Griping Online? Comcast Hears and Talks Back

Brandon Dilbeck, 20, a student at the University of Washington, was complaining recently on his blog, Brandon Notices, about Comcast’s practice of posting ads in its on-screen programming guide. Shortly afterward, he received an e-mail message from Comcast, thanking him for the feedback and adding that it was working on a new interactive guide that might “illuminate the issues that you are currently experiencing.” Mr. Dilbeck found it all a bit creepy. >>Full Story

Thoughts// Every blog your write, we're watching you'. Perhaps the Police should re-release this song for the blogging era.

This interesting article in the NY Times focuses on the challenges and opportunities facing brands as they reach out to consumers over social media with a special spotlight on Frank Eliason, Comcast's "digital care manager". Eliason monitors public comments on blogs, message boards and social networks for mentions of Comcast and its services and is empowered to solve customers' problems. In the case of Comcast, while the overwhelming response appears to be positive, some consumers have found the practice "creepy" and have labeled it yet another ‘Big Brother’ tactic. (Ok, the Times quoted one!)

So should you not engage in social media? Hardly. We believe in respectful, meaningful and empathetic conversations with consumers.

As we've stated many times in this blog, engaging in a two-way conversation with your customers can be a vital prong in your digital marketing strategy. Consumers are blogging and raving (or ranting) about your products and your destination online with or without you. Not listening or engaging in dialogue is a critical opportunity missed not only to build deeper relationships but also for brand cache. Technology has now afforded us an unprecedented "direct connection" to consumers and according to Brian Solis, a new media PR agent quoted in the article, "if you don't respond, someone else will, most likely in the form of competition seizing the opportunity to convert your dispirited customers into new prospects."

So what can Comcast tell us about lessons learned? According to Eliason:

"We learn a great deal from our customers through this channel and we learn better ways to present information, and what the pinch points are in the relationship."

"...customers that had complaints but never reached out to us to correct them. It is so much better to see them have the service we intend.

"...companies should be where their customers are. Social media is just another channel, similar to the phone, chat or email."

"It makes it much more personal and it provides the opportunity to provide clarification when necessary....we do not do this from a PR perspective...My team concentrates on the customer experience."

How To Protect Your Social Media Footprint

A lot of us in the interactive marketing world are familiar with the term 'cybersquatting,' where an individual or company sits on (or squats on) hundreds of domain names in the hopes that another organization will have no choice but to pay an inflated price for the URL.

This practice reached its peak several years ago, as the original ‘dot com’ bubble was bursting. However, there are still hundreds of thousands of domain names still being held or developed, primarily as link farms, by people and organizations who are still looking for that payday.

See arizona.com as one example. (Not linked on purpose, they are not getting SEO love from us.)

Now, with the undeniable popularity of social websites, such as Facebook and YouTube, many marketers are finding that there ideal social URL or username has been already claimed.

A little background. Most social sites allow users to select a username or nickname for the account. In addition, many of these sites also allow you to create a unique page, channel or profile.

Such as www.youtube.com/arizonatourism

The challenge is that anyone can essentially claim any ‘social URL’ that they want, regardless if they have any connection with Arizona, travel, Nike, Starbucks, your name, my name, etc.

And as more and more marketers launch campaigns with a social site component, many are finding that there brand name is already gone.

Here is what you need to do. Go out and begin registering on these social sites, whether or not you are ready to launch a campaign. Many of them will allow you to set your profile to private, meaning you can simply register your brand-specific ‘social URL’ without having to maintain a social presence. And while that seems so anti-social, at least your social URL will be there when you are ready.

Social Sites (travel and non-travel) You Need To Protect:

TripAdvisor
http://www.tripadvisor.com

• Who: The major travel review and social travel site online. Millions of visitors, hundreds of reviews.
  
  
• Why: See above, with hundreds of reviews and members, this should be your first step in communicating with the social travel consumer. While there is not a risk of losing an URL such as tripadvisor.com/traveltexas, there could already be a consumer using 'TravelTexas' as there Member Name.
  
  
• How: TripAdvisor offers DMOs, hotels and other travel organizations the option to contribute content, with links to your website, for FREE! Insider Pages, GoLists, Videos, Forums and Reviews all offer a chance to spread your message to the TripAdvisor audience.
  

MySpace
http://www.myspace.com/

• Who: Owned by Fox Interactive, MySpace, along with Facebook, dominate the social networking space.
  
  
• Why: Even if you don't have plans to launch a MySpace campaign in the near future, you need to own your MySpace URL. Several major companies have already experienced losing there brand name to regular consumers. For example: http://www.myspace.com/cocacola
  
  
• How: Like many social sites, launching a campaign on MySpace is more complex than simply throwing up some product images and brochure copy (see our post Why Facebook Will and Will Not Work For the Travel Industry - Part 1), users expect a connection via MySpace or Facebook and so far, very few 'brands' have been successful using the site. So, until you are ready to take on the work load, just set that MySpace page to private.
  

Facebook
http://www.facebook.com

• Who: Independent, along with MySpace, one of the largest social networking sites.
  
  
• Why: See MySpace above.
  
