Rebecca before 33 days on the road for Skype

Skype Nomad's a nice mix of reality programming, travel porn, product field test, and marketing stunt. Rebecca Campbell, 26, is in motion for 33 days, going around the world Eastward from London. She's blogging her journey and posting updates flickr (you gotta see her photos), facebook, twitter (via Nokia N95), Dopplr and MySpace.

Skype had a smaller role in last summer's Blue Planet Run, a multi-country athletic event.

Titles worse than Skype Nomad: "Trolling for Outlets", "Bandwidth Tourism", "Around the World 47 Days Faster Than Phileas Fogg", "Eat, Pray, Skype", "Realtime Travel Voyeurism", "Exercises in Sleep Deprivation". 

This is a simple, direct, promotion. It brings Skype into the real world, away from desks and offices.

So far Rebecca's been to Singapore, Beijing, Yi Chang, Chongqing. (Did you know China has more Skype users than any other country?) Coming up:

• Guangzhou on May 12th
• Hong Kong from May 12th to 13th
• Perth on May 14th
• Kalgoorlie on May 15th

More points in Australia. Then California and Alaska. England, France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Sweden, ending in Estonia.

I've been resisting this because, after all, it's a corporate publicity gimmick. And I'm no sucker, right?

Right. But this must be what they mean by PR 2.0.

It was very low key. Nobody pitched me. Nomad Ground Control built Skype Nomad's social media persona across multiple networks. Buzz reaches me naturally, through people I know, in contexts I trust.

Because it engages with the real world, the outcomes are unpredictable, so there's suspense, and news. It builds to a climax at the end: will she be able to finish? On time?

The stream of updates lets people identify with Rebecca and meet other fans. This 800-hour-long event also builds up critical mass, as word of mouth spreads.

I've been sucked in to the experience. Ducking security at an airport. Taking a boat up the Yangtze River. Food Porn. People watching. Trouble squatting on a train. It's fun, tiring, gritty, with a host who's ready for the challenge.

See also:

Jan Geirnaert on Rebecca's confused Skypephone presence.

Jim Courtney on Connecting and Enabling the Global Nomad.