recently chaired a roundtable on social media in the travel industry for Travel Trade Gazette where agents, providers and those working in PR in the travel industry discussed best practice use of social media and also what they hoped and thought would happen in the future. The travel industry is a great place for social media innovation, as is seen by the many examples of online communities in the travel industry. And travel is an industry which generates a lot of stories, media and experiences, which are perfect for people to share with others. MORE >>

It should give you a great overview about both the strategy and the process of creating an online community from scratch. The Online Community Basics. Primer About Successful Online Communities. The 11 Fundamental Laws of Online Communities. The Four Tenets Of Professional Community Managers. Building An Online Community: How You Start With 0 Members. How Do You Build An Online Community? Contrary Truths About Online Communities. Don’t Start A Community For Any Of These Reasons. Basics Community Building Principles. Content. MORE >>

According to the American Marketing Association, integrated marketing communications is “a planning process designed to assure that all brand contacts received by a customer or prospect for a product, service, or organization are relevant to that person and consistent over time.”. Unfortunately, Social Media is impossible to control and many an integrated marketing campaign has fallen flat or been shot down by some YouTube revelation. Things move way too fast in social media for a long-term integrated marketing program to be as predictable as the profession may claim. MORE >>

In January of 2011, I said that I’d make our Internet Marketing Posts of 2011 subscriber only. Many loyal readers have checked in on the newsletter throughout 2011 to get both evergreen content , the content that typically embraces these monthly updates, in addition to something completely new, monthly digital trends  – the stuff you use for presentations and proposals, for arguing that social media and online marketing does have a firm place in today’s landscape. The Marketing Automation. Automating your marketing efforts may be fruitful. Blogging. MORE >>

The transportation industry encompasses all modes of travel, including air, rail, road, and water. If the entire airline system were self-sorting, then the proper sized aircraft could be deployed to the proper sized market instead of artificially constraining supply and demand to meet the size of the airplane. Social Flights is pioneering the concept that people can self-organize around their own communities and municipal airports without the need for hub terminals. Collaborative Communities. Now, let’s really tell the truth. nice bacon quiche for the holidays. MORE >>