Awful story. Terrible PR – well, to be fair it made into the Telegraph, but that’s no measure of the story’s strength.

The story? Schoolkids here are being given a fiver to..wait for it…put rubbish in bins. Tenuous in the extreme. Who is worse – the PR who pitched the story, or the journalist who wrote up the press release? If your PR is as lazy as this, hire another Agency.

I’ll give a fiver to anybody who can spot the guilty PR party. Hint: the anti-litter scheme is sponsored by Sainsburys. Ahem.

Call the Hilton Corporate Office @ 310-278-4321 and demand an explanation!

“A group committed to establishing an international Islamic empire and reportedly linked to Al Qaeda is stepping up its Western recruitment efforts by holding its first official conference in the U.S.

Hizb ut-Tahrir is a global Sunni network with reported ties to confessed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Al Qaeda in Iraq’s onetime leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. It has operated discreetly in the U.S. for decades.

Now, it is coming out of the shadows and openly hosting a July 19 conference entitled, “The Fall of Capitalism and the Rise of Islam,” at a posh Hilton hotel in a suburb of Chicago.

Hizb ut-Tahrir insists that it does not engage in terrorism, and it is not recognized by the State Department as a known terror group.

But some terrorism experts say it may be even more dangerous than many groups that are on the terror list.

“Hizb ut-Tahrir is one of the oldest, largest indoctrinating organizations for the ideology known as jihadism,” Walid Phares, director of the Future of Terrorism Project at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told FOXNews.com.

Phares said that Hizb ut-Tahrir, rather than training members to carry out terrorist acts like Al Qaeda, focuses instead on indoctrinating youths between ages of 9 and 18 to absorb the ideology that calls for the formation of an empire — or “khilafah” — that will rule according to Islamic law and condones any means to achieve it, including militant jihad.

//

Hizb ut-Tahrir often says that its indoctrination “prepares the infantry” that groups like Al Qaeda take into battle, Phares said.

“It’s like a middle school that prepares them to be recruited by the high school, which is Al Qaeda,” he said. “One would compare them to Hitler youth. … It’s an extremely dangerous organization.”

Phares said Hizb ut-Tahrir has strongholds in Western countries, including Britain, France and Spain, and clearly is looking to strengthen its base in the U.S.

“The aim of this conference is to recruit within the Muslim community in America,” he said. “The Middle East governments go after them, but in the U.S. they are protected, so having a base here is going to help their cells around the world.”

Representatives of Hizb ut-Tahrir declined to comment when contacted by FOXNews.com.

Oren Segal, director of Islamic Affairs for the Anti-Defamation League, said the conference is cause for concern.

“While they’re not, for the most part, engaging in violent activities, and they publicly say that they’re against violence, there have been examples around the world where people who have spun off of this group have engaged in violent activity,” Segal told FOXNews.com. “That’s why they’re banned in several Arab and Central Asian countries, as well as Germany and Russia.”

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is one of the group’s most famous alumni, New Statesman journalist Shiv Malik reported, citing intelligence sources. In addition to plotting the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, he also is implicated in the World Trade Center bombing of 1993, the Bali nightclub bombings and the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

Malik’s report, the public policy institute the Nixon Center and the counter-extremism think tank the Quilliam Foundation agree that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq until he was killed in June 2006, was also once a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir.

They say other former members include Asif Muhammad Hanif, a British man who blew himself up outside a bar in Tel Aviv, killing four people (including himself) and wounding more than 50; and Omar Bakri Mohammed, a radical cleric currently banned from Britain who praised the 9/11 attacks, raised funds for Hezbollah and Hamas and called for attacks on the Dublin airport because U.S. troops transfered there on their way to Iraq.

Segal said Hizb ut-Tahrir is becoming more active online in the U.S. — particularly on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace — and now it may be able to add a significant number of Americans to its ranks.

But one place the group will likely not be recruiting is a local Islamic school that backed out of hosting the conference.

