by Nicole Ouellette | Feb 22, 2010 | Marketing Monday
Marketing Monday profiles a cool person, website, or business doing more online. Got an idea? Contact me so I can write about it.
People always ask me: How do you get by without cable? I say that my Google Reader keeps me in touch with what’s going on in the blogosphere/pop culture and I listen to NPR for my news. Both of these are true, that’s part of the reason I can go without a cable bill. I do, however, get my television zoning out pleasure courtesy of Hulu.
There is two main ways for media companies to make money online: 1) charge users a fee to access the site or 2) get advertisers to foot the bill and offer the users free access. Hulu has opted for the latter, and may or may not be making enough money to support themselves. Regardless of whether Hulu is turning a profit at the moment though, they are doing interesting things online.
Hulu is having customers chose their viewing experience… and getting customer data in the process.
Several times recently, I was given options for commercials. Did I want to watch a 1 minute 30 second long commercial about Nuvaring before the show began or did I want several shorter commercial breaks? Did I want to watch the stylish, tech, or speed-oriented commercial for Google Chrome? (Part of me also wonders also if there is some ad targeting going on based on my age, sex, and other demographics.)
by Nicole Ouellette | Feb 19, 2010 | Social Media
Let me just say right off that I am far from being some kind of smooth lady on the relationship front. But I’ve recently did something where I accidentally encouraged my new boyfriend to do something nice for me, and then it kept happening.
Dan likes to cook. The second meal he made me, I decided to take out my digital camera and record him on video.
The next day, I watched it. What surprised me was that the video was actually good. I asked if I could post it on Facebook, thinking his friends would get a kick out of it. Almost immediately, he got phone calls, emails, and comments, mostly asking when the next video was coming out.
Next video?
by Nicole Ouellette | Feb 18, 2010 | This Week In Business
Remember last week when I had the brilliant idea of offering a workshop with my friend Matt? Well turns out planning events takes, um, planning.
This week, I learned there’s always a little more to something than we expect there to be. Here’s what happened so far this week:
The workshop had multiple details to iron out.
First of all, Matt and I realized that neither of us have a projector. With this realization came more questions: Which projector do we buy? Are there any on CraigsList? What about people we know who might have one? Which one of us should buy it? You can see what I mean.
Then there was the whole “How are we going to accept payments?” issue. Which one of us is talking about what? What if people don’t have laptops? What’s the internet connection like at our venue? Oh, and what are we going to call this workshop anyway?
by Nicole Ouellette | Feb 16, 2010 | Too Cute Tuesday
Too Cute Tuesday is a weekly event that involves a craft, a cocktail, and a friendly get together. Join us each week for a different inexpensive craft. Currently there are TCT chapters in Bar Harbor, Maine and Saint Louis, Missouri. If you want to join in on the fun, check out Facebook or contact Nicole.
Mardi Gras always makes me proud to be a French gal. The whole joie de vivre culture, not to mention music, food, and drink, well, it’s a fun time no matter what culture you’re from.
Laissez les bonnes temps rouler!
Materials:
Exacto knife
Takeout chopsticks (for mask handles)
Scissors
Fabric, old costume jewelry, construction paper, ribbon (for decoration)
Glue gun (for hardcore gluing)
1.5 oz. light rum
1.5 oz. dark rum
1 oz. orange juice
1 oz. fresh lime juice (NOT Rose’s or RealLime)
1/4 cup passion fruit juice, or 1 tablespoon passion fruit syrup
1 tsp. superfine sugar
1 tsp. grenadine
Shake ingredients, serve on ice.
1. Serve happy participants food. I guess I can make good soup after all! Pour hurricanes to go with. Ahhh…
by Nicole Ouellette | Feb 16, 2010 | Marketing Monday
Every Monday, I feature some cool marketing, be it something that a person, business, or organization is doing. Please tip me off if you have an idea of what the BE Blog could feature!
Except for listening to the rap/hip hop on occasion (usually while driving or on a treadmill), I hadn’t thought much about Lil Wayne until last week. The rapper was busted for having a concealed weapon, and while they had initially talked about him possibly going to jail for multiple years, it looks like he’s going there for a least one.
But this guy is no slacker. Here’s what Lil Wayne is doing right, post having done something wrong:
He recorded nine music videos in two days. According to a commenter on the NPR story, Elvis did the same thing before going into the Army.
He has twenty songs pre-recorded and ready to go. Yup, that’s an album’s worth. Sure, if some get leaked, he might have to think of more (the hype alone might be worth leaking a few on purpose) but all this groundwork is part of the plan. According to NPR:
“He has a label, Young Money Entertainment, that’s going to keep him front and center while he’s in jail. They are moving from their headquarters in New Orleans to New York, to be close to him while he’s at Rikers Island…His label has made every effort to make it seem like he isn’t gone while he’s actually gone. When he gets out, he may be bigger than he was when he left.”
