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This is a sample blog for students of HOST 4103, Fall 2007, created by Professor Prisca Campbell.
By the end of Week III
This is a sample blog for students of HOST 4103, Fall 2007, created by Professor Prisca Campbell.
Welcome
I will be facilitating HOST 4103 this term.
For more than 20 years, I’ve been working in the tourism sector of the Hospitality and Tourism Industry. I began in operations, coordinating group tours, but quickly moved into marketing – brochures, flyers, face-to-face presentations, newsletters, direct marketing campaigns, and eventually e-commerce. (Before I entered the travel industry I spent about 15 years in radio and television. My undergraduate degree is a BAA from Ryerson in Radio and Television Arts.)
In addition to teaching HOST 4103, I am Marketing Manager for Quark Expeditions, a polar adventure specialist – http://www.quarkexpeditions.com/. Our product is delivered on passenger ships in the Arctic and Antarctic, and our guests come from around the world, which means that our brick and mortar facilities can be located anywhere. The head office is in Darien, Connecticut. The marketing office is in Toronto. The hotel department is in Austria.
Working in cooperation with colleagues on ships, in offices thousands of miles away, and in the desk next to mine, has compelled me to learn to work effectively in teams that communicate asynchronously (not in real time) by e-mail, and message boards.
Quark Expedition’s channels of communications include e-pushes, direct marketing campaigns, e and print newsletters, brochures and the website.
In addition to continuing real world experience, I bring a Master of Distance Education to the business of teaching HOST 4103. Every e-marketer should be following trends in e-learning. Research is being done on user satisfaction, motivation and design and communication techniques that will make e-pushes, e-newsletters and websites persuasive tools.
For more than 20 years, I’ve been working in the tourism sector of the Hospitality and Tourism Industry. I began in operations, coordinating group tours, but quickly moved into marketing – brochures, flyers, face-to-face presentations, newsletters, direct marketing campaigns, and eventually e-commerce. (Before I entered the travel industry I spent about 15 years in radio and television. My undergraduate degree is a BAA from Ryerson in Radio and Television Arts.)
In addition to teaching HOST 4103, I am Marketing Manager for Quark Expeditions, a polar adventure specialist – http://www.quarkexpeditions.com/. Our product is delivered on passenger ships in the Arctic and Antarctic, and our guests come from around the world, which means that our brick and mortar facilities can be located anywhere. The head office is in Darien, Connecticut. The marketing office is in Toronto. The hotel department is in Austria.
Working in cooperation with colleagues on ships, in offices thousands of miles away, and in the desk next to mine, has compelled me to learn to work effectively in teams that communicate asynchronously (not in real time) by e-mail, and message boards.
Quark Expedition’s channels of communications include e-pushes, direct marketing campaigns, e and print newsletters, brochures and the website.
In addition to continuing real world experience, I bring a Master of Distance Education to the business of teaching HOST 4103. Every e-marketer should be following trends in e-learning. Research is being done on user satisfaction, motivation and design and communication techniques that will make e-pushes, e-newsletters and websites persuasive tools.
Deception Island, Antarctica
Reading List
- Canadian E-Marketing: A Strategic Approach
- Hospitality Information Systems and E-commerce
- Successful Web Marketing for the Tourism and Leisure Sectors
- Textbook: E-commerce and Information Technology in Hospitality and Tourism
Blog Archive
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2007
(13)
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September
(13)
- Andy and Anna's Cuban E-xperience
- Just for Fun: The Challenge of Communicating in En...
- I uploaded this sample video from Microsoft to hel...
- 5 characteristics of the Internet
- Glossary of E-Marketing Terms
- Human versus Machine: The Technology Dilemma
- The Challenges of Blogging
- Participate in an online survey
- Special Guest: Phil Algar
- Questions
- Tourism Blogs
- Blog Marketing
- What is a blog?
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▼
September
(13)
38 comments:
i was reading the blog about creating the "company blog" and was wondering if students were answering the questions from information from the text book or is it all personal opinion?
(*confused on whether or not there is a textbook for this class?)
Ryszard,
Yes there is a textbook for this class. The title is listed on my reading list which you will find on the left hand side of my blog. I marked it with the word textbook.
However, your textbook doesn't cover blogging! It was printed before blogging became an important part of e-commerce. When blogging was added to the curriculum, it meant that I have to find other sources and also deliver the information.
where would we find the questions posed on your blog?
