Blogs in the age of Digital Marketing

Blogs in the age of digital marketing.  It's as good of a title as any for my first foray into reviving this blog.  As a manner of continuously refreshing content and providing that ever-important cross linakge (the lifeblood of SEO), I have decided to resurrect my blog and turn it's voice to my broadcast my musings on my passion: Digital Marketing.

So, it is my pleasure to introduce to you the renewed purpose of this blog: sharing my professional and personal findings for how to convert in the digital age -- and trying to do so without sounding buzzy or cliched...

And now for something completely relevant.  (note the "Monty Python" reference)

Not only can Customers be a highly mobile moving target, but so too is the manner in which we marketeers (again, see what I did there?) communicate with our audiences.  While somewhat ubiquitous, blogs remain a vital component of any digital marketing strategy.  Though, no longer is it enough to have a blog and update said blog regularly.  Nor is it even enough to cultivate a following of said blog.  But the focus has turned to converting your followers, commenters and even critics to related digital properties, products and services.

And converting means cross linkage, yes, but it also necessitates and increase in ad-spend.  Setting up the appropriate sign posts (banners, links, etc) to reach your target audience at the right place and at the right time to visit, view and ultimately purchase.


Case in point:  Check out this article on AdAge.com by Alexandra Bruell, published: December 02, 2012.

Enjoy and remember, as you go out there and develop plans for traffic generation and online media in 2013, remember that the best way to ensure your failure is to NOT invest any attention to social media spending.   Yep, I went there...

Cheers for now and I'd appreciate your comments on possible future topics or, of course, any questions (thoughts, pontifications and general chatter welcome too)

Follow me on Twitter ~ @Savvymix

The China Connection

At long last! The blog detailing .... memories from my two-week trip to Beijing, CHINA.

It's been months in the making, or at least in the thought pipeline. My trip began mid-December 2007 and ended shortly after Christmas. Cici flew over ahead of me as I still had work to finish up and limited vacation time to spend. And the vacation was time well spent. It was a great opportunity to get away from everything, literally!

About the only thing of note that happened before I landed actually happened before I even boarded the plane. Silly, honest and sometimes crazy naive guy that I am, I mistakenly thought it would be kosher to bring my own toothpaste and perhaps some mouthwash with me on the plane. Wrong! How anyone could MacGuyver something nefarious from these toiletries I will probably never know. But apparently the FAA is aware of something I'm not because these substances are BANNED! Punishable by forcibly trashing my goods. It would turn out to be a big deal on the mouthwash, because I rely on frequent gargling to avoid getting sick. My tonsils were removed when I was 9, so I need to keep my throat clean by other means. But I'm jumping ahead too far...

After a brief stopover in Tokyo (too bad I couldn't get out and look up some old friends) I landed at Beijing Airport in the evening and was quite ready for a shower and a good night's sleep. Cici and her parents met me at the airport and drove me back to their apartment. They were kind enough to leave the apt. to us while they stayed with relatives. I noticed right away that everything had a brownish tint and there was a kind of tinny smell in the air. This was the result of burning coal to heat the majority of residences across the megalopolis. And it was my first introduction to what I've termed the "bacterial soup" that enshrouds the city.

Also contributing to the 'bacterial' portion of said term, people let out loud, mucus-filled globs anywhere and everywhere. With weather as cold as it was, at or below freezing each day, its kind of understandable. Even the inside of apartments offer little relief. As I'd mentioned, coal is the primary source of heat. It's burned in central smokestacks and piped into surrounding apartment buildings. But even so, I found that I sweat profusely each night. Too many blankets, I suppose. So it came as a great shock to Cici's mom when I later asked for thinner blankets...

My second day in China was filled with rest and some photo ops. I'd been brought to meet the broader family, consisting of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Both of Cici's grandparents can speak English pretty well, but her grandmother was convinced it was unnecessary. I think the story goes that I appeared in a dream and conversed with her in fluent Mandarin. And I was much shorter in said appearance, which resulted in a few occasions where she commented, in Mandarin, that I was taller than she remembered.

