Blog

Online social networking may be a foreign concept to you, but trust me: it's not foreign to the new group of Gen Y adults who will be your clients tomorrow. Succeeding in the coming years will mean embracing (or at least, accepting) this technology and understanding how it can work for you.

And rest assured: it can work for you.  Let me tell you how:

If we ever thought there was one way to campaign for the presidency, the 2008 primary season has changed that opinion forever.

Gone are the days of stumping, baby-kissing and whistle stops. Welcome to the virtual world of in-your-face, on-your-airwaves, everywhere-you-look politicking.

In the past, candidates have employed image makers who managed, guided and refined their guy to make sure he looked and sounded presidential (i.e., electable). More than ever, this year’s candidates have embraced the value of marketing themselves to the American people, and they have hired professionals to help them.

Marketing today isn’t what it once was. In fact, it’s more than it’s ever been.

As you can imagine, the way we market today is dramatically different from the way we marketed 50 years ago when there was no internet, no fax machine and limited television access.

A common inquiry we hear from our clients is, "We want to make sure our customers think of us when they have a need, but how can we guarantee that? Short of camping out in their office or calling them every day, how can we make sure they keep us in mind later?"

One simple way we recommend is to use direct email, also known as email "blasts."

To begin this story, let's start with some basic stats:

You’ll notice that we’ve deliberately refrained from posting a “best of” list for 2007. And for good reason.

We believe in using the past as a learning tool, but it doesn’t pay to get too overwhelmed or to drift into morbid reflection. Because today—as every day—we’re moving forward…ever forward.

What do we look forward to in 2008?

Have you decided to take the plunge and claim your corner of the world wide web? Or do you think your current site doesn't make the grade?

If so, hang on to your hard drive. Here are eight simple ways to make sure your web investment doesn't end up gathering dust.

It’s inevitable. No matter how much you plan in this holiday season, there’s always one last gift you forgot to buy…one last-minute add-on to a loved one’s wish list…one last person for whom you feel a sudden rush of generosity.

What is there to do? Where do you start? Where can you go for a great, fun, absolutely perfect gift?

Seek no more in vain! We’ve polled our staff for the best sites and have come up with a list of their favorites. Some of these sites also have brick-n-mortar stores (if you’re really in a rush), but all are well worth a visit.

Remember the good old days of using a favorite catalog to write your Christmas list? My companion was a classic behemoth that became my toy-shopping bible, happily lugged from place to place while I daydreamed about the Barbie Dream House and EasyBake Oven that Santa had, no doubt, set aside for me.

It was a sad day when, due to changing lifestyles and so-called “advances” in technology, these Christmas catalogs became just a fond memory. Since the Sears Wish Book—one of the last to succumb to the advent of the web—was discontinued in 1993, a whole generation of children has missed out on this cherished holiday pastime.

In recognition that yesterday was America Recycles Day, it’s worth noting that we everyday consumers create a shocking amount of e-waste. According to the EPA’s stats for 2005, “between 1.5 million and 1.9 million tons of used or unwanted electronics were discarded in US landfills, including as many as 130 million cell phones {{our italics}}. Only a little more than 350,000 tons were recycled.”

The good news is that this trend is changing, albeit slowly. Industry giants like Dell and Nokia are pioneering recycling efforts aimed at minimizing our footprint on the planet…