Vinny Tafuro

Our Blog Has Moved

2008-09-15T11:39:00.000-04:00

Our blog has moved to a new location you can find it at http://blog.tafurocommunications.com/.

Check out the new Tafuro Communications website.

See you there!

Catch Up, Up Date

2008-05-22T11:56:00.004-04:00

I have not blogged or sent an email update since before I left for Tallahassee and cannot believe it has been over two full months. Thank you to those of you who let me know my writing has been missed. It has been a whirlwind of a year so far.

On to the updates:

This week’s big event!

The biggest event in Tampa Bay this week, at least in my humble opinion is Ad 2 Tampa Bay's 29th Annual Merchandise & Media Auction which this year has been moved to eBay and is online only. This has opened it up to many new bidders and made for an exciting online war for the donated media.

The auction closes tomorrow (Friday 5/23) around 2 p.m. so go check it out and spend some money on some great advertising deals!

Click here: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZad2tampabay

My Voice and the Infinite Power of One

If you click the link here and listen to the PSA you should notice that the lead voice/line “What if you could be more powerful” is none other than yours truly.

I was asked by my long time friend Kate Whatley, Art Director at Peak Biety and Incoming Ad 2 Tampa Bay President to do some voice trials for a PSA. They liked my voice enough to use it twice in this spot and also in the 15 and 30 second versions.

The work was pro bono of course but only took about 15 minutes one afternoon. The campaign is national so it will be heard all over the country.

I want to thank Kate and also Glen Peak for the awesome opportunity.

Harping on an issue, voter apathy

I read this Tampa Tribune article in April and it really illustrated the utterly depressing turn out numbers in Pasco County’s various municipal elections.

When I have more time I want to go into more details on this but as noted above I like to harp on this issue.

When will not voting become political incorrect?

American Advertising Federation & National Ad 2

I am off to Atlanta June 7th through 10th for the AAF National Conference, advertising expo and of course the National ADDY Award Show.

We will be holding the National Ad 2 Public Service Competition on Monday June 9th from 2 to 6 p.m. during the conference. We will have nine Ad 2 chapters competing.

Click here for a list of clubs and the charities they helped this year.

Tampa Bay Advertising Federation

I have signed on to be the local TBAF legislative chair again this coming year and will be looking forward to working with those of you in our industry and market on various legislative issues affecting our business.

Raising Citizens' Income

2008-03-15T17:23:00.001-04:00

If you watch enough city, county and state meetings you start to hear a term used over and over. The term is revenue and it is used by elected and oppointed officials alike as well as numerous government employees.

The problem I have with that is unlike a private sector business, it is not "revenue" in the sence some of our business minded officals would like to think.

The that term should be removed from government completely. It is “citizens’ income” and should be stated that way each time it is used so people our government learns to respect where the money comes from.

The proper way to say it would then be, "we need to raise/aquire more 'citizens’ income' to help offset shortfalls through addional user fees".

The Rally in Tally & Public Service Ad Campaigns

2008-03-08T16:55:00.008-05:00

American Advertising Federation – Fourth District Legislative Rally

This week Tampa Bay Advertising Federation and Ad 2 Tampa Bay members (myself included) will head to Tallahassee to join with the other 20+ AAF chapters around the state to visit our local state legislators for the Rally in Tally.

Each year we make this visit on behalf of the advertising industry to talk with our elected officials about the various pro-bono public service advertising initiatives we take on each year.

Each year countless hours and immeasurable creativity is donated to the promotion of non profits around the state by individuals and advertising agencies.

These pro bono campaigns allow non profits to reach more people and assist in raising more private dollars for support.Ad 2 Tampa Bay this year is working with Wheels of Success and the TBAF is working with Hillsborough County’s Cyber Safe initiative.

Pirates... of Silicon Valley

2008-03-06T05:24:00.001-05:00

Found the Pirates of Silicon Valley on Google Video and wanted to share it. Its the whole movie in one shot if you want to check it out.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1552555273778978142

Microsoft and Crispin... this ought to be fun

2008-03-04T13:09:00.001-05:00

As this headline, In an Effort to Get 'Cool,' Microsoft Finally Calls in Crispin, came across my screen I had to saw "wow" as the Window's Vista campaign had previously exclaimed. Now that the Sprint & Goodby saga has ended, this might be a good relationship to watch.

Don't get me wrong unlike Burger King, Miller Lite and Sprint, I actually really like Microsoft and the software that they have produced. Bill Gates, love him of hate him is a master mind to be respected.

That said... Apple is so much cooler, right? Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates? You can watch a head to head panel discussion here on YouTube and decide for youself.

Seriously though, I really want to see what comes of this relationship. I think if Microsoft continues to work on innovating and allows Crispin to be creative that something really cool and valuable just might be delivered.

AdCast in Febuary with Media Talk

2008-03-03T11:24:00.001-05:00

Co-hosting AdCast this month with Media Talk I was able to see myself on the big screen of the Tampa Theatre during the kick of of the Gasparilla Film Festival. If you have not seen Ad 2 Tampa Bay's monthly web cast you can always check out the archives online at YouTube.

I have had the opportunity to play co-host the last two months with Ad 2 Tampa Bay board member Cris Vatalaro and Tampa Bay Film Commission Manager Lindsey Norris.

It was a great opportunity and I look forward to working with them on future projects.

Update: Hillsborough County CAC - February 29, 2008

2008-02-29T14:17:00.000-05:00

Our first speakers were the county’s Community Liaisons; Tony Morejon (Hispanic Liaison), Joyce Russell (African American Liaison), Kimi Springsteen (Asian American Liaison), Sandra Sroka (ADA Liaison). Each of them provided very informative updates on what they do to help the citizens of Hillsborough County.

Our second speaker was Tammy Peralta, Station Manager for Hillsborough Television who spoke about the Value Initiative PSA’s that the county is rolling utilizing the $150 thousand advertising credit provided from Bright House Networks after moving HTV to channel 622.

Eric Johnson, Manager, Office of Management and Budget then provided a budget update.
Hillsborough County Citizens Advisory CommitteeAppointed by Commissioner Brian Blair

Hillsborough County Citizens Advisory Committee
Appointed by Commissioner Brian Blair

Involvement increases income options

2008-02-25T10:51:00.002-05:00

The following entry is a quote of my comment on a recent Creative Tampa Bay column, The Sunshine Factor...

As the Chairman of National Ad 2 with 25+ young professional chapters around the country I can tell from first hand experience that it is not simply sunshine that depresses local salaries.

More importantly it is the lack of involvement by individuals in community and industry groups and associations. By being active one learns more about the market they live in and are able to better capitalize by choosing better employment and business opportunities.

When the Forbes article Cloudy Skies For Tampa’s Young Professionals screamed through town last year I was amazed by the names I saw on a list of email forwards. At least half the people forwarding the email in agreement were people I have spoken with who claim to be too busy to get involved with local organizations.

