Posted by Melissa Lande on Tue, Mar 22, 2011 @ 05:00 PM
According to
The Reliable Source, Tipper Gore, ex-wife of almost President Al, turned up in DC last night to emcee a screening of “The Music Never Stopped,” a film about family, healing and the Grateful Dead. Invited by Mickey Hart, a world leader in world music and longtime
Grateful Dead percussionist, she was joined by the inspiration of the film neurologist/author
Oliver Sacks, other DC luminaries, and Mickey who, at 67 was denied a glass of chardonnay because he had no ID.
That and Tipper's wearing of her wedding ring seemed to be meta tag alerts in this story.
The piece focused on the event:
- Tipper was there wearing her wedding ring.
- Nancy Pelosi was there without a gavel (ok I said the gavel part).
- Mickey denied a drink is big news.
"The film is based on a case study by Sacks and tells the story of a father and his estranged son who slowly rebuild a bond throught he music of the Dead. Dad's a mellow guy who favors crooners and classics but the hemp-fueled hits of the '60s provide therapeutic enough for his neurologically disabled kid," summarizes the pieces. Good summary.
The real news:
- Washington luminaries came out to see the film- what did they think?
- Tipper Gore is friendly enough with Micky Hart to draw a crowd, and he's no deadbeat- just a leader in world music.
- Oliver Sacks has unreaveled mysteries of the brain. In this one, he uses music as an example of healing. THIS is original.
It goes on to report that Rep Jim McDermott (D-Washington), serving his 12th term in the House, harummped the question . This implies, "I don't get it." Perhaps not a Deadhead but he asked a legitimate question- basically, "Why the Dead and not, for example, Paul Simon?" The Honorable McDermottt is, in fact, honorable, and has been in public service since 1970 - not counting the Navy and the fact that he's a doctor and was interested in the film.
As a physician, Representative McDermott is especially interested in health care issues. While serving in the Washington State Legislature, he crafted the Washington Basic Health Plan, the first state program in the country to provide low-cost health insurance to the unemployed and working poor. In the U.S. Congress, Representative McDermott is consistently active on health care reform issues. He founded and chairs the Congressional Task Force on International HIV/AIDS, and championed the AIDS Housing Opportunities Act.
So please, Reliable Source, let's not give Jim a harummp. Let's just say he ASKED. And let's give the people who work in neurological health care in a productive way some kudos.
PS -And now we have a film that prove this includes the Grateful Dead. You could say it includes much artistic endeavor in general which speaks to people emotionally and helps heal individuals and relationships.
Posted by Melissa Lande on Thu, Mar 17, 2011 @ 01:47 PM
Great piece in MediaPost called "My Castle, My Rules" by Julia Beardwood-- where she compares the ground rules set by The King's Speech's therapist to the ground rules that are so effective for creative agencies.
As I noted in my comments, it brings up a couple of really important issues about TRUST. Clients and agencies must work together in an environment of mutual trust, which is an interesting commodity in today's business environment. When an agency is hired, until they prove themselves, they are often viewed with some skepticism (though with relief)-- until they are a proven commodity. Aboslutely fair enough!
Building trust is a process, not unlike the therapeutic relationship-- The client/patient must trust the agency/therapist full on, or the job will not be done correctly; the interraction willl not be honest. The King's Speech showed the relationship in its ultimate state: Who is bigger than a King? And when a King needs help, he can command. But the therapist was strong enough and held his ground so well that he did not YES the King to death, which meant, he could produce results; THEY would work collaboratively. This is assistance and creative support in its finest MOMENT.Certainly my finest professional moments have always involved trust- and results.
I have also seen many of my colleagues with agencies argue a challlenge and get stuck in the argument. Sometimes that means the agency may be holding its ground but is not as skillful at creating the therapeutic relationship (so to speak) as Lionel Logue did with King George. In fact, I have seen egos flaring (both ways). Egos are allowed to be there, but they have to make room for each other and listen carefully. (You remember that TV Show: "Make Room for Ego?")
There's also the issue of "I'm the vendor; you're the king." And in a recessionary economy, there is fear, so agencies, against their better judgments buut because of their need for food and shelter, take on those client that they know will never have that trust. Or those that they have to YES to death. I must warn that YES-ING to death can mean death. In the case of Enron, the agency (accounting) yessed the client and did something unethical. The good news is it brought about SOX legislation. The bads news ias that millions of dollars in funds were lost to honest workers. Ugh. Horrible.
