I was reading a story the other day how (again) somebody posted something on the internet, then heard he shouldn’t have and pulled the post offline. Of course this didn’t go without people noticing it and they dug up the post of the the search engine’s cache. This made me think of how a blog in many ways resembles a tattoo, here’s why:
Just like a tattoo, a blog is a way to express your thoughts, feelings, ideas, … about everything you can think of. You find both in all colors and shapes, languages etc. And you’ll find them both used by people out of all layers of the population, no matter what their level or interests are.
Think of how tattoos where used (unfortunately) with the Jews during the holocaust, or how the Maori use it… or some criminal gangs. Tattoos are part a way of saying who you are, to what group you belong to and in many cases also what your status is in that group. Blogs aren’t that much different. From this blog you can tell at least to some extend who I am and with all the social ranking (Technorati and others) attached to it - even if you didn’t ask for it - there is a status system in place as well.
A tattoo, especially a really good one is a conversation starter pretty much like a blog is. When you see someone with a great tattoo you want to know where and why this person got it, what it means, how people react to it, etc… A good post on a blog is a bit the same, it’ll ignite people’s mind and quickly enough you’ll be in a conversation with people you know or don’t know about what you’ve just written.
Finally - and this is probably where most people thought of I guess - it’s pretty infinite. To use a famous Vegas quote: “what happens on the internet, stays on the internet” and although it might not mean exactly the same as what they meant in Vegas, it says pretty much what it means. Once something goes online, it’ll be there forever. Once a blogpost is there, don’t think you can delete it… meaning you could on your own system but that’s about it. Just like a tattoo, everything you do online is pretty much there forever. And now I know you can get rid of a tattoo, but it takes a lot of effort and time and you’ll always see some trace of it. I think that counts for the internet as well.
Maybe you can think of more, add them in the comments if you do.
I got this letter today when checking into the Hilton hotel in Amsterdam (where the Social Media Forum Europe takes place) and part of that letter was too funny not to copy over here. Enjoy:
“All our rooms are equipped with Wireless High Speed Internet. You can easily install this on your laptop by connection through the wire available on your desk”
At least it works this wireless-internet-with-a-cable hence my ability to post this ;)
Last Saturday it was ‘Dag van de klant‘ again in Belgium, literally translated that means ‘Day of the customer’. This day is an initiative from Unizo (Organization for the Self-Employed and SMEs) and is a yearly recurring event and this year was the 20th edition. On this day, the small business thank their customers for their loyalty. Most of the time, that means you’ll get some chocolates, a rose, … when you buy stuff at the shop that day.
So what happened? On Saturday I went to the car-wash and received some car refresher (like a sample) when I paid. And on Monday I got some free chocolates thrown at me while visiting my bank to pick up my new Visa card. And that’s indeed the experience. Did I feel like being thanked for my loyalty Not really, I even had to ask why I got it in the first place. It was just that day where shops offer you a little gift, when you visit them… because it’s that day of the year again.
I think Unizo needs the rethink their concept as I get the feeling it’s a ‘little’ worn out. I can see how this idea made sense many years ago, but today it looks like many businesses are just part of this because that’s what everyone else does…. I remember how Lou Carbone said during his presentation at MIX07: “You cannot NOT have an experience”, and it’s clear that just organizing something called ‘Day of the Customer’ doesn’t make that customer experience a good one just like that.
Technorati Tags: unizo, dag van de klant, customer, loyalty, experience
Although it seems to be something mainly email marketers are focusing on, but it’s important for all marketing efforts. You need to have a link between the subject line and the message, between how you attract people to your message and the message itself. Especially in the times of viral marketing, you often see examples where the link is totally lost.
Here’s such a random example I got in my mailbox last week - that is traditional mail ;)
This is a postcard I received and it did draw my attention. I couldn’t remember one of my friends had gone to Rio on holiday or anything so I was curious to find out who this came from.
Big was my disappointment when I turned the postcard and saw it was an advertising for the Nearly New Car centers. I’ll translate the beginning, that’ll explain enough:
“We have arrived well in Rio. The weather is great but that is definitely not good enough to forget that the the July conditions at Nearly New Car still count this month. ….”
I gave up after reading that first line and threw it away (ok I made the scan first). This really doesn’t make sense to me, who ever came up with this?
Found this one at Right-Half Chow and had to post that up here as well. You’re never too young for some ‘branded entertainment’ I guess ;)
From Atypyk.
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