Everyone was very kind and generous with food and, of course, beer. Cici's dad even broke out the good stuff --a bottle of Chivas Regal-- on one occasion. And other occasions found Cici's brother-like cousins trying to get me soused on a kind of Chinese wine. A kind of 56% alc. Chinese wine... that supposedly makes people hallucinate if over-imbibed... But I held tough. I drank what was poured, except for once when Cici's mom syphoned off some of my beverage when I got up to use the facilities.

So there were good times around the dinnertable. Breakfast and lunch were good too, though. On the way to the Great Wall --we'd left around 6am or so to beat traffic-- I ate a tofu soup that is one of Cici's favorite dishes. We'd even stopped for lunch at a Chinese McDonalds. It wasn't too different from the American version, but with a somewhat more ethnic menu. Chickity-China-The-Chinese-Chicken... But now I'm getting off topic.

Almost every day was another outing to someplace for shopping, photo ops, or hiking and often a mix of all three! We went to the Great Wall, The Forbidden City, some shopping mall the name of which I forgot... we also went to The Summer Palace, a place called Beihai Park and to KARAOKE! This karaoke place was not like any I'd been to before. They had an all-you-can-eat buffet style breakfast, lunch and dinner available and NO ALCOHOL! At least, none that I could find. This absence of booze would be utter sacrilege in Japan. But I didn't mind. Finally, a karaoke experience without drunken a**holes jumping on the couches and singing out of tune and off key to any and every song anyone chose whether or not they were familiar with it.

And then there was the bathhouse. Ah, a nice relaxing dip in a hot tub followed by all-you-can-eat buffet style dinner and sauna and a nice nap... I could live in a place like that. Very restful. An excellent way to combat jet lag. And a nice calm before the storm. Cici came down with a nasty, evil cold... or flu... or something. I found myself taking care of her the best I could and really wishing I had my blessed mouthwash. We got some there in Beijing, which was nice, but I don't think it had any alcohol. Or at least not as much as the stuff I usually get. But it helped. I didn't get sick until the day or maybe the day before we left for home.

It was then that I made my first and only outing alone! Armed with a few phrases I'd written in my Mandarin study booklet, I went out to a fast food restaurant from Japan called Yoshinoya. I was well familiar with the menu... in Japanese and English. But Mandarin was still kinda new to me. Anyway, I made it there and back without incident and returned with a light dinner for Cici and myself. Then I got hit with the worst when we arrived back in the states. Though, at home I was armed with mouthwash, orange juice, apples and a warm, comfy bed to hasten my recovery. All was well in the end.

And except for a mad dash in Tokyo's Narita airport to catch our connection back to Portland, the return went as smoothly as we could've hoped.

So that's about it for story-time. For more fun and information, check out our 400+ pics online at:

http://s253.photobucket.com/albums/hh75/dbsavoy/?albumview=slideshow

Zai Jian!

Winter Chill

Another two months have passed since my last entry. And I had been on a pace of one or two entries a month... Not to worry, though, my life has been boring enough so that my reader(s) won't miss much if I don't recap the past two months in great detail. My time has been spent working and planning for the Christmas break, when I will be travelling to Beijing, China to visit Cici's family.

So, since my life has been so boring, why do I bother posting now? Vacation next week! I'm finally getting some much needed time off and have no plans other than shuffling around my house and relaxing. This year it seems that every time I have a day or two off I have spent that time travelling or running errands. This time, it's all about having some chill time...

Now, here I am at work, on the Friday before my great sedentary escape, plotting out in my head the spots on my couch I will begin to sink into first and where to roll when my butt needs a fresh cushion. I have a nearly full case of beer in the fridge and plenty of healthy foods to munch on. Just because I'm lazy doesn't mean I want to become a fatass. I do plan to take some meandering journeys around my neighborhood to balance out my couch and computer surfing hours too. And suddenly a Simpsons episode comes to mind ...

Homer drives the ball up high, and he yells "Woo-hoo!" while itflies in the air, but it lands in the sand trap: "D'oh!" Burns adds, "Yes, you're in deep d'oh now."

Burns: Oh, quit cogitating, Steinmetz, and use an open-faced club. The sand wedge!

Homer: Mmm... open-faced club sandwich.

