Monthly Archives: December 2011

Link Friday: The So-Long-2011 Edition

Posted on Friday, December 23, 2011 by Alan

It’s our last last Link Friday of the year. (I’ll pause for a moment while you grab a tissue to dry your tears.)

All done? Good. Here’s what we’re checking out as the clock winds down on 2011:

Are you using these methods to engage users on Facebook? (Though I’d be wary of calling anything “surefire.”)
How about your company’s website? Does it have Facebook functionality? Adding simple things, such as “Like” or “Share” buttons, can go a long way.
SOPA — the Stop Online Piracy Act — has been getting a lot of media attention lately, and not because everybody is wild about it. Here’s what every marketer needs to know about the bill.
Are you on Pinterest? Everybody in our office (and apparently elsewhere) is raving about the image-based social network. I just signed up this week and am looking forward to digging into it a little more.
And finally, you’re probably headed to a party or two over the next week, so check out this great wine-and-cheese pairing website. Bon apetit!

Thanks for reading, everybody! We’ll be back and better than ever in 2012. At least until the Mayan apocalypse hits next December or whenever.

Link Friday: The I-found-too-much-stuff edition

Posted on Friday, December 16, 2011 by Alan

Christmas came early for your fearless Link Friday leader, as I found far, far too much stuff to fit into a manageable blog post. So I’ll just whittle it down to the best of the best, and you’ll just have to wait until the next Link Friday to see what makes the cut then.

On with the links!

I shared a similar story a couple weeks back, but Mashable has now posted the results of its eye-tracking study for Facebook brand pages (like the ones we run). As it turns out, the wall captures most everybody’s attention, more so than apps or even fancy profile pictures.
Speaking of Facebook, the social network rolled out its much-ballyhooed (and much-delayed) Timeline feature this week. No word on whether Facebook will do the same sort of feature with brand pages, but I’ve read a few things that seem to indicate it will happen sometime down the road.
Continuing on the social media front, Twitter topped digital marketing agency Zeta Interactive’s list of buzzworthy social networks. “For culture, breaking news and celebrities it is the social network,” CEO Minna Rhee said in an interview.
Still not done with your holiday shopping? (Me neither.) The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a good list of gifts for the traveler in your life, including (and, no I’m not making this up) disposable underwear.

Have a good weekend, and we’ll see you back here next week!

Link Friday: The It’s-4:30-Already? Edition

Posted on Friday, December 9, 2011 by Alan

Here I was, gathering all these cool things to share with you all for this week’s Link Friday, when all of I sudden I had all these other projects to do and kind of forgot about Link Friday until 4:15 p.m. Friday afternoon.

But I think the important part is that I remembered, don’t you?

Anyway, on with the links:

Brian E. Clark of WisBusiness.com writes that broadband access for rural communities will be key to economic development — including tourism — in the coming years.
Facebook is testing a “negative sentiment analysis feature” — read, a dislike button — as part of its new analytics. As somebody who administers a couple dozen pages, I think this could be a slippery slope for fan and business pages on the social network.
My trips to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in the summer taught me this already, but it turns out being in nature is good for the ol’ brain.
There was a bit of a dust-up between Great Lakes neighbors Wisconsin and Michigan this week over who should be known as “the mitten state.” (Seriously.) In response, Discover Wisconsin changed their mitten logo to Packers green and gold and put “12-0” underneath it. Boom roasted.
Got a few extra thousand dollars? Then why not celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking by going to visit it deep underneath the Atlantic Ocean.

That’s all for us. Have a good weekend, everybody!

Link Friday: The Welcome to December edition

Posted on Friday, December 2, 2011 by Alan

December has arrived here in bucolic Madison, bringing with it complaints about cold weather that likely aren’t going to stop until July, when people will start complaining about hot weather.

Here’s what’s notable and newsworthy this week, at least according to us:

Looking for a great gift idea? While I was perusing Little Luxuries (just steps away from our office) for some Christmas gifts, I stumbled upon City Tins, a set of 20 coasters that double as $10 gift cards for locally owned restaurants in Madison and Milwaukee. A great promotional idea, and I love the vintage look.
Another great gift idea for travelers: Lytro, the focus-free camera.
The thing about December? It’s cold. What better way to stay warm then to jet off to Europe? But do you know your way around, say, Spain? No fear: just consult these awesome illustrations of Spain that were done for the global affairs, business, culture and design magazine Monocle.
Wonder what people look at most on your social media profiles? Hint: profile pictures are eye-catching.
And speaking of social media, here are Twitter’s top 10 remarkable tweets and Facebook’s 40 most-shared stories from 2011. (Hope nothing interesting happens in December…)

That’s all for us this week. Have a great weekend!

Pilch & Barnet

Leaders in Destination Marketing