Etc.

Remember this blog post from about seven months ago, the one about Constant Contact constantly contacting me? Well now I’m trying to cancel my Constant Contact account, and I can’t unless I do it by phone… and I’ve been on hold for about a half an hour now.

What makes this even funnier is that a blogger complained about this four years ago, and Constant Contact doesn’t seem to be listening. You would think a marketer that deals with communication would be on the lookout for bad things being said about it, and strive to make customer-centric changes. more

Ah, geolocation. Ask just about any marketer: It’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. When are we going to admit that geolocation is not very effective? Maybe when more writers and bloggers speak up and say they are sitting at their desk, about 1,200 miles away from the deal that’s reached their computer screen.

My office is in Stamford, CT. I’m on our company’s Overland Park, KS-based server. That’s 1,251 miles if I drive 20 hours four minutes on I-70, or 1,350 miles if I drive 21 hours 25 minutes on I-64.

So these offers designed to drive me into businesses in Overland Park or nearby Kansas City are really not going to be very effective. All they’re going to do is tell me what I already know: Geolocation sucks. more

… you give your fans an offer they can’t receive elsewhere.

I’ve published a few articles of late that indicate a few things: Facebook users do not want to be sold to while they are feeding their chickens on Farmville or whacking someone in Mafia Wars. But consumers who become your fan on Facebook do expect something in return.

It looks like woman’s apparel and accessories seller Nine West is going about it the right way. Marketing firm Fluid launched its Fluid Fan Shop app on Nine West’s Facebook page this week , and it allows the merchant’s Facebook fans to shop for select discounted items without leaving the social network. more

I’ve seen my fair share of odd swag given away at tradeshows, but a yardstick seemed last night to beat everything. Imagine leaving the Internet Retailer Web Design and Usability Conference and trying to get through security at Orlando International Airport with something that could be considered a weapon?

MyBuys knew what it was doing. Vice president-marketing Chip Overstreet explained it to me today: MyBuys really gave out a walking stick, which means the Transportation Security Administration should have no beef with any show attendee. more

I’m probably in the minority when I say I’m a fan (or was a fan) of Burger King’s coffee, BK Joe. I wouldn;t seek it out, per se, but if given the option of having coffee at a fast-food restaurant, I’d get a cup at McDonald’s or BK.

But the five-year-old brand is dead. And it will be replaced by Seattle’s Best. Bleah! I grabbed a cup of coffee yesterday at the Internet Retailer Wed Design and Usability Conference at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando and remembered how awful that coffee actually is.

It’s owned by Starbucks, and tastes even more like Starbucks (think “dirt”) than ever. But it’s a deal that makes sense for both parties. more

So the biggest surprise I heard today: The majority of the attendees at the Internet Retailer Web Design and Usability show have not heard of the online retailer Threadless.

Speaking during a session called “Designing your web site to create social marketing success,” Fry director of creative strategy Bridget Fahrland asked for a show of hands - who in the room had heard of Threadless. Only a few hands went up.

Those hands must have belonged to subscribers of Chief Marketer, and read Brian Quinton’s profile of Threadless. more