Chapter 5 Homework

Hats off to New Mexico's Department of Tourism.  The agency is planning a marketing and PR campaign to upgrade the state's image and attract more tourists.  According to a Nov. 5 article in the Santa Fe New Mexican,  focus-group respondents living outside of New Mexico used these unflattering words to describe the state: arid and barren; dull; artsy; dreamcatchers; not a lot of activity.

Having spent a week in the Albuquerque and Santa Fe areas with my wife in early November, I say the PR campaign can't start soon enough.

Let the rest of the world know that there's truly something for all tastes in the Land of Enchantment.  Outdoors enthusiasts will appreciate the hiking and world-class skiing in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.  There's also water sports in the Rio Grande and in several lakes.  Sightseers and photographers won't want to miss the jaw-dropping mesas, rocky outcroppings and rift valleys of the high desert.  History buffs will enjoy many museums and the Old Town District of Albuquerque, as well as the native dwellings of Bandolier National Monument and Taos Pueblo, both north of Santa Fe.  Art fanciers flock to the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum and dozens of galleries in  Santa Fe and Taos, while science and technology students can explore nuclear technology and World War II's Manhattan Project in the science museum in Los Alamos.  Those on a spiritual quest, from traditional Catholicism to New Age, will find plenty of shrines, cathedrals, churches, spas and other attractions.

Golden cottonwoods on the Rio Grande.

And that's just the north-central part of the state.

Snow-capped peaks reign high above meadows in Taos, NM.

Cathedral and adobe buildings of Santa Fe.

A marketing campaign needs to position the state as a first choice for those who want four seasons of fun--all amid low humidity, no mosquitoes and 300 sunny days per year.


 




 
 

Chapter 4 Homework

1.   It is important to use more than one label or tag to describe the same piece of information because it allows users to find a photo or document more efficiently than using one label.  Different users may find different terms meaningful, so using more than one label allows a variety of users to find the same document.

2.  Organizing information using a hierarchical structure means that items are stored in a vertical ranking  system, similar to an outline, which folders are divided into sub-folders.  Documents are classified as being above, below or at the same level as others.  Typically, a hierarchical structure is used for storage on a drive or portable storage device.

3. Flickr is a  website used for the storing and sharing of photographs and videos.  Registration is free of charge.  The website is not only popular for users to share and embed personal photographs, but it is used by  by bloggers to host images that they embed in blogs and social media.

4.  I see myself using Flickr for uploading travel photos for the travel blog. As of 11/13/11, I officially set up a Flickr page.  To protect my privacy, I will allow only friends and family to see photos that show my wife or me.  Other photos, such as scenery, will be open to the public, with  reservations.  If someone is going to use a photo--taken by me or by anyone else, for that matter--and use that photo for commercial gain, then it's only fair that the person who took the photo receive compensation. How is anyone going to stop commercial use of Flickr photos?  Has Flickr been destroying the careers of freelance photographers?   

5.  Judy Greenberg's presentation on social media was extremely informative.  I learned several things:

• The importance of  consistency and linking all of one's websites. 
• Practical tips on search engine optimization, such as:  Use a title that a potential client would type into Google, and repeat that title in the first sentence of a blog posting.
• The website Statcounter.com allows you to track visits to your own website or blog.

After the presentation, I was left wondering:  How many hours a week does it take to maintain all that social media? It seems to me that the biggest challenge, especially for a small-business owner, is the time involved.  One's primary career can be time-consuming enough, without maintaining a half-dozen blogs/websites and answering hundreds of e-mails and phone calls per week.  To be able to have a full night's sleep every night and a personal life, too, it appears that one must delegate as much of the social media work as possible.

Chapter 2 Homework

1.  I became a follower of Chris Bohnsak's blog on Monday, Nov. 7.

2. I searched www.technorati.com and located the www.gizmodo.com blog.  Gizmodo’s gadgets include:

--Get The Top Story in Your Inbox:  Clicking an envelope icon brings up a field in which you enter your e-mail address.

--RSS feeds—accessible by clicking the RSS icon.

--Twitter link—accessible by clicking the Twitter icon.

--Upgrade to Google+:  This is accessible by clicking the Google icon. 

 3. Gizmodo, located at http://gizmodo.com, is a technology blog about consumer electronics.  According to Wikipedia, the blog is part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton.  Gizmodo is known for its up-to-date coverage of the technology industry, along with topics as wide-ranging as design, architecture, space and science. There are also product reviews and how-to articles.

Gizmodo lists BlackBerry as one of its major sponsors, and two BlackBerry ads are large and prominent near the top of the front page. Verizon and American Express are two other sponsors.

Gizmodo links to several other blogs, including Lifehacker, Jezebel and Deadspin, but it should be noted that these blogs are all owned by Gawker Media.  Gizmodo does not appear to link to non-Gawker Media blogs.

4. I added a slideshow to this blog, as seen at the bottom of this screen, because I plan to include slideshows from my recent New Mexico trip and other places that my wife and I have visited.

Chapter 2 Blog Homework

Hi,

I'm a Minnesota native who began traveling vicariously in childhood, when I would travel to other states and countries through the magic of the World Book Encyclopdia and my own imagination.  After getting married in 2003, at age 40, I have done more real traveling in the past 9 years than in the previous 40.  My wife I enjoy weekend getaways in the Midwest--especially Door County, Wis.  Next week, we're heading to northern New Mexico, where we anxiously await mountainscapes and sunny skies. Below, my wife and I are under the Spanish moss hanging from the trees in Charleston, S.C., which we visited in 2009.

One of my favorite stores is the endangered species known as a bricks-and-mortar bookstore, namely Barnes & Noble, at http://www.bn.com.

Welcome

Welcome to a blog dedicated to all who have a terminal case of wanderlust. Read more excellent travel advice on Frommer's.