Carme Pla's Blog

Good blogging is too honest

Carme — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 05:30:30 +0000

At the time Business Week says that only 16% of people Trust Corporate Blogs, we find a new approach by Julen Iturbe.

Should we discuss why people don’t trust Corporate Blogs?

Or maybe we’d better look for root causes and accept that actually it’s a matter of corporations’ trustworthiness?

Technorati Tags: corporate blogging

Online campaigns with territorial restrictions

Carme — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 14:28:28 +0000

What’s the point of adding territorial restrictions to online campaings?

Via Sustainable Travel I reached the video-campaing launched by Just Do One.

It’s about encouraging us to create a 3 minutes video to explain an idea suitable to be done by everyone individually with the aim to improve our planet. We can find many ideas on the Just do One’s blog to save energy, local products consumption, etc. This campaign will unveil new ways to spread ideas like those ones using audiovisual means.

The award for the best proposal is 5.000 US dólares.

The sponsor behind this campaign is Special Nutrition Group, focused on what they call the nutraceuticals market, people who want to take care of their wealth through a better nutrition and they are maily in the USA. We could discuss if what they offer is aligned with what the campaign will transmit, but this is not the aim of the post.

From a business perspective I see consistency on driving the contest to the USA residents using the elements known to be accepted there. However, what surprised me most is discovering that one of the contest rules is to be a Resident of the USA.

It seams exaggerated to be so focused on the current customer base and close doors in such a limited manner to future clients. Why do they waste the opportunity to reach a bigger potential market, people who can arrive thru the cyberspace joining space and territory?

Technorati Tags: Marketing online

Beautiful Video on Ulldecona

Carme — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 15:25:58 +0000

Take a walk to Ulldecona’s history.

This is close to my home, just at 30 Km.

Ulldecona un passeig per la història from giravolt on Vimeo.

Technorati Tags: Ulldecona, Terres de l’Ebre, Tourism

No to violence against Women

Carme — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 06:12:35 +0000

25 November: say NO to violence against Women

Custom Search Results in Google, is tourism ready?

Carme — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 15:26:47 +0000

Via the Friend’s shared items in Google Reader, a functionality allowing us to share interesting things we read, I discovered a new feature by Google.

I feel like a dream comes true

Up to now, it’s only available for the English versions of Google search engine.

The difference we find now is that if we are logged in a Google Account, when we use the Google search engine, next to the results we see a couple of icons.

The video I’m embedding below explains it very well. This feature makes it possible nothing less than giving the users the possibility to sort the search results according to their unique and personal criteria. The preferences will be saved along with the user’s account and will be used in future searches.

This is actually another step to Google’s plan to dominate the world’s information, but…

Isn’t it the dream of all netsurfers!!!

At this point, came to my mind the interesting post series by Rafael Martínez on SEO positionning, published with the tag SEO para principiantes. He explains what is all about: getting the first positions in search engines results:

ejercer acciones con el fin de lograr aparecer en las primeras posiciones de los buscadores

Among the tourism sector, many times has been discussed the big difference between small hotels and big intermediators in terms of capability to position well in Google. For some particular searches, the official page of a hotel can be at a too late position and most users don’t go so far. So the results are dominated by big intermediators, with much more power than the small hotels.

What would happen if all of a sudden, the hotels would position at the first search results by the will of the users??

Obviously, SearchWiki is an option used by a tiny number of users at this moment and we will probably see much evolution on this. However, I think it’s still something to think about, mostly when talking about long term visions.

On top of this, let’s say that with SearchWiki users also have the possibility to comment… In a moment when many hoteliers are still against free comments, I’m wondering if I’m the only one thinking that the sector should open widely if they want to connect with their customers and establish relations based on trust.

This is not about technology, not at all, but do you think it’s possible without technology? At the pace everything evolves?

Technorati Tags: Google, SearchWiki, SEO

Sand Fantasy “Love 2008″

Carme — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 21:00:16 +0000

“Love is everything…” Amazing new sand art from Ilana Yahav.

Technorati Tags: sand, fantasy, art

Turismo 2.0 Summary for week 36

Carme — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 19:19:02 +0000

Hi friends

One more week, we’ve got Rafael’s selection about Turismo 2.0 . Thanks for a great work!

