaurants in this town I'm going to. I really like French food, and I want to keep it under 20 bucks each. So you can just talk to it like one on one like that and it'll give you a really personalized immediate update. Which, to me, is like a really handy travel tool.

Angela Tuell: 26:44

Yes.

Suzie Dundas: 26:46

It's also really handy for real time stuff. Like let's say, so I live in Tahoe, let's say you're here visiting Tahoe, and you want to go to a restaurant and you get there and it's closed for whatever reason.

Angela Tuell: 26:55

Right.

Suzie Dundas: 26:56

Instead of being like, oh my gosh, I need to jump on Yelp and find someplace else to go. You can just send a WhatsApp message to GuideGeek and be like, hey, I really wanted to go to Bob's Diner in Tahoe but it's closed. Can you recommend something else really similar? And it will say, Oh, yeah, here's some other restaurants that are a lot like it, you should go here instead. So like that kind of like quick travel planning stuff, I think is like a fun, really interesting, high tech way to, I don't know, make your travel a little easier.

Angela Tuell: 27:23

Yeah, I love that it's real time too because I know even with Chat GPT the information isn't up to date.

Suzie Dundas: 27:29

Yeah. And you can just talk to it. Like, I mean, be nice to it. I guess I always try to say please and thank you. I don't know why. Like, you can just talk to it like you would talk to your friend who was planning a trip with you. So it's pretty, it's pretty handy, especially since you don't have to download an app or anything.

Angela Tuell: 27:45

Yeah. I love that. You said that, like I'm thinking to myself, do I say please and thank you to Siri or not?

Suzie Dundas: 27:51

You probably do because you're used to just being polite to people, right? And you talk to it like a person. So who knows? Maybe if the robot revolution happens they'll remember we were nice to them.

Angela Tuell: 28:00

Could be, could be. So what would someone who doesn't know you be surprised to learn?

Suzie Dundas: 28:08

Oh, yeah. Oh, no, gosh. One thing that I guess surprises people sometimes because like I do kind of have nerdy interests. And I'm super obsessed with like mountain biking, which to me, is something that sounds cool and I'm not a cool person. I guess living out here like in Tahoe and just having trails and stuff nearby. For me, it's aside from the physical aspect of it, which is painful at times, but also fun. It's nice to have something that forces your brain to be really present and in the moment. And as much as I like mountain biking, I'm probably not as, I'm not as great as I should be for how much I go. So I really do have to like be in the moment when I'm doing it. And I've really come to appreciate that quite a bit. Like I go on a near daily basis in the summer when I can.

Angela Tuell: 28:59

That's awesome. My son, my 12 year old son would be very jealous. We live in you know flat Indiana and he loves mountain biking.

Suzie Dundas: 29:05

Yeah, right. It does depend a little bit on where you live.

Angela Tuell: 29:08

Yeah, it's although he calls it mountain biking even when we're on like little hills.

Suzie Dundas: 29:12

But it is right, that goes back to the adventurer thing. Like if you feel like you're doing something that's, that's fun and pushing you out of your comfort limits, like riding through a neighborhood park is just as valid as going to Whistler and flying down some giant slope. So it all counts.

Angela Tuell: 29:30

So before we go, I must ask what's on the horizon for you in 2024? Do you have any fantastic trips coming up or anything else you're working on that you could share?

Suzie Dundas: 29:39

Yeah, well, I will say at Matador Network, I'm super excited about the direction that's going in. We have some really interesting themes we're putting together. We're focusing a lot on articles that share sort of interesting and unique travel experiences people have had and what others can learn from them. Which to me, it's just a really interesting kind of thing to read. So that's really exciting, but there's always like a lot of future looking projects at Matador Network. Yeah, personally, I don't have any travel coming up yet. But I have a feeling that will probably change soon because there always seems to be fun last minute trips coming up. And then really the only personal goal I have is maybe get around to organizing my closet, which has been on the to do list for literally, as long as I have lived in my house.

Angela Tuell: 30:23

Yes, I have that, I have all the different rooms

Suzie Dundas: 30:25

I know, it feels like everyone's now get on my list too. Like - motivated to tackle them, and then some work thing will come up and then it's been two years.

Angela Tuell: 30:35

Yes. I feel you there. And how can our listeners connect with you online?

Suzie Dundas: 30:40

Sure. So it's pretty easy to find my emails, especially for Matador network. It's just my name Suzie@MatadorNetwork.com. And then for SFGATE, it's my full name, SuzieDundas@SFGATE.com. Those are always really good way to reach out professionally. For Matador Network we use an online pitching form. So if we have any writers who are interested in writing for us, there's just an online form you fill out. And then otherwise I'm on Instagram, I come and go with how much I use it. But my username is Hike Up Your Skirt. Like literally as if you have a skirt and you're going hiking just HikeUpYourSkirt, it's easy to find. But other than that, yeah, I think I'm online as much as any somebody else's probably more. And I'm honestly always really happy to chat with people who either are new to PR or are new to travel writing or just interested in the same kind of topics I'm interested in. So especially living out here, I don't get to connect with people on an on person in person basis as much as I'd like. So it's always kind of uncomfortable to reach out online.

Angela Tuell: 31:41

Wonderful. Thank you so much, Suzie.

Suzie Dundas: 31:44

Oh, this was delightful. I hope I imparted something that can be helpful to somebody.

Angela Tuell: 31:48

Yes, you have. Thank you.

Suzie Dundas: 31:50

Excellent. Thank you, have a good day.

Angela Tuell: 31:54

That's all for this episode of Media in Minutes, a podcast by Communications Redefined. Please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe to our show. We'd love to hear what you think. You can find more at CommunicationsRedefined.com/podcast. I'm your host, Angela Tuell. Talk to you next time.