You are here: Home / Archives for Questions of the Week

How Do You Raise Awareness for Great Causes?

May 9, 2011 by 2 Comments
Ben & Jerry's Fair Tweets

Last week, Aaron Lee (@askaaronlee) blogged about Ben & Jerry’s World Fair Trade Day Campaign.

The campaign, called Fair Tweets, calls for tweeters to donate their unused characters per tweet. In simpler terms, when a tweet falls short of 140 characters, you allow Fair Tweets to append their message in order to raise awareness about Fair Trade.

The problem I had is that the average Twitter user would be confused. Learning about what Fair Trade actually is (to decide if you want to jump on the bandwagon) requires some reading. Unfortunately, the textual content of the campaign isn’t written to immediately inspire someone to take action, because first you have to explain what “donating unused characters” actually means.

I eventually found this video, which explains it all in just one minute:


Can’t see the video? Launch it via YouTube.

That being said (and shown), I have to wonder how one determines the best methods for raising awareness for great causes. There are many ways to get the word out, but which ones garner the greatest response? And, how fine (or thick) is the line between being entertaining (like last year’s “What color bra are you wearing?” campaign, which, in my opinion, did little to raise awareness about breast cancer) and actually teaching people. Campaigns need to inspire people to spread the word, but also insprie them to take real action.

Have you developed a successful awareness campaign? Is there a particular campaign that stands out?

Share below…

 

Filed Under: Questions of the Week, Social Media Tagged With: , ,

How Much Will News Agencies Gain from the Bin Laden Raid Tweets?

May 2, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Pakastani IT consultant Sohaib Athar unknowingly live tweeted about the US raid on Osama Bin Laden. In the hours that followed, Sohaib (pronounced Suhayb) fielded several media requests and was inundated with messages from social media users across the globe.

The consultant, however, wasn’t looking for fame or fortune (he actually owns a small coffee shop and tweeted that people shouldn’t flood the business because he couldn’t handle the rush). As his popularity began to grow, he tweeted that he was picking up followers “too fast to count or care”.

Hundreds of news outlets have written/updated stories to include Sohaib’s tweets during the attack as a first-person account.

This isn’t the first time tweets have been used as sources for news stories. Usually, though, social posts are used to quote celebrities and politicians – especially when pointing out questionable commentary or actions.

In Sohaib’s case, his tweets are the sole foundation for many articles posted.

This begs the questions:

Is live tweeting an acceptable substitute for one-on-one interviews?

And, in this particular case, how much money will Sohaib’s tweets generate for news outlets?

 

Chime in below.

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Questions of the Week Tagged With: , ,

Question of the Week: What Defines Success?

April 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Success is key.

Dictionary.com defines success as:

the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like

Like most anything, individual translations vary. Success, to each of us, can mean a different level or type of achievement.

Success gives you the key.There are thousands of famous quotes about success. Winston Churchill said:

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”

Does this ring true, say, if one’s sole definition of success is based on financial gain or perhaps simply wanting to be liked?

How do you define success? And, more importantly, just how does one get there?

Filed Under: Questions of the Week Tagged With: ,

Question of the Week: Do You Go Out of Your Way to Avoid Ads?

April 11, 2011 by 5 Comments

Online ads—most commonly consisting of graphics and text—are a key component of many informational or “free to use” web sites. Advertisers usually pay for ads on a per-click basis.

Some ad campaigns, however, interrupt our visit by using overlays (graphics and/or videos that cover up the site’s content and require us to wait for the ad to lay through or click a skip button) or animated distractions.

There are many tricks to bypassing ads, including using additional software or browser plugins. Some sites are getting smarter about this, and use modern techniques to help advertisers deliver their messages.

Do you use software, plugins or other tricks to bypass online ads? Do you go out of your way to avoid ads when viewing “freebit” content (like news articles and games)?

Most importantly, do you feel such circumvents are justified on “legitimate” sites (sites that aren’t guilty of passing viruses)?

Filed Under: Questions of the Week Tagged With:

Question of the Week: Which is Your Shipping Carrier of Choice?

March 14, 2011 by 3 Comments

Many online stores offer one or many shipping methods from a single carrier. Using two or more carriers give customers options based on price, experiences with the carrier, and consistency in delivery.