Just that alone is a reason to be ethical but even more so, building that trust gives way to the best work, the most creative interchange, MOMENTS of greatness. And yes, the analytics tell the story-- but it's the great story that makes the analytics work.
Posted by Melissa Lande on Wed, Mar 09, 2011 @ 12:00 PM
Controversial King of Retail Book Publishing Speaks about Transformation Growth That Is Happening in Publishing -- "more than the analysts have projected"
Not really sure why they referred to Ole Blue Eyes as Chairman of the Board though he led the Ratpack, a elegant group of entertainers who were the "IT boys" (one girl) back in the forties, fifties , etc. It's just when it came to entertainment and the best show on earth, Frank Sinatra set the standards and sang the standards.
When it comes to bookselling, Len Riggio, loved by some, envied by many and dispised publicly by others (just like Frank) has been Chairman of the Board Of Barnes & Noble, Inc. since he founded it in 1986. His store is also the greatest publishing show on earth (and the best place to do homework), only eclipsed by the advent of Amazon when it entered the e-commerce fray, but a Chairman is a Chairman and leaders perceive growth.
I don't have the full Riggio dossier -- just the rumors over my 3-decade career but, like Sinatra, he appears to be one of those guys who keeps his friends very close and his frenemies at bay -- till the time is right
The time was right today when he appeared as keynote speaker at this morning's annual meeting of the Association of American Publishers (AAP), his first appearance there in 11 years, people wanted to hear what he had to say.
From reports, I gather,
- He is excited about the possibilities the Rocket eBook holds for his company and the industry at large. "Think of all that could have happened had we all led the digital age together instead of following it."
- "Too many of us see bookselling as a zero sum game--that there's a limit to how many books people will buy and how many books people will read."
- Riggio chooses to see beyond that scope. Rather than "get locked into the Darwinian embrace for market share," Riggio said that digital has
already proven "market size is readily expandable, and expanding markets lift all boats."
- Endless possibilities lurk in ebooks -- he notes readers now have a bookstore, an entire publishing company in their pockets. "The power of this cannot be minimized. If you think there's a limit to how many books people can read, you're back to a zero-sum game."
- Riggio perceives the digital marketplace as exponentially greater than most people do--"the analysts, the people covering our industry," assering that the digital book market is "growing more rapidly than almost any sector of any industry has grown in 30 years."
- "We're not merely replacing sales of bound books," Riggio argued. "Even if you were to do a linear projection of ebook sales, you would have to conclude that our industry is on the cusp of transformational growth. For those of you who are treating it as incremental growth, I don't think you're going to get there."
- Win-Win for physical bookstores and traditional publishers to continue to prosper in this new era. From Barnes & Noble's perspective "a world without bookstores...is just not going to happen. We will adapt to whatever the new world brings us."
- A funny comment: "Call them bricks and mortar if you will," Riggio said, but "they're not exactly clay tablets." (I liked this line). He underscored that BN's superstores occupy ever-more valuable real estate as the front entrances to America's malls because "landlords see the profitable connections between the upscale readers" they draw and traffic for the rest of the mall.
- Wall Street is still skeptical -- and Riggio reports that "our emergence as a major digital player will enable us to continue to support our retail stores and make them stronger." To reinforce the point, Riggio said that over the holidays "during the two-period when our digital device sales actually soared, our comparable book sales of printed book products increased the highest number we've had in years. These things are connected."
- BN members who own a Nook device--with "our customers buying millions of devices in the stores"--"are buying 60 percent more units" than other members.
- PEACETIME HAS ARRIVE. Riggio (heart) Publishers. "In all the years I've worked with pubishers I have never been so confident that our interests were so obviously aligned. Nor have I ever seen this level of committment from publishers in terms of capital spending and technical innovation, all aimed a securing for pubishers and us key positions in the marketplace of content, so I thank you for all you do."
- But lest us not send a kiss without some advice to the publishers (and take note!) Where "the internet had a way of disintermediating people who had content for sale, the digital universe fosters and enables those who have content to sell."
- In the digital world's limitless shelf-space he sees Barnes & Noble with "a catalog of 20 million books or more," with publishers helping to fill that catalog. Riggio suggested everything from shorter slices of content (chapters of books, brief biograhies, essay, novellas, and single stories), "publications in color, sound and motion," a new wave of digital color books, and "books for which updates can be sold."