We cannot blame outside forces like the weather for our income levels. Where would Miami be if it counted the sunshine factor?

Secrets Of Smart E-Mail Marketing

2008-02-23T12:37:00.002-05:00

After a meeting this week with a client about creating an email newsletter I was doing some reading and found this Forbes.com article on the topic.

The article gives good tips and arguments for using an email management program as I do such as Constant Contact.

The section on "From" and "Subject" lines is probably the quickest high value piece of the article. I will have to try something new in my March "email newsletter".

The "From" line is important, but the subject line is where you set the trap. The key is attracting attention with imagery and specificity. Example: A subject line that reads "Five Plants Deer Won't Eat" is more compelling than "Monthly Newsletter."

Maybe, something like "Bashing failed Ybor businesses and drinking for the dogs" will be a good catch...

Fuzzy math of government visioning

2008-02-20T11:23:00.002-05:00

I'd like to note the irony in the 50 year planning currently being discussed; that will prepare us for the population that will be here in 2050.

Are we not actually working on a plan closer to 2060 then?

Ybor City restaurants fail to market

2008-02-16T17:48:00.005-05:00

The Citytimes article Ybor's fresh approach yesterday stirred some previous thoughts I've discussed individually with people but have never fully vetted in a written forum.

The above article announces the opening of Raw Sushi and Sake Lounge in Ybor City; in the same location as the two previous failed sushi restaurants, Sushi on 7th and Sushi Xtreme.
Raw Sushi co-owner Bob Volini talks positively about bringing an adult crowd to the district and says "I think it's time to come back."

The same article notes that Big City Tavern in Centro Ybor has now closed, whose owner, Brian Cornacchia, stated “my clientele just doesn't want to come to Ybor.”

How is that for a contrast in attitude?

Having not personally met him, where does Volini get the optimism when so many business owners have failed?

Based on what I have seen over the last seven years it is blind optimism or a sign of true entrepreneurship.

Unfortunately for most of the failed Ybor City restaurateurs it seems to be the former.

Taverna Opa

Taverna Opa opened in mid summer 2006 with a mayoral ribbon cutting and news coverage well before it opened. A year of renovation and construction went into the opening, yet less then a year later they closed.

I ate twice at Taverna Opa when it first opened, once by invitation for the grand opening and again to stop in for drinks and appetizers. The food and service were great and the environment was awesome.

While I love the Acropolis Greek Taverna a block away I think there was room for both in Ybor. The roominess and open air dining room of Opa lent itself to larger groups; there was even a section of the menu specifically to encourage that.

So what took out this mini chain from South Florida?

Outside of some mentions of staffing issues which comes with the territory and is amplified when business is slow, marketing is probably the biggest reason.

After the initial visits I was never once reminded they were there, directly (they had my mailing address) or indirectly (through advertising).
With the quality of food, service and group seating there is no way that they should have struggled through the travel, holiday and parade seasons in Ybor City.

Sushi Xtreme

Sushi Xtreme opened in early 2006 with owner Khue Dinh determined to make a name for himself and his unique take on Sushi dining.

Creative Loafing’s profile of Sushi Xtreme notes that Dinh’s house was on the line to make this venture work yet the inexperienced restaurateur proudly explained that he did absolutely no advertising for the restaurant.

Sometime in mid to late 2006 Dinh closed the restaurant due to lack of business.

I had been there on a few occasions, invited by a friend of Dinh’s and even booked a dinner party there for our Ad 2 Tampa Bay board leadership retreat. The service and food were at most passable which might have accelerated the closure.

Romeo's Studio 1515

Longtime supporters of Ybor City, Walter and Sara Romeo opened Studio 1515 in late 2003 with the hopes of drawing artists and an older, more affluent crowd to Ybor City for coffee, conversation, art and music.

Not a year later a St Pete Times article noted Sara Romeo positively urging fellow Ybor City merchants to wait for the results of a visioning study (to make further changes in the district) when the city was discussing changes to weekend street closings.

As owners of the building the Romeo’s lasted longer then others when they finally decided to close the doors in late 2005.

According to the St Pete Times article on the closing, Walter Romeo sited “a lack of daytime business in Ybor City” as the reason.

While I acknowledge Romeo’s upbeat attitude and claim that “if things start looking like there will be a need for a business there, we definitely would want to come back,” I have to disagree that lack of foot traffic was the problem.

I regularly meet with clients, associates and friends in Ybor City during the day and typically choose to frequent local independent businesses. I met with people a few times at Studio 1515 and unfortunately never once had a great experience.

Simply going to the counter to order coffee gave me the feeling I was interrupting the staff rather then giving them an opportunity to make me feel welcome and want to come back.

If the standoffish atmosphere coupled with a lack of encouragement to come back was typical to daytime visitors, the lack of foot traffic cannot be blamed.

Three Different Businesses

Susan Thurston’s column, Requiem for an arty hub about the closing of Romeo’s ironically notes the opening of Sushi Xtreme and Taverna Opa.

The three businesses vary greatly; from a successful and experienced restaurateur offering great food, service and atmosphere to a passionate sushi chef with dreams of changing the way we eat sushi to a couple looking to bring more culture to the district.

You don’t have to look further then the corner of 7th Avenue and 17th Street to see where all of the above businesses went wrong by not marketing.

Bernini of Ybor

Since 1996 Bernini of Ybor has “seen foot traffic gradually increase during the day” said owner Jason Fernandez in 2004 who also noted that the garages solved the parking problem and beefed up police presence helped as well.

If you’ve been to Bernini you know the place encompasses all the things the above failed businesses had in part or tried to attain.

The restaurant regularly hosts private parties and events, attracts affluent diners, provides a unique Ybor experience and breaks the mold from typical cuisine.

Why the stark difference in results?

He's doing well thanks to aggressive marketing at area hotels and businesses.
Rather than scale back operations like many have done, he expanded, creating a
private dining room for group parties and offering gift certificates and
discounts.

Aggressive Marketing

The only common difference between numerous failed Ybor restaurants and Bernini’s success is Jason’s focus on continually reminding people of his business through marketing.

Provided Raw Sushi has the quality and service diners want, Bernini is a great example of how Bob Volini can be successful in Ybor City.

2008 ADDY Awards and After Party

2008-02-12T23:36:00.001-05:00

The annual ADDY Awards Gala was held Saturday, February 9, 2008 at the Cuban Club in Ybor City under a crescent moon, a perfect venue for announcing the best advertising produced in 2007.

Entries in the local competition, sponsored by the Tampa Bay Advertising Federation, have grown nearly every year since 2002, and this year more than 100 companies submitted 850 pieces of work, from interactive games to outdoor boards.

At the end of the awards show Deanne Roberts was honored with the TBAF Silver Medal award.

The celebration continued at Bernini of Ybor with the Ad 2 Tampa Bay, ADDY After Party. Pedicab transportation was provided by Retro Star Pedicabs.