Do you have a favorite carrier? UPS, USPS, FedEx? Did you make your decision based on price or previous experiences?

And, have you ever abandoned an online order because of the shipping carrier(s) used?

Filed Under: Ecommerce, Questions of the Week Tagged With: ,

Question of the Week: Do You Research Quotes about Products?

March 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Many companies rely on quotes from industry experts and publications to help push specific products and/or services. How many of us, however, research those statements to ensure quotes are accurately describing what we’re contemplating buying?

Last summer I wrote about mis-attributing quotes – a common practice by companies desperate to increase sales.

Have you fallen victim to unethical practices of out-of-context endorsements? Do you look up original articles (referenced or not) to read complete reviews and verify statements? Or, are you like most customers who accept what’s posted?

Inquiring minds – especially mine – want to know.

Filed Under: Marketing, Questions of the Week Tagged With: ,

Question of the Week: If You Could Pick Only One Google App/Tool…

February 28, 2011 by 4 Comments

I can’t think of a single person I know who doesn’t use Google tools and apps on a daily basis. From simple web searching to business-class apps, Google’s all over our personal and professional lives.

So, I ask you…

If you could pick only ONE Google tool or app to use, which one would it be?

Filed Under: Questions of the Week Tagged With:

Question of the Week: My Dad Hates It… Do You?

February 21, 2011 by 5 Comments
Pointer to what my Dad hates.

I was talking with my father this weekend. He never sugar coats anything (yeah, that’s where I get it from…). He’s looking at my web site and says, “I don’t like the lime green text at the top”.

Now, your typical web designer talking to a parent who doesn’t conduct business on the Internet (he doesn’t even shop online) would simply shrug off such a comment. But being the “gotta-know-why” person that I am, I asked, “Well, what about it, exactly, don’t you like?”

We then fall into a 20-minute conversation about colors and what he does and doesn’t find appealing. And my father says…

If I saw a billboard with a black background and lime green text, I wouldn’t be very interested in what it had to say.

Simple. To the point.

My dad, you see, represents more than just himself. To ignore his comment would be the same as assuming everyone knows how to shop sites like Amazon and eBay. Many people just don’t spend their time “learning” about how web pages work. They need something on the page to tell them what to do—which link to click, which information to read, which image represents the product they’re considering.

Color schemes play a big role because the theme/design of the web page is what “packages” the content. In my case, the colors used set the tone for what people are about to read.

An example of “packaging” would be reading the same AP story on two different news sites. Same content, different design. Many times, it’s the design of a page that makes people prefer to visit one site over another.

I think I’ve made my point, so this is where you come in…

What do you think of the color scheme of this site? Is it appealing or jarring to the eyes? Does it make you more relaxed while reading one of my posts, or do you opt to read it in an RSS reader because you don’t care for all the packaging surrounding each article? I want to know, so be blunt in your comments. After all, you’re the reason this site exists.

My Dad hates lime on black

Filed Under: Questions of the Week

Question of the Week: Do You Use Pros/Cons Lists?

October 18, 2010 by 1 Comment

Weighing the pros and cons is recommended of nearly any type of business opportunity. But how many of you actually sit down and build a list?

Research shows that writing things down make issues more “real” and, in turn, make us think of more details and/or questions.

Do you practice the creation of these types of lists? Do you log them on a computer, or write them on paper?

Share your method of determining whether or not an opportunity is good or bad for business.

Filed Under: Questions of the Week Tagged With: ,

Question of the Week: What’s the URL to Your Facebook PAGE?

October 11, 2010 by 11 Comments

Have a Facebook PAGE? No, that’s not your profile, which requires people to “friend” you, but a page used to promote your business. If you have one, I want to know about it, and so do others.

So, what’s the name of the page, the URL and what it’s all about?

Post your response like this:

COMPANY / BUSINESS PAGE NAME

url to page

Brief description what the page is all about.

NOTE: It is not my quest to build a “like exchange” but rather to get a gauge on who reads this site, as well as help others discovers pages that may be of interest. I do reserve the right, of course, to remove links to any questionable content or to comments trying to “push” things to other readers.

Filed Under: Questions of the Week Tagged With: ,
«Older Posts