Summary for week 36

POSTS:

1- Why doesn’t my country work? (Joan Gou). Because of slovenliness and carelessness or who knows because of what inexplicable reasons by the ones who can foster it. And we cannot do anything about it!!.

2- Filiation marketing Word vs Concept (Emma G. F.). Emma writes a question but nobody is answering. Rafael says he thinks the concept has something to do with multilevel companies, or pyramidal sales, or something like that, but not sure. It would be good to know.

3- Freedom to Express vs. Reputation (Prisilla). Unbelievable what’s happening. A hotel menaced a user “daring” to criticize it. Just incomprehensible.

4- The Moncloa acknowledges receipt. (Marcos Alonso). Looks like “factual powers” think we are stupids. A little bit of conversation would be good for the La Moncloa.

5- Los bloggers caen como moscas. ¡Necesitamos ayuda! (Juan Sobejano). Obsession is fatal, we don’t know to what point.

6- I’m leaving to Brasil, I’ll call you to tell you that I arrived well (Pere Marti Franco). What a happiness to know that for our friend Pere things are going well.

7- Hello everybody (Lina). A good definition of one characteristic implicit in our community.

8- Booking,s (Carles Parrilla). If all actors in a touristic even do not contribute, anything will improve. We have repeated it over and over. It could be so easy…!

9- We accept octopus as a pet (César Herrero Torres). One more protest. If we don’t put a remedy, nothing improves.

10- Turismo 2.0, from real to virtual and from virtual to real (I. Alexis Argüello Sandoval). Although it’s a bit long, this a a good summary of what is Turismo 2.0.

BOGROLL:

1- About agency commissions (Carlo Álvarez). About compensating affiliates by paying according results.

2- Success 2.0: internalize the tools, be soaked in the philosophy (Joantxo Llantada). The evangelization proposed by Joantxo consists of internalizing the web 2.0 in our company, because of some interesting data in a study by Awareness co.

3- New Google UK Politics about trade marks in Adwords (Ignasi Casellas). More on the use of competitors’ brands on your own benefit.

4- Tourism and permanent beta. (Juan Sobejano). One of the clues on tourism is a constant adaptation to changes.

5- Social networks or the art of talking familiar 2.0 (Joantxo Llantada). A truly interesting paper by Joantxo in the Economist College Valencia. The conversation grows up.

6- Know your on line reputation using Ipsoacte. (Nando Llorella). A new service to know the on-line reputation, which has more importance day by day, and to develop improvement actions on it.

7- Interactions with customers, a marketing opportunity for a hotel. (Luis Simpson). The personnel producing and delivering the service should bring their experience dealing with customers and system operations, so that new ideas and suggestions could be generated.

8- The limits of tourism. (Jorge Gobbi). Where are the limits?. According to Jorge, the current trend drives us to a situation of “places’ scarcity”.

9- Already 4 years writing Sector Turismo (Javier García Cuenca). Congratulations to the dean of touristic bloggers in Spain.

10- Conversational Marketing ot the Return to the Shopkeeper Marketing (Albert Barra). A really good approach from a time paradox, by which Internet takes us to the Middle Ages’ practices of merchants, because of the conversation.

OTHERS:

- Controversy regarding the competition to choose the official logo for Turismo 2.0, because a user appeared in the community, with the pseudonym “Joaclint”, exclusively to apply for the competition (this is very lawful) but he/she attacks the competition organization and the virtual winner up to now, Giselle de la Mea, talking very rudely, with bad manners and dreadful education. This all hiding his/her face (no picture). The logo could be good, but we hope that he/she will not win the competition and everybody will forget it.

- Again, our displeasure for the members trying to get free promotion of their products without bringing anything to the community. Is it fair, they keep their membership?

- Don’t miss TURISPOD. It’s a really great work, hard-working, we have to recognize as deserved.

See you next week.

Thanks to Rafael!

Technorati Tags: Turismo 2.0

The world must hear about the case of Eric Bertran

Carme — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:30:59 +0000

An incredible but true story: Spanish authorities prosecute child for terrorism when he e-mails companies requesting labelling in Catalan language, using Phoenix monicker from Harry Potter books.