Ad 2 Tampa Bay board members Carl Vervisch, Kate Whatley, Mai Noel Tran, Vinny Tafuro, Cris Vatalaro and Jeff Morrow pause for a photo at the well attended exclusive after party. More photos available here.

Victoria's Secret Gamble

2008-02-09T14:52:00.000-05:00

The most watched ad during the Super Bowl was the Victoria’s Secret commercial, which was seen by 103.7 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research data. Aired in the fourth quarter during a commecial pod at 9:44 p.m. to 9:45 p.m.

I would have to estimate that running an ad in the fourth quarter is a gamble for an advertiser considering the number of times a Super Bowl win is lopsided and people start tunning out the game by then.

With an extremely close game right up to the Giant's great win over the Patriots it ended up being a great win for Victoria's Secret as well.

Business & Community Update - February 2008

2008-02-03T00:24:00.000-05:00

I will be providing regular updates in an effort to give valuable community and industry information to assist keeping clients, associates, friends and family informed on topics of timely interest.

Here's the link to February 2008's Email Newsletter.

Email managment and archiving is handled by Constant Contact.

Hooperpalooza 2008

2008-02-02T13:54:00.000-05:00

I attended Hooperpalooza 2008 last night, the 44th birthday party of the wildly popular St Pete Times columnist Ernest Hooper. I met Ernest through a friend about a month ago and gave him a website for his birthday, http://www.hooperpalooza.com/.

The party was at Four Green Fields in South Tampa and had a mix of Tampa socialites, personalities and elected officials.

Sprint... No Longer with Nextel?

2008-02-01T18:17:00.000-05:00

According to, this Washington Post article, Sprint Nextel may be writing of up to $31 billion related to the 2005 merger with Nextel Communications.

If taken in full, the write-off would eradicate all of the "goodwill," or the premium Sprint paid for assets related to the deal.

Wow, that has to hurt!

"Most people agree that the Nextel acquisition has been a disaster for Sprint, and I think that taking the charge just reinforces that perception," Watts said. "They had a much harder time integrating the Nextel network than they anticipated."

No matter how they attempt to distance themselves from the Nextel name I don't think there is much goodwill left in the Sprint name after this.

Many times when those of us with AT&T or Verizon Wireless drop a call with someone we assume they are a Sprint subscriber. Reviving the Sprint name could be as challenging as doing the same for the Pinto.

Spam Update 2008

2008-01-29T13:47:00.000-05:00

I regularly have clients contact me in regards to controling spam and unfortunatly the answers I find never seems to get any better.

Unfortunately as business users of email with our email addresses posted on our websites it almost always seems to be a losing battle. The biggest challenge is the tighter you try to make the spam filter the more risk you run of missing an important business email that was mistakenly trapped as spam.

Barracuda Networks Releases Annual Spam Report
At Nearly 95 Percent of Email, Spam Now Rated Worst Form of Junk Advertisinghttp://www.barracudanetworks.com/ns/news_and_events/index.php?nid=232

Study: 95 percent of all e-mail sent in 2007 was spam
CNet commentary on the above press release that might be an easier read.
http://blogs.cnet.com/8301-13505_1-9831556-16.html

The following Forbes article from last year is a pretty easy read and highlights the profitability that keeps spams going. This one focuses on the specific stock market schemes that I am sure you have seen yourself in the past.

Why The SEC Can't Stop Spam
http://www.forbes.com/2007/03/08/sec-spam-stock-tech-security-cx_ll_0308spam.html

Update: Hillsborough County CAC - January 25, 2008

2008-01-28T16:11:00.001-05:00

We re-elected Anthony Arena and Jim Mills as chair and vice chair for the coming year and approved with one modification all 12 Budget Review Subcommittee recommendations to be presented to the BOCC.

Our speaker this month was Paula Harvey, Division Director of Planning and Zoning Services who discussed with us the County's Comprehensive Plan Amendatory Process.

Sprint Prediction: Correct

2008-01-18T21:00:00.000-05:00

A full six months, a holiday shopping season and a new year have come and gone since predicting that "Dreams" and subsequent ads created by two time Adweek U.S. Agency of the Year, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, would do little to improve Sprint's business situation.

According to this Reuters article that prediction was correct.

Sprint Nextel Corp reported deeper than expected subscriber losses on Friday and said it would cut about 4,000 jobs, raising fears of a slowdown in the U.S. wireless industry, and its stock dropped nearly 25 percent.

I think the reference to a slowdown in the industry is overly dramatic considering the 683,000 subscribers lost by the company did not give up cell phones; they mostly went to AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

I do have to add that I have enjoyed the campaign and think creatively, Goodby did everything they could do.

Last April I wondered if a creative campaign could help a company that customers love to hate. Unlike HP where the campaign reinforced good feelings this campaign had way too much of an uphill climb.

I'll take my digital box a bit early

2008-01-05T15:53:00.000-05:00

According to the this St Pete Times editorial and details in this Times article, Hillsborough County has sold out to Bright House Networks by striking a deal instead of suing them for moving the access channels to a higher tier.

The cities of St. Petersburg and Tampa are spending tax payer dollars to fight a change that will be federally mandated to change on February 17, 2009.

How do you rationalize that as responsible spending?

Furthermore the change has actually increased access to government by also providing The Florida Channel on 623 which previously was not available.

While I don't agree with the County using the $150,000 to promote county government, we are getting something in a situation we don't have to be given anything and not wasting money on a legal battle that would be lost anyway.

I think the free advertising would be better utilized if granted to local non profits. The non profit community would be able to use that exposure to help generate more private support instead of depending so heavily on government subsidy.

Damn Right Your Dad Drank It!

2007-11-12T13:39:00.000-05:00

I had planned to blog this article when it came out and never got around to it. However now I am and it is more relevant and an example of an ad that worked on me.

In Daytona this past weekend for the American Advertising Federation, Fourth District, Fall Conference I was of course at the lobby bar Saturday evening after dinner talking shop and hanging out.

I ordered my usual Maker's on the rocks, and was shocked to find that myself and another woman at the hotel over the weekend finished the supply.

What to do, I debated...

I went to the hospitality suite for a beer... not what I wanted

I walked two blocks to the liquor store... closed

I remembered talking about the new "Damn Right Your Dad Drank It!" to some fellow ad men and though heck, I'll give it try...

You know what? It's pretty "Damn" good!

Cheers to Canadian Club and great campaign that worked on me.

Hauling out imagery 60's and 70's imagery from actual Beam Global employees and positioning Dad as a once cool manly man, ads state "Your Mom Wasn't Your Dad's First," "Your Dad Was Not a Metrosexual" and "Your Dad Never Got a Pedicure."

Read the commentary from AdRANTS, Steve Hall here.

Times editorial on the FTBRC

2007-11-04T13:32:00.000-05:00

Just thought I'd share today's Time's editorial with you, where they mention some questions that the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission should bring up. Below are the debate questions they pose, with the second being of concern to our industry.

