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Spring Breakers Get the Local Scoop from Omni Hotels' Online Community
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Spring break season is in full effect.
College students trading in snow-storms for tropical paradise. Families escaping the daily grind, or winter blues, for some R&R at a resort. And Omni Hotels is helping them make the most of their time away by connecting them with those who know the destination best: the locals!
The Local Scoop is Omni Hotels' online social network that allows locals and travelers alike to share insider knowledge of cities across the U.S., many of which include Omni accommodations. Members showcase their hometown by sharing stories, posting recommendations and uploading pictures. This peer-to-peer interaction encourages spring breakers to visit a new city, enjoy local attractions, and stay at an Omni Hotel.
Omni Hotels' strategic business use of social media raises the bar for an industry dependent upon customer relationships, and leverages the power of the Internet to increase bookings.
Considering the demographic of spring breakers and their inclination to participate in social networks, or research trips online, Omni Hotels hopes to entice new, younger travelers through its online community as well.
The list of cities on The Local Scoop runs the gamut from Atlanta to Washington.
During last year's summer vacation season, the site reeled in over a quarter million page views by visitors, providing additional cross-selling opportunities through advertising space. And despite the economic slump, The Local Scoop drove an upswing in summer bookings.
Hey, you're never too old to go on spring break! Check out The Local Scoop for some unique travel ideas.
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CEO Featured in Federal Computer Week:
The Place for Public Comments
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The following article is reproduced from an op-ed of Federal Computer Week, featuring the insight of Neighborhood America CEO Kim P. Kobza:
As the new administration takes shape, a debate has begun over the role social media will play - or should play - in public participation processes. There is rising tension and confusion over the appropriate place for social media alongside traditional public comment.
Both sides have their vocal proponents, but in my view, Government 2.0 needs both. Each has its purpose.
Public comment" is a term of art - a legal standard that requires comments to be relevant, free of profanity, and offered with full attribution and identity. Public comments are a matter of public record and are to be shared as a matter of law. Think of it as a modern version of a town-hall meeting, a formalized process that requires participants to provide their names and places of residency, and speak on-point while contributing informed input.
The rising acceptance of social media does not alter this historic governmental process. As observed by Cass Sunstein in Infotopia: How Many Minds Produce Knowledge," the purpose of public comment is not to engage in social interaction but rather to allow citizens the opportunity to share an opinion, one that is not influenced by social fear, to advise their representatives. In return, decision-makers benefit from the opportunity to discover that one good - and perhaps dissident - idea that might shape new solution possibilities.
Social media is different. The perceived value of social media is in part based on peer-to-peer communication that promotes the sharing of ideas. Social networks are designed to facilitate social exchanges that lead to collaborative problem solving and often unplanned or unexpected responses. Ideas are built collectively one meme at a time.
Consider the widely publicized Citizen's Briefing Book, a compilation of citizen input regarding the issues facing our nation. The response was impressive. More than 70,000 people participated, casting half a million votes on suggestions and generating tens of thousands of ideas, according to President Barack Obama's Change.gov site.
The Citizen's Briefing Book demonstrates that many people find the discussion and sharing of ideas to be highly relevant - enough so to move them to contribute and participate in a way that traditional public comment processes have not. With a lack of transparency and failed expectations, public comment processes have not delivered. One might argue that social media solves these problems.
So, public comment and social media have their place in Gov 2.0. If we truly believe that maximizing citizen engagement is a worthy goal, it follows that as government, we have to do both.
We must provide a means for engagement that enables simple citizen-to-government communication. On the other hand, peer-to-peer communication through the use of social media will enable government agencies to take advantage of the value inherent in citizen networks and will welcome even more citizens into the process.
Government will best meet rising citizen expectations by making sharp, thoughtful distinctions between the old tried and tested public comment and the new promising world of social media. But there is a difference.
Check out the FCW Insider: Tips on Keeping Public Comments Civil (Part 2).
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A Heritage of Success
By Jason Breed, Sr. Director of Business Development -- Media
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I was talking with a client this past week and the question came up of What makes you different than the rest?" I'll share the answer with you as I did with the client that day as it became a turning point in our relationship at the executive level. There's no fluff here, just fact (to the best of my knowledge). It went something like this:
Most technology companies get lost in the features and functions of what they do. It's pretty straightforward to develop a toolkit of products, train a sales force on the ins & outs, then release them on an prospect list. The message is a generalized you're in this industry you must fit into this box too". Usually that's all the time a vendor will take to understand what you need to develop a better solution for you. Read More
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Microsoft Unveils the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Community built by Neighborhood America
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Who does the largest technology company in the world turn to when it needs a world-class online community for its partners, customers, and employees in Dynamics CRM? One company - Neighborhood America.