Police accuse him of organizing an Al Qaeda cell. Case goes all the way to Spanish High Court.

http://english.ericielfenix.cat U.S. press enquiries: Emily Moore, tel. (865) 254-5244 OgleMoore[at]gmail[dot]com

Week 36 on Turismo 2.0

Carme — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 03:45:14 +0000

Hi friends,

This week, the significant issues influencing Turismo 2.0 have been solidarity, the economical crisis, don Pedro Zargoza, the Plan Turismo 2020, logos… Let’s see all this in detail:

Week 36 summary

POSTS:
1- SPAM provokes REFUSAL (Marcos Alonso). We all know what Spam is; but what has no sense is that some hotel chains, with a created reputation, use this technique.

2- Touristic Planners without Borders (José Antonio Donaire). José Antonio, in a compromised way, proposes an initiative to foster touristic destinations in poorly developed countries.

3- Hi everybody!! (Education goes first) (Emilio del Val Redondo). This is an issue never well assumed: the so much desired quality in University training on Tourism.

4- Competition 2.0: “CREATE THE LOGO FOR TURISMO 2.0″ (Albert Barra). It looks like the time has come to create a logo for Turismo 2.0. We only ask for maintaining the reference to Jimmy Pons’ picture. Candidates are increasing.

5- Reputation Defender (Amic Andreu). Nasty flavour the possibility to buy the online reputation.

6- Explanation to the financial crisis we are suffering. Leopoldo Abadía - Profesor del I.E.S.E (Manuel Colmenero). Simply spectacular. This is an article with a wide dissemination but the truth is it’s really good.

7- Was it necessary to rebirth “Curro”? (Juan Antonio Rodríguez Gamero). Some things are just anachronistic and there’s no need to return to them (flamenco y olé).

8-Good bye to Don Pedro Zaragoza, touristic pioneer (Joantxo Llantada). A tribute to the founder of Benidorm, as we know it today. Thanks to those tributes, many people have learned this story we must feel as part of ours.

9-Video about Tripadvisor.com and more Comments (Lasse Rouhiainen). Someone sticks up for Tripadvisor, but the critics continue.

10- The importance of having the information up to date (David Delgado). The information about the customer must be accurate and updated because it’s an insurance for our hotel. We possibly should motivate the data quality.

Attitude in the web (Jordi Ruiz). An interesting post about the type of users in Internet. The most interesting part of the analysis is seeing the low levels of content creation.

BLOGROLL:

1- What complements what? (Edu William). In a trend towards touristic services interrelated we cannot establish a unique service as a core and having the rest of services around it, depending on it or classifying them as “complementary”.

2- Comment on strategies of link interchanges (Nando Llorella). This is a popular practice we should be careful about. Nando explains it very well, as usual.

3- Marketing 2.0, ignorance and cheeks (Albert Barra). This is the first explanation and origin of the series of posts about spam.

4- The business of on-line surnames (Carlo Álvarez). If you want references about genealogy or on-line reputation tools, do not look further. Very good, Carlo.

5- Human Resources and the Plan Turismo 2020 (Juan Sobejano). Juan continues with this well structured collection. The link takes you to the last one up to now.

6- What’s Next in Marketing & Advertising (Jordi Ruiz). Not very useful to have so much theory based on similar concepts and so much shared but not put in practice in a much more conclusive fashion.

7- Even if the intangible wears silk… (Marcos Alonso). (You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear) It’s not possible to implant “intangible philosophies” in enterprises without having reformed the processes of customer attention and quality.

8- Do we all have a tiny bit of madness? (Chris Pomeroy). It’s clear that some things are fruit of fashion, but if it has no justification, fashion could become counterproductive.

9- Professionals (Jorge Gobbi). A new complaint about an old question. The graphical media re criticizing now what they will use afterwards in their benefit.

10- Majestic Hotel Group videos in the corporate site (Ignasi Casellas). A great beat by Majestic, which deserves our recognition. However, from that page to the one of MGM Grand, there’s still place for improvement.

Explanations about the financial crisis we are suffering (Nacho Giral). Already commented in the Posts’ section. Spectacular.

OTHERS:

- Beach Hotel, to what distance from the beach? (Prisilla). Muy buen debate sobre un tema que quizá nunca nos hayamos lanteado algunos de raices urbanas.

- Q from quality? (Emilio del Val). A new attack to the “Q”. Everybody is against it, but the “Q” keeps on growing.

And a special recommendation: do not miss Turispod. The radio modernizes.That’s all, folks

See you next week, thanks to Rafael!

