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Oatmeal Stout

where we drink up the Web and postulate about its future


Random Thoughts After Day One on the MacWorld Expo HallJanuary 7

Yesterday, after I arrived in San Francisco and checked into my hotel, I headed over to Moscone South Expo hall for MacWorld Expo.  I’d never been to a MacWorld before so I wasn’t really sure what to expect.

My first thought was… WOW.  The booths were massive and the hall was even bigger.

As you walk around, you see a little bit of everything, from iPod/iPhone case manufacturers to ToDo list software developers to Brain Toniq to the biggies like Microsoft and Apple.

Now I can imagine that for the biggies like Microsoft buying a booth is kind of like paying your annual dues for being a part of the cult of Mac.   But, if you’re one of the small guys and all you have the money for is a few big marketing pushes a year,  what makes you want to buy a 10 by 10 booth?

You definitely saw every trick in the book being employed to get people to stop at a booth.  One group had the car from Back to the Future at their booth, which was cool but I’m not sure what it had to do with exhibitor.   There weren’t many women roaming the hall because they were all working the booths, which is kind of funny.  Some were passing out food.  Some were luring people with celebrities.

It just seems like it’d be hard to make an impression.  What could you do at a booth which is going to leave enough of an impression on people that they’re going to engage further with your brand?

I talked to


Seriously, You Need To Stay at a Kimpton Hotel. They Treat You Like Royalty.January 6

I know that I’ve expressed my love for the Kimpton Hotel chain before but I want to say it again… these guys get it.  They treat you like you’re guests in their house… like you’re royalty.  It just makes you excited about staying there.

I’m a member of their loyalty program.  One of the perks is that they’ll bring you a gift to thank you for your stay on the first night you’re there.  This time they brought me a half bottle of French wine and a plate of fruit.  That’s AWESOME.

This makes me think back to the experience that Jason had at JetBlue’s Terminal 5 at JFK airport.  Treat your customers right.  Give them what they want and they’ll come back for me.  They’ll tell their friends about it.

This is something that we can all take away as we look to shape the products and services that our companies provide.  Are we meeting our customers’ needs?  Are we giving them what they want?  Are we giving them a superior experience?  Are we treating them like they are guests in our house or like family?

      
Geoff Livingston Announces Date and Speaker Lineup for BlogPotomac 2009January 5

Geoff Livingston’s Washington, DC area social media conference BlogPotomac 2009 has announced its date and lineup of speakers.  It will be held on Friday, June 12th at the State Theatre in Falls Church, VA.  Speaking at the event there will be Shireen Mitchell, Scott Monty, Liz Strauss, Aaron Brazell, Amber Naslund, and Shashi Bellamkonda.  Finally, it will be keynoted by Shel Holtz.  It sounds like it will be an exciting show and at $95 it’s quite a deal.

      
Any Tips for a MacWorld Newbie?January 5

So… CRAZY early tomorrow morning I head to San Francisco.  One of the main focuses of my trip will be attending the MacWorld Conference & Expo and meeting folks there.  I’m really excited.  I’ve always heard about MacWorld but I’ve never been to one.

I wanted to take it slow so this year I’m just doing an expo pass, which I’ve heard is all you really need.

I’m just curious, what  tips do you guys have?  Anyone I need to meet?  Do you want to meet?  Anything in particular that I should check out?

      
Community Needs a Physical Place… A Place “Where Everybody Knows Your Name”January 4

(Photo by Jared Goralnick of John Coston, Nick Whitmoyer, Doris Steere, Me, and Tony Via)

Today,  a few of my friends got together and we ate some tasty dim sum style Chinese cuisine at a restaurant in Arlington, Virginia.   We had a fantastic time.   After that, we went to Arlington coffee shop Murky Coffee and just hung out.  It was also fantastic.

This all got me thinking…

It seems like for most of my life the communities I’ve participated in have had some physical location that have gone with them.  With my high school friends, we’d always hang out at this one Mexican restaurant in Lansing, MI.  When I was a freshman in college, one of our friends’ dorm rooms just somehow became the defacto dorm room that we all went to hang out in.  Later in my college years, we all spent our time at the campus coffee shops. Now it’s Murky Coffee.

If you look at popular culture, you will see a similar theme.  I’m currently hooked on the TV show “How I Met Your Mother”.  In the show, the cast spends all their time at the bar MacLarens.   The TV show Frasier had “Cafe Nervosa.