The non-profit Aqsa school in Bridgeview said Hizb ut-Tahrir had deceptively portrayed the conference as a bazaar-type event where traditional food and clothing would be sold.

“They misrepresented themselves and the event. We don’t want to be in the middle of something like that,” the school’s business manager Rana Jaber, told CBS News.

The conference’s new venue doesn’t seem to mind.

Hilton Oak Lawn General Manager Rick Harmon said Hizb ut-Tahrir used its own name and was open about the nature of the event, which includes lectures entitled “Capitalism is Doomed to Fail,” “The Global Rise of Islam,” and the “Role of Muslims in America,” when it reserved the room for the conference.

“We’re United States citizens and an American business — if it’s legal, we’re able to host it, as long as it’s nothing that disrupts our other guests’ privacy and security,” Harmon told FOXNews.com.

According to the Khilafah Conference 2009 Web site, the group aims to do neither.

“Hizb-ut-Tahrir is convinced that change must start in the minds of people, and therefore does not accept for people, or societies, to be forced to change by means of violence and terror,” it reads.

The site, which includes a promotional YouTube video, says the group “does not work in the West to change the system of government, but works to project a positive image of Islam to Western society.”

Click here to see the conference video.

But former member Ishtiaq Hussain said Hizb ut-Tahrir is repackaging itself as a moderate organization as a tactic, while in reality it is “extremist.”

“They don’t recognize countries like Israel, for example; they don’t believe Israel should exist,” Hussain, now a trainer for the Quilliam Foundation, told FOXNews.com. “Some of their leaders have denied the Holocaust, and they believe homosexuals should be thrown off the highest building. … It’s actually a very dangerous group.”

Hizb ut-Tahrir itself has also published writings that seem to contradict its tenet of non-violence.

In his book, “How the Khilafah Was Destroyed,” Sheikh Abdul Qadeem Zalloom, the former global leader of Hizb ut-Tahrir, says anyone who rules by a non-Islamic system should “either retract or be killed … even if this led to several years of fighting and even if it led to the killing of millions of Muslims and to the martyrdom of millions of believers.”

Click here to read the full excerpt.

Hizb ut-Tahrir’s official ruling on the permissibility of hijacking planes says, “If the plane belongs to a country at war with Muslims, like Israel, it is allowed to hijack it, for there is no sanctity for Israel nor for the Jews in it.”

Click here to read the full ruling (pdf).

And one of the organization’s more recent leaflets, published in March, calls for the declaration of “a state of war against America.”

Click here to read the leaflet.

But, despite these threats and calls to action, Hizb ut-Tahrir remains off the State Department’s terror watch list, and it is free to host the Khilafah Conference and any other event like it.

“In other parts of the world where they’re really very active, they’ve drawn tens of thousands of people to some of their events,” Segal said.

“It’ll be interesting to see to what degree they’ll be welcomed here.”"

Got this very intriguing invitation from Judi Piggott of SynergyByDesign via email.

Pierre-A Sonolet's vancouver art events

Pierre-A. Sonolet invites you to assist and participate in two performances

that will take place in Vancouver, July 19 and July 25, 2009.

Bring yours organic pigments* for a lunch performance.

Sunday, July 19, 2009 at 2:00 pm. meet at Science World where we will find a place to eat.

Speaking won’’t be necessary, but the act of throwing will be a form of both speaking and resisting the inactivity of speech;

acting out the will and drawing with food (organic pigment) can be an act of stepping outside of preconceived means of communication, to engage in a new way with a small group of people.

* Optional, bring yours organic pigments from grass, herbs to dirt and hashes.

——————————————————————————————————————–

Bring your textile* to participate in a performance

*(bed sheet, or curtain, or cheesecloth)

This is an open invitation to all inhabitants of Vancouver and beyond.