Did u mean the three bonus questions about the authenticity of images?
The questions are buried within the postings. You must read all the postings to find the questions.
I had to find a way to get you to read the information LOL!
Professor Prisca
Thank you for your quick reply. To be honest with you the reason I used the text short form "u" is simply a force of habit. However, I do realize that this is e-marketing and not my cell phone or facebook..not that i use facebook.
Using text messaging short forms in e-marketing would seem unprofessional and it could also be misinterpreted.
Sue,
I'm pleased that you understand why the U may be a mistake, but I'm particularly pleased that you caught it could also be misinterpreted. Excellent observation!
The successful e-marketer is always aware that his or her message has a global audience. The clearest, simplest messages are the best messages in e-commerce. Don't get too cute if you want to reach the greatest number of folk.
Prisca
What are the bonus questions?
I wil be away for 1 week. Anyone??? Please!
Why should a hospitality or tourism e-marketer worry about authenticity of images?
Companies should worry about authenticity of images because it reflects the company as a whole. "What you put on is WHO you are." You would always need to be professional and considerate. Also, it is important to consider cultural differences when posting images. For an example, Some Asian cultures would put their fingers together in a cone shape to signal that it is meal time, Italians would take it very offensively because it means to bug off. Therefore, if you are going to open an international business, you must research and be consider to each individual cultures and values.
Anna,
Your post makes a very good point. There is a series of books about the subject of cultural differences that tourism e-marketers should find very useful:
Do's and Taboos of Hosting International Visitors by Roger E. Axtell is one title in the series.
LOL...I broke my own rule, and used a short form - laughing out loud.
I did it out of habit, just like Sue and her U.
Why do we feel the need to use such expressions as LOL or :) (the symbol is known as an emoticon)?
The reason emoticons and short forms were developed was to make sure the reader understands that something was written tongue-in-cheek or seriously - to make clear the tone of the statment.
Straight text - particularly formally written text - can be interpreted differently by each reader. Emoticons and short forms like LOL help the writer explain to the reader how the writing should be interpreted.
Unfortunately, if the reader doesn't know the meanings of the short forms or emoticons then the effort is wasted, and confusion reigns.
You can solve this problem by adding an explanation to your blog. Many blogs provide a menu of emoticons which can be added to messages.
Hi Prisca,
Just a quick question, I was wondering which picture in your Pricaplace that you were talking about, was it the mountain/forest picture? Thanks!
Larissa
Q: What is the best way to assure a blog viewer of the authenticity of the image?
Larissa Answer:
The best way to assure a blog viewer of the authenticity of the image is referencing any photos that are taken. These include the photographer's name, books, websites, etc; Give credit to those that took the picture. This gives viewers trust to the company that the company is liable for any information they use.
Hospitality and tourism e-marketers should be worried about authenticity of images because there are many scam artists who are looking to make money off of unsuspecting customers. Images posted on blogs or web sites may be altered to increase the attractiveness of a product. In this way the site is lying to the customer in order to obtain there business. When companies do this, and it is learned later by the customer that the image was not real, it created doubt in their mind. This leaves good honest companies in a tough situation as they must convince the customer that they will receive the product or service portrayed in the photo.
The issue of authenticity of images is an important issue for the hospitality and tourism sector because so much of what is sold to the customer is intangible. In this way there is a dependence on images to help the customer understand what it is they are purchasing. There is no pre-testing a beach vacation but if a potential customers sees a photo of a happy couple on a beach it will influence their decision to purchase the vacation. If the customer purchases the trip and was disappointed because their hotel did not match the pitcher, the credibility of the company would be greatly reduced.
A hospitality or tourism e-marketer should worry about the authenticity of images for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the hospitality industry is highly competitive. As soon a customer begins to doubt the quality of a product specifically based on an image, they will not have a problem finding an alternative company. Another reason to worry about the authenticity of an image is word of mouth. If the image is altered and does not reflect an accurate representation, someone is bound to identify the error and communicate this finding with other consumers.
I work for an event rental company. All of the images on our website include prodcuts we rent and events where our products were used. I have visited our competitors websites and have been able to identify images that are not authentic but look fantastic. This can be intimidating but also motivating to continue to be true to our customers.