Microsoft became a customer of Neighborhood America with the intention of building a global network for the Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
At the Microsoft Convergence 2009 Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana on March 11th the companies jointly announced the Idea Bank. The Idea Bank is an industry first, built with Neighborhood America's REVEAL business service, and fully integrated with Microsoft's Dynamics CRM.
That means that Microsoft can mine customer data from the social network to provide meaningful customer response. Microsoft and Neighborhood America are providing the same solution to government customers to provide transparency for agencies to comply with federal requirements.
Furthermore during the conference, Neighborhood America's CTO, David Bankston, joined Microsoft's Amir Capriles to co-present ‘Gov 2.0 - Citizen Engagement and Social Networking in the Public Sector.' The session shared with attendees how citizen networks enable government agencies to meet these new requirements and drive eligibility for funding in adherence with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Neighborhood America and Microsoft Public Sector recognized the possibilities of integrating social networks and CRM quite some time ago, and have worked diligently together to make Social CRM a reality.
The audience at Convergence 2009 were among the first to see a complete integration in action.
No more theory. No more screen shots. It's real.
Stay tuned for news of the official launch of the Microsoft Idea Bank.
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How Social Media Changes The Way Citizens Talk to Government
By Mitch Wagner
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Traditional public comment has citizens talking to government, and government (hopefully) listening. But social media involves people talking to each other, with government in the mix participating in the discussion.
Read the article that appeared in the Information Week Blog.
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Recession Survival Strategies: Why It's Important to Invest in CRM Now
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BtoB Magazine will host a webcast featuring Chris Bucholtz, Senior Editor, InsideCRM, and Michael Thomas, Director of CRM and Social Media Strategy, Neighborhood America, on Recession Survival Strategies: Why It's Important to Invest in CRM now."
The webcast will take place on Thursday, April 2th at 2 pm EDT, and will cover some major topics such as:
**Increase your revenue opportunities
**Help you better understand your customer base
**Provide relevant data to your sales force
**Improve your marketing strategy
According to BtoB Magazine, Customer relationship management (CRM) technology is one of those critical areas that companies need to continually embrace, especially during tough economic times. When times are tight, customers expect more for their hard-earned dollar-more value, more service and more attention! Those companies that stay current with technology improvements and invest in CRM solutions will be at a competitive advantage when the economy bounces back.
Click here to register for the webcast.
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Open Innovation Techniques for Success in Today's Business
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What do Toyota, Boeing, Google, Merck and P&G have in common?
They all use various forms of open innovation and crowdsourcing to achieve incredible returns on investments and lead their markets.
Open innovation is a new term that describes the process of gathering groups of people together and using their spare time and untapped knowledge to create something of value. Leading companies use open innovation not only to outpace their competition, but also render them irrelevant.
On March 16th, Neighborhood America CEO Kim P. Kobza will join a panel discussion with other leading personalities in this exciting new business segment to explain how you can put them to use in your business.
The Open Innovation Panel Session is hosted by The Penn Club, which boasts 14,000 members, alumni from the University of Pennsylvania and The Wharton School, the world's first collegiate business school established in 1881.
Attendees will learn:
**A business practice that is rapidly becoming the basis of a new and more efficient way to do business
**How successful companies including Google, Netflix and P&G use open innovation and crowdsourcing to dominate their categories
**Potential startup opportunities within open innovation field
**How to use open innovation tools in your business to save money and increase performance
The speaker panel includes: moderator Tim Gilchrist, Co-founder of Microengagement; David Perry, President of Consensus Point; and Michael Morris, Sr. VP of TopCoder.
The event is Monday, March 16th at 6:30 pm EST. To learn more about The Penn Club, visit www.pennclub.org.
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Atlanta Wine-Tasting Event Brings Together Alliance Professionals
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Industry events can become mundane. The same people, sitting at a table eating dinner and barely discussing why they're there in the first place.
Judy Mod, the new president of the Atlanta/Southeast Chapter of the Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals (ASAP), and Neighborhood America Director of Business Development -- Strategic Alliances, decided to add a social aspect to the Chapter's annual Open House by hosting a wine-tasting.