Saturday, July 25, 2009  at 1:30 pm, meet in front of Water Street skytrain station.
(we will walk and perform in at least two locations in downtown Vancouver)
Please confirm your participation by email: coveringup@gmail.com

This event is hosted by Pierre-Andre Sonolet, an artist and member of “covering up”
(the Vancouver skyline). Come with a household fabric of your **choice.

We will use the fabrics as screens against our bodies to hide the Vancouver skyline for a new space of possibilities.

**A cheesecloth or a light curtain are good options as they are transparent, allowing you to see through the weave of the fibers.

I need participants for both performances. Please email if you are interested: pieranders AT yahoo.com

Please pass this invitation to others!

Performances selected for “Pan-Demonium” currated by Gill Whiteley for AC Institute [Direct Chapel] NY, Sept., 2009.

You should put a small  contact form on the right border of your web page.  This is important for getting your visitor to tak action.  If you provide a service, don’t just talk about what you can do, but tell them, persuade them to contact you.  In the eCommerce world we call this taking action. Place a call to action button by stating, “buy now”, ” free estimates”, “50% off for new customers”.

Another thing that you can have on your web page is the input for sms, mms, otherwise known as text messaging.  Many general contractors like this idea because they can get their leads almost in real time.  You would have to test out the many different services that offers this technology.  Some are free to paid.  Here is a list starting with free to paid:

• www.text4free.net
• www.freesmstext.org/
• gizmosms.com/

Here’s an example from West Coast Vinyl, they have one on every page, but its kind of bulky.  Suggest that you make the contact forms aesthetically for your web page.

Mais uma do Dustin Curtis. Dessa vez ele resolveu fazer um experimento com os visitantes de seu site. Abaixo dos posts havia um call-to-action para que os visitantes o seguissem no Twitter. No decorrer do experimento ele foi medindo o quanto as mudanças no texto dessa chamada influenciavam a taxa de cliques dos usuários. Veja que interessante o resultado:

Mesmo descontando o crescimento natural do interesse das pessoas pelo twitter e o crescimento (imensurável) do interesse das pessoas pelo trabalho de Dustin após o polêmico episódio do redesign do site da American Airlines, ainda assim os números são bastante significativos.

Isso só reforça o quanto a preocupação com os textos de um site influencia diretamente nos resultados ali obtidos. Mudanças sutis na abordagem podem significar uma outra intepretação da mensagem e, consequentemente, um outro comportamento do usuário. Na dúvida, já mudei o call-to-action do @blogdeai aqui do lado.

PS: Fiquei pensando se abordagens mais radicais para esse call-to-action não teriam melhor desempenho. Algo como:

Se você não me seguir no twitter, algo muito ruim vai acontecer nos próximos 9 dias.

=]

Interesting side-story from this week’s publishing of the 2009 Guardian Media Top 100 here today. It appears that a percentage of the great and the good in medialand making big waves are the marketers and PR gurus delivering  top turnovers.

Well, according to some of the financial figures, at least. Congratulations for raising the profile of powerful PR – this benefits us all, but in the light of the frightening advances in digital, and the sloth which much of the mainstream PR fraternity has viewed these online developments, it is interesting to wonder how the old-school PR gurus will cope with Web domination.

And let’s be clear, the Web will dominate. Maybe not today, or tomorrow. But some day soon. Are you/they ready?

From Ben Atherton-Zeman:

Meara McIntosh’s son Colton was killed by her batterer, the child’s father. Meara doesn’t have the money to pay for Colton’s grave headstone. Can you help?

Meara’s ex-husband had been using the family court system to seek custody and visitation, despite proof that he was abusing Meara. A year and a half prior to Colton’s murder, Meara warned authorities that he was unstable, and a violent and dangerous influence in Meara and Colton’s lives. She warned them that he already had a history of drug abuse, stalking and major violence with other people in his past and was rampantly destroying thousands of dollars of property of Meara’s and that of anyone who was even remotely connected to Meara- the police instead warned Meara that they could arrest her for making false complaints. The visitation was allowed and was unsupervised.