  
• How: Again, see above.
  

YouTube
http://www.youtube.com

• Who: Owned by Google, YouTube is the largest video sharing site online. Famous for being the source of thousands of viral videos, YouTube is increasingly being used as a marketing platform.
  
  
• Why: YouTube allows members to create 'channels' with specific URLs, such as www.youtube.com/ArizonaTourism. Like we have said earlier in the post, even if you are not planning on running your content or videos via YouTube at this time, you should own the URL. Additionally, YouTube has already become the primary location for online video, so if you want your commercials / custom content to be watched online, you will probably have to add it on YouTube.
  
  
• How: Like MySpace, TripAdvisor or any other 'social' site, members and viewers of YouTube are looking for valuable content. You can and should upload your standard commercials, but unless you are Bud Light, don't expect them to be the next viral sensation. Use YouTube to highlight original content, participate in the conversations or to connect with travelers (many of which probably have travel videos of your state).
  

The Rest...Other Sites You Should Consider:

Flickr
http://www.flickr.com

Twitter
http://www.twitter.com

Virtual Tourist
http://www.virtualtourist.com/

IgoUgo
http://www.igougo.com/

RealTravel
http://realtravel.com/

Squidoo
http://www.squidoo.com/

Social URL / Marketing Tips:

• Make sure you set your profile to private if you don't plan on contributing regular content. Do not register for a social site, leave your profile public and neglect to post anything. If you do, watch your social rep decline quickly.
  
  
• Try and use the same Member Name, URL, etc for each site. Even thought it is not your site, you still need to present a consistent brand to the end user. For example, whenever possible, we use 'ArizonaTourism.' And while this point is contrary to the one below, because your staff may change over time, it is better to use a consistent 'brand name' for the Member Name and then provide a complete description, including your real name, in the bio or about section.
  
  
• Be authentic. Cannot stress that enough.
  
  
• Consider using a generic email address such as webmaster@yourstate.com or social@yourstate.com. Rather than trying to hide yourself, this point is designed to make transitions (i.e. new employees) easier.
  
  
• Keep track. There are a lot of social sites out there, make sure you keep track of the sites you have joined.
  
  
• Contribute value content. Again, unless you are ready to begin contributing to the community which you have joined, simply stay quiet. Wait until you are ready to commit the time and resources to the project and then proceed with your social strategy.
  
  
• Be aware of the time required. Any of these social sites will take a significant amount of time to maintain, nurture and grow. You must be prepared to interact with these communities on a daily basis.
  
  
• Users will talk to you. Unless your intern is an expert on your organization, you may want to rethink having him or her manage your social marketing just because they are 'young.' Users within the communities you join will want to talk and communicate with you. They will probably yell, praise, question, dismiss and love you. All at the same time.
  
  
• Look around. See what other companies and organizations are doing on the social site you want to join. How often are the posting? How are they using the site? What is the response?
  

Remember, if you are ready to enter the social scene, enjoy it. After all, the travel industry is all about communicating with travelers...but instead of across a desk, it is across a social site.

Have any additional thoughts on the subject? Did we miss a website for the list? Let us know in the comments section.

Business Traveler Advice From Strangers

Researching a business trip once involved guidebooks and the advice of a handful of friends and co-workers. But if corporate travel companies have their way, executives will soon be consulting new social networking sites and an endless stream of strangers for the secrets of the road.

Word of mouse is the latest trend in online travel planning, and a variety of corporate travel companies are setting up networking sites in hopes of becoming the Facebook of corporate travel. >>Full Story

Thoughts// Ah, social networking for business travelers. An interesting article from the New York Times discusses the beginnings of this 'new' social traveling segment. Naturally, major business travel organizations Expedia and American Express are launching (or announcing) corporate travel networking sites. And Expedia has taken the extra step of creating the nearly impossible to pronounce or understand brand name for there corporate travel arm...Egencia. Oy.

The article also touches upon the OrbitzTLC Traveler Network, which we have discussed on the Travel 2.0 blog, however much of the focus is on creating that business traveler social network.

Of course, how much use a business traveler social network would receive is debatable. Unlike personal travel, I would assume that many business travelers simply depend on a corporate travel department or assistant to book travel, rather than actually doing the research themselves.

Add onto that the already existing social networks, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, do business travelers really need a separate social network? Probably not.

However, the article failed to mention, aside from Orbitz, the numerous niche applications that could prove to be very useful to business travelers. Rather than a complete social network, many of these applications simply provide the business traveler with a useful and needed service. Such as airport updates and parking info from OrbitzTLC.

Sites such as Dopplr, which allows travelers to connect with friends who are traveling to the same destination and TripLife, which encourages travelers to connect with potential business contacts during the downtime that comes with air travel...if you are sitting in LAX for 3 hours, why not find a possible peer to have a business discussion with?

Additionally, technology such as Trip Sync allows travel planners to schedule and book via Outlook.

(Author's Note: One of our readers, Paula, has correctly pointed out that Trip Sync went out of business on July 1, a few days before we finished this post.)

So, who is still interested in joining a business traveler social network?

Image from Flickr.com member MK30.