Among the questions the commissions should debate:
How could voters be enticed to give up Save Our Homes for a fairer property tax system?
What is the best way to close sales tax exemptions and tax services to broaden the tax base?
How could some of that money be used to uniformly reduce property taxes?
What is the smartest way to provide property tax relief for businesses, owners of investment properties and renters who would get little or no benefit from the amendment approved by lawmakers?

You can read the full editorial here.

TBCN get its message out how?

2007-11-01T14:18:00.000-04:00

An update on TBCN from the post earlier this month. It seems that TBCN is working hard to raise funds for their legal defence.

So you might ask what is the best way for TBCN to get its message out to the public?

Create poor quality TV spots and post them to YouTube!

In typical public access style the spots are inconsistent in message, with low quality video, voice overs that sound unrehearsed and tasteless content that does not even begin to be persuasive. I've heard better persuasion arguments given by high school students.

In one of the spots they even compare certain county commissioners to Hitler, Stalin & Castro.

Views them and let me know what you think.

SEO Practices: Black Hat vs. White Hat SEO

2007-10-08T19:32:00.000-04:00

Before selecting an SEO consultant you should that there are two sects
so to speak and are usually referred to as Black Hats or White Hats.

The difference between the two is a long discussion on ethics and risk calculation which I will try to summarize and provide additionally reading for.

There are numerous SEOs, blogs and websites that support the use of typically black hat practices. I personally am not one of them.

There are challenges when trying to measure the validity of using black hat practices when regarding a website. Jill Whallen at HighRankings.com as this insightful article.

I don't have to keep up with every tiny algorithm shift, or the latest technique that the engines haven't caught onto yet. It's completely irrelevant to what I do. In my biz, I simply have to be aware that search engines exist, understand how and why
people use them, and fix my clients' sites so that there's a good fit between the site, the user, and the search engine.

The above is true and poses two major problems for a small business that might be considering an SEO that is offering fast, simple results.

If the SEO is really that good this is going to cost you a bundle because their service is in high demand.
If the SEO is cheap, free or doing this "on the side" what guarantee do you have they are keeping up with all the latest algorithms? What is your recourse if a method they used today gets you banned in six months?

When selecting an SEO consultant you should take the time to follow up on what they've told you they know and what they will do for you. You should do as Google says and not only ask for references but, "talk to many SEOs, and ask other SEOs if they'd recommend the firm you're considering."

The consequences for not following the above suggestions as well as each of the ones mentioned here can be great.

Example #1: The High Cost Knowledgeable Black Hat SEO

The SEO: You've found the budget and land the best SEO consultant that knows the ins and outs, has the references and results, as well as respect though not agreement of practices from white hats.

The War: Six months after creaming your two competitors in the search results things couldn't be better. Until one of them hires another black hat to counter your ways. You can now add to your budget time for espionage and counter attacks. Additionally you can be certain that your competitor will use this, http://www.google.com/contact/spamreport.html.

Example #2: The Not So Well Known SEO

The SEO: You settle for the SEO that has had some success doing this on the side and was not able to answer all of your questions. This SEO will likely not discuss in detail the SEO practices they use and use the term Meta Tags often. They also will not provide industry information for you to review. But, they sounded knowledgeable enough and promise its only a few changes and you'll see some great results.

Banned: This not so well practiced SEO created a doorway page for your site that pushed you right to the top. What you did not know is this part-timer didn't check the site in all browsers and that the search engines don't see things the same as Internet Explorer. After a short time at the top the site was further reviewed and banned. This can be best illustrated by Google's Matt Cutts, here.

In conclusion there will be SEO's that can ague both sides of the coin, all I ask as a fellow full-time business owner is that you find an SEO that is willing to talk to you about the risks you will be taking with your business' Internet presence.

Can someone please think outside the box?

2007-10-05T13:56:00.000-04:00

A partial casualty of the recent Hillsborough County budget cuts is our public access station, known also as Speak Up Tampa Bay or the Tampa Bay Community Network.

When I read the St Pete Times article, "Group sues as TV fund is cut" in early October I was very aggravated by the complete lack of innovation our growing government is enabling by funding some non-profits.

My commentary on the article that day:

With outlets today such as YouTube and the numerous other places to post video for free online there is no longer a need for the government to underwrite public access. Private industry has done so on its own and in a far better way.

A good topic can go a lot further on YouTube then a fixed programming schedule on subscriber based cable. Public access is a dinosaur of technology and TBCN should try to innovate rather then sue.

TBCN's take of course is that this is censorship of the community's public access. This is completely untrue however, as many of us know that the blogoshere in Tampa Bay went nuts during the recent EPC uproar and a certain YouTube video got more views then any recent TBTN broadcast.

So tell me again is the public being denied access to get a message out?

No, TBCN is just another non-profit too used to government funding and unwilling to innovate.

Did you know that if a citizen had an issue today it could take a month or more for them to get that message out via TBCN? While uploading and emailing a video on YouTube is free and instant.

Please don't give me the "put its not free" talk because I could work at WalMart less hours for pay and an employee discount to buy my own camera, then the volunteer hours TBCN would require to get my message out. Unless of course they agreed with me then it would be instant.

SEO Practices: Flash Websites

2007-10-01T18:32:00.000-04:00

A discussion I regularly have with clients, potential clients and other website designers is how they can make their site(s) better with Flash.

Especially on the client side because they would love to have an intro movie that really highlighted their company before bringing the visitor to the actual website home page.

By default I suggest not creating a complete Flash website or even a Flash intro. Instead I suggest they use Flash sparing as on-page accents.

Supporting Points

Complete Flash websites are very cumbersome to design, difficult to update and extremely expensive to have developed if quality is one of your concerns. Flash websites are also make SEO more difficult and expensive as well, usually requiring a complete HTML website also to be built. They are best suited for the websites of movies and pop stars that have the budgets to support site creation and mass media advertising to drive traffic directly.

Flash Intros are short movie type presentations that highlight the great points of a company visually before bringing you to the regular HTML website. Problems posed by intros are long load times and customer dissatisfaction proven through the high use of the "skip flash intro" button that should accommodate any site with an intro.

This article from Idaho State University, Office of Web Communications gives some good supporting arguments to the above points.

My typical suggestion of using Flash as on-page accents is well supported by this Google Webmaster Central Blog.

Try to use Flash only where it is needed. Many rich media sites such as Google's YouTube use Flash for rich media but rely on HTML for content and navigation. You can too, by limiting Flash to on-page accents and rich media, not content and navigation. In addition to making your site Googlebot-friendly, this makes you site accessible to a larger audience, including, for example, blind people using screen readers, users of old or non-standard browsers, and those on limited low-bandwidth connections such as on a cell phone or PDA. As a bonus, your visitors can use bookmarks effectively, and can email links to your pages to their friends.

