todd lucier › Comments

building iphone apps - todd lucier

"Hey Andrew, Yes, there are a lot of reasons why Wordpress is simply the best place for tourism businesses to start blogging." - todd lucier

"I’ve got this great idea on generating comments on a blog…. offer tickets to an upcoming conference for anyone who comments. Can I go to Le Web?" - todd lucier

"Well said. Thank you. In a consumer-review driven economy quality will be rewarded." - todd lucier

"Thanks Juergen, I think confident and empowered consumers is the right way to think about it. Such empowerment may lead to people feeling braver about making extreme statements. Still only one review in 6 or 7 is negative and the volume of reviews will drive revenue." - todd lucier

"Interesting that Google needs Twitter. This will not be the last time that Twitter helps Google with a leg up and over the wall. Wait until RealTime search hits the Web, then we’ll know that Twitter matters (to average folk) and that Google desperately needs Twitter. It’ll be interesting to see if Twitter users actually use the Google FriendConnect Widget on my blog, I actually quite prefer the Twitter Widget from TwitterCounter.com to Twitter’s own widget. Of course ever since Facebook went over the wall spreading the social sauce with Fan Boxes (upcoming Yahoo! property bridges) Google has been able to see the incredible growth Facebook has seen. It remains to be seen if Google ever gets social in the broader context." - todd lucier

"Aivar, Thanks for dropping by. Hope things are well in Estonia. Planning for your ideal guest means NOT making things ok for everyone but making things PERFECT for your favourite guests; those who you most want to serve. Paint a clear picture of the age, interests, abilities, home town, lifestyle habits, income and education level, etc. of this person. What do they read, watch on tv, listen to, etc. These questions and more help you get inside the head of your ideal client and can help you craft a better holiday experience that matches the needs of your guest." - todd lucier

"You can't fake authenticity. Thank you for reminding us." - todd lucier

"Thx for writing about greening travel Darren. Unfortunately most consumers still don’t care much about the environmental and most importantly the climate impact of their travel. For most operators there is little incentive To be green if catering to the masses. We provide green, local, slow travel experiences as the core of what we do at Northern Edge Algonquin, our solar powered nature retreat / ecolodge at Canada’s Algonquin Park. Frankly, we’ve never promoted ourselves as green because even most of our guests are unimpressed with such labels with all of the greenwashing that goes on. What people do care about? Food prepared with care featuring locally grown ingredients, locally raised animals, garden fresh vegetables, but most importantly prepared with care. Living on solar power and using composting toilets, seeing local granite and bamboo floors are nice, but what matters to guests are bright airy spaces and staff with caring smiling faces. I’m en route to BC right now for a..." - todd lucier

"Darren, I’ve been saying forever that free WiFi is the biggest missed Marketing opportunity for tourism businesses. Making it easy for your guests to share stories with their family, friends and followers should be a primary objective. Word of MOUSE rules! My stay in London last year left me upset and angry about the high cost of WiFi. Something like €30/day. Outrageous. Intstead of sharing great stories about my accommodations, the food, the staff, I was left stewing about being ripped off. Hoteliers need to understand the power of social media and move their costs for providing internet access to their marketing expense budget and give it away. Put up signs that say – “Have you twittered your stay with us today? Have you sent photos to your Facebook Fans?” Nuff said, now don’t get me going. Report comment" - todd lucier

"Hi Jeanne, thanks for stopping by. I did catch the blog post you mentioned, didn't feel it added anything to the story I wrote." - todd lucier

"Imagine a social media session that is part of every cruise. “Hey folks, I'm your social media director Todd, today we're going to talk about how to get photos from your phone to family and friends. OK, how many people here have an iPhone – you go over there and Jamie will help you get it together. Mac Laptops – go see Sarah, PC – Jonah, other handheld media, you'll stay here with me.” 40 Minutes later, they'll have a swat team of media sharing ninjas helping create and share the content they need to build their brand." - todd lucier

"Wow, Hey Ben, thanks for sharing your study results. Have to say, when I first saw Googles new FriendConnect Widget it caused me to stop and think about my profile and how it drives my relationship with Google. It's not a reach to think perhaps some day someone's data could be subpoenaed from Google in a court case." - todd lucier

"I think people who ask the question so who do you work for are boorish. I think we just haven’t learned how to be social. Before the traditional holiday season comes around I think we can all arm ourselves with some really good questions and as often as possible lets try to kickstart the conversation in a tone that is more social, less hierarchical. How about these: “What do you love about your what you do?”, “What’s going on in your community?” “What do you love to do in your spare time?” “What are your favourite places to travel?” “Been anywhere lately?” As for feeling a little low about your role, consider working on a compelling vision / mission statement that gets you excited. The truth of the matter is most people will be jealous of your self-governance structure. A true answer spoken with pride will elicit a much more influential air. First be really proud, excited about what you do. Then respond truthfully, “Ain’t nobody telling me what to do, ain’t reporting to anyone. I..." - todd lucier

"I’ve heard that before Sam… but it’s simply untrue. Here’s why I know Google is following and evaluating these links. Google’s Marissa Mayer tipped her hand about Google crawling Twitter links when she mentioned Google is working with Twitter on creating a real time search engine. Where would these links come from other than crawled status updates? Listen to Marissa’s startling cut off and subject change talking about working with Twitter on Real Time Search at Web 2.0 last month. http://bit.ly/44E67V Could Google really instantly crawl all blogs and news sites looking for and indexing updates? How would it rank these results without links? I’ve written before about how important real time indexing of the Web matters and how Twitter is core to real time search. This post describes how Twitter is crawling the links and looking to use reputation in grading the quality. http://bit.ly/2jAaG3 If Google didn’t follow and index these links, competitors would. My advice stands. Create content..." - todd lucier