- "You could add thousands of ebooks to your catalogs with little or no plant costs, and many of those books are in the libraries of your offices," Riggio advised.
- And he pointed out "you actually sort through ten thousand times as much content...compared to that which is published."
- Applying publishers' curation, narration and packaging, Riggio said, "your brand and your expertise will prevail."
I think this is pretty sound advice and it's obvious that Len has the gist of the industry by the long and the short tail.
- "Readers require you to help them rationalize the dizzying variety of content they must sort through" in today's era of abundance, which he sees as an opportunity for companies to publish far more digitally than they ever have in print.
- His final suggestion was brilliant and I have been it happen already with one of my own clients, which publishes an annual guide. " How many of the books that you publish lend themselves to an update?" he asks. "what about working with us to make an offer of that update available to all those who bought the ebook?"
Everything has changed -- we can see how the industry reacts but the reality is, ebooks are here, B&N wants in and B&N will get in (excuse me, they ARE in, are you kidding?) So listen. If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere... it's a new moment for an industry that has always been 80-20. 20% of the books make 80% of the sales.
Start spreading the sales
We'll look at the specs
You want to be a part of it- in old New York (or globally)
- He closed with enthusiasm, saying "we've got a lot of work to do together" during "this exciting moment in our history--so let's get it on."
In other words, there's plenty to go around. That's a neat new concept in a cut-throat gentlemen's business and coming from Riggio, very cool.
With thanks to reporting from Publishers Lunch.
Posted by Melissa Lande on Tue, Feb 22, 2011 @ 11:33 AM
A piece today in e Marketer Digital Intelligence looks at some research on how B2B marketers are using Linked In more and more for targeting specific actions in social media. The article is absolutely on target:"Business-to-business (B2B) websites share the same reasons to offer social sign-on to their visitors as business-to-consumer sites—a wealth of information on their registered users, plus the ease of allowing users to carry their identity around with them rather than forcing them to fill out yet another online form. But data from a major social sign-on provider suggests that B2Bs need to offer more than Facebook Connect to serve their business customers."
Facebook is making a lot of heat in the business community, much more than we ever thought possible because of its "personal" identity-- With the recent announcement that Facebook is discontinuing support of the Static FBML app in favor of iframes, that is more good news for business users on Facebook since FBML was restrictive ...the new Facebook iframes will help Facebook be a source for better inbound marketing. According to Hubspot's David Well's in a post today, not too much pain involved creating a landing page this way.
This is a lot of technical blah blah for my customers who just want us to do it for them. Basically, we will be using Facebook far more moving forward for Landing Pages and B2B marketing, but have always utilized Linked In for taregting. The big study by Gigya reporting a dramatic increase in the use of LinkedIn accounts to sign in to B2B sites between July 2010 and January 2011 doesn't surprise us. Gigya says in that time the share of logins using a LinkedIn username and password rose from just 3% to 20%.
In the past, Gigya reported just a tiny slice of all B2B logins were devoted to LinkedIn, while most used Facebook. That landscape is beginning to change as more site visitors choose to separate their business activities on social media from their personal ones.
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“Although LinkedIn has always had the professional social graph, they’ve really made some great moves over the past year especially to encourage more communication and collaboration among people using the service,” says the Gigya company blog.
Interestingly, we've always seen Linked In as the obvious easiest and most direct way to target B2B users with target audiences they desire. Facebook is just "what people do" and with the new innovations, it will make more sense even though it's been winning all along. In the end, social marketers have to use every medium possible and keep up with each in its updating to find their way into the micro niches, our favorite places.
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Posted by Melissa Lande on Tue, Feb 15, 2011 @ 12:07 PM
A new blog post by Hubspot's leader Brian Halligan today carried an interview with Guy Kawasaki, author, co-founder of Alltop and former chief evangelist at Apple, can tell you how. In his new book, Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions. Kawasaki explains how any business can enchant as well as the most compelling brands. He argues that in business and personal interactions, your goal is not just to sell but to bring about an enduring and delightful change in others.
I call this an "ah-ha" moment. As a marketer, I've been so lucky to work with clients that brought "ah-ha" moments to their customers -- not only because of their brands but because of the details in the moment. For example, Douglas Ward, lifetime veteran of the high seas, continues producing poignant tips about cruising and cruise ships. I'm currently working on his 26th edition (26!) of Berlitz Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships, and his writing is very witty, yet comprehensive. He has the edge of a writer like the New Yorker's Anthony Lane, yet remains objective and comprehsnive in his reporting. A fine art. Ah-ha!
