Secret Tenerife: Want To Get Our News Faster?

Want To Get Our News Faster?

Last minute announcements of events in the press - even on the very day that they're happening - are nothing unusual for Tenerife. In fact, until relatively recently, all published information was after the fact and I'd come to the conclusion that you needed to be related to someone on the organizing committee of a fiesta before you'd hear about any of them in advance.

With the advent of the internet it's becoming easier to gather news, but even if more Canarians than average use computers and the internet, other than a notably select few, sites don't seem to "get" the concept of regularly updating anything. Actually publicising events in advance just doesn't appear natural and I often wonder if this stems from the idea that, since "everyone" (born in the relevant town or village) already knows, there's simply no need.

It's all just part of the "charm" of the laid back Canarian culture.

Yes, it's infuriating and, one wonders why the authorities themselves aren't publishing more of this information, in English, especially when it relates to tourist events and, even ironically, for World Tourism Day. They can't really believe that all tourists speak Spanish, or do they? Or maybe they only want Spanish speaking tourists?

But then you hear how these villages want to keep traditional events going and how they see them as tourist attractions and how they want visitors to come and share them ... and yet they still don't publicise them outside of a few local posters, seen by those who already know and, only in Spanish. It's at this point I begin banging my head against the nearest wall for relief. :)

Honestly, I couldn't even begin to explain how difficult it is to bring you "local activities that are about to happen, and not after they have happened", or how much I appreciate that finally, someone has noticed that I do. :)

Without giving away my "trade secrets" (that aren't really secrets, but the detail would be excessively boring), basically to maintain this blog, I monitor and skim read headlines from literally hundreds of sources, many of which are themselves digests summarized from many more sources, on a daily basis.

Details of events with dates, I then add to this calendar, translating snippets or whole articles (where these have particular relevance), as I go along.

It is this information - that has been gathered, fact checked (as far as is humanly possible, which it isn't always at all) and translated, all manually - that then goes together to bring you selections of upcoming events.

However, I should point out that there is only one of me.

And circumstances are constantly contriving to diminish the amount of time I have. This site is a personal effort (plus odd guest articles); it's not run by a company or corporation, as many people who write to me seem to think.

So, can you have information in a more timely fashion, as I've also been asked on various occasions? Nope, sorry! It would take a staff to do that, but the meager amount of revenue that the site has ever generated, has bearly covered its running costs and has never paid me, let alone anyone else. Even if it did, it wouldn't be possible to do, because event organizers, town halls, local media, etc., wouldn't publish the original information any sooner.

What I can do ...

Through the miracle of technology, however, I can offer you a variety of ways to get the news and events I can manage to cover, as fast as possible.

weekly newsletter

As well as a monthly newsletter, published since the site began, I've just added a new weekly newsletter option. This will still be just a roundup of our headlines (and it can't round 'em up until AFTER they've been published), but it will be delivered more frequently - once weekly, on a Friday - so (when possible) it will bring you a list of the coming weekend's entertainments.

In addition to dated events, I save various links, photos, or news items that may be of interest. Rather than translating all of those - very often just the headline is enough information for most purposes - access those here.

As well as subscribing by email, you can also get our updates to your mobile; subscribe to our Google calendar (rss), follow us on Twitter or add our updates to; My Yahoo! Bloglines Feedster Google Reader More options ...