Travel Trends - TripAdvisor, Email, Weekend Sherpa, ChaCha

TripAdvisor - Travel review giant TripAdvisor has acquired another travel website in VirtualTourist. While VirtualTourist has a slightly different audience than TripAdvisor, the basic concept behind both sites is similar. At this point, it appears that TripAdvisor will let VirtualTourist continue on its own path. As we have stated previously on the Travel 2.0 blog, consolidation within this space has only been a matter of when, rather than if. And with so many new, niche online travel sites launching (what seems like) daily, we should continue to see further consolidation for the near future.
http://www.boston.com/

Email - A new survey from Direct Partners shows that email is the most popular form of direct response marketing. E-mail is used primarily by 35 percent of companies compared to 25 percent that use traditional direct mail and 21 percent that use promo packages, statement stuffers or freestanding inserts. Certainly not a surprise, but confirmation that you are receiving more junk mail via your inbox than your mailbox.
http://www.adweek.com/

Weekend Sherpa - Last week, I received a call from Emily at Outside Magazine for a piece about new technology / websites for travel planning. During our call, she brought two new websites to my attention, Weekend Sherpa and ChaCha. Weekend Sherpa takes a simplified look at a travel recommendation website by getting back to basics...the site is simply an email / email sign-up form to receive a weekly email about what to do in Northern California. No more, no less. Simple, easy and straight to the point.
http://www.weekendsherpa.com/

ChaCha - Again, another site that is so simple, but so useful. Send a text to the ChaCha service, receive a text answer. Near a hotel, looking for a specific restaurant or attraction, text and receive the answer. The service is meant for any question, but the applications for travel specific questions and information are very intriguing.
https://www.chacha.com/

How Social Media Changes the Rules for Good

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This presentation I recently found on SlideShare (an excellent source for presentation btw!) is a pretty compelling piece on how social networking and digital media has revolutionized your relationship with your audience.

Travel Trends - Disney, Writing Travelers, TripWolf

Disney Goes 3D - Ever since Google purchased SketchUp, bloggers have speculated on what combinations were possible...the most often quoted was a Google version of Second Life. Disney has taken advantage of this technology and created the entire Walt Disney World Resort complex in an extensive 3D layer in Google Earth. How extensive you wonder? ...included significant amounts of real-world objects such as a monorail, picnic tables, benches, streetlights, signs, and trees. LOTS of trees. As in thousands of them!... Yeah, extensive. The 3D layer is simply amazing, I can only speculate how many hundreds hours this took.

Of course, someone out there is thinking, 'well, with in the park in 3D, would this reduce attendance?' You laugh, but I have heard those questions asked. The obvious answer would be no. I will (safely) assume this new feature will only further encourage travel to Disney World, give consumers a better idea of what is available at each park, greatly assist travel agents and generate a ton of press.

Would this apply to your community and CVB? Possibly, there are some communities who are actively adding there city to Google Earth, such as Westport, Ireland. And Google is encouraging participation via the Cities in 3D Program. However, most of these 3D buildings are created by 3D building enthusiasts (3D nerds). So, find so local computer science majors at your local college / high school, send them the 'How To Video' and get your city on the map. If it is not already there.
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/

WritingTravellers - More wiki, social, online-to-print guides. Are you seeing a trend here? WritingTravellers takes the co-authored travel guide beyond the wiki (or website) such as WikiTravel.org and allows visitors to print a copy of the travel guide book they helped create. Perfect for those people who think they could do it better. The site is still in beta and has limited content at this point, however it is another important example and project that begins to layout the future of the travel guide.
http://www.writingtravellers.com/

TripWolf - Speaking of social travel, TripWolf, which we posted about a few days ago (Random Thoughts: Travel 2.0 and TripWolf), has launched into public beta...meaning you can go explore the site. In addition, the team at TripWolf announced that MairDumont, probably most well known on this side of the Atlantic for the Marco Polo travel guide series, is backing the effort by 'taken the unprecedented step of putting all of its high-quality content - covering more than 200,000 destinations and points of interest - online for free.' So, let's read that again, a major travel guide publishing house is planning on putting all of it's content onto a social travel site and allowing consumers to access it for free. I knew it, there is a trend here!
http://www.tripwolf.com/

Are You a Baller? Nike Tests Facebook

Nike is trying to win friends on Facebook, testing a program that aims to link basketball players with pick-up games, leagues, one another and the Swoosh. "Ballers Network" allows hoopsters on the 80-million-member social networking site to organize, find and track pick-up basketball games and leagues. Still in test mode, the application maps basketball courts, and ballplayers can use the program to post bios, invite friends and solicit reviews on their game. >>Full Story

Thoughts// After seeing so many bad examples of how brands are using social media, it was quite refreshing to read about Nike's efforts in the social media space in the Friday Oregonian. Nike's new "ballers" application allows hoop players to "find and track pick-up basketball games and leagues" that are close to them. Players can find games based on zip code/location, skill level and also solicit feedback on their game.