3 weeks before Meara was going to court for the final review, which would have allowed Meara and Colton to move out of the area, her ex-husband killed Colton and then killed himself, with carbon monoxide poisoning. Colton was three years old. He was buried in his Halloween whale costume that he loved.

You can do an Internet search for “Meara McIntosh,” or check out the facebook group http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=100489940216&ref=tsfor more details.

Meara lives in Alberta, Canada. She was denied berevement leave and medical leave (for post-tramatic stress) because she was self-employed. She is not termed to be “in further danger” since her ex is dead – therefore, she is not eligible for the descretionary domestic violence assistance programs. Victims Services has postponed her claim 3 times already, and will not disclose if or how much money she might be eligable for when it is eventually processed. She has secured part-time employment as a baggage handler at an airport, but it’s not even close to meeting her expenses. Meara doesn’t have the money to even pay for a headstone for Colton’s grave – a cost of $1050 Canadian.

Can you help us raise the funds for this headstone? Any extra will go towards Meara’s other expenses, which are mounting. Please submit the funds via PayPal to the email address mearadanielle@hotmail.com (go to http://www.paypal.com to set up an easy, free account). If you don’t want to set up a PayPal account, call Ben at 978-897-3619 – he can take a credit card payment over the phone and then get the money to Meara.

Meara did not suggest this email solicitation – we (Sujata and Ben) did.

Thank you in advance for your help!

- Sujata Warrier, Ben Atherton-Zeman

Until the violence stops, Ben.

Ben Atherton-Zeman, Maynard, MA USA
Actor, Comedian, Feminist and Husband
Presenting a One-Man Play: “Voices of Men,” http://www.voicesofmen.org(video clips available)
For booking information, please call 978-897-3619

Quote of the Month, July 2009:
“There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest who need to pee on the electric fence to find out for themselves.” – Will Rogers

Also see: Meara McIntosh, Mother of Young Boy Killed by Father in Another Murder-Suicide, Speaks Out About THOSE Therapists, Colton Saunders Will Be Buried In His Halloween Costume, If ever there was a case of negligence to be made…,  Nowhere To Turn: Mother Knew It Was “The Most Dangerous Time”, and Yet Another Case of Father’s Rights? Custody Battle Blamed For Murder

This tip is going to annoy all those PR Agencies which try and advocate separate content for all media relations, so they can charge a copyright fee for every new content distribution on behalf of their clients.

And the third tip?

Simple: re-use and re-distribute your PR content as many times as possible and in as many different places (online and offline) as possible. Gain extra exposure, increased content leverage, greater reach for your key messages, and – the main benefit for smaller businesses – added value for the same content across different channels and via re-usage. And no additional copyright fees!

So, how does this work? Again, it’s very simple.

You write a blog post – content position number one. Then consider this: extend it to form a press release for localised News outlets. Position number two. Tweak it slightly so it can then go to trade magazines. Position number three. Throw in some search keywords and push it out across online industry forums. Position number four. And why not also consider using the basis of the content for an email promo to your key clients too? Position number five. If its got wide enough appeal, push it across your Twitter and Friendfeed accounts too. Positions number six and seven.

Hey presto! One piece of content, slightly amended, and used in different formats and giving maximum return.

Of course, you’ll need an expert copywriter, media relations adviser, journalistic professional and clued-up blogger to assist you…but you may well know where to find one. If you’re not sure, email me. Happy to pass on relevant contacts.

Whole world Needs A Leader Like This!

Separately, Rudd angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation’s mosques. Quote:

‘We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society . Learn the language!’

‘Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.’

‘We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.’

‘This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, ‘THE RIGHT TO LEAVE’..’

‘If you aren’t happy here then LEAVE. We didn’t force you to come here. You asked to be here.. So accept the country YOU accepted.’

Maybe if we circulate this amongst ourselves, WE will find the courage to start speaking and voicing the same truths.

