Archive - 2009

Online Travel Agencies & Holiday Shopping

December 13, 2009
Marketing
0

Have you had the travel bug lately? I always do.

I purchased my first airline ticket, a round trip ticket to Seattle to attend college, and used my return flight for the holidays.  I remember going to a travel agency where an actual agent used her database to search for the best deals she could find across various airlines.  It was a big hassle—because I had to physically go to the travel agent, and repeat my trip if deals or desired fares were unavailable.

You can say goodbye to the days of relying on travel agents.  In recent days, the power of searching and purchasing a plane ticket has been turned to consumers.  The travel industry has taken popularity online, through OTAs (aka Online Travel Agencies) where consumers can search and coordinate their own flights and vacation packages.  Kayak.com and Expedia.com are both popular OTAs in the Internet world.  While Expedia has been around longer, Kayak.com is a new face that is making ground and paving a new path.  The matrix at the bottom shows the pros and cons of the two websites.

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Taking a Risk, Checking it Twice

December 5, 2009
Marketing
1

Starbucks is taking marketing to a new level

When it comes to social media marketing, you have to be willing to take a risk or two.  You have to anticipate rolling with the punches, because not every grand idea may drive it to critical mass.

As a long time Seattle resident, I consider myself a coffee snob.  So I find it a bit ironic that I’m sitting at a (decent) coffee shop, writing about the latest social media campaign by Starbucks.  I’ll do my best to stay impartial and keep my tastebuds separate from my marketing judgment.

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Idiot’s Guide to Creating a Podcast

November 6, 2009
Marketing
0

ipod-nano-podcast

Bored?  Want to promote your band?  Stay at home mom with tons of new learnings but nowhere to share them?  Maybe you should consider creating a podcast.  It’s quite easy.

I’ve provided a collection of resources to help you get started.  Before jumping the gun, you may want to plan your podcast.  Just like producing videos, you want to have an idea of what you want your podcast to accomplish, a theme that fits your message, and the audience you are trying to reach for subscriptions.  Once you have a roadmap, you can begin producing, publishing, and promoting your podcast.

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There is such a thing as a free lunch

October 20, 2009
Marketing
4

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been trying to save some cash during this economic crisis, downturn, whatever you call it.  In fact, my friend and I were recently talking about how we need to take on window shopping as a new hobby.  Well, here’s a cheap (free) way to cure our shopping blues since being broke is the new black.

Meet Kashless.  If Craigslist and Twitter had a love child, this site would be it.  It is the first online marketplace to solely offer postings of free items in the Seattle area.  You can either post directly with Kashless or via third party listings from sites such as  Craigslist or Freecycle.  Using their microblogging design, you can search by categories, by neighborhood, or by distance.  They make the process seamless from bookmarking options to e-mail notifications, but the unique aspect of Kashless is their ability to narrow down your product and save your search preferences.  That’s target advertising (without really being advertising) at its best!

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Click to Pray

October 2, 2009
Marketing
0

Cute cartoon re: practicing faith in the 21st century

How do you even begin blogging about a tech-savvy priest?  Like this.

Catholics get a bad rep for being old school in their ways.  The traditional and conservative rituals of Catholicism, Mormonism, and other old religions are perceived to be too broken down for the modern lifestyle.  But there’s nothing old school about this priest.

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To Twitter or not to Twitter, Part Deux

September 3, 2009
Marketing
1

If you have heard about #AmazonFail, #Oprah, #HudsonRiverCrash in the past few months, you probably fall into one of these categories:

  • Taking the leap onto the Twitter bandwagon
  • On the cusp of joining Twitter but don’t want to manage another social networking site
  • Maybe considering it, but still too much effort to tell if I’ll be onboard
  • Twitter still sucks

Haters, don’t say I didn’t warn you. But thanks for keep me motivated.

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Pump Down the Noise

August 15, 2009
Marketing
0



I would have a heart attack if my desk looked liked this. But I’m pretty sure the desk in my brain does.

As a digital media nerd, I have no problem managing a billion different accounts on the Internet.  From social networking sites to bank accounts, I’ve accumulated about 30-40 different logins from the past 5 years.  I’m definitely not a pack rat by any means, but I’m starting to feel like I have too much junk in my (digital) trunk.

Just like my spring cleaning thought process, I tried to justify the need for my online “memberships”.  I tried to comprehend my new pack rat status by slicing and dicing the facts.  Why is it that I am able to throw away material items that I don’t need, but I don’t mind hoarding digital goods?

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A Really Goode Ride.

July 20, 2009
Life
1

The Play by Play on Twitter
Goode Pictures

Not many people know about my participation in one of the most influential experiences of my life, particularly because I already have a really goode job.  But this is different. It is an opportunity of a lifetime to pursue a career in digital media, to which I have been gravitating toward since graduating from the MCDM program.  My friends and family have been following my updates on Facebook, where I have been showcasing my experience through my “selected” group of social networks.

Then, I’ve finally decided to break my silence.

Why?  Because you have to walk to talk you preach.  I am a huge social media advocate, but as an average Jane (just like you), I am always learning how to manage my online identity and exposure through content.  The truth is, social media is about transparency–a glimpse into content that isn’t meant to be controlled.  So, here we go.

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Reality (Social Media Marketing) Bites

June 30, 2009
Marketing
1

Winona & co. navigating through life after college in 1994′s Reality Bites, just as marketers are facing reality beyond the glamour of social media

I’m a huge fan of leveraging web resources, especially the new ones like social media that have popped up in within the past decade.  But, I’m going to play devil’s advocate.  I don’t think we know enough about social to solely rely on them for lead generation and monetization.  I believe that social media provides a platform to develop conversations that create relationships, which eventually may help generate leads.

The common stigma behind many digital marketing resources is that social media is directly correlated with conversions, and that it will directly generate leads.  It won’t – at least, not on its own.  While we are still discovering the use of all the different mediums that are available, I believe that a huge portion of digital marketing, particularly web 2.0, social media, and user generated content, is not meant to be directly tied to ROI.  It should be used as a complementary marketing tool along with advertising campaigns that are highly measurable such as paid search and online advertising.

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I’m a Horrible Listener

June 25, 2009
Marketing
2


Max can you earmuff it for me?

I like to think that I’m self-aware.  I know that I learn visually, like to experiment, and tend to jump in the water to see I can stay afloat.  Over the years, I’ve also discovered that I’m don’t have the best listening skills.  My mind tends to wander if a speaker, book, or film isn’t captivating within the first 10-15 minutes.  In an age where there is so much digital noise around you, it is really easy to filter out content that isn’t appealing.

Whatever, this is my shortcoming and you know you’re guilty of it too.

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