Sometimes Marketers Are Just Plain Brilliant

Zipcar IKEA brooklyn

We're sure you've heard all the hoopla and hype that IKEA Brooklyn is opening up this month. And well, we know how much you love your IKEA trips and how much of a madhouse it's going to be there and we wanted to make your life a little bit easier! So, to save you a little bit of time, Zipsters who drive their Zipcars to IKEA will be getting VIP Treatment in the form of 6, count 'em, 6, designated parking spots near the entrance! This means less circling the lot like a hungry shark, and more time for assembling later!

Author's note: I'm not going to deny that I am a HUGE fan of Zipcar. Nor will I deny that, while waxing poetically about the beauty of Zipcar to my Aunt from Ohio, she laughed out loud at the idea of renting a car by the hour. Only in New York (oh, and about 45 other cities. Take that Aunt Sally.).

Feeling Patriotic

It's summertime...but even more importantly, we have a candidate for President. Hurray!

I've jumped on the bandwagon early on and am hosting a bakesale for Barack next Sunday, June 22nd at 1:00 pm on my stoop. You can find more details at:

http://political.moveon.org/event/bakesales08/47997

I'm thinking the bakesale will be much less dangerous than my door-to-door effort for Gore.

Long story short: me and my girlfriend. bright eyed and bushy tailed. steel working town in Pennsylvania. we split up thinking we can cover more territory. me ringing doorbell at my first house. alone. large man (we're talking 300 lbs) answering and grabbing my arm and pulling me into his house (without a word). me. throwing up my Gore for President leaflets and screaming bloody mary thinking this is my last day on earth (also thrashing my arms and legs as much as i am able). friend running across the street to save me. large man (and equally large son) freaking out almost as much as me claiming they are trying to save me from their dog who was about to bite me. friend standing at the end of their driveway unable to save me due to the large dog. me. seeing dog and (sort of) understanding the assault. father and son feeling REALLY badly and offering my friend and I cookies and a coke. me. making sure they went out to vote the next Tuesday.

All for the cause, people.

Yes, bakesale is predicted to be MUCH less eventful. In a good way.

Tickled My Fancy

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/

Apparently I'm behind the times as this blog caught the attention of the greater tech-geek-types a while back. But, it makes me snicker (and even snort once or twice), so I thought worth sharing with my vast readership.

Goal Accomplished

I create lots of "to do" lists. Weekend to-do's, career to-do's, house to-do's - and on and on. It makes me happy to make lists and cross things off. As the boy will tell you, I am very goal oriented.

The thing about my lists -- especially the more long term lists -- is that I'm not so great at tackling them. Keeping up with my blog is one such example. Updating my resume is another (that one's been on the list for at least 2 years).

But, I am proud to say that this dreary Sunday morning, I have crossed a major item off my list!

I began the creation of an online recipe book.

You see, I'm not an especially creative cook. But, I do like to follow recipes (it pleases the left side of my brain). And, I'd wager that I've tried at least 100 new recipes in the last year and a half or so, all of which are either scattered around my kitchen or in one of my e-mail inboxes.

So, here it is:

www.desktopcookbook.com

Thing is, the site isn't super advanced (read: some programmer dude -- or dudette -- could make a MUCH better site, and I would actually pay for a subscription). That is, I can't just share the URL, I have to share my login info. So here you go:

login: aefitzgibbons
password: recipes123

Enjoy!

A Mighty Wind

So apparently ConEdison is doing some marketing at the Banff Mountain Film Festival (how do I get that job???) because that's where my friend and her husband found out about this cool dealio:

You can now switch your traditional Con Ed power to Con Ed Solutions Wind power.

All you need to do is visit the following link and enter your Con Ed account number. The financial implication for most NYC apartment dwellers is about $10 per month. Your electricity will still be supplied by Con Ed but it will be non-polluting and will generate no greenhouse gases.

Here's the link:

www.newwindenergy.com/switch

Building a Loyal Base

Ok, I'll admit it: I'm a bad blogger. Well, not bad in the sense that my postings aren't interesting (b/c I know all of my loyal readers wait on the edge of their seats for my written words). Bad in the sense that my posts come in spurts.

As a marketer by vocation, I should know better. You know, customer loyalty and all of that. I'd also eventually like to get, you know, ONE comment on my blog (the 1% rule means that I need to get 100 ppl reading before 1 person actually posts).

Now, I will also admit that I haven't actually publicized my blog. I was hoping for the word of mouth thing to catch on...create some FitzThis evangelists. You can't even find it if you Google it.

I'm ready for the big time, but I have to confess to some angst when it comes to either a) writing on a daily basis and/or b) writing about one subject in particular -- 2 of the key ways to actually get some people reading.

But, here's my shot at some really advanced Web 2.0 marketing techniques:

I have come up with a series of series of blogs that I may actually commit myself to*. If you, my loyal readers, would like to VOTE on which series you would like to read about, I will be happy to oblige. They are:

- A post-modern** comparison of teenage angst tv shows through the decades: 90210, Dawson's Creek and Gossip Girl (I like this one, in particular, b/c it justifies me watching re-runs of the former two and current episodes of the latter).

- Real life episodes of "The Office". I would need some reader contributions for this one, people.

- Only in New York. Little daily happenings that remind you that you live in this wonderful, crazy ass city. (Photo submissions encouraged.)

- A hobby a week. In which I try out a new hobby and report back. This one would be a lot of effort, so maybe it'll be a hobby a month. And, no, I will not take on any hobbies having to do with sex, drugs or snakes.

A note to my current readership: FitzThis will continue its free-form, random postings between postings on the above.

Let the votes start pouring in!



* As an added incentive -- to "tell a friend" -- I won't commit to any of the above unless I get at least 20 comments.

** I don't really know what this means, but it sounded smart.

I Heart My Crock Pot

That's right people. Call it what you like. I will defend it to the end.

Ok, maybe that's a bit dramatic.

But, I do love my crock pot.

Many people will tell you that I become infatuated with new things very easily...cute new towns I find, cute old men who I want to be my grandpas, cute little gadgets. I'm big on cuteness. My boyfriend calls it being "focused". I have no shame in it. Not everyone can focus as well as I can.

My crock pot isn't so much cute (though it is a nice red color and has a handy handle) as it is just plain awesome. It is my new focus...just like my Cuisanart was. For about a week. (Note: there are some cool ass videos on YouTube demo-ing what you can do with a Cuisanart).

I fretted for a while about using it. You have to plan in advance. You have to get up earlier in the morning. I was also a little suspicious about leaving an appliance on all day and coming back to a house that wasn't burnt down. And, let's admit, I don't exactly make roasts for Sunday dinner.


But, I took the leap this morning. The recipe: beer braised pork and black bean soup. Daring, you might think. Why yes, thank you. I thought so too. It's not exactly your traditional crock pot recipe.

I dumped all the ingredients in at about 8:45 a.m. (yes, I got to work late). Cumin. Chiles in adobo sauce (I don't know what that means either). Sam Adams lager. Onions. Salt. Water. Beans. That was it. I turned it on and...

presto changeo 10 hours later...scrumptious black bean soup and mouth watering pork.

It's like magic. And I'm fascinated.

Mind you, I know people have been using these for years. But, per the above: I'm like a kid in a candy store when I discover something new. And, just like that kid, I will likely toss away the new toy within a few weeks.

But for now, I am seriously hearting the crock pot.