If you agree please SEND THIS ON and ON to as many people as you know

Forwarded by: Terry

Dear Readers,

There is so much news to cover, I can scarce keep up with it all, let alone decide which stories to publish.

First-up, we have the disgusting, corpulent, psychopathic hoaxster Al Gore publicly lauding how the “cap and trade” bill passed by the house will help bring in “GLOBAL GOVERNANCE!”  That’s right boys and girls, the criminals are now so bold, they don’t even pretend to hide their real goals.  Ulterior motives have become obvious motives!

Read all about it right here:

Al Gore says U.S. climate Bill Will Help Bring About “Global Governance”

Now before you dismiss Albert as a well-fed nut-job with delusions of internet-inventing grandeur and an earth-saving messiah complex, remember these facts:

Al Gore is a high level minion of the “New World Order” gang.  He may be fat, but he is not stupid.  His job is to help bring about new carbon taxes and he works very hard at his job.  While extremely wealthy and influential, like Henry Kissinger or Donald Rumsfeld, he serves higher masters and helps to implement the agenda they want to see happen.

Al Gore, like his Senator father before him, receives substantial financial support from one of the worst corporate polluters in the world: Occidental Petroleum.  YES – “Mr. Global Warming” has stock in an oil company! 

If you search on “Gore and Occidental Petroleum” you will get hundreds of main-stream articles.  Here is a good summary:

Gore and Occidental Petroleum

Also in the news, I am sure you have read stories about how China is unhappy with the US dollar as a reserve currency, and that “something must be done.”

This week-end we see pictures of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev presenting a mock-up “worldwide coin” to the press.

China is correct in their analysis.  The US dollar, thanks to the hard work of the Bush/Paulson/Obama/Geithner/Greenspan/Bernanke branch of the gang *is* rapidly becoming more worthless than toilet paper, but the US dollar is all Americans have left.  We don’t make ANYTHING except fat people and mindless TV shows.  Take away the dollar’s reserve currency status and watch how fast we devolve into a third world cesspit.  It won’t be pretty.

Think all this is by accident?

Silly rabbit.  Don’t you know that broke &  desperate people are easier to control?  Throw in a couple of false-flag terror attacks and a bio-engineered swine flu virus and then you have broke, desperate and terrified people.  Those people are really easy to control!  Those are the kind of people that beg for the “security” of martial law and FEMA camps.  They roll-up their sleeves and take their shots and get herded like cattle without a shot being fired.  Viva World-Government!  Viva unlimited power for the Banksters!  Viva the New World Order (which is actually the “Old-World Order” i.e. a few obscenely wealthy people at the top and a mass of  peasants at the bottom, locked down by a police-state grid; disarmed and broke, too beaten-down to resist their loving governmental masters.)

To help “cull the herd” of excessive rabble, the New World Government will simply spray the air with tasty toxic chemicals to make the people passive, sick or dead.  Of course, the argument will be it is to “Protect the Earth from Global Warming” bwah ha ha hah ha ha.

Oh, it is *possible* that all the heavy metal particulates sprayed into the upper atmosphere may also be to help focus the power of the government’s “this-is-not-a-weapon-it-is-a-research-project”  HAARP weapon (see below)

But, they say chemtrails are to HELP THE EARTH!  They call it “GeoEngineering” – and they are doing it now.  See my “Chemtrail” category for information and proof of this insidious and dangerous atmospheric spraying.  Here is a link to a paper published by the Council of Evil…..oops I mean the Council on Foreign Relations that calls for the “option” of geoengineering:

http://iis-db.stanford.edu/pubs/22456/The_Geoengineering_Option.pdf

Also ever more present in the news, we have the constant hum of warnings and predictions of a massive swine flu pandemic.  This “swine flu” is about as naturally occuring as Chicken McNuggets.  It is completely manufactured and it is another weapon of terror and control.