SEO & Flash Sites/Intros

In addition to all of the above arguments when considering the creation of an all Flash site or even just an intro you must consider that even if you get the site to rank well for desired keywords, that in doing so the site visitors that you get would never see the Flash site or intro.

So the visitors you are seeking will completely miss all of the time, energy and money that was spent on the Flash work.

Why is this so?

When someone searches to find something the search engine results do not direct the visitor to the home page (in the case of a site using an intro) or the Flash version (in the case of a full Flash site).

Take this Google search for, Constant Contact Tampa. In the results Dynamic Creations shows up (at the time of writing) on the first page with a link.

Notice however that the link directs people to the Internet Marketing page and not my homepage.

Had I had a Flash intro this visitor would never see it. Had the site been completely Flash the visitor would have not only have missed the Flash site, but would have been directed to the HTML site which likely would not have received the same design attention as the Flash version.

The nightmare Sprint's business customers will face next week...

2007-06-28T22:37:00.000-04:00

I've been anticipating the news and got my first bite this morning courtesy of an Associated Press article, New Sprint Ads To Highlight Clients' Need For Speed about Sprint Nextel's new spot coming out this Friday in theaters and then begin airing Sunday on television.

The article continues with Michelle Emerson, vice president of brand for Reston, Va.-based Sprint Nextel Corp., stating "the initial ads will get consumers to see speed as important, and subsequent ads will show how Sprint Nextel's network and devices can make that speed work for them in terms of music and movie downloads and instantaneous Internet browsing."

Now the paragraph just before this changing the consumer's priority statement by Emerson highlights surveys by David Chamberlain, wireless analyst for In-Stat, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based research group.

'If your most compelling feature is measured in bits per second, it's not
very compelling,' said Chamberlain, 'I think if you're looking at the consumer
market, speed doesn't have much to offer. I've done surveys, and 60 percent of
the population say they just want a phone.'

Based on the initial article this morning I had a feeling that my previous posts on the subject might be on target.

A late evening check of Adweek gave me confirmation... Telco Tries to 'Sprint Ahead' With Goodby's 1st Work. You can view the ad directly here.

Tim Kelly, Sprint's CMO, stated "This advertising taps in to how customers wants to experience service and brings emotion much more into it than we had in past."

The written description of the first spot highlights the biggest issue I feel the company has as a brand.

In "Dreams," a series of artists creates simple artistic images, such as jump
ropes and stars, out of flashlights on a darkened street. As a narrator talks
about a magic screen holding your favorite music, pictures and stories,
additional images made of light continue to play across the screen. It ends with
the tagline, "Sprint ahead."

There is not one benefit or feature directed to the majority of Sprint's customer base that were Nextel business customers and most likely a large portion last months first quarter report stating a loss of 220,000 high-quality customers who pay their bills at the end of the month and typically spend more.

The ads will be out and so will the jury on this one, but my prediction is there is no "dream" in store for Sprint's business customers.

I'm just too busy to do anything for the community...

2007-05-14T08:35:00.000-04:00

So its another Monday almost exactly a month later and I read another article pointing out how apathetic (or maybe just plain pathetic) my generation has handled volunteering.

Today's Tampa Tribune article, Longtime Service Club Calling It Quits, sites "Many younger men don't want the commitment of weekly meetings" according to Kiwanis Club of Palma Ceia-Westshore club President Dan Moore, 73. The club is down to six members now.

Of course maybe there are additional reasons that this particular club has not been able to recruit young members but the overall trend of non-involvement certainly contributes to the problem.

The case can be made that we all have busier lives with more hectic jobs and far more personal commitments than in years past but that does not mean that we don't have any time. I personally know of too many people in my generation who commit absolutely ZERO time and energy to anything relating to the community.

Many of us will work through lunch day after day for no measurable bonus but rather just because it is the "norm" now instead of taking that hour and applying it to something useful...

UPDATE 5/30/07:
I highly doubt the Tampa Tribune is using my blog for editorial suggestions (yet) but I found today's opinion, Trading Kiwanis For 'American Idol', on the subject to be right on track.

Sprint Ahead... of a fast sinking ship?

2007-05-11T10:34:00.000-04:00

An Advertising Age article today, Sprint Nextel CMO Mark Schweitzer Resigns, does not come as a surprise. However I find it odd that they give absolutely no reason for Schweitzer's departure.

Could it be he is jumping ship before new ad campaigns by Goodby prove to be entertaining but not convincing enough to help the brand?

I'm getting a Realty Check, Tampa Bay!

2007-05-08T10:44:00.000-04:00

I received in the mail this week the official Participant Guidebook for the Realty Check Tampa Bay exercise I am participating in next Friday the Tampa Convention Center.

The guide book is a step by step how to for the event with a great deal of background information on the exercise as well as Tampa Bay's growth projections as compared to other cities.

The exercise will basically produce Lego enhanced zoning maps that show the Tampa Bay region's future population and job distribution as decided by the team of 8-10 people assembled at each table.

The teams will use red Lego's (commercial) and yellow Lego's (residential) to "build out" the Tampa Bay region. The height of the stacks of Lego's will designate the density of any one square mile on the map.

Interestingly Reality Check's exercise occurring just after the State Legislature's creation of the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority.

Ironically though Tampa Bay was defined differently by the two with Reality Check leaving out Citrus and including Polk counties while TBARTA included Citrus County with Polk County voluntarily opting out of the group.

Part of the Reality Check exercise is to designate new and/or improved transit and roadway corridors through the region which means the map does not equally match what the new authority will be overseeing.

Personally I don't think it will be much of an issue though. In all reality considering the proximity to Orlando and Tampa Bay the post likely plan for Polk County will be to build whatever future required link between the two metropolitans is needed, (most likely in the I-4 corridor).

The variable will be in weather or not Tampa Bay and Orlando build systems that can be linked... i.e. we build light rail they build tri-rail.

What is Sprint Nextel thinking?

2007-05-03T10:35:00.000-04:00

Here's a follow up on my favorite brand mis-match. Today in my AAF SmartBrief, I notice a banner ad for Sprint together with NEXTEL.

So following up on my mention from last month, I guess that Mark Schweitzer, Sprint's chief marketing officer has so much confidence in Goodby that the company now plans to chase customers away with targeted advertising.

There is a quote in the CNET News.com article Advertising seeps into the cell phone from Lowell McAdam, chief operating officer of Verizon Wireless that Sprint Nextel, who according to the article "will be the first of the four major U.S. carriers to move in this direction", should heed as a warning.

"We are being careful about jumping into advertising," Lowell McAdam, chief operating officer of Verizon Wireless, said during a panel at the CTIA show. "People view their cell phones as their personal space, more so than their PC. If they get an ad they don't want to view, that is a violation."

Why in the world would Sprint Nextel think that this might be a even a slightly good idea?

