We, the old men shouting at clouds of EitM, would never presume that strangers want to work with us. That said, people do sometimes ask to contribute. That’s a great thing, and we’re always glad when that happens.

If you’re an imp of the perverse and the idea of writing for a niche site with no money, audience, clout, or any true authority somehow appeals, then EitM might be the place for you. And hey, you never know. We might all end up in some Bizarro world where the whole universe considers this site, somehow, the definitive, go-to travel resource.

Won’t happen, of course, but it’s best to keep an open mind.

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EitM’s style guide

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In terms of stories, use your gut instinct. A bit of awareness would never hurt, either. If you can picture the story on a generic Instagram search page, or if you feel it might drive someone to make things about themselves, then presume that topic won’t work for EitM. The story itself would probably be great. We just want to avoid enabling artifice that might manifest itself as:

• Vlogging
• Pissing about with drones and generally disturbing the peace
• People filming themselves waking up/eating/drinking/hanging out/at the gym/working on their laptop/meditating/doing something passive with no real intrinsic value for the viewer
• Reaffirming one’s gratitude/humility/modesty/blessedness out loud so that the whole world can hear
• A (well-intentioned) newcomer to a place telling a person from that place how to live their life
• Wearing wildly impractical clothing in rice fields 
• Flexing in said rice fields, having indulged in a spot of (filmed) Hyroxing – thus fully pumped

And so on. We want to avoid giving people a platform to show off. Content creation, in other words. Rather, the focus should fall on topics that people might not know too well. Using Indonesia as an example, think Maluku or West Timor (not Rote Island) rather than Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa (the surfing bits, anyway) or the high-falutin’ elements of Sumba.

That doesn’t necessarily make the story interesting, by the way. It might not be. But if it sheds light on an unfamiliar topic while respecting the privacy and space of the subject, then it might be a good idea to tell that story. Presuming you can be bothered.

Here’s EitM’s style guide.

Please get in touch via hello@eyeinthemiddle.com or the form below with any story suggestions.