You *do* realize that your loving Government ALREADY has passed “Executive Orders” saying they can forcibly inject you in the event of a pandemic….right? 

Read all about it right here:

Mandatory Swine Flu Vaccinations This Fall?

But I am sure the vaccine is absolutely safe and has nothing bad in it.  Because the Government LOVES US!  Yes, they even fluoridate 66% of our municipal water supplies so we can all have shiny white teeth!  (I grew up in a town with fluoridated water;  I never once remember getting a free Government toothbrush, or a voucher for a dentist visit, but by golly they gave me “free” fluoridated water!)   Check out my “Fluoride” category for more information on this wonderful gift from our Government.

Just breathe in the chemtrailed air, drink the fluoridated water, roll-up your sleeves for their vaccinations, pay your carbon taxes and watch TV.  Al Gore is right.  Humans are warming up the planet.  He is going to help stop that. Bad humans!  Bad! 

Rebekah over at the NonCustodial Parent Community is conducting a survey….let’s help her out (moms and dads). Rebekah is also with the Women’s Media Center, and does great work.

Survey for NonCustodial Parents

Dear NonCustodial Parent Community, please spend a few minutes on this anonymous 10-question survey: http://bit.ly/1LKmFJ. This survey will help us gather information, in order to share experiences, strategies, and solutions, to challenge biases about noncustodial parents, and to raise awareness about the issues families are facing every day.

Thank you,
Rebekah

It may seem like an obvious point, but…

I recall when working as a business editor on daily newspapers and industry magazines that amongst the plethora of PR submitted for consideration on News and Feature editorials, much of it was sub-standard: too fluffy, no news value, poor angles, too much selling, not relevant to the readerships, awful images, or no accompanying images…to name but a few of the common errors in basic media relations.

You might think that these errors came from untrained, hopeful business owners or marketing directors? No. I am reffering to PR delivered by ‘professionals’ on behalf of clients. Clients who were being mis-sold the promise of effective PR to the Press.

When I use the phrase Press, I mean editors working online, offline and in any media medium which readerships might visit: let’s face it, the days of newspaper dominance are long gone, and any PR who is not advocating to clients utilising a mix of digital PR in their media relations efforts is seriously mis-representing any client in the UK today.

So, to make your PR work harder – as well as introducing SEO copy into your quotes for online PR submissions, also consider the following: industry forums, commentary opportunities on relevant newsfeeds, search engine keywords into your press releases for posting on your blog and online within your networks where relevant. In short, utilise the web. It works if you work it!

Some professional athletes in Twitterverse simply “get it”.  They use Twitter to connect and talk to fans, and seem, well, more human.  Shaquille O’Neal is without a doubt the most successful, amassing over 1.5 million followers.  On June 25th he admitted his plans to play for another three years to his followers. In doing so he instantaneously connected with them and created a buzz even before I’d seen it on ESPN.

That aside, he doesn’t always wax poetically.  It’s hard to look past his tasteless “your momma” joke gems, but at times he’s a better marketer for the NBA than the NBA itself.  On March 25th Shaq Tweeted to Portland area basketball fans: “ I have oe ticket laft at will call under twitter, first one there its yurs just say twitter“.  Grammar aside, this is pure genius.  It’s also re-tweetable, a call-to-action for fans, and it builds his personal brand.  Followers rushed to the will-call booth for their prize and had a unique story to tell their friends for years.  He did something that the NBA hasn’t done for me in years, or ever.

But how can your company learn from these Twitter-Athletes and create an idea that’s exciting, retweetable, AND a call-to-action?

Not until I read this article from the Dallas News about Twitter-letes did I have any interest in what they had to say.  Now I’m following former Milwaukee Brewers pitching titan C.C. Sabathia and even Royals outfielder Coco Crisp , not to be confused with the cereal.  Seeing Coco on Twitter brought back fond memories of several friends and I taunting him endlessly about his name during a 4-H trip to a Minnesota Twins game years ago. Our jeers eventually merited a glare from Mr. Crisp and I’ll remember that forever.  Now that doesn’t make me want to buy cereal or tickets to Royals game, but I think you get my drift.

