Blog - Page 46 of 57 - Bob Cargill

07Nov 2005 by Bob Cargill

The Virtual Handshake

As an inveterate blogger (43,000 words and counting), I'm asked all the time why I blog and what I get out of it. For me, the reasons are countless, not the least of which it’s an easy, natural way for me to share my knowledge and experience as a direct marketer and to develop new, mutually-beneficial relationships in the online arena. Yes, a blog is as much a powerful, self-publishing platform as it is a valuable virtual networking tool. It’s just one of many new forms of “social software” (e.g., LinkedIn, Meetup, MySpace, Ryze, etc.) that have emerged in the new millennium and – like it or not – promise to change the way you conduct business forever. With that said, it would be in any business professional’s best interests…

03Nov 2005 by Bob Cargill

Blogging Workshop in Boston for “Smart Arts Marketers”

Blogging, Direct Marketing, Fundraising

Forgive the short notice, but if you’re in Boston on November 9 and can spare the afternoon, there’s a blogging 101 workshop for "smart arts marketers" taking place at The Pilot House on Lewis Wharf. Presented by Bill Cass – Director of Internet Marketing Strategies at Backbone Media, President of the Boston chapter of the American Marketing Association and a blogger himself – this workshop promises to help you “gain insight into how blogs can benefit your organization and learn strategies to develop and manage a successful blog.” In addition to Cass, the workshop will also feature a panel discussion and Q&A with the following: *Bill Marx, Arts Critic and Editor of WBUR Online Arts *Steve Garfield, The Paul Revere of Videoblogging,” SteveGarfield.com *Jack Wright, Director of Public Relations, Bank…

31Oct 2005 by Bob Cargill

Running the Boston Marathon for Children’s Hospital Boston — and Hailey

Boston Marathon, Cause-Related Marketing, Direct Marketing, Fundraising

Less than six months from now, on April 17, 2006, I’ll be pounding the pavement once again from Hopkinton to Boston, determinedly putting one foot in front of another for more than 26 long, arduous miles. It’ll be the 8th time I’ve taken the same exhausting journey. And I’ll be tired and sore most of the way. But as I’ve said before, it doesn’t get any better than crossing the finish line of what is arguably the most prestigious road race in the world, the Boston Marathon. I’ve enjoyed running since I was just a little boy, so for me, running Boston is still the thrill of a lifetime, a childhood dream come remarkably true. I’m lucky, though. Some children’s dreams are mercilessly dashed due to dread, debilitating diseases and…

25Oct 2005 by Bob Cargill

NEDMA ’06 Issues its Call for Speakers

Direct Marketing

The New England Direct Marketing Association has just issued its Call for Speakers for NEDMA ’06: It’s a Brave New World, a conference and exposition to be held on June 14-15, 2006, at the Bentley College campus center in Waltham, Massachusetts. Interested parties are invited to submit their proposals no later than November 23 if they want to be involved in what promises to serve as an extraordinary direct marketing “think tank” for all of New England and beyond.” “Help your fellow direct marketers get connected to the future,” says Craig Blake, vice president of the association and chair of the conference, in his official Call for Speakers. “Demonstrate how you have created this brave new world by re-constructing the old ways...innovating new technology and techniques...merging direct marketing with other…

21Oct 2005 by Bob Cargill

Goodbye Web Site, Hello Blog

Blogging, Marketing

Thanks to noted corporate blog strategist, B.L. Ochman, I recently caught wind of yet another smart organization that's shed its Web site entirely and instead staked a claim in the blogosphere. Union Square Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm, turned its site into a blog because, as they say, “We realized that our thesis evolves incrementally as a result of our dialogue with the market, and that the best way to manage that was to accept that we would never get to an answer, so we should just publish the conversation. The best way to do that is with a blog...” Good for them. And good for those of us already here in the blogosphere who have had to be so patient with the naysayers and uninformed, knowing that…

14Oct 2005 by Bob Cargill

Two DM Trade Publications Launch New Blogs

Blogging, Direct Marketing

It was inevitable that both DIRECT and DM News would eventually establish a presence in the blogosphere, but what’s the chance of two of my favorite trade publications launching their own respective blogs just days apart? As a dyed-in-the-wool direct marketer who just so happens to write a blog, I can’t help but be beside myself. Yes, as if it wasn’t exciting enough to see that DIRECT was finally blogging on Wednesday, I almost fell off my chair when less than 24 hours later DM News announced that its blog was now “open for business.” Of course, the near simultaneous debut of these two blogs is more than just a coincidence. Both promise to provide extensive, live coverage of DMA.05, The Direct Marketing Association’s Conference & Exhibition taking place this…

11Oct 2005 by Bob Cargill

This Conversation Made Possible by Convio

Direct Marketing, Fundraising

Convio, the leading provider of software and services to help nonprofit organizations use the Internet for driving support, recently announced the release of Convio Tributes, a “constituent-led fundraising solution” that lets a nonprofit effectively leverage supporters and take, as the company says, “Internet fundraising to a new level.” With Convio Tributes, a nonprofit can provide its constituents with online tools to quickly and easily create their own highly personalized Web sites for fundraising in honor or memory of a friend or relative. Supporters also can use their Web pages to help recruit new constituents and put a personal face on the nonprofit’s mission. Although many nonprofits provide such tools to people participating in events such as walks and races, Convio Tributes lets supporters raise money, generate awareness and recruit others…

10Oct 2005 by Bob Cargill

Everyone’s An Expert, Writes Seth Godin

Direct Marketing, Fundraising, Marketing, Public Relations

Seth Godin has just announced the release of his next free ebook, Everyone’s An Expert, which you can download here. The book, he says, “is for anyone who wants more online traffic, more revenue, more followers, more attention, more interest, more donations or more influence.” It’s a short book – you can read it in about ten minutes – about his exciting, new online company, Squidoo, and, as Seth says, “more important, about a new sort of online tool that might very well change the way you discover (and publish) information.” This new tool (which has to do with the development of a “lens,” described by Seth as a “a page, a single page, that highlights one person’s view of the Web – not the whole Web, just one tiny…

04Oct 2005 by Bob Cargill

Training Blogs for Runners

Blogging

“Instead of detailing workouts in a private training diary, runners are now logging their workouts on the Web for friends, teammates, and long-distance training partners to read and respond to,” writes Chaddus Bruce in the October 2005 issue of Runner’s World (“Today I Ran Fast – Keeping A Training Blog Can Help You Get Fit And Focused”). This is something I myself experimented with a little of last spring when I blogged a few times about running the Boston Marathon for charity. This is also something I have suggested to my fellow runners and friends at the Greater Framingham Running Club. A blog – as companion to a more traditional Web site – would be the ideal online self-publishing platform for any club for that matter, running-related or not. To…