When I was agency-of-record for the tax and accounting group at Thomson Reuters for 18 years, I experienced "ah-ha" moments every day. One would think-- from tax analyses? The answer is that the insight of this company's knowledge was so variegated and deep that I oooed and aahhhed through each press release. I renamed the editors there THE BRAINTRUST -- what enchantment to write about their findings.
There have been so many other "ah-ha" moments with various clients. No I didn't work for Zappos or Apple (oh well!) but Lande Communications has managed to snag customers on the (pardon the expression, please please) cutting edge. There has been something obviously meant to be- and yes, we beoieve in The Law of Attraction.
Back to Mr. Halligan's interview with Kawasaki, I enjoyed the author's 3 tips on how marketers can make their products more enchanting: (These bullet points are quotes)
- First, tell the story about why you created the product. Don't use any industry-jargon and cite any marketing studies. Explain why you created a personal computer that anyone could afford or a search engine that produced better results or an airline that you would look forward to fly on.
- Second, plant many seeds. Don't just suck up to the A-listers and upper-echelon visible journalists and analysts. Reach out, instead, to the great unwashed masses and hoi polloi. In the flattened new world that we now live in, it's the "Lonelyboy15" and "Brooke888" who make or break a product. A-listers et al report the news, they don't make it. Their blessings, for example, certainly didn't cause the success of Facebook or Twitter.
- Third, show people your magic. During the summer, the folks at NovaScotian Crystal open up the factory to enable tourists to watch how craftsmen blow glass. By showing these visitors the magic, the company has an easier time selling them crystal pieces. Showing how you make something is enchanting, so create factory and office tours. If you're ever in Las Vegas, contact Zappos for a tour, and you'll see what I mean.
If you are interested in making your business for enchanting, then you might want to take the Enchantment Aptitude Test on the book's Facebook Page.
I guess we all need to check out this book. Also blessed with marketing publishing projects, we know that a book (aka "content") can enrich your soul, inspire you, and in itself, be its own "ah-ha" experience.
Read more:
http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/9668/5-Lessons-of-Enchantment-from-GuyKawasaki-Interview.aspx#ixzz1E3BiCcYu
Posted by Melissa Lande on Tue, Feb 01, 2011 @ 01:54 PM
Remember Chicken Little said the Sky is falling. Now birds are falling from the sky. Enter Twitter. Keep the birds flying. Vote with me. In The Shorty Awards.
Part of Social Media strategy is being social. Standing in solidarity.
Part of networking is meeting people and the other part is building relationships.
Part of building the relationships is referring, helping, matching like-minded problem-solvers with another.
And part of promotion is winning awards. Generally, my company has survived 30 years without going after them, but there are some new ones now that pique my interest.
One such is The Shorty Awards : http://shortyawards.com. It salutes those who excel at Twitter -- interesting tweets, making a difference, making money, raising money.
Twitter is one of those practices that you either love or hate. I'm on the positive side because as LeaderHuntress, I'm finding new people in my micro-niche areas of expertise that I haven't found previously. I'm not sure if it's the abbreviated way of staying in touch and on top of things- but people are out there creating strategies and making incredible comments on Twitter. The last Presidential election was won through Twitter. It's all good.
People lose their inhibitions on Twitter- --maybe because it's short and fast and maybe you will miss it -- but anyway. Take note, my Twitter friends. Vote with me for some fine social media professionals. You're my friend; they're my friends; Vote with me:
The Shorty Awards
HUMMoney - (finance)
MingleMediaTV - (television)
HUMNEWS - (news)
The Concept Farm - (design)
Judy Shapiro - (innovator)
Displaced Journalists - (journalists)
MySavvyTraveler - (travel)
Hank Wasiak - (author)
Cpublicity - (social media)
CSR Cooperative - (charity)
BarnYard Group - (entertainment)
Last time I ommited the wonderful @peacefilmfest (politics) SO VOTE FOR THEM TODAY- The voting is closing!
Posted by Melissa Lande on Sat, Jan 29, 2011 @ 03:16 PM
Most top thought leaders say Small Business is the backbone of the economy. Why? In the US, small business (less than 500 employees) accounts for around half the GDP and more than half the employment. Regarding small business, the top job provider is those with less than 10 employees. The most recent available data shows firms with less than 20 employees account for slightly more than 18% of the employment.