In explaining Nike's strategy for the space, global director of digital media Stefan Olander explains that "it's really hard to convey a brand message" on the web and that he views the web more as a place to provide a service. We couldn't agree more! Instead of building meaningless profiles or gimmicky microsites, the digital medium affords us the ability to provide experiences that are inherently valuable to consumers. For more on this topic, see our past blogs: Making Digital Meaningful, & Don't Just Blindly Follow Latest Trends.

(Author's Note: This story is not directly related to the travel industry.)

Travel Trends - Couch Surfing, Niche Newspapers, Media Spend, FedEx, Mobile Internet

Couch Surfing - The end of hotels as we know them? Probably not, but still interesting. If you are looking for a free place to stay on your next vacation and do not suffer from any sleeping disorders like sleep walking, couchsurfing.com can find you a couch to crash on. Oh, that's right, you are staying on someone else's couch. CouchSurfing is a worldwide network for making connections between travelers and the local communities they visit. So far, there are 586,956 available couches who have hosted 474,622 'successful' surfing experiences. A brilliant concept (love the way one surfer put it: a global community based on trust, honesty, reciprocity, generosity, optimism and a sharing of all the good things in life) and from the sound of it, you will actually meet some interesting (and not scary!) people. Unfortunately, Oprah's couch is not on the list...I checked.
http://www.couchsurfing.com/

(Just in case you need more, here is the video of Tom Cruise going crazy on Oprah...love that guy.)

Niche Newspapers - For everyone out there who is advertising on a major papers website, a report by The Media Audit and reported by the Center for Media Research shows that some 'alternative' newspapers have an expanding reach:

Alternative newspaper websites with the highest market penetration include:

• Madison Wisconsin's Isthmus (13.5%)
• The Austin Chronicle (11.4%)
• Charleston, Carolina's Charleston City Paper (10.3%)
• The New Haven Advocate (10%)
• The Memphis Flyer (9.5%)
• Minneapolis City Pages (9.2%)
• Madison, Wisconsin's The Onion (8.9%)
• New Orleans' Gambit Newsweekly (8.8%)
• Syracuse New Times (8.3%)
• Washington D.C.'s The Onion (8.2%)

Interesting stuff.
http://www.themediaaudit.com/

More Stats - Some more online advertising numbers from the Center for Media Research.

According to a proprietary study by The Media Trust Company, American Express had the largest share-of-voice among travel advertisers (online) as consumers searched on where to vacation, hot travel deals and travel advice preceding Memorial Day, the official start of summer.

• CarRental.com was the leading advertiser with a 45.57% share-of-voice among car rental companies
• Best Western earned 25.22% share-of-voice among hotel advertisers
• United Airlines was the top airline advertiser with a 42.27% share-of-voice
• American Express accounted for 46.53% of all credit card advertisements

http://blogs.mediapost.com/

FedEx Launches Facebook's Package - Well, after all those posts on what not to do on Facebook, MySpace or any other social network, here is an example of a successful 'viral' campaign. Released less than two weeks ago, the "Launch a Package" application lets users send virtual goods to friends, from little digital trinkets to photos and links. The items arrive in a FedEx box that the recipient opens to reveal the gifts inside. It has 258,000 total installations and more than 15,000 active users. Not bad considering you could have just emailed those photos. For FedEx, this is a good fit, people are sending stuff to each via Facebook why not wrap a big FedEx logo around it? Feel like launching your own package? Check out launchapackage.com.
http://www.mediaweek.com/

Consumers Not So Mobile - A quick and short article from MediaWeek talks about a survey from AKQA and dotMobi that '44 percent of users report having had a bad experience in their initial use of the mobile Web. Slow connection speeds, poor site display and cost are the top three reasons respondents cited for being dissatisfied with current mobile Web services.' And 'Three-quarters of respondents said they were most interested in using mobile Internet access to pull up maps.' Once mobile internet providers can offer location-based ads on a regular and consistent basis, then advertisers can begin delivering relevant messages to the consumer who is using that map. I can see it now...Ad text: 'Looking for a visitor's information center? It's right behind you!' Helpful and scary at the same time.
http://www.mediaweek.com/

Marketers, Don't Just Blindly Follow Latest Media Trends

One of the first messages ever posted to my profile on Facebook was from my 16-year-old niece in Nebraska. It said: "What are you doing here?" In a media environment that is increasingly defined by the trendiness that afflicts a whole bunch of other categories, brands run the risk of looking like I must have looked to my niece when I joined Facebook and sent her a friend invite: an outsider trying to seem with it, unsure of why we're there or what we're supposed to do to become a valuable member of the community. Pizza Hut has a page on Facebook. Why? I mean, who wants to be friends with a pizza? Yeah, I'll "poke" you -- right in the eye. >>Full Story

Thoughts// A funny article and good reinforcement of a point that Troy and I seem to make fairly often here. As we stated in the two part series: Why Facebook Will and Will Not Work For the Travel Industry (See Part 1 & Part 2), simply following trends and doing "cool stuff" for the sake of being on the cutting edge simply makes no sense...and is a waste of resources. If you are really itching to "get social" here are three simple rules to live by:

1. Just because someone else is doing it, does not mean you should; only engage in social media if a) your audience is ready for it; b) you have something meaningful to say.