Marketers from companies like enlyten have tapped into Shaq’s social media popularity by using him as a spokesman for their upcoming Vegas launch party.  Check out their Facebook page. I’m not sure the Nutrients in a Post-It Flag package will really take off but why does Shaq care? He’s just along for the ride.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

L’altro giorno, su suggerimento della mia cara amica Susanna, ho visitato il sito di Betty Flowers.

Sito Betty Flowers

Essendo un’appassionata del marchio (belle scarpe, comodissime a prezzi ottimi) ed essendo donna, quindi geneticamente portata all’acquisto selvaggio di scarpe, mi sono precipitata a navigare il catalogo.

Mi atterrò a commenti che riguardano la presentazione online del prodotto, più che la struttura del sito: molto buona la qualità fotografica, anche se per ogni modello è presente una sola foto; totalmente assente la descrizione (materiali di tomaio e suola, applicazioni, tacco ecc).
Non sono presenti neppure informazioni di prezzo , anche se il marchio è venduto solo in negozi di proprietà o franchising, dove quindi la leva del prezzo dovrebbe essere definita in modo uniforme.
Ma la cosa che mi ha lasciato più delusa è la totale mancanza di integrazione tra online ed offline: una volta individuato un modello che ti piace, è impossibile sapere dove trovarlo. Se chiami un negozio (ho contattato quello di Firenze) dando il codice del modello non hanno un’esitenza prodotto, o almeno così mi ha riferito la gentilissima commessa, che è andata in magazzino a controllare se il modello che le ho goffamente descritto a parole era presente. Non solo il modello non c’era, ma al negozio di Firenze non c’è mai stato…

Siccome quelle scarpe sono per la mia migliore amica che si sposa, non penserete mica che abbia mollato l’osso? ho riempito il form di contatto (molto basic) presente sul sito, chiedendo news su dove poter trovare quel modello e dichiarando che avrei pagato le spese di spedizione. Nessuna risposta a distanza di sei giorni…
Rintraccio il numero di telefono dell’azienda (non presente nei contatti del sito), chiamo e mi rispondono che non gestiscono le richieste dei consumatori finali, suggerendomi di scrivere (di nuovo?) un’e-mail al loro ufficio esterno (deduco dal dominio) che cura il customer care. Nessuna risposta dopo tre giorni.

A parte la considerazione che una singola vendita in periodo di saldi può non valere il costo del tempo per scrivere una risposta, mi sembra comunque un chiaro esempio di mancanza di integrazione tra online ed offline (oltre che dubbia gestione di customer care). Non so se siete mai stati in un negozio Betty Flowers:  immagine coordinata eccellente, dal packaging agli arredi, nei minimi particolari; l’esperienza d’acquisto è decisamente piacevole.
Perchè fare un sito in cui mostri delle scarpe, per poi portare ad un vicolo cieco?
Mi sono occupata più volte di integrazione tra web e retail: i sistemi di gestione del magazzino con codici a barre, o addirittura RFID, consentono in tempo reale di scaricare prodotti venduti in diversi punti vendita, dando una disponibilità reale, anche geolocalizzata, dei prodotti. Tutti i negozi gestiscono i prodotti tramite codici a barre, a maggior ragione i monomarca.
Questo consente di gestire un magazzino virtuale unico. Pensate alla potenzialità di una scheda prodotto online con una call to action del tipo: “ti piace questo modello? scopri dove trovarlo”. Magari suggerendo modelli simili (per colore o costruzione, paramentri facilissimi da mappare) nel caso quello cercato non sia presente in nessun punto vendita vicino all’utente.