What are the challenges of small businesses?
Finding customers, of course. Keeping customers. Making smart marketing decisions like inbound marketing and PR. Ironically, the messaging that is "out there" doesn't match some of the hard realities of small business challenges.
TO FOLLOW THE MONEY YOU HAVE TO GET THE FUNDING
Small businesses use several sources for capital, including self-financing through the owner; loans; credit lines; private stock; grants, investors; banks-HAH! Let me pause-banks. HAH!
Many small businesses are financing themselves through credit cards and personal loans, always a poor choice, albeit common these days. Credit lines are far more attractive but harder to get, despite the PR messages that are being aired. And then there's the SBA, which, for a very small business is not a viable option because the loans are more than what is needed; and then, of course, even though the SBA guarantees a portion of the loan to the issuing bank and relieves the bank of some risk of extending the loan to a small business, it also requires business owners to pledge personal assets and sign as a personal guarantee for the loan. All roads lead to the bank, credit check, and loan officer.
Recently I did some unofficial investigative "questioning" of small businesses and then banks in NYC. Even with new initiatives in place for banks to create more funding for small businesses, most would not admit that chances of that trickling down to small businesses are small, but one manager of a very large branch of a very large bank in a very large city said, "We lent out $17-million last month. No small businesses."
Studies show that one third of small businesses are running into trouble due to cash flow and a core competency in financial activities and less cash to hire the lawyers/accountants needed to help with innovative solutions. (I have talked to numerous accountants and those handling small business say it's hard to get funding.) Many companies are using their budgets inefficiently in marketing, again, because of their lack of that core competency. Should I advertise? What about banner ads on the web? Peer to peer marketing; what's that? And websites.
One of my small business interviewees and I had a conversation. Scene 1.
ME: What are you doing with your website to add inbound marketing?
HIM: I just met a cool website guy and I'm using him.
ME: Is he offering inbound marketing?
HIM: What's that?
ME: That's when you do things with your website designed to produce customers, build relationships, draw interest, get the phones ringing. We can actually show you your return on investment.
HIM: I don't really know what he's doing.
ME: And you gave him your credit card?
HIM: He said he'd take out $5,000 and make my website better.
ME: (Taking a breath)... Not to be disrespectful, but how could you give your credit card and not know what will happen with the money?
HIM: That's not my expertise. It's his.
ME: And he didn't explain anything?
HIM: No. But he had a great portfolio. (Pause). My wife is going to kill me.
ME: I think you'd better call him and find out what he's doing.
SCENE 2. A week later.
HIM: I tried to get that website guy and he didn't get back to me so I called American Express and cancelled the order, but he had already taken the money to another account.
ME: (silent for a change).
HIM: They're investigating and will get me the money back. Then I want you to explain inbound marketing.
P.S. This is normal in a small business universe.
OK I'LL EXPLAIN MARKETING AND THEN YOU GET THE FUNDING. YOU KNOW, SMALL BUSINESS IS THE BACKBONE!
And all of this leads back to the bank and funding. So how viable is it for small businesses to hire vendors who can help them? In a recent article in CFO called "Credit Still Scarce for Small Companies," Alix Stuart writes about tense relationships between banks and small businesses as documented by a 2010 survey by Greenwich Associates. Overall satisfaction levels were down across the board, in large part because companies were having a hard time borrowing, according to Chris McDonnell, a vice president at Greenwich Associates, in the CFO article.
The same survey evaluated several thousand banks and only 34 of them made the cut as a winner of Greenwich Excellence Awards, which recognize a number of categories. "One category that saw meaningful changes relative to previous years was 'credit policy,' which includes banks' willingness to lend. Only 5 banks received sufficiently favorable scores to make the cut in that area in 2010." The following table shows those banks:
The good news, as reported by CFO attributing McDonnell, is that "companies that are considered creditworthy by banks and are looking to borrow are getting very competitive terms and pricing since banks are vying for these accounts and want to be able to report that they're lending money."
OK let's follow that thought to a land of more inbound marketing, creativity, flexibility and happiness.