2. Fish where the fish are; Troy's recent post on Heineken photo-share contest is a perfect example; why create a photo sharing site when people are already using Flickr or Photobucket?

3. Listen more, talk less; Don't jump in and start hawking your products - listen to the conversations already happening within the community and respond or contribute to it when you have something meaningful to add to the conversation.
   

Travel Trends - Luggage, UGC, Twitter, More JetBlue, Bad Photoshop

Checking 2 bags? That will be $40, thanks! - Wow. American Airlines will start charging $15 for the first checked bag, cut domestic flights and lay off workers as it grapples with record-high fuel prices. That's right, $15 for the first bag. So, if you are a family of 4 flying from Chicago to Phoenix for a week vacation, each carrying 2 bags each, that means you will have to pay $160 just to get your bags to Sky Harbor. Now, I am the first to admit I do not know the intricate economic factors that affect the airline industry, but rather than charging for the first bag, just lie to us. Stick that $15 in another fee...environmental conservation fee, new tire fee, landing taxes, whatever...but telling us (and yes, this is completely opposite all of the transparency we push on the blog) it is for the first bag feels like a slap in the face.

My two 'trends' from this announcement...(1) carry-on bags will get even bigger and will hurt even more when they hit you in the head...(2) companies such as baggagequest.com and luggageconcierge.com will become much more popular.
http://news.yahoo.com/

Big Media Is Dead...Again...Really - Interesting stats from eMarketer on the attitudes of our fellow marketing professionals. Bye-bye TV!
http://www.emarketer.com/



JetBlue 'Following' Consumer Trends Via Twitter - A very interesting post from Joel at the socialized blog. Basically jetBlue was or is following conversations on Twitter (confused about Twitter, here is the explanation) to improve customer service, look for trends, etc, etc. Twitter is a great way to communicate quickly with your friends and peers, so if you are stuck at JFK because the ground crew is late and decide to rant about it via Twitter, (in theory) the JetBlue communications team will have a head start on resolving the issue. A fascinating read and an interesting us of new technology by a large company. Now, how do you feel about JetBlue 'following' your conversations?
http://www.socializedpr.com/

More JetBlue - JetBlue has recently launched a new 'Happy Jetting' campaign, complete with a new Happy Jetting website. The site 'aims to bring back humanity to flying' not to mention push the companies new Green initiative (who doesn't have one?), show off some of the new creative, allow users to play games and generally feel warm and fussy about flying JetBlue. Which, I will admit, TV in-seat is nice! If nothing else check out the 'almost totally real pilot name' generator, an old trick that interactive folks love to add to sites like these, but still fun.

This is your captain, Troy 'Romance' Thompson, speaking, enjoy your flight.
http://www.happyjetting.com/

My New Favorite Blog - Photoshop is a dangerous program in the wrong hands. Having been a photoshop 'guru' in a previous life (sorry, the new versions confuse me), I love the Photoshop Disasters blog. It just goes to show that we all make mistakes (some larger than others) and that not everyone should be using Photoshop!
http://photoshopdisasters.blogspot.com/

Travel Trends: Have Friends, Will Travel

MySpace “Data Availability” - Sick of updating your profile on multiple social networks? Perhaps not for long. MySpace recently announced a "data sharing" partnership with a Yahoo, Ebay, Twitter and their own Photobucket subsidiary. The project called MySpace “Data Availability” will allow users to house their information in one place have it available in other sites. For example, your MySpace default photo, interests and favorite music might be displayed on your Yahoo Instant Messenger or your Ebay account.
www.TechCrunch.com

Facebook Connect - Of course not to be outdone, Facebook shortly thereafter announced "Facebook Connect", an application that allows users to "connect their Facebook identity, friends and privacy to any site." The implications of this applications (that's still in development) could have a profound impact on brands looking to build and leverage community within their digital experiences. A practical example could be that I use my Facebook account now to access GoSeeOregon in order to rate places and write reviews; my friends in turn would be able to access my reviews directly from Facebook making the experience more relevant and meaningful.
www.TechCrunch.com

Google Friend Connect - Google's version of data portability puts two spins on this concept. First, its program is designed to allow very small Web sites to add some social networking features without sophisticated programming. All they have to do is copy a little code onto their Web pages. Second, Google lets site owners link to a range of other sites, including, for various functions, AOL, Yahoo and Facebook.
NewYorkTimes.com

On the Internet, It’s All About ‘My’

IT’S not you, it’s me. Actually, on the Internet, it’s “my.” The Web is awash in sites that begin with that most personal of pronouns, and not simply MySpace. A few quick clicks will connect you to MyCoke, My IBM, My Subaru, MyAOL — even MyClick, a mobile-phone marketing company. Collectively, they amount to a new world of Web sites designed to imply a one-on-one connection with a corporation or large business. >>Full Story

Thoughts// From MyStarbucksIdea to MySpace and My Travel Journal to MyCokeRewards, organizations large and small have increasingly embraced the "my" prefix to connect personally with consumers (or at least imply a personal connection). This interesting article from the Sunday NY Times discusses the proliferation of such sites and its implications. The majority of today’s consumers are actively already personalizing their digital experiences and viewing niche content and interacting with like minded individuals on niche sites. It's no doubt that consumers love personalization...especially if there's something of value to them.