Tutto questo rispetta la politica commerciale di non cannibalizzazione tra online ed offline, nel caso si sia scelto di non fare e-commerce per i motivi più svariati (evitare concorrenza con negozi, brand reputation, ecc.)
Una volta che realizzato il sito vetrina, il passo per l’integrazione è breve a livello di investimenti . Ed il ritorno, anche solo a livello di info-commerce (prendere informazioni online per poi comprare nei negozi), è sicuramente positivo.

Voi cosa ne pensate?

For the uninitiated…

Not enough consumers are aware that creditors are actually working with consumers with too much credit card debt to find a more affordable payment, while still sticking to guidelines of 5 years or less for repayment.

You do the math.  If creditors want a consumer to repay unsecured debt in 60 months or less, and they would strongly prefer NOT to write off a loss of principal (the original debt) that means they want to offer concessions of lower interest rates, eliminating late fees, etc.  Here’s a good piece on this so-called “Call to Action” for hardship debt repayment plans.

For more background see InCharge Debt Solutions’ press release “Creditors work with credit counseling firms to help consumers“.

There is only one hard and fast rule in generating money from your website:  A steady flow of website traffic.  If no one goes to your site, it doesn’t really stand a chance of generating any income.  It takes money to maintain a money making site; it also takes money to make money.

BUT, it doesn’t take tons of cash to get website traffic.

Ever wonder how does big hit sites drive traffic top their site? Most of them are spending tons of money to drive the traffic to their sites, investing in many advertising campaigns and different forms of marketing schemes and gimmickries. This is all worthwhile because, well, they are what they are now, high earning, big hitting websites.

You don’t have to do this if you don’t really have their resources. There are many ways to generate low cost website traffic without having to spend what you don’t have or can’t afford. Many people have banked on high cost methods and have ended up losing their shirt over it.

Here I present to you some tips to generate low cost website traffic that could help your site a whole lot. Even if you only get a small percentage of successful visitors in to client ratio it still works especially if you get a high number of website traffic.

• Exchange Links

This is a sure and proven method. Rarely would you see a site where there is no link to another site. Many web masters are willing to exchange links with one another so that they could produce more public awareness about their sites. You’ll soon see and feel the sudden upsurge of the traffic coming in to your site from other sites.

A major prerequisite in exchanging links with other sites is having the same niche or content as the other site. They should share a common subject so that there is continuity in the providing of service and information to what interests your target traffic.

Exchanging links also boosts your chances of getting a high ranking in search engine results. It is common knowledge that search engines ranks high sites that have inbound and outbound theme-related links. With a good ranking position in the search engines, you will generate more traffic in your website without the high costs.

• Write and Submit Articles

There are many e-zines and online encyclopedias in the internet which provides free space for articles to be submitted. If you want to save costs, you can do the articles yourself. There are many freelance writers who are willing to write for you for a small fee, but to save money, it is wise to do those articles yourself.

Write articles that are themed along with the niche of your site. Write something that you have expertise on so that when they read it, they can feel your knowledge about the subject and will be eager to go to your site. Write articles that produce tips and guidelines to the subject or niche your site has.

Include a resource box at the end of your article that can link them to your site. Write a little about yourself and your site. If you provide a light, information-laden and interesting article, they will go to your site for more.

• Create a Newsletter

This may sound like hard work because of all the articles you may need to use to build a newsletter but on the contrary, this is not so. There are many writers and sites that are willing to provide free articles as long as they can get their name in on your newsletter. This will also provide free advertising for them as well.

As your newsletter gets pass around, you can widen your public awareness and build an opt-in list that can regularly visit your site.

• Join Online Communities and Forums

This only requires your time and nothing else. You can share your knowledge and expertise with many online communities as well as your website. You can get free advertising when you go to forums that have the same subject or niche with your site.

Share your two cents and let them see how knowledgeable you are with the subject. As you build your reputation, you also build the reputation of your site, making it a reputable and honest business that could be frequented and trusted by many people.

Hope these tips get you a bit more traffic!

-Michael