The company is consistently losing market share, has no brand identity, zero customer loyalty and are just plain fun to beat up on as a brand and company. Being the first in the industry to show ads to its subscribers is certainly not an area of business they should be focusing on.

Really sad statistics on volunteering.

2007-04-16T08:16:00.000-04:00

According to an Associated Press article published today in the St. Pete Times, both the state I currently live in and the one I am originally from rank among the lowest of all the states in volunteerism rates.

Most of you know the amount of time I put into volunteering and the importance I feel it has for the community and personal growth.

Here is the URL for the article if you are interested:
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/04/16/Worldandnation/Volunteer_rates_dip_s.shtml

Here's the lowest five states...

47. Mississippi, 24.2 percent
48. Florida, 21.8 percent
49. Louisiana, 21.2 percent
50. New York, 20.1 percent
51. Nevada, 17.5 percent

If this statistic makes you feel like we should do more, then just take some time and do something. It's a pretty pathetic statistic to read on a Monday morning.

Using Blogs/Community for Career Advancement

2007-04-10T10:48:00.000-04:00

I read the following WSJ.com article on "How Blogging Can Help You Get a New Job" and decided it would be a good reference for some of the young professionals and business associates that I interact with to review or see in writing somewhere validation for what I try to have them do for their own business or professional career.

Utilizing Blogs such as this the one you are reading now is of value and a good start to getting your name out there for people to find you and learn more about you.

However, more powerful than that is to grow an active Blog for an association, charity or other community related organization that is bigger than yourself alone. The power of many is just as important in on the Internet as it is in the real world.

I have personally worked to put this to the test with the Blog projects started for Ad 2 Tampa Bay and the National Ad 2 organization. These two blogs, although currently new and maybe a bit anemic on content should prove to be a huge resource to the current and future board members who decide to fully utilize the voice that we have created for them as young professional leaders.

Article Summary & Link: WSJ.com - How Blogging Can Help You Get a New Job
Corporate recruiters have long surfed the Web to vet potential hires, but now they are also surfing blogs to unearth job candidates, expanding their talent pool and gaining insights they say they can't get from résumés and interviews.

Ryan Loken, a Wal-Mart Stores Inc. recruitment manager, says he spends one to two hours a week searching through blogs for new talent or additional information about the candidates he has interviewed. "Blogs are a tool in the tool kit," he says. Since he joined the Bentonville, Ark., retail giant three years ago, Mr. Logen estimates that Web journals have helped him ...

Here's a link to the entire article if you are a WSJ subscriber.

Revamped Website for the Red Cross Tampa Bay

2007-04-06T22:00:00.000-04:00

I worked relentlessly this afternoon and evening (from La Casa Dolce ;-) to get a fresh update done for the Red Cross Tampa Bay so that the website looked a cleaner and had correct information. They will be doing a complete overhaul later this year but for now this was to just get the information out there and correct... quickly.

Red Cross Tampa Bay Chapter, Serving the Community of Tampa Bay since 1917. The Tampa Bay Chapter serves the 2.6 million residents of Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco counties, with offices in Tampa, Brandon, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Hudson and MacDill Air Force Base. This Chapter is governed by a volunteer board of directors, made up of dedicated and civic-minded community and corporate leaders.

To visit the website please click here.

Who's to blame for Sprint Nextel's woes?

2007-04-02T11:05:00.000-04:00

Today's AdAge article, Goodby Scoops Up Sprint's $1.2 Billion Business, quoted Mark Schweitzer, Sprint's chief marketing officer, "Goodby's sterling reputation and creative talents are second to none and together we will deliver a more integrated and strategic brand execution,"

I wish Goodby luck on this one. Merging a top consumer oriented mobile carrier (Sprint) with the top business oriented mobile carrier (Nextel) was a bad idea and I am not sure if any branding is going to fix that. Among casual users the products are too clunky and have no style; while business users are now alienated with varied services that are just not needed.

Sprint, together with Nextel may never "power up" and the agency may end up taking the blame.

Consumers love to love HP and the the Goodby campaigns enhanced that image. Meanwhile consumers and business users alike seem to love to hate Sprint Nextel right now. How does any agency counter that?

Florida Animal Friend Application Deadline

2007-04-01T10:24:00.000-04:00

Florida – 4/1/2007 – Florida Animal Friend, Inc. has set out to save lives of the state’s cat and dog population by preventing overpopulation through the awarding of grant money to local non-profit organizations for spay/neuter programs throughout the state.

The fast approaching deadline for the 2007 grant application to be received by Florida Animal Friends is April 15, 2007.

Grant application forms, details and instructions can be found on the Florida Animal Friend website, www.floridaanimalfriend.org.

In 2006 the Florida Animal Friend license plate program provided funds to 18 programs throughout the state by assisting these local programs to develop more comprehensive and far-reaching dog and cat spay/neuter programs.

Florida Animal Friend, president, Larry Dee, DVM is extremely grateful for the strong support the program has received. “After three years of work it has been a great delight to participate in the distribution of $202,000 in grant monies to Florida non-profits for the neutering of companion animals.”

“Thanks to the generosity of the Florida animal lovers who buy the spay/neuter license plate, we can put a brake on the pet overpopulation epidemic and reduce the senseless killing of unwanted dogs and cats in the state.”

Florida Animal Friend’s specialty license plates are available at all state-wide DMV locations and can be purchased for $25 in addition to renewal fees. All funds benefit the further development of state-wide spay/neuter programs.

Client Profile: Donica Mediation Services

2007-03-15T21:38:00.000-04:00

Herb Donica and I met last fall while volunteering together for the 2006 Toys for Tots program where he served as Chairman of the Volunteer Committee.

Last month we launched a new website for his company Donica Mediation Solutions, LLC.

Donica Mediation Solutions, LLC. was formed by Herbert R. Donica, Esq., to provide mediation services to parties seeking to resolve disputes. With over two decades of practice in the areas of bankruptcy and commercial litigation, Herb is prepared to mediate a broad range of disputes. Each mediation session will be conducted in a manner that encourages the parties to consider the risks of litigation and the cost-effectiveness of a mediated solution. In complex financial disputes, parties will be challenged to quantify the financial aspects of their respective positions. Herb has the ability to use empathy and humor to defuse stressful situations. Through Herb’s approach, he puts the parties at ease in order to facilitate the productive dialogue necessary for a successful mediation.

Google to offer more click fraud protection

2007-02-28T21:48:00.000-05:00

Google to offer more click fraud protection
By Elinor Mills Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: February 28, 2007, 9:01 PM PST

From the article: Beginning next month, Google plans to give advertisers the ability to prevent their pay-per-click ads from being shown to competitors suspected of repeatedly clicking on the ads to drive up their cost.

The move, to be announced in Google's AdWords blog on Thursday, is an effort to curb click fraud, which involves generating clicks solely for the purpose of increasing the cost of an advertiser's pay-per-click ad.