Posted by Melissa Lande on Fri, Jan 28, 2011 @ 03:27 PM
You can't teach a bad cruise new tricks or even get your money back necessarily, but you can learn a few things about how to recoup losses (except the ones fromt he casino-tough luck!) Associated Press ran a story on how consumers can make "good" on losses that they incur on their cruise vacations during their Cruise Week coverage. For example-- will a cruise line reimburse you in full if there is a hurricane? Read the story and find out. Or note thhat the Berlitz Cruise Guide 2011 has 10 pages from page 703-713 dedicated to hardcore advice to cruisers, including a section of when things go wrong.
Thought Leaders are thought leaders for a reason and author sdOUGLAS Ward's more than 40 years at sea objectively rating ships and their features give him top authority in this area. So we thought you'd want to see what the Master of Sea Ceremonies has to say about "when things go wrong" in this excellent piece by Beth Harpaz, AP.
By BETH J. HARPAZ, AP Travel Editor Beth J. Harpaz, Ap Travel Editor –
2 hrs 41 mins ago
NEW YORK – Rogue waves, norovirus, mechanical problems, bad weather. Not every cruise is perfect. And when things go wrong, passengers are sometimes surprised that they are no more likely to get a refund than if they went to the beach for a week and it rained every day.
The only difference is — you can drive away from the beach. But once you're on a ship, you're stuck there until the cruise is over.
"There are things that can happen on a ship, like rogue waves, that don't happen on a land-based vacation," said Brad Hatry, cruise consultant at Pisa Brothers Travel in New York. "The biggest unknowns to most first-time cruisers are weather-related problems. The cruise companies are likely to be very unsympathetic if you're complaining about rough weather, and if you read the fine print, they have no liability to refund your money."
Passengers were so angry about a December cruise on the Norwegian Sun that one of them created a website, MyBadCruise.com, to air their grievances. The ship lost power in one engine and skipped scheduled port calls in St. Thomas and St. Martin as it limped back to Florida, stopping instead at two tiny islands. As compensation, Norwegian Cruise Line gave every stateroom $100 onboard credit and passengers also got credit toward a future cruise of 30 percent of the price of the original cruise.
Pat Werdin, of Hayesville, N.C., was one of many passengers who felt the compensation was inadequate. "We finally got a letter from NCL, but it basically said, 'If you read the fine print, we did more than we had to, so that's too bad,'" said Werdin, who missed a business meeting in St. Martin because of the changed itinerary. She also said the credit she received — 30 percent of the $399 she paid for the seven-night cruise — does not go very far toward rebooking. On the other hand, she added, "nobody died, nobody lost a finger. We had nice weather and good cruise food."
Anthony Klang, an American Express Travel Services representative and cruise planner, says "it is extremely rare to get a full refund and a free cruise" as compensation for cruise trouble.
But occasionally it happens. The Carnival Splendor lost power in November after an engine room fire, stranding passengers at sea with no electricity, overflowing toilets and substandard food. Passengers received a full refund plus transportation costs and a free future cruise priced at the same amount paid for the Splendor trip.
Passengers aboard Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas also got a full refund after the ship listed several times in rough weather in the Mediterranean last year, resulting in passenger injuries, broken furniture and damage to public areas of the ship.
In both of these high-profile cases, full refunds were "smart customer relations," said Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor in chief of CruiseCritic.com. "Unhappy passengers can really wreck a marketing plan."
Douglas Ward, author of "Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships 2011," says you're more likely to get help with a cruise problem if you booked through a travel agency and ask your agent to plead your case. "If you book your cruise online, it may be difficult to get compensation when things go wrong," he added.
Ward also recommends travel insurance. Cruise companies typically offer cancellation insurance when you book, but examine the policy carefully: It may not offer much more than a future cruise with the same line if you cancel for a covered reason.
In contrast, a policy from a third-party insurer will typically give you cash back rather than credit, according to Carol Mueller, spokeswoman for Travel Guard insurance. Among other things, such policies typically compensate you if you cancel your trip because of illness or a death in the family; if an airline delay causes you to miss your cruise departure and you have to book a new flight to catch the ship in the next port; or if you become ill onboard and the cruise line quarantines you, Mueller said.
Third-party travel insurance typically costs between 5 to 7 percent of the trip, Mueller said. You can either buy the insurance yourself by contacting an insurer directly within 15 days of booking your trip, or, if you book with a travel agent, the agent can add the policy to your purchase.
Insurance can't help you, though, if weather or mechanical problems result in a changed itinerary or a less-than-perfect trip.
