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Archive for November, 2007

Blogging About Blogging – Part I

Wednesday, November 28th, 2007

According to Technorati‘s last State of the Blogosphere report, there were over 70 million blogs on the web as of April 2007. In addition, there are over 70 million blog posts about what blogs are and why you should have one. Alright, we made up that last statistic, but there really are a vast number of such posts. (Try this Google blog search: “What is a blog?“)

We wanted to write about why you or your company might want to start a blog, but because so many people have already written about the topic, we’re going to give you a short list of references to explore instead. The following sum up the pro blog argument pretty nicely. We suggest taking a look at them. But if you’re busy and want the lowdown quick and easy, just skip over the list to our summary. (more…)

Confabb

Monday, November 26th, 2007

If you’re looking for a place to find information on all kinds of conferences, connect with speakers and attendees, or even promote your own event, take a look at confabb.com.

“Confabb…combines an aggregate database of major conferences, conventions, and trade shows sorted by industry with social networking tools designed to empower conference attendees to improve their overall experience.” — from Summary of Confabb, The Conference Community

More than just a database of events, the site aims at “maximizing the conference experience” by providing tracking and social networking tools, along with an avenue for critique, review, and discussion. (more…)

A Brand Is Not a Logo

Tuesday, November 20th, 2007

A colleague once said that the derivation of the word brand came from the ownership mark on the rump of cattle. Maybe so, but today a brand is much more about what your customers and potential customers think of you. And if they like what they think, then maybe they’ll wear your tattoo.

The starting point for a brand strategy is to think about what the single most important value the company presents to the world. Does the marketplace see you in the same way? People rarely think about a brand. They think about what they need. Then they think about who can fulfill that need. It’s your responsibility to be at the top of mindshare. It’s not just about awareness, it’s about fulfillment. Build from your strengths. Articulate your unique selling proposition. (more…)

Business Travel Expenses Rise in 2008

Wednesday, November 14th, 2007

American Express Business Travel recently announced its forecast for pricing in 2008. This forecast could be bad news, especially for those who did not factor adequate increases into next year’s marketing budget. According to American Express, all costs associated with travel—air, hotel, and car rentals—will continue to increase, and in some areas substantially.

These increases will directly impact the bottom line of your meetings.

According to their findings… (more…)

Market Research Surveys

Thursday, November 8th, 2007

Gathering market, industry, and customer intelligence is vital for staying abreast of the latest trends and identifying new opportunities for future growth. Increasingly, companies are turning to online surveys to capture this intelligence. Benefits gained through online market research surveys include:

  • assessing the effectiveness of current marketing initiatives
  • identifying new market opportunities
  • gaining competitive insights

Specifically, surveys give an organization the feedback to help define, create and shape its strategies. (more…)

Google Docs for Collaboration

Monday, November 5th, 2007

The painful thing about document collaboration via email attachments is that you often end up with an unwieldy number of files containing different edits. Think how simple the process would be if you could host one file online and have team members directly apply their edits. Google Docs provides a tool to make it happen.

Check out Google’s entertaining three-minute video illustrating how it works.

While it may not be a new idea, Google’s implementation is free and doesn’t require the resources or know-how for building and maintaining your own VPN or corporate extranet. It’s also a saavy way for Google to get people using their new web apps for creating documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.