This is a great time of year to explore all the tech toys available for gift giving.  As technology changes so quickly, last year’s big item may not even show up on a Christmas list this year.  I’ve done some research to help you out!

• For the true geek

Password Manager – Roboform is a top rated choice in this area.  It will memorize your passwords and log you in, fill in long registration forms, encrypt passwords for security, and even synchronize passwords between computers, Pocket PC’s and Palms.  All of this is offered for $30.  Another product, from Biometric, will log you into your computer through a touch of your finger (fingerpad) and costs around $50.

TV-Be-Gone Television Remote – Really this is for the person who has all the tech toys and beyond.  This is a remote fob that is programmed to shut off any TV.  If you can’t get up off the couch, you can’t find the regular remote and assuming you CAN find this little fob, you can shut off your TV with a quick click. (Who makes these things?) The cost is around $20.

DVD Shredder – you have to be pretty techy and have a lot of sensitive information to need this.  Prices appear to range from $50 to $125.

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As regional relevance gains importance in internet marketing, Chambers of Commerce are staking their claim as some of the best advertising forums around.  Whatever your business, an ad on your Chamber’s web site offers exposure to an obvious target market – people who are interested in your area.  Does this mean every person who visits the Chamber’s site is there looking to book with a lodging property, find a restaurant in which to eat, or discover a fun place to take their kids next weekend?  Of course not, but some of them are.  If your business is not listed on the site, you’re not giving site visitors a chance to choose your business over the competition’s.

Every good marketing strategy attempts to cover all of the bases; although many people view advertising campaigns as expenses, it is much more beneficial and accurate to consider them as investments.  As such, you obviously want to invest your marketing dollars in venues with a high rate of return.  On the internet, this means understanding the different ways people search for products online, and then choosing advertising options that will ensure that their searches end on your website.

How do people search the internet?  Within the tourism industry, we must address two main methods – searches by industry and searches by locality. 

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    Take care of yourself (body AND mind) – This means to get adequate sleep, eat your vegetables and take a walk once in a while.

   Just say no! – You don’t always have to say yes just because it’s a giving time of year.  Do not add to your own stress.

    Talk about it….don’t assume – Exchanging gifts and deciding who to buy for can be stressful in itself.  If you can, draw names and buy fewer gifts, or suggest to friends to pass on exchanging gifts this year; they might be very glad you did.  This not only will help reduce stress for everyone, it’ll help everyone’s pocket book, too.  You might also want to think about donating money to a favorite charity in someone’s name instead of giving that person a present.

    Prioritize, and keep the rest simple – There are not enough hours in the day (unless, maybe, if you’re Martha Stewart) to do everything to perfection.  Make a list of everything that needs to get accomplished, and choose three things that mean the most to you; for example, spending time with family, baking homemade cookies, and sending beautiful holiday cards with handwritten personalized messages inside.  If the idea of gift wrapping box after box sets your heart a-racing, consider using holiday drawstring or gift bags.

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Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, is gaining popularity with travelers.  Looking to avoid paying costly long distance charges, more and more people are using VoIP in the comfort of their internet-enabled accommodations. Some hoteliers are already embracing this trend.

Read more about this on CNN’s website by clicking here.

Elizabeth Malloy – Blizzard Internet Marketing, Inc.

The article, written by Katherine Heires of MediaKat LLC and originally released in the Harvard Management Communication Letter, offers a number of good reasons for businesses to utilize the power of blogging, and includes some valuable tips for setting up just such a blog.  Though this article is not aimed at hospitality industry specifically, its author makes a number of good points.

Consider these:

    * Influence the public "conversation" about your company: Make it easy for journalists to find the latest, most accurate information about new products or ventures. In the case of a crisis, a blog allows you to shape the conversation about it.
    * Enhance brand visibility and credibility: Appear higher in search engine rankings, establish expertise in industry or subject area, and personalize one’s company by giving it a human voice.
    * Achieve customer intimacy: Speak directly to consumers and have them come right back with suggestions or complaints—or kudos.

To read the full article, click here.

Another article posted recently about the business benefits of blogging can be found at SEO for Blogs.

Long-time Blizzard clients, the owners of Gastehaus Schmidt recently approved a redesign of their web site, www.fbglodging.com. Jenn Weis was the designer on the project.

When senior Google engineer Matt Cutts addressed the hundreds of webmasters at PubCon in Las Vegas in November, he clearly stated that Google doesn’t have any trouble telling Search Engine Optimization from Spam.

Search Engine Optimization is making it as easy as possible for search engines to tell what a particular site is about; this is vital for search engines so that they can return the most accurate results for queries. Hence, search engines supply guidelines of what they look for when ranking a site, and they provide tools to communicate the information to them.  

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