"Thanks John, fixed the link to travel and tourism list. Renamed the list after publishing. cheers, t." - todd lucier

"I’ll keep saying it until everyone gets it. I hear it all the time. “How can I get more followers, how can I get more visitors, How can I get a higher ranking?” The cream always rises to the top." - todd lucier

"Celes, Now you are thinking like a handheld toting traveler. Nice to hear your dreams. They are not that far from reality. Imagine if the content in Wikipedia were accessible as you stood looking at a building or monument and what if this content was geolocated to a Google Map with streetview. It’s closer than we think. Say Hello to Saint John, New Brunswick for me." - todd lucier

"Thanks Trevor, Not sure we need experts, I think we need experience with handheld devices and applications! Then we need to put on our traveler hat and think like our ideal guest. Of course we need experts to help us out… once we understand our clients needs and match that with our content stream. I think most people think mobile is tremendously difficult and that it is something that is way out there in the future. Its simply not true. I think of the loyalty edge that organizations will have with their mobile customers and can’t help but throw myself into designing something new right now! Calling all coders, I’ve got a hot project that I think will inspire others small tourism operators to do something in mobile… heck, it might even be a template for others to follow. Stay tuned." - todd lucier

"Lower standard of living for going carbon friendly? What a bunch of hogwash. I agree gov't needs to mandate the changes required, but to suggest a lower quality of life for making sustainable lifestyle choices is simply wrongheaded. Most people don't change because its more convenient to keep doing what they have always been doing, not because it's a lower quality of life. I look to the simple act of Toronto gov't implementing a 5 cent charge for plastic bags to lower the cost of waste management.... the result, business all got involved and delivered reusable bags and implemented a similar fee. The lifestyle change was difficult, but it certainly hasn't been a lower quality of life that has resulted. In most cases like this it is business that need the stick to be shown the most sustainable way to do business, that's because most never consider bottom lines other than the dollar. Even the most sensible lifestyle choices start with an economic incentive. Government can do more to help..." - todd lucier

"Quality matters above all else…. and it’s the quality your ideal followers are looking for that matters most. Know your audience. btw, this new site could be interesting for those looking for lists of travel tweeters. http://listorious.com/search..." - todd lucier

"Thanks Carol. It’s all about presence. We’ll look at Web sites one day and say, what were we thinking?" - todd lucier

"Claude, sometimes in Canada we find ourselves quite a bit behind the US too. And even the US is way behind others – ie: Japan way ahead in handheld adoption. Mary Meeker’s presentation yesterday at Web 2.0 highlighted how handheld adoption leads to significantly higher posting of status updates! Now 19% of folks report updating status – up from 11% in 2008. I think what is most significant about this news is that Tweets will cross over into Search which will create revenue for Twitter (no more need to ask @biz or @ev about that) Most importantly the tweets will influence search and be visible to even non-users which will increase adoption rates for Twitter world wide . . . and in the world of updating status, look for social web sites like Flickr, Youtube and others to start offering status updates. Soon, everyone can get in the game of making money off search." - todd lucier

"Claude, sometimes in Canada we find ourselves quite a bit behind the US too. And even the US is way behind others – ie: Japan way ahead in handheld adoption. Mary Meeker’s presentation yesterday at Web 2.0 highlighted how handheld adoption leads to significantly higher posting of status updates! Now 19% of folks report updating status – up from 11% in 2008. I think what is most... more... - todd lucier

"Craig, My perspective is along the lines of Spotted by Locals. Employment and engagement of bloggers at the local level is what I advocate for. Sort of like having a local columnist for a city newspaper. The question of DMO’s paying per post…. no, I don’t think this is a good idea. Report comment" - todd lucier

twitter - todd lucier

"Darren…. it’s time to rethink the relationship between bloggers, their audiences and economics. My take: It’s time for bloggers to start working with Destination Marketing Organizations, Visitor and Convention Bureaus, regional tourism marketing organizations and requesting a high rate of pay for valuable content. Dropped a few thoughts on my blog about this before reading your post. A good conversation. Thomas Power’s link on disclosing marketer/blogger relationships is a non-issue the way I see it. Getting the stories out is what matters. Newspapers have been paying their team of reporters for years and the credibility or value in the stories produced is widely accepted. Bloggers are simply the multimedia travel writers of the day and good content should be rewarded. Report comment" - todd lucier

"Visit http://Maps.Google.com and use the appropriate links to add/edit your listing or report an error to correct your listing. You can move a pin on the map, add photos, descriptions and a whole lot more that makes you easier to find." - todd lucier

"Hi Sam. http://www.northernedgealgonquin.com is the site we are using Facebook boxes on. Thanks for reading!" - todd lucier

"I know, I know, the video and audio aren’t synced…. YouTube messed it up. Message still clear – just listen to audio if it’s too distracting. cheers, t." - todd lucier

"I’ve got to agree with lots on this list. I think the definition of mobile phone has to be expanded to embrace the data-connections that are inherent in the new bread of always connected devices. Since they inherently could replace or include a number of items on this list including: digital maps, cameras, check-in and travel apps, travel reviews on trip advisor and the like, gps, web browsers for online booking, access to paypal and e-payment, and virtually ubiquitous Internet access, the list could be boiled down to two items quite simply. 1. Handheld device. 2. Bags with Wheels." - todd lucier