Consider:

• Starbucks claims that the responses from 150,000 consumers who've posted results have resulted in "tangible changes" in the stores. See them here.
  

• MyCokeRewards is purportedly the “most robust return-investment models” for Coke (don't ask me what that means!).

• There are more people who're actively using and signing up for our Travel Journal each month than are signing up to receive our monthly e-mail newletter.
  

But don't just provide content under a "my"-Yourbrand.com as a thinly veiled attempt to appear to be authentic...personalization and community should be integrated to reflect a real desire to empower consumers and listen to the good, the bad and the ugly about your product or destination.

Random Thoughts: Interactive (Web 2.0) Media

Typically, I don't like using the word Web 2.0, but I figured it would be the quickest way to connect you with this post.

While speaking today at the Oregon Governor's Conference on Tourism (a full report in a later post), during both Josh Hallett's presentation and our own panel discussion, a lot of conversation centered around engagement (thank you) and what social / UGC / Web 2.0 projects you should and should not undertake.

Here was the highlight from the talk:

You should not and cannot do everything. There are far too many sites and options for your product that are simply not right for your audience. Just because some other state, restaurant, hotel launches a Facebook app (see post below) does not automatically mean that you should.

Take a step back and figure out which of these new media / interactive opportunities are really worth doing, make sense for your goals and will create a return on your efforts.

Are Facebook Apps The New Brand Wasteland? Or Why Facebook Will and Will Not Work For the Travel Industry - Part 2

...Second Life today, post-hype-apocalypse, contains scattered groupings of people in a whole sea of empty space, containing a number of eerily abandoned brand islands. When recently digging through every press release I could find about a brand launching a new Facebook App, I started to wonder if this was the new brand wasteland. At the front of the Facebook list are a myriad of highly social applications with hundreds of thousands, even millions of active users. But to the back are all of the big names (Coke, Honda, Adidas, Verizon) with applications drawing in... 12 active users? >>Full Story

Thoughts// A great post from the threeminds blog that discusses the abundance of underutilized, forgotten Facebook applications. The post ties in perfectly into an article we discussed a few months ago, 'Why Facebook Will and Will Not Work For the Travel Industry - Part 1.'

The post cites several examples of Facebook applications, created by large corporations, which do not deliver the amount of users or views of non-sponsored applications or widgets. Of course, for a lot of these companies a Facebook application is not a large expenditure, and probably viewed as more of an experiment. Still, 12 active users is a remarkably small amount.

The article is very similar to our previous post discussing how companies and organizations created Facebook profiles, hoping to gather thousands of 'friends' for their product or brand, only to be 'friended' by a few, let us say, less-than-perfect users.

Most interesting was the example of the Sony sponsorship of an already existing, already popular (vampire) Facebook application. Brilliant. A built-in audience, interested in the same subject, why wouldn't you take advantage of it?

The article also goes onto to mention the use of groups, (built-in audience!) to create 'mini-sites' for your brand / product. Not sure if I would go that far, but it is certainly a good option.

Finally, I love the App Don'ts, which could work for any new media / interactive project / website:

App Don'ts
1. Don't start a new version of something that is already popular.
2. Don't overcomplicate the concept or interface.
3. Don't extend a campaign without thinking about the social context.
4. Don't separate your fans, reach them where they already exist.

Words to live, and network, by.

Travel Trends - Blogging While Traveling, Forms, yatt'it

Have Blog, Will Travel - One of the ways I keep up with the Arizona Office of Tourism's social footprint is by subscribing to several Google Alerts on the subject. FYI, you will see some interesting things written about your state / city / attraction. But I digress. The other day, I came across a blog currently being written by an Irish family who decided to take 3 kids and a RV across the U.S. for 6 (count 'em, 6!) months. Aside from the fact that it is amazing that technology allows them to share the entire trip with relatives and friends thousands of miles away, in near real-time, the blog is a fascinating read as well as an interesting look at how travelers perceive your destination. One of many, I am sure, but really, 6 months...you owe them a quick look. We can only hope they make it to Wally World.
http://freerangetravels.blogspot.com/

Did you fill out a form for that? - A lot people don't like forms, count Luke Wroblewski as one of those people. Website blog A List Apart brings us an excerpt from Luke's upcoming book that discusses why forms are bad and how you can start to get rid of them. Of course, for a DMO or attraction or airline that needs a physical address to fulfill that brochure you ordered, getting rid of forms is going to be tough...okay, impossible...but Luke does provide some pointers to at least make the process less painful.
http://www.alistapart.com/

Join our Social Network too! - You mean you are not part of your favorite hotel's social network? Well stop writing posts on your GE Microwave / Blender social network (those blendies are so last year) and point all of your free time at yattit.com. Hyatt launched into the social networking world last year with this travel tip / recommendation site which combines Gold Passport members, concierge advice and Frommer's information. I think the idea of including tips from the on site concierge staff is great, same with subsidizing the content offering via Frommers, but the site seems to be coming up a bit short. So far this year there have been a grand total of 2 tips in the Phoenix / Scottsdale section...2 tips in 3 months...not exactly the up-to-date insider information I am looking for. Again, it all goes back to critical mass. If you don't have enough people populating your UGC site with content it will slowly fade away. Perhaps Hyatt should have focused more energy into providing (for example) text message alerts during your stay...the concierge could send you a text if they have show tickets or a great dinner reservation or a tee time. Anything besides another social network. I already belong to 489 of them...one more is just too much.
http://www.yattit.com/

Travel Trends - Deltalina, YouTube, Michigan, Wealthy Consumers

Deltalina - From now on, all Delta flights are smokin'. (Zing!)