I number of people that I talk to about AdWords always seem to have the same question about competitors clicking their ads and costing them money so this is an article that can help some of you understand how seriously Google is taking click fraud and working to avoid it.

New website for the American Victory

2007-02-21T10:54:00.000-05:00

We have been quietly working pro-bono on a new website for the SS American Victory Mariner’s Memorial and Museum Ship. The previous website also designed by Dynamic Creations had served the ship well but was long overdue for a revamp as the American Victory had outgrown it's original layout and structure.

The new website, designed by University of South Florida Senior, Fatin Jacob and built out by Dynamic Creations was the culmination of efforts by Dynamic Creations and the American Victory's volunteer leadership to make the new site more user friendly and visually appealing.

To view the website, click here.

Play with Legos = Plan Tampa Bay's future!

2007-02-15T22:44:00.000-05:00

Anyone who knew me in the preteen years can testify that Legos were the lifeblood of my childhood. Anyone who know me today knows that quality of life in Tampa Bay is a top priority for me.

Today the Tampa Tribune made me aware that someone had decided to combine the two for me!

Citizens Can Help Plan Lay Of Land
http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBKSFEL6YE.html

Here's a short description of the exercise from the Realty Check Tampa Bay website (http://www.realitychecktampabay.org).

"The tabletop exercises are designed to increase awareness and to educate about the interrelationships among regional land use, transportation systems, and natural resources. Participants, led by trained facilitators, join 10-person groups to use a detailed map to plan future growth by placing Lego® building blocks to represent additional homes and jobs. These individuals are asked to determine where new residents will live and new employment will locate. "

Best High School American Government Class

2007-02-10T07:11:00.000-05:00

I have followed the high school "Ought to be a Law" contest the last three years and was very pleased to see that it had grown to be a countywide. This program started at my Alma mater, Gaither High School by my neighborhood's State Representative, Kevin Ambler and personal friend Senator Victor Crist as a lesson in civics for students.

The concept of allowing students to actually introduce a real bill with the potential to become law seems so simple it is amazing it is not actually part of the curriculum. What better way to engage students in the process then letting them watch it happen.

I remember my American Government classes pretty well and even though I enoyed the subject personaly I still remember the whole "how a bill becomes a law" lession being ambiguous in nature since its a concept that even many adults don't quite get.

Here's a link to the complete St Pete Times article:
Students compete to turn bills into laws By ELISABETH DYER Published February 9, 2007
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/02/09/Citytimes/Students_compete__to_.shtml.

Julie Brown, Young Professional & Candidate

2007-02-06T08:52:00.000-05:00

I recently launched a website for Julie Brown who is running for Tampa City Council, District 4 in the upcoming election on March 6, 2007.

In addition to working on her campaign website I have also begun volunteering on Saturday mornings by walking for her in the neighborhoods of South Tampa.

It has proven to be a great experience and an opportunity to get to know a wonderful person who will make a great leader for the city.

Julie is mother, wife, active citizen and attorney but most importantly to me; at 31 Julie is a young professional living in Tampa Bay. She is in tune with what we as young professionals are looking for in a city where we are establishing careers and deciding to settle down, grow some roots and start families.

As a candidate she is approachable, energetic, optimistic and level headed. She is someone that you can feel comfortable with quickly and is sincere when you talk with her.

I have only known her a couple months but am certainly glad I have had that chance and hope you will take the time to get to know her as well.

Her campaign website is, http://www.juliebrownforcitycouncil.com.

Florida Animal Friend MySpace Page

2007-01-10T08:15:00.000-05:00

I've launched the MySpace profile for Florida Animal Friend. Hoping that as this grows we can use it as a volunteer recruitment tool as well as a way to increase sales and awareness of the license plate.

You can check it out here, http://www.myspace.com/floridaanimalfriend, and if you have a MySpace page of your own, please add us as a friend.

Client Profile: SunBelt Contruction Services

2007-01-03T09:06:00.000-05:00

We recently launched newly designed materials including brochures, postcards, and a website for SunBelt Construction Services based in Tampa Fla. Please take some time to look over the materials as well as this clients exceptional services in Timber Bridge Construction.

SunBelt is a full service Design/Build Timber Construction Company with several years of successful experience in Florida and Southeastern USA. Our customer base includes Municipalities, Residential, Commercial, Resort and Golf Course Developers.

SunBelt's predominate construction sites are located in environmental sensitive areas including seaside beach locations that require protecting sand dunes and wetland property where structures must be “built from the top”. A key capability for SunBelt versus competition is the ability to construct a 6-foot boardwalk from the deck saving the client project funds by eliminating the need to build wider structures; however, SunBelt has the capability to build any size structure to meet client specifications.

A Friend's N.Y. Deli in Wesley Chapel

2006-12-23T22:24:00.000-05:00

I was able to stop by my friend Bob Conigliaro's new restaurant/deli concept, the N.Y. Minute Del-Eatery. Located at SR 56 and Bruce B. Downs Blvd. just north of Hillsborough County it is a great location as the area is in great need of variety when it comes to dining and is growing quickly.

The food we ordered; sausage and pepper sandwich, matzo ball soup and BLT... and cheese cake was all excellent and certainly worth the trip. The service excellent and the concept is extremely cool.

If you would like some more info, this Tampa Tribune article gives great background info.
http://www.tbo.com/pasco/MGBJUOZ7UVE.html

Reflecting on Career Choice

2006-11-01T07:31:00.000-05:00

One of the most frequent questions I am asked and that I still often ask myself is, "why/how did you decide to go into business for yourself?".

My usual response is something like "I fell into it" and refers to starting the Dynamic Creations in December of 1998 as a side business while working full time. The side business eventually landed two large clients and became the full time gig.

However the complete answer is not that simple, especially when you consider how difficult it has been for me to sustain, support and stabilize this business over the last eight years. In actuality running my own business has been a desire throughout my life. An article this morning on Inc.com (www.inc.com) prompted me to expand on this answer.

The article, Are Entrepreneurs Born or Made?, highlights a survey that seems to really show that entrepreneurs are born and not made through education or upbringing, which I certainly feel personally is very true.

From the fourth grade in elementary school when a friend and I envisioned a leave raking business through high school when I worked for my uncles' business during the summers I was always interested in being a "business man" when I grew up.

My first job after highschool lasted a year and a half before my uncle put me at the helm of a restaurant as manager. The venture did not last but six months; but the experience had sunk in deep.

It would be under two years before the "side business" of Dynamic Creations was born and exactly 30 months before I was "self employed" independently for the first time in my life at the age of 22 in November 1999.

So does this explain that it is a born in trait?

Not really; at that point I had literally "fallen into" the business in many ways. I was 22 with fear of failure, the Internet bubble was still expanding and the web design industry was so new that it would be easy to be successful.

I rode a nice wave from that point forward until 2001 when a failed personal relationship, the dot com bust and September 11th all combined with my complete inexperience forced me by the end of 2002 to reconsider what I was doing.