Whether you're a connoisseur, or merely enjoy the occasional glass, WineStyles is a great place to kick back, relax, and explore wine.
On February 25th, the Atlanta/Southeast Chapter of the ASAP hosted the open house at WineStyles, welcoming an intimidate group of nearly 25 professionals, which included representatives from UPS, Cox and other Atlanta companies. The Chapter addresses the difficult issues that impact alliances today by bringing together practitioners and consultants to share their experiences.
Judy invited Michael Thomas to speak to the group about the importance of leveraging strategic alliances. Michael is Neighborhood America's Director of CRM & Social Media Strategy, and the National President of the CRM Association.
Michael spoke to the slowdown due to the current economic crisis and the importance of looking at key alliances to make sure they are aligned properly, in a positive position, for positive action as the economy gets better.
It was a great venue for networking and forming strategic alliances, and I must say as the wine flowed so did the conversations," says Michael.
Michael referenced Neighborhood America's eBook, Transforming your Business Networks, as a resource for companies to learn how to place themselves in the middle of their alliances to derive a positive ROI for their customers together and not in a silo-type environment.
Customers now more than ever are looking for a total solution, working in concert with key components," says Michael.
The success of the event spawned the idea of hosting similar events at WineStyles specific to Neighborhood America. The purpose: to educate partners about the new paradigm taking place, aligning online communities with business goals, to enable them to better discuss social media strategies with clients.
Details to come...
(Michael Thomas, Director of CRM & Social Media Strategy, Neighborhood America, contributed to the article.)
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Newsletters
Neighborhood America Recognized Again for Prestigious Honor as CODiE Finalist
The Software and Information Industry Association's (SIIA) Codie Awards competition has honored creativity and innovation in the software and information industry for 24 years.
Each year, SIIA invites key media representatives to participate in the first round of judging, which gives them an opportunity to review some of the newest and most innovative products available. The first round recently wrapped up with the judges picking their favorites.
For the second year in a row, Neighborhood America's ELAvate tops the list as a finalist in the software category for Best Social Networking Solution," which the company won last year. The finalists were chosen from more than 850 nominations submitted by 600 companies.
What makes the awards extra special, is that they provide the only peer recognition program in the industry - a unique opportunity for companies to vie for the praise of their competitors. Competitors in our category include Mzinga and Lithium.
The competition is particularly steep this year during the 24th Annual SIIA CODiE Awards, making selection as a CODiE Finalist a real achievement," said SIIA President Ken Wasch. All the companies on this year's list of CODiE Finalists should feel justifiably proud of their accomplishment in making it to this stage, and have much excitement to look forward to regarding the upcoming CODiE Awards voting!"
Now Neighborhood America's ELAvate moves on to the next step of the process, which brings our product before the SIIA members for their votes to determine the winners in each category.
The 2009 CODiE Awards will be presented at a gala event on May 5, 2009, at the historic Palace Hotel in San Francisco, CA.
Read what our Senior Director of Marketing writes about the honor at her blog on The Circuit.
Click here for a complete list of the 2009 CODiE Awards Finalists.
Spring break season is in full effect.
College students trading in snow-storms for tropical paradise. Families escaping the daily grind, or winter blues, for some R&R at a resort. And Omni Hotels is helping them make the most of their time away by connecting them with those who know the destination best: the locals!
The Local Scoop is Omni Hotels' online social network that allows locals and travelers alike to share insider knowledge of cities across the U.S., many of which include Omni accommodations. Members showcase their hometown by sharing stories, posting recommendations and uploading pictures. This peer-to-peer interaction encourages spring breakers to visit a new city, enjoy local attractions, and stay at an Omni Hotel.
Omni Hotels' strategic business use of social media raises the bar for an industry dependent upon customer relationships, and leverages the power of the Internet to increase bookings.
Considering the demographic of spring breakers and their inclination to participate in social networks, or research trips online, Omni Hotels hopes to entice new, younger travelers through its online community as well.
The list of cities on The Local Scoop runs the gamut from Atlanta to Washington.
During last year's summer vacation season, the site reeled in over a quarter million page views by visitors, providing additional cross-selling opportunities through advertising space. And despite the economic slump, The Local Scoop drove an upswing in summer bookings.
Hey, you're never too old to go on spring break! Check out The Local Scoop for some unique travel ideas.
