Monday, October 23, 2006

NJ-AMA SEM Event

Enough acronyms? Allow me to translate, the New Jersey American Marketing Association is hosting a Search Engine Marketing event in November. I've heard nothing but good things about networking opportunities hosted by NJ-AMA, and I'm sure this event will not disappoint. Please find the details below, or click on the link above.

Hope to see you there!

The New Internet Marketing
Tuesday, November 7, 2006
Bridgewater Manor
Bridgewater, NJ

Sponsored By: Relevant Noise

Due to popular demand, Mike Moran is back! Co-author of the book Search Engine Marketing, Inc., Mike Moran is an IBM Distinguished Engineer with more than 20 years experience in search technology working at IBM Research, Lotus, and other IBM software units. He led the product team that developed the first commercial linguistic search engine in 1989, and has been granted four patents in search and retrieval technology. He led the original search marketing strategy for ibm.com, as well as the integration of ibm.com’s site search technologies.
Does a "podcast" sounds like a bad horror movie from the '80s? Is a "Web feed" what you call buying pizza for your HTML coders? If so, you should bone up on the changes that interactive marketing brings to your marketing strategy. You don't need to be a technical guru to reach your customers in brand new ways, but you do need to understand how blogs, podcasts, wikis, and Web feeds can reach your customers. The new Internet marketing does not push its message to customers--it waits for customers to pull it. The new Internet marketing depends on relevance--consumers pull the advertising and other sales information when they are interested. Find out how to use these new tools to increase brand awareness and, more importantly, sales.
Date
Tuesday, November 7, 2006

Where
Bridgewater Manor
1251 Route 202/206
Bridgewater, NJ 08807
(908) 658-3000

Time
6:00 - 6:30 PM Registration - Open Networking with Cash Bar
6:30 - 7:00 PM Chapter announcements
7:00 - 8:30 PM Presentation

Registration
To register: send your check to NJ-AMA November Event, PO Box 198, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920-0198

Registration Fees
Students - $20
NJAMA Member Advance Payment* - $35
NJAMA Member Pay-at-the-door - $40
Non-members Advance Payment* - $40
Non-members Pay-at-the-door - $45

* Advance Payment Deadline: Checks payable to NJAMA, must reach us before October 27th to qualify for the advance price. (Checks can be sent to L. Conklin, 10 Crier Court, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920)

Friday, October 06, 2006

The Role of Communicators in 2020

I just read an interesting posting on IABC Cafe by Todd Hattori, ABC. He discusses The Future of the Internet II, an article based on a study conducted by PEW Internet & American Life. Click on the title link above to read the full posting.

The following finding and commentary stood out to me:
(PEW's finding) "Transparency builds a better world, even at the expense of privacy: As sensing, storage and communication technologies get cheaper and better, individuals’ public and private lives will become increasingly “transparent” globally. Everything will be more visible to everyone, with good and bad results. Looking at the big picture - at all of the lives affected on the planet in every way possible - this will make the world a better place by the year 2020. The benefits will outweigh the costs. (46% agree / 49% disagree)

(Hattori's remark) As professional communicators, do we believe we have successfully managed virtual information for our employers and clients? How will we manage increasing amounts of information while reinforcing the value of transparency? What are the ethical challenges and solutions? How will we manage information overload — as if this isn’t already a significant challenge?"

Personally, I would fall within the 46th percentile in agreement with the comment. I believe social media platforms can, will and should increase transparency within corporations. However, the benefits will be met with countless issues and I believe corporate communicators will be left to remedy these issues. But in the end, I feel the benefits will out weigh the faults. Any thoughts?