For the first half of 2003 I worked at a Bernini in Ybor City and finally completed my associates degree. For the later half I sold TV advertising for WMOR TV 32.

It was at WMOR that I realized the strength of my desire to be an entrepreneur. After only a few months I began to realize that if I was going to do direct sales that I would prefer it was for my own services. As much as I tried to justify the fact that this would be more stable and could potential earn me as much money I just could not replace the feeling I had previously of owning a business.

So in January 2004 I took the plunge again.

Three years later I am still going and while I have had some very difficult periods I have become very aware of how important this venture's success is to my future. I have had a few very serious employment offers that would pay me very well, provide great benefits and even a pension, but could not bring myself to take them.

It has taken great deal of heartache and I am by no means where I want to be yet, but this business of being in business is my life and where I need to be to be happy.

Indi WiFi & Coffee Spot Offers Printing

2006-09-15T11:26:00.000-04:00

Just opened last week is the Print Empire at 3644 W Kennedy Blvd. (between Dale Mabry & Himes).

Kristin Tandberg's new copy center, Print Empire, will house the Coffee Hot Spot... Think "a friendlier version of Kinko's" and one that is completely "non-corporate"

If you have ever been at a WiFi spot working only to say... "if they only had a printer!" this is the place for you!

Anyway, there was a write up in the St Pete Times, if you want more details.

I am working here this morning and I can tell you the coffee's good and the service is friendly...

If you can stop by please do and help support this new business!

Tell them Vinny sent you...

Phone Cancellation of Internet Services

2006-09-10T09:58:00.000-04:00

Internet companies often tout 24 hour accessibility, and "from the comfort of your own home" conveniences when it come to their services. However do they actually live up to that promise?

When it comes to canceling your service it seems that Yahoo's partner companies are going the way of AOL. Two recent examples of this occurred in my attempts to cancel or change services with Got Corporation's Campaigner Service, http://www.campaigner.com and Yahoo's American Greetings service, http://www.yahoo.americangreetings.com.

Both are services that you can sign up for in real time and online. Both are also services that if you wish to cancel you must call in and do so over the phone with a real person or in writing outside of automated systems.

Yahoo Greetings is not too bad, the renewal email comes with two weeks notice about the renewal. However the only way provided to cancel is:

"If you do not wish to continue your Membership and live within the U.S., you must call our Customer Care Center at 1-866-228-2434 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. EST Monday through Friday, or between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Saturdays. Please reference your Customer #: ******** when you call."

I am bothered by the fact that I have to take time from my work day to cancel a $13.99 a year service and certain that Yahoo Greetings is hoping that I will forget to follow these extra steps. I
wonder if I would have received further reminders?

Got Corporation was an extremely dissatisfactory experience and will have me reading TOS agreements with far more vigilance. I have had a Campaigner Account for about two years and while I have been moving my email services to Constant Contact I had also kept an active Campaigner account for two clients that were better served by that service.

Earlier this year I attempted through the Campaigner System to "downgrade" my account to "Pay-As-You-Go" status from $25.00 per month. The system allows you to go through this process with no errors.

So you can imagine the surprise when a month later I get billed for $25.
- The first time I figured it was me changing the account in the wrong part of the billing cycle and disregard it.
- The second time I go back into the system and see that my status is back to $25 per month. I am confused but in a rush quickly "downgrade" again to "Pay-As-You-Go" and move on in my day.

This occurred a few more times each time me being either too rushed or thinking maybe it was the emails I sent that screwed up the system so I just let it go.

finally in July I had the extra time to investigate it and called Got Corporation to find out what was happening and spoke to Christopher Adlam.

Chris was very happy to inform me that the only way to cancel was to do so in writing via email as per the TOS of Got Corporation. There was also no apologies made for the fact that the online system allow you to "downgrade" against the TOS without notifying you that the change will not be accepted.

Chris then offer to send me links to information showing me the error of my ways in the assumption that I should be able to "downgrade" via the online system:

"Dear Vinny Tafuro,

Thank you for using Campaigner, GOT's online email marketing software. In reference to our conversation below is the info requested.

Please review this document to view screen shots of this clause in the End User License Agreement: http://www.campaigner.com/cs/eula.html. The complete Campaigner End User License Agreement is provided here: http://www.gotcorp.com/corporate/legal/terms.html

Best Regards,
GOT CORPORATION
Customer care

The above email has links to screen shots of the TOS that actually have the areas in question highlighted. Does this imply that they confuse enough users to have a "canned" email reply to the complaints?

Four days later I requested that my account be downgraded,
"Thank you for the information and please just keep my account down-graded to the pay-as-you-go plan".

In August I was billed another $25!

I wrote another email requesting they downgrade my account on 8/21... It took Rosemarie Battista two days to reply but I finally received a downgrade to my subscription plan and have not been charged in September so far.

Overall through this process Got Corporation billed me about $150 that is in the least questionable.

So much for convenience...

Florida Trend Magazine: Young Guns (How SEO worked for me)

2006-07-07T13:49:00.000-04:00

A few months back I received a phone call out of the blue from Diane Sears of Florida Trend Magazine. Diane had been working on a story that would highlight 20-somethings in the state of Florida. Her primary research tool was a search engine and the top results for Young Professional Tampa happened to be webs site that I am on.

It was a great conversation for me and completely validated the time and energy I had placed in helping promote the second Downtown After Six www.downtownaftersix.com event last December. It was this high ranking site that led to the call.

Further help in landing this great opportunity came when Diane and I started talking about young professionals in other parts of the state. Fortunately with AAF chapters around the state of Florida (www.4aaf.com) I was able to assist Diane in contacting others from around the state.

Diane interviewed and included three other business owners that I recommended in other parts of the state. Lakeitha Grey, Tallahassee, N-tersections Communications Group, (http://www.n-tersections.com/); Neil Bell, Tallahassee, Summit Outdoor Advertising (www.summitoutdoor.com) and Sabrina McLaughlin, Navarre, The PR Girl, Inc., (www.theprgirl.com).

If you would like to red the entire article Young Guns: 20-somethings who are helping to shape business in Florida is available on the Florida Trend Magazine site, www.floridatrend.com/issue/default.asp?a=5887&s=2&d=7/1/2006 and also reprinted on the Ad 2 Tampa Bay website, http://www.ad2tampabay.org/press.asp?rls_id=8.

About This Blog

2006-07-01T13:40:00.000-04:00

The decision to begin this blog was made over a decent period of time. Of course it started with first hearing the buzz up to three years ago about blogs and was followed up by questions from clients, other industry friends and more and more buzz. It was finally this past summer at the American Advertising Federation www.aaf.org annual conference, Pixel Shift, that I really started to decide one would be needed.

As an effort to practice what I preach to clients and prospective clients I did create a blog and have no embarked on what will become the never-ending task of keeping it going...

This should significantly test my copywriting ability...