Technorati Tags: Turismo 2.0

Turismo 2.0 on week 35

Carme — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 23:28:53 +0000

Hi friends,

After Easter’s break, we come back with a new summary, for week 35. Turismo 2.0 also felt the break, with less content than other weeks. But you will find here the most outstanding contents of both weeks.

Week 35 summary:
POSTS:

Shyness vs Emotion (Jordi Ruiz). Debating on the best way to transmit emotions in the Web: audio?, video?, text?,…
Where is the calm of olden times? (Manuel Colmenero). Manuel proposes routine calm as a metaphor for the world surrounding us.
Re-putation (Joan Gou). Some day, hoteliers and travel agents will be able to make business together…
Tripadvisor answers. (Juan Sobejano). Tripadvisor answers what they want.
CONTEST: “TELL WHAT WOULD BE YOUR IDEAL HOTEL” (Enrique Fernández). Hotel campaign in the style of 2.0, some people say it’s “astroturf”. And what is it?
Becas “Turismo de España” - Convocatoria para Españoles (Antonio López de Ávila). Una buena información para acceder a formación turística de la buena.
Actitud en la red (Jordi Ruiz). Interesantísimo post sobre la situación de los usuarios y no usuarios de la red clasificados en categorías.
Hola a todos!! (La educación es lo primero) (Emilio del Val). Presentación en la sociedad Turismo 2.0 de Emilio con una entrada cargada de verdades.
Forget about 2.0. See the next web 3.0 (Manuel Colmenero). Manuel, very prolific this week (he may not have holidays), gives us a vision of what will come. what a stress!.
A del.icio.us account for Turispod (Jordi Ruiz). A proposal by Jordi to listen to the “turispod’s” collection in Del-icio-us

No doubt, because it’s about all of us together:

Turismo 2.0 awarded the Prize Alimara 2008 (Albert Barra). And we extend the congratulations to all the members in Turismo 2.0.

BLOGROLL:

Hotels at the rear in the use of 2.0 (Luis Simpson). Absolutely true. Rafael had also said it in some occasion.
Users 1.9 and Web 2.0 (Jordi Ruiz). Apps production and their net effect is vertiginous and some people cannot keep the pace.
Automatic converter from text to sound. (Nacho Giral). A genial discovery to bring closer the Web 2.0 to people with difficulties to read the texts.
The 3GSM get out of Barcelona. (Albert Barra). Nobody takes account for loosing this opportunity. Quite spread attitude in Spain, loosing what benefits to everybody by throwing stones over our own roof. The attitude it’s a petty, but the organization has something to do with it as well.
Managing a touristic destination: La DMO. (Clan-destinos). Supporting and giving notoriety to organization of this kind its a good thing, but it is vital that they are able to adapulsar y dar notoriedad a organizaciones de este tipo, está muy bien, aunque es vital que tengan capacidad para adaptarse a los cambios que se producen en el mercado turístico. (Textual de la entrada original)
Bloggers y Redes comerciales (Jorge Gobbi). El uso de las redes sociales por algunos bloggers y su afán por ingresar más, disminuye, sin duda, la calidad de los textos.
The challenge 2.0. (Sandra). More about the meaning of 2.0, but with some added value.
An example of simplicity and usability. (Nando Llorella). In this case, the image speaks by itself. Brilliant.
Recommended readings from 22nd March to 25th March. (Albert Barra). We will recommend this time the recommended readings by Albert Barra as an exception.
Lowering the customer’s speakers volume?. (Marcos Alonso). The Client, the Client, the Client,…

Human Resources in the Plan Turismo 2020. (Juan Sobejano). Analysis by Juan on the arguable Plan, focused on the Human Resources field. He published two posts up to now and they’re very interesting.

OTHERS:

- Workshop or meeting in Mallorca? somebody get engaged? . (Prisilla). It looks like a next meeting in Mallorca is becoming real.

- Supportive auction of on-line trips. After an initial proposal by Chris Pomeroy, this initiate was born, promising to be something big and Turismo 2.0 collaborates actively.

- Logo for Turismo 2.0. Albert Barra proposes to create a logo for Turismo 2.0. This are the rules: it must contain Jimmy Pons’ picture (the one included in every summary).

- Interestign interview to Amparo Fernández (General Secretary for Tourism (in Spain)) by Manuel Colmenero. Very much recommendable

See you next Friday, thanks to Rafael,

Carme