That oh so cute line from the Atlanta Journal Constitution is in reference to the increasing publicity that Delta and more specifically, Katherine Lee (Delta + Angelina (Jolie) = Deltalina...which was thankfully not coined by yours truly) is receiving from the mainstream media and YouTube. Our friends over at Under the Wing premiered the new in-flight video on the blog February 20th via YouTube. The new in-flight video was probably not the most interesting video on paper, but communicating this new video (or any new or 'exclusive' content) to a loyal group of users via a blog is an ideal way to build consumer trust and loyalty (and having Katherine in the video does not hurt). Plus, posting the video on YouTube extends the reach of the spot beyond the blog...7 comments on the Delta blog, 624 on YouTube. Not to mention over 400,000 views and national media coverage.

Which brings us to an interesting point, how does Delta measure all of that coverage?

There are several ways to address that question...number of comments, views, time spent, traditional media coverage, etc. But I would be interested to know if Delta is looking at this viral campaign as a way to sell seats or as another piece in building the new Delta brand.
http://blog.delta.com/

YouTube Launches Insight - Google has introduced a free YouTube tool that will provide those who post clips -- whether they are semiprofessionals or media conglomerates -- with deeper insights into when, where and how often their videos are viewed. Using YouTube Insight, publishers can analyze the viewing patterns of individual videos far more thoroughly than in the past, when only total views and users ratings were available. For example, with the new tool, any content producer who posts videos on YouTube can examine which days of the week or hours of the day traffic spikes; which U.S. states account for the most viewing streams; and how long particular clips remain popular.
http://www.adweek.com/

Michigan Rolls Out New Design - The team up in Michigan has launched a new design for Michigan.org. The new look is clean and uncluttered, plus easy to read. The large image in the background is a nice touch, and one that we have seen in a couple other state-level sites. However, the biggest change is breaking away from the Michigan Economic Development Corp's website. No need to tell travelers about the great tax breaks for opening a diner in Lansing...just get them to the state first.
http://www.michigan.org/

Wealthy Consumers - Some good stats from the Center for Media Research on Wealthy Consumers and social networking sites:

According to The Luxury Institute's latest WealthSurvey, the participation of wealthy online consumers in social networks dramatically increased to 60% in 2008, from 27% in 2007. Participation levels of online wealthy consumers in leading social networks are 16% for MySpace, 13% for LinkedIn, and 11% for Facebook.

A national sample of 805 wealthy American consumers, with an average income of $287K and average net worth of $2.1 million, was surveyed online. According to the report:

- The wealthy average membership in 2.8 social networks, with an average of 110 connections.

- They are intolerant of opt-out techniques, with 65% saying that having their personal data given out without permission would cause them to disconnect; 63% have an interest in "do not track" lists.

http://blogs.mediapost.com/

User-Generated Content Is Dead

The proliferation of user-generated opinions on various Web sites is increasingly being challenged.

“In short, the expert is back,” writes Newsweek.

“People are beginning to recognize that the world is too dangerous a place for faulty information," said Charlotte Beal, a consumer strategist for the Minneapolis-based research firm Iconoculture. She adds that choice fatigue and fear of bad advice are creating a "perfect storm of demand for expert information." >>Full Story

Thoughts// This type of story is the reason why I started the Travel 2.0 blog. The headline, from travel news site Travel Mole reads 'Tourists saying ‘no’ to user-generated opinions.' The 'story' goes on to quote the original Newsweek article that discusses the growing popularity of 'expert' sites. And, if you were just to read the headline and some of the article, you might think that the entire UGC trend is collapsing around us...which is not the case.

The article on Travel Mole does cite a few references of these new expert sites (BigThink.com, Mahalo and About.com), however none of them have very much relevance to the travel industry, let alone that headline. The article goes on to say pretty much nothing and probably leaves most readers even more confused about UGC than they were in the first place.

Typically, I am not this direct in an opinion, I try to give the benefit of the doubt, but it is this kind of lethargic journalism that is partially responsible for the out-of-control UGC buzz in the first place. And now you are telling me it is over?

Not so fast. No facts, no evidence, no proof that TripAdvisor has seen a X% of decline in travel reviews. Unless you have some evidence, don't make blanket statements that scare most VPs and CEOs into running down to the interactive department and ask them what happened.

Just stop it.