CEO Featured in Federal Computer Week:
The Place for Public Comments
The following article is reproduced from an op-ed of Federal Computer Week, featuring the insight of Neighborhood America CEO Kim P. Kobza:
As the new administration takes shape, a debate has begun over the role social media will play - or should play - in public participation processes. There is rising tension and confusion over the appropriate place for social media alongside traditional public comment.
Both sides have their vocal proponents, but in my view, Government 2.0 needs both. Each has its purpose.
Public comment" is a term of art - a legal standard that requires comments to be relevant, free of profanity, and offered with full attribution and identity. Public comments are a matter of public record and are to be shared as a matter of law. Think of it as a modern version of a town-hall meeting, a formalized process that requires participants to provide their names and places of residency, and speak on-point while contributing informed input.
The rising acceptance of social media does not alter this historic governmental process. As observed by Cass Sunstein in Infotopia: How Many Minds Produce Knowledge," the purpose of public comment is not to engage in social interaction but rather to allow citizens the opportunity to share an opinion, one that is not influenced by social fear, to advise their representatives. In return, decision-makers benefit from the opportunity to discover that one good - and perhaps dissident - idea that might shape new solution possibilities.
Social media is different. The perceived value of social media is in part based on peer-to-peer communication that promotes the sharing of ideas. Social networks are designed to facilitate social exchanges that lead to collaborative problem solving and often unplanned or unexpected responses. Ideas are built collectively one meme at a time.
Consider the widely publicized Citizen's Briefing Book, a compilation of citizen input regarding the issues facing our nation. The response was impressive. More than 70,000 people participated, casting half a million votes on suggestions and generating tens of thousands of ideas, according to President Barack Obama's Change.gov site.
The Citizen's Briefing Book demonstrates that many people find the discussion and sharing of ideas to be highly relevant - enough so to move them to contribute and participate in a way that traditional public comment processes have not. With a lack of transparency and failed expectations, public comment processes have not delivered. One might argue that social media solves these problems.
So, public comment and social media have their place in Gov 2.0. If we truly believe that maximizing citizen engagement is a worthy goal, it follows that as government, we have to do both.
We must provide a means for engagement that enables simple citizen-to-government communication. On the other hand, peer-to-peer communication through the use of social media will enable government agencies to take advantage of the value inherent in citizen networks and will welcome even more citizens into the process.
Government will best meet rising citizen expectations by making sharp, thoughtful distinctions between the old tried and tested public comment and the new promising world of social media. But there is a difference.
Check out the FCW Insider: Tips on Keeping Public Comments Civil (Part 2).
Featured Point of View: Jason Breed
Join our community to share social media insights and learn from your peers by visiting Community.NeighborhoodAmerica.com
By Jason Breed, Sr. Director of Business Development -- Media
I was talking with a client this past week and the question came up of What makes you different than the rest?" I'll share the answer with you as I did with the client that day as it became a turning point in our relationship at the executive level. There's no fluff here, just fact (to the best of my knowledge). It went something like this:
Most technology companies get lost in the features and functions of what they do. It's pretty straightforward to develop a toolkit of products, train a sales force on the ins & outs, then release them on an prospect list. The message is a generalized you're in this industry you must fit into this box too". Usually that's all the time a vendor will take to understand what you need to develop a better solution for you. Read More
Who does the largest technology company in the world turn to when it needs a world-class online community for its partners, customers, and employees in Dynamics CRM? One company - Neighborhood America.
Microsoft became a customer of Neighborhood America with the intention of building a global network for the Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
At the Microsoft Convergence 2009 Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana on March 11th the companies jointly announced the Idea Bank. The Idea Bank is an industry first, built with Neighborhood America's REVEAL business service, and fully integrated with Microsoft's Dynamics CRM.
That means that Microsoft can mine customer data from the social network to provide meaningful customer response. Microsoft and Neighborhood America are providing the same solution to government customers to provide transparency for agencies to comply with federal requirements.
Furthermore during the conference, Neighborhood America's CTO, David Bankston, joined Microsoft's Amir Capriles to co-present ‘Gov 2.0 - Citizen Engagement and Social Networking in the Public Sector.' The session shared with attendees how citizen networks enable government agencies to meet these new requirements and drive eligibility for funding in adherence with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Neighborhood America and Microsoft Public Sector recognized the possibilities of integrating social networks and CRM quite some time ago, and have worked diligently together to make Social CRM a reality.
