Nov 252012
 
Advertising eBay Motors via Hooniverse and the BMW E36

Today’s piece is a two-fer, bringing together both Work and Wheels. I found an interesting article about turning an old BMW E36 into a weekend track car. The story was on the Hooniverse car enthusiast site, “hoon” being Australian slang for a reckless driver/gearhead. My 1999 M3 is an E36, so obviously I was the […]

Nov 202012
 
Why Online Advertising Must Change

I don’t work in online advertising any longer. But I was present at the creation (more or less), as a very early hire of Advertising.com. The pay-per-click, online advertising network ecosystem that company and others built almost 15 years ago needs to be replaced by something new. The creators of content, upon which everything depends, […]

Nov 162012
 
Vino Volo Expansion Takes Flight

My lastest WashingtonExec column published yesterday. I was invited to attend the opening night of Vino Volo, a high-end wine bar/restaurant in Bethesda, Maryland. Since 2005 the company has operated wine bars in airports and is currently in 18 nationwide, but the Bethesda restaurant is their first freestanding location. The Vino Volo approach stresses fun, […]

Nov 142012
 
2013 B2B Content Marketing Survey

Recently a comprehensive B2B content marketing survey was produced and released by MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute (CMI). MarketingProfs packs a lot of good info into their post, and the entire survey is available for download with free registration. MarketingProfs and CMI received responses from over 1,400 companies for this survey. So the findings […]

Nov 112012
 
U.S. BMW Sales Strong, Growth Pace Slows

Last week BMW released its October sales numbers in the U.S. The 2012 numbers continue to be impressive, with October year to year sales up 20.9 percent, and year to date sales up 6.7 percent. (These percentages exclude the Mini brand.) Compared to the first two quarters however, the growth rate has slowed. As I […]

Nov 072012
 
Your Personal Data as Online Currency

Online privacy and how consumer data is tracked online has been a recurring theme on this site. The current Internet economic model is driven by advertising, which is targeted by tracking the online behavior of consumers. In exchange, consumers enjoy free or very low cost services and applications. I call this the quid-pro-quo of the […]

Nov 042012
 
Thanksgiving Wine Suggestions

Holiday season is fast approaching, and for many it’s time to think about what wine to serve with Thanksgiving dinner. Here’s a few wines I’ve enjoyed lately that could be big hits with your holiday guests. Any of the 2009 petit chateaux bordeaux I reviewed recently would be an economical and popular choice. In addition, […]

Oct 312012
 
What Makes Content Great?

Search Engine Land is a go to site for all topics related to search. So when I saw an article on how to create great content, I naturally assumed the focus would on how content should be  organized and tagged for search engine indexing. The author Rick DeJarnette does deliver some good tips on that […]

Oct 282012
 
Upgrading BMW Angel Eyes

Beginning with the E39 5 Series in 2001, BMW introduced lighted rings around the headlights on their cars. These quickly were termed “angel eyes” and became a big hit in the market. Early BMW angel eyes were powered by a halogen bulb. This caused the color of the rings to be yellow, which didn’t match […]

Oct 252012
 
Talking 2009 Petit Chateaux Bordeaux

My latest WashingtonExec Wine and Dine column published today. The topic this month is the 2009 Bordeaux vintage, and the strong values delivered by the so-called petit chateaux. These are thousands of small vineyards that can produce very high quality Bordeaux, without the stratospheric prices of the more famous Bordeaux appellations. I review three 2009 […]

Oct 192012
 
Has Social Media Changed the Nature of Leadership?

This week a survey was released that looked at the nature of leadership in the age of social media. Jamie Notter and Maddie Grant, consultants and co-authors of the book Humanize – How People-Centric Organizations Succeed in a Social World, released the results Tuesday at a workshop held in Washington, DC. Focused on the association […]

Oct 172012
 
Do Not Track - Time to Level With Consumers

Do Not Track rules for online advertising appear increasingly likely, and the heat is rising. The New York Times ran a thorough story over the weekend detailing what it describes as industry moves to thwart consumer opt-out of online tracking. Industry groups like the Association of National Advertisers, Internet Advertising Bureau and the Direct Marketing […]