Lorri Hafer, who with her husband worked as a musician on cruises for 10 years, has faced "norovirus, missed ports, mechanical trouble, political turmoil, and rough seas." Her advice on how to cope is philosophical: "In bad situations that you cannot control, as a wise captain once said to us, 'You row with the oars you are given.'"
Posted by Melissa Lande on Tue, Jan 18, 2011 @ 10:11 AM
Robert Ambrogi's LawSites blog took a stab at answering the question, "How is a law firm website like a cave or a middle school dance?" in a recent post.
Bloggers who don't put in the time to take all the steps consistently are classic shoemaker's kid without shoes.
So the Ambrogi's caveman analogy says that the dwellers wait for a "woolly mammoth will just happen to enter the cave (a form of ancient food delivery)?" That doesn't happen, which is why you have to get your club, leave the cave and get social.
Says Ambrogi,"A law firm website is the beginning of your online marketing, but by no means the end. Think of it as your home base, a launching point, a point of reference and a sort of electronic brochure."
Social media was created so you can engage with your prospective clients and current ones. If you do that by chiming into their conversations, Ambrogi says, maybe you will interest them enough that they will want to learn more about you.That's when the revenue comes in -- it's not a sit and wait kind of activity. Same with public relations. Anything in communications takes consistency. And strategy.
You will surely create some new relationships and links along the way when you go social. When you go ballistic, you'll create the wrong kind. It's an art to get out there and intrigue the right audience in the right tone. More about that
Back to his middle school reference: Ambrogi asks readers to consider the web as a middle-school dance. No matter how great the student looks and how much he or she wants to meet the newest hot guy/girl, if he/she acts like a wallflower, nothing will happen. (And then, tears.)
If you don't completely engage in social networking (or with your fellow classmates) -- by creating a Twitter account (and actually tweeting), signing up for Facebook, or adding a LinkedIn profile -- join some groups- then you are absolutely missing the opportunity to "explore other social and professional networks that fit your practice or where your potential clients are likely to be."
Your website is how people learn about you, but if you're not in the web conversation, your law firm may end up being a wallflower too- is Ambrogi's analogy (with a great headline!) What to say and how to say is another story. Who to hire to do communications strategy and why is as well. Cookie cutter blah blah will not showcase your expertise in a way that attracts clients that need it.
Posted by Melissa Lande on Thu, Jan 13, 2011 @ 08:24 PM
"Prostitutes who operate openly in Amsterdam’s red light district have been warned by Dutch authorities that the government will begin enforcing tax collections on their earnings."
According to the Daily Web CPA, while prostitution has been legal in the Netherlands for over a decade and prostitutes have previously been subject to taxation, many have not paid taxes on their income.
From a tax point of view, this must be one of the best retail cash businesses in history because patrons do not want their spouses to see the charge on their credit cards, though that is easily remedied. OK, I digress but
Associated Press has actually sent reporters on the trail of this story and the reporting is just the anecdotal stuff that works with with print or digital media.
AP's story goes on to tell the tale that agents of the nation’s Tax Service who have recently begun visiting brothels in the red light district (business only) to warn the owners and individual sex workers of their tax obligations. "We began at the larger places, the brothels, so now we're moving on to the window landlords and the ladies," said Janneke Verheggen, spokeswoman for the country's Tax Service.
Since Amsterdam is a port city, Amsterdam has long been a magnet for prostitutional commerce for hundreds of years -- i.e. sailors looking for a good time. But it was only about ten years ago that the "practice was legalized" (Why is it referred to as a practice when it's the world's oldest profession?), and the tax authorities are just getting around to it. Hmm, what took them so long?
This new tax move
signifies a shift to the more conservative -- from a Netherlands renowned for permissiveness, and at the same time, provides proceeds to government coffers.
Here's AP's delicious original reporting at its best: "It's a good thing that they're doing this," said Samantha, a statuesque blond Dutchwoman in a white leather dress who offers her services from behind one of the hundreds of red-curtained windows in the heart of the city's ancient center.
"It's a job like any other and we should pay taxes," she said.
After-expense profits (What are the legal deductible business expenses? Plastic surgery? The bed? Cheerleader outfits?) can be taxed at 33 percent for those making less than about $23,000 a year and up to 52 percent for those making over about $70,000 annually.
Prostitutes by and large have not been protesting the tax crackdown, according to AP. Which is not to say no one is complaining. At least one Dutch prostitute said to an AP reporters she has been paying taxes all along, but blamed immigrants from Eastern Europe for not paying their fair share.
Something to moan about.