The audience at Convergence 2009 were among the first to see a complete integration in action.
No more theory. No more screen shots. It's real.
Stay tuned for news of the official launch of the Microsoft Idea Bank.
By Mitch Wagner
Traditional public comment has citizens talking to government, and government (hopefully) listening. But social media involves people talking to each other, with government in the mix participating in the discussion.
Read the article that appeared in the Information Week Blog.
BtoB Magazine will host a webcast featuring Chris Bucholtz, Senior Editor, InsideCRM, and Michael Thomas, Director of CRM and Social Media Strategy, Neighborhood America, on Recession Survival Strategies: Why It's Important to Invest in CRM now."
The webcast will take place on Thursday, April 2th at 2 pm EDT, and will cover some major topics such as:
**Increase your revenue opportunities
**Help you better understand your customer base
**Provide relevant data to your sales force
**Improve your marketing strategy
According to BtoB Magazine, Customer relationship management (CRM) technology is one of those critical areas that companies need to continually embrace, especially during tough economic times. When times are tight, customers expect more for their hard-earned dollar-more value, more service and more attention! Those companies that stay current with technology improvements and invest in CRM solutions will be at a competitive advantage when the economy bounces back.
Click here to register for the webcast.
What do Toyota, Boeing, Google, Merck and P&G have in common?
They all use various forms of open innovation and crowdsourcing to achieve incredible returns on investments and lead their markets.
Open innovation is a new term that describes the process of gathering groups of people together and using their spare time and untapped knowledge to create something of value. Leading companies use open innovation not only to outpace their competition, but also render them irrelevant.
On March 16th, Neighborhood America CEO Kim P. Kobza will join a panel discussion with other leading personalities in this exciting new business segment to explain how you can put them to use in your business.
The Open Innovation Panel Session is hosted by The Penn Club, which boasts 14,000 members, alumni from the University of Pennsylvania and The Wharton School, the world's first collegiate business school established in 1881.
Attendees will learn:
**A business practice that is rapidly becoming the basis of a new and more efficient way to do business
**How successful companies including Google, Netflix and P&G use open innovation and crowdsourcing to dominate their categories
**Potential startup opportunities within open innovation field
**How to use open innovation tools in your business to save money and increase performance
The speaker panel includes: moderator Tim Gilchrist, Co-founder of Microengagement; David Perry, President of Consensus Point; and Michael Morris, Sr. VP of TopCoder.
The event is Monday, March 16th at 6:30 pm EST. To learn more about The Penn Club, visit www.pennclub.org.
Industry events can become mundane. The same people, sitting at a table eating dinner and barely discussing why they're there in the first place.
Judy Mod, the new president of the Atlanta/Southeast Chapter of the Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals (ASAP), and Neighborhood America Director of Business Development -- Strategic Alliances, decided to add a social aspect to the Chapter's annual Open House by hosting a wine-tasting.
Whether you're a connoisseur, or merely enjoy the occasional glass, WineStyles is a great place to kick back, relax, and explore wine.
On February 25th, the Atlanta/Southeast Chapter of the ASAP hosted the open house at WineStyles, welcoming an intimidate group of nearly 25 professionals, which included representatives from UPS, Cox and other Atlanta companies. The Chapter addresses the difficult issues that impact alliances today by bringing together practitioners and consultants to share their experiences.
Judy invited Michael Thomas to speak to the group about the importance of leveraging strategic alliances. Michael is Neighborhood America's Director of CRM & Social Media Strategy, and the National President of the CRM Association.
Michael spoke to the slowdown due to the current economic crisis and the importance of looking at key alliances to make sure they are aligned properly, in a positive position, for positive action as the economy gets better.
It was a great venue for networking and forming strategic alliances, and I must say as the wine flowed so did the conversations," says Michael.
Michael referenced Neighborhood America's eBook, Transforming your Business Networks, as a resource for companies to learn how to place themselves in the middle of their alliances to derive a positive ROI for their customers together and not in a silo-type environment.
Customers now more than ever are looking for a total solution, working in concert with key components," says Michael.
The success of the event spawned the idea of hosting similar events at WineStyles specific to Neighborhood America. The purpose: to educate partners about the new paradigm taking place, aligning online communities with business goals, to enable them to better discuss social media strategies with clients.
Details to come...
(Michael Thomas, Director of CRM & Social Media Strategy, Neighborhood America, contributed to the article.)
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