Now, about that Newsweek article. It is fair, but not great. True, there has been some significant growth in the 'expert' advice area with sites such as BigThink.com, but that should not come at a surprise. Everything in the online world (if not the entire world) is cyclical...constantly moving back and forth...too many vague, random opinions on which can-opener works the best, let's get some experts in here to tell us the truth.

And it should also come as no surprise that the founder of Mahalo thinks the site is a great idea. I would hope so.

Let's show a little restraint here.

Personally, I have been asking the question for a while if consumer interest in UGC will decline (see our comments from October on Will Human Laziness Burst The Web 2.0 Bubble?) . However, I think we can agree that UGC is not going away. Consumers know the power of their opinion. There is some balancing that will occur between 'amateur UGC' and 'expert UGC', but either way, user-generated content is here to stay.

So, how does a DMO fit into this puzzle? Who better to be an expert on your city, state, country, etc. than you?

Now, how do you start communicating with those consumers using UGC?

That is the real question.

Travel Trends - South Carolina, College Kids

Time to Thaw - The South Carolina Department of Tourism has recently launched a cold weather message campaign in the city of Chicago which drives consumers to the 'Time to Thaw' microsite. The microsite contains your standard info, a cute little 'thaw' button that melts some ice, a video, etc. Nothing groundbreaking or one-of-a-kind, but a solid campaign microsite none the less. Of course my favorite part of the site is the 'submit a Windsurfin' Wall Photo Contest' which features Chicagoans in a variety of funny poses. See Jeb above. Nice.
http://www.discoversouthcarolina.com/time-to-thaw/

College Kids Have Too Much Time On Their Hands - Or, at least I think so. eMarketer.com brings us this report from Youth Trends showing website usage from college level consumers.

Survey says:

The discrepancy between the top ten sites for Males and Females is no surprise, however the use of Wikipedia by guys may suggest quite a few term papers are being referenced from the popular wiki site.

As far as usage, the one stat that stands out to me is only 2% of users have uploaded their own videos. However, no surprise that virtual communities, i.e. Second Life, are low on the list.

Considering most of us over the age of 22 think that everyone younger than 22 are the ones populating such culturally rich sites like break.com (warning, stupid guy humor), it is a bit surprising to see that stat.

However, I think a lot of us who have run a consumer-generated video promotion have discovered that we are a society who would rather watch than work.
http://www.emarketer.com/

Travel Trends - hotels.com, My Vegas

Hotels.com New Logo - hotels.com, the low price travel search engine from expedia inc., is trading in its bellman logo for something a bit more refined. As reported by several blogs, including HotelChatter, Trademork.com and Logo Design Works (all of which contain some interesting observations), as well as verified by your author via CNN last night (they had a new commercial), it would appear that the logo on the right will slowly become the new logo for the company. Although, during the TV spot, the new logo was orange, not black.
http://www.hotelchatter.com/

My Vegas - Is the social-networking band-wagon full yet? Apparently not...the latest entry to the race for your free time is Las Vegas. According to Brandweek, the LVVCA is launching a new 'My Vegas' section on visitlasvegas.com. The site, according to the article (the new social-networking piece was not live as of this article) contains your typical social-networking features...profile page, upload photos, talk to friends, etc...and encourages you to use a 'Vegas' persona (read, fake) when signing up (because no one lies about themselves on MySpace right now).

While I am sure the site and execution will be very good, I wonder how many people will create another social networking profile for My Vegas. Personally, I think an embeddable 'My Vegas' application...that let's you create a 'Vegas' persona...for Facebook or MySpace would be a better marketing opportunity in this situation. Rather than putting it behind a wall.
http://www.brandweek.com/

Dealing with Ad Immunity

While News Corp. is thrilled about its social network's ad-revenue growth, Google and many marketers are frustrated about click-through rates. There was a time when Mark Seremet considered MySpace one of the best things to happen to his business. Seremet, then-CEO of customized clothing company Spreadshirt, saw sales jump sixfold in late 2005 and early 2006 after he ran ads on the popular social networks MySpace and Facebook. "Somebody would get the shirt, then tell a friend," Seremet says. "It was really an amazing change for the business." >>Full Story

Thoughts// Another good article on the subject of advertising on social networks, even thought it is a little short on solid numbers. According to Mr. Seremet, Spreadshirt was experiencing around a 1% CTR (click-thru rate) in 2006, but that dropped to .10% in 2007. Those numbers should hardly come as a surprise. MySpace was still relatively 'new' in 2006, so a lot of users were still open and interested in advertising.

The article goes onto say that 'only a fraction of 1% of the people who see the ads click on them.' And that many advertisers are not seeing a good ROI when advertising on social networks such as MySpace and Facebook.

Of course, this lends some truth to the argument that Mo and I have been making about advertising on social networks...people are on these sites to meet, talk, reconnect with friends, family and co-workers, not browse ads for the latest widget, car or other 'you need this' product. True, some advertisers are probably doing very well on MySpace, but unless you are in the business of creating custom MySpace skins and layouts, there might be a better buy for your campaign.

Case in point (from the article):

"There's too much [advertising] when you sign on," says John Sigona, a 32-year-old MySpace user who likes the site, though he ignores the ads. "They don't interest me."

Exactly.