So that's that. I'm about to check out for awhile to come back fully refreshed and ready for the busy holiday business push. My next blog should include my hellishly busy first week of December - both forecasting and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt workshop - as well as stories from my trip to China!

Catchy'all on the downslide~

Moving Forward

So, another post... I haven't been keeping up with these as much as I used to. Work keeps me busier these days than it has before. Actually, that's the theme of this post: I have absolutely no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life. The only thing I am sure of is that there is no ONE thing I want to do. I want to do everything. And go everywhere. Always in motion.

So, I sit here at my desk thinking about where to go and what to do next. I've only been at this job a year, but I feel that I've been stuck in this situation much longer because of the two years I spent in grad school. And I am overdue for a change. A change of scenery and perhaps even another career change.

That last one isn't too likely unless I stay here, at my present job, a while longer. But I can definitely feel that urge beginning to pull me - not too different from when I was searching for something beyond banking and ended up living in Japan for nearly three years.

If I were to go overseas again, at this point I have no idea where I'd go. I've often thought about going back to Japan, though... It was enough like the U.S. to make me feel really comfortable there, but different enough to catch my interest.

India is another place I've thought about going, but I think the chances of getting a job there are pretty slim outside of teaching... <>

So, for now, I sit and contemplate my next move. It is both a good and bad feeling at the same time. I feel restless and uncomfortable in my current situation but also hopeful when I think of all the options and opportunities that lay ahead.

It all makes me think of a famous poem, The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost:

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."

-Robert Frost (1874–1963). Mountain Interval. 1920.

Stuck in a Box

I'm stuck. Who would notice if I weren't busying myself in some manner?

The sound of keystrokes and mouse-clicks with the occasional stretch and popping sound of joints stiffened by confinement within a tight, gray-felt-lined box . . .

Scurrying around the office searching for a purpose . . .

It really is that I'm just too fast at my work.  If only I could work from home... Dare to dream . . .

Work Changes

So, I met with the boss the other day to gather some advice on climbing the corporate ladder, how to position myself for better upward mobility and a general philosophy on the experience based on his tenure with the company. It went well, with me collecting a few homework assignments to get done over the next few months. And all is well. I am set to chart my course through the company waters.

Then I get back to my desk...

...and I learn of new responsibilities that I'll be taking on.  I get leverage to help myself squirt ahead in my career. Heh heh heh... 

So, now I can update my resume to include more STUFF!!! HA HA HA!!! No, I'm just going a little crazy right now, since I'm in the middle of the forecasting cycle.

Latest Developments

Well, I don't know exactly how long it has been since my last post. More than a few months, I suppose. But much has happened over that time and it this new blogging is well overdue.

I've ditched my old, green car in favor of a 2003 mustang that runs well but uses a bit more gas and seems to have had a problem with the fuel cap staying on tight. The gas usage is annoying, especially with the rise in prices lately. The fuel cap problem should be fixed now that I have bought and installed a new, locking gas cap. Other than that, the car looks nice and runs well. No worries.

Work has kept me busy. So has my yard. I've been busily gardening whenever I can muster the energy after work and have completely weeded my backyard! That was an amazing feeling once it was done. There were so many bush-like weeds growing back there that it seemed like I would never finish. And it took me a total of 5 1/2 hours to finally clear the backyard. Now I still have to do the sides and a patch in the front, but I will tackle that next week. I'm not putting it off because I'm lazy, but rather that I don't have any more space in my yard debris bin. My last foray into the backyard filled up the bin completely and that won't be picked up by the waste mgmt company until next Tuesday. So, I have a valid excuse to chill until then. I am really looking forward to clearing those weeds, though...

So, I mentioned that work was busy. And so it is, but I have been able to improve my performance through developing office relationships and through increasing my knowledge of the business. "It's been a long road... gettin' from there to here..." - Star Trek, Enterprise theme. That show kind of sucks because they didn't develop more than a few characters and even that not as deeply as the other Trek series have done. Anyway, I'm getting off track...

There isn't really much else to blog on about. Life is going well and I'm also looking forward to getting outside more now that the weather has finally come around from the Spring storms to generally sunny skies.

To wind things up here, I'll post some pics of the car and yard soon.

~D