Our intrepid Matt Hartley ran into an awesome little mashup app called Frapper the other day. Gnomies can add themselves to this growing list and instantly see where other Gnomies are located across the planet. Big deal, right? The kicker is: it’s integrated seamlessly with Google Maps! At this time, we only have 223 folks who have planted their name in the database, so please take the time to browse our map and add yourself. You can fly around the world and “visit” other Gnomies in an instant. I knew that most of us were located in the United States, but it seems we only have one person from South America? That can’t be right. Just one guy in South Africa? It can’t be. I know we have a global audience, but it’s never been more fun to prove it – and see the results in real-time, and in such a friendly format. Who knows? You may soon meet a local Gnomie you had no idea existed? They may already be living in your town, on your street, or in your own house. Okay, now I’m just scaring myself.

This is the only way to travel – no waiting in line, no security checks, no transportation problems, no travel taxes or fees. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to travel the world for free (or on the cheap). If you’re going to do it, at least do so digially. The World is Not Flat, after all – and my friend, Lee LeFever, is setting out to prove just that. He’s embarking on a one-year gloabal adventure with his lovely wife, Sachi. He’s documenting the entire experience online, too – and you can help choose their own adventure:

Recently we had a couple of great contributions that highlighted a shortcoming of our design so far- the potential countries. Basically, people have experiences in places that aren’t on our current list. Some, like Switzerland, were unintentional. Others, like Chile, we’d love to visit, but felt it was unlikley. Originally, we limited the country list to keep it from being unweildy.

Isn’t being online great?!

[tags]travel,map,mapping,adventure,traveling,frapper[/tags]