By its nature, the content that LP deals with is perishable. In a perfect world, LP would be able to continually monitor and update all of our content. But even if that were the case, we need to consider where this content is used. Our physical guidebooks are a ‘snapshot’ of the content taken at a certain time. That content then sits in those guidebooks for years. Our readers accept that printed content goes out of date, but we make every effort to minimise the impact.
For this reason, we must be mindful of creating narrative content and POI reviews that will remain relevant and accurate for the longest period of time, and extend the ‘shelf life’ of our content.
Writers and editors consider, ‘Will this text make sense / be relevant in six months? In a year? In two? In three?’
NB This does not apply to ‘practicalities’ information. Opening hours change, prices go up, great music venues close. There’s no getting around that; we collect this information accurately and update as frequently as possible. Likewise, certain narrative elements – such as the Seasonal Introduction and Upcoming Events – are specifically written with a shorter shelf-life in mind.
Certain words and phrases relating to time are to be avoided. The two most common are currently and recently – eg ‘This restaurant is currently closed for refurbishment’; ‘This museum recently opened after a major renovation’. Both make reference to the time the content was written, and therefore make an assumption about when the content will be read.
Instead, acknowledge the event but be specific about when it occurred – eg ‘Closed for refurbishment when we last visited, this restaurant was due to reopen in mid-2020’; ‘This museum underwent major renovations in 2019’.
References to specific lengths of time (eg ‘the past decade’, ‘earlier this year’) can also date the text remarkably quickly – eg ‘After opening just five years ago, this gorgeous museum quickly became a must-see…’. Rather than using the present day as a reference point for when something happened, it’s best to simply state when something actually happened – eg ‘After opening in 2012, this gorgeous museum quickly became a must-see…’.
It can also be problematic to write about things due to occur after research is completed. Writing in 2018 that something will occur in 2019 as fact (eg ‘this major redevelopment will complete in June 2019’) assumes everything occurs as planned.
Even the most thoughtful ways of expressing timeliness can date content, but that does not mean we avoid it entirely. The desire to extend the shelf-life of content is always balanced against the importance of providing travellers with useful, timely information.
Consider a town’s funicular that has been refurbished just prior to research. Referring to the refurbishment inherently dates the text. (How long is something considered to be ‘recently refurbished’?) However, acknowledging the refurbishment shows travellers that LP knows it has happened and may help set expectations for the experience. If the funicular is a famous landmark in a town that receives repeat travellers, and the refurbishment has significantly altered or updated the experience, this could be vital information. If the refurbishment was a minor one that non-locals may not even realise has occurred, it may not be worth mentioning.
When it is important to give timely information, it is OK to refer to ‘the time of research’. We acknowledge the fact that our information was gathered by visiting a place and are upfront where we know things are likely to change after that visit.
Two useful phrases are ‘...at the time of research...’ and ‘...when we last visited...’.
When utilising this information, we avoid making specific references to when research occurred (eg we never say ‘during research in early 2017’); this lessens how quickly the text feels stale, and puts less of a highlight on the fact that we may not have done research here for a while!