Photographic Authenticity
Last year I used an image of myself standing in front of a herd of reindeer in the Chukotka Peninsula of Russia's Far East.
Nearly everyone who saw it who had never been to the region, thought I had used Photoshop to create the image. I hadn't. It is real. Just as the image I have used this year is real. That's me standing on a black ash beach in a flooded caldera - volcano cone - in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica.
My point - the truth cannot always ensure credibility!
Where do we email our URL? I cannot seem to find an email address on your blog.
Where do you email the URL? You may email priscamary@sympatico.ca or to priscacampbell@georgebrown.ca
I believe that my email address is visible at the very top of my blog page. It is when I view it. But I don't if it is visible to you.
Professor Prisca
I'm confused as to whether or not my first posting (The Beginning) serves as my "welcome section" or if I need to create a new "page element" specifically to complete that portion of the assignment.
Stephanie,
I'll answer your question on your blog, as it applies specfically to your design elements.
To visit Stephanie's blog click on her name.
Professor Prisca
Stephanie,
You have turned off the blog link in your profile, so I can't get to your website to review it in order to answer your question.
If you have posted something intended as a welcome - even if you don't use the term welcome, you should treat it as a sticky item. Something that is always seen when entering the blog.
If you are posting a new welcome message every day, then it doesn't have to be a sticky item.
Professor Prisca
A hospitality or tourism e-marketer should worry about the authenticity of the images that they post as it is one of the few ways to take an intangible product and make it desirable for your customers. As our products cannot be tested or tried before purchasing, the authenticity of the images that we show is crucial to the credibility of the company. For example, a resort that displays pictures of sandy beaches, clear blue oceans, and beautiful rooms would do best to live up to these images. If the guest arrives and is disappointed in the site they have selected based on pictures that they saw, they feel misled, and cheated out of a vacation that they had hoped would exceed expectations!
A hospitality or tourism e-marketer should worry about the authenticity of the images that they post because when it comes down to it, an image begins a perception, which leads to an expectation. Once the expectation has been established the product must deliver in order to have complete customer satisfaction.
A hospitality or tourism e-marketer should worry about the authenticity of the images that they post because when it comes down to it, an image begins a perception, which leads to an expectation. Once the expectation has been established the product must deliver in order to have complete customer satisfaction.
A hospitality or tourism e-marketer should worry about the authenticity of the images as it will affect the reputation of a company.
There is a good example. Last summer, my friends and I went to Vancouver for vacation. We booked some hotel rooms through a website. That website shows a lot of nice pictures of hotel rooms with cheap prices. However, when we arrived there, those rooms are totally different from the pictures. The reality of those rooms are older and not as clean as the pictures show. We were not happy about that. After the vacation, we left bad comments to the website and tried to notice our friends and families to avoid booking hotel rooms or packages through that website.
Most of the customers will consider comments before purchasing. Therefore, reputation is not only a crucial consideration for customers, but also for a company.
where would you like us to post the comments on social computing and social networking for assignment 2? under questions?
Human versus Technology is the thread where you are to post about Social Networking.
Specific questions about the course or blogging should be posted here.
Prisca
I posted the bonus image authenticity answer on my page, was that wrong?
I am working on Part 1 of the second assignment. Where on the blog are we to post the erl's for the web sites we find?
Heather,
You post in the thread called Tourism Blogs.
Threads are important components in asychronous communication by bulletin board or blog.
The thread is the equivalent to a chapter in the book. All things about the topic that begins the thread are attached to that thread by posting to the specific thread.
Assignment 1 is set up so that you have to read the threads on my blog. Look at the titles of the threads and read through to find questions and to find answers.
Threads enable an e-marketer to organize messages. However, the threads have to be well-labeled and the first post has to be clear to work effectively.
You are in essence experiencing blogs as a reader would. A great experience to have when building your own e-marketing blog.
Do the sites we use for assignment 2 have to be tourism or hospitality related? I found some good sites about social networking but they are not directly about the industry.
To gain the highest marks in this course, you must demonstrate to me in whatever you write that you have applied your 3 years of schooling to the assignment.
So if you present a URL about social networking that isn't tourism or hospitality related, you must point out how the information on the site might be applied in our industry.
As e-marketers we should keep abreast of what is happening in "marketing" because other industries may have insights that we can apply.
Hi prisca
I got your message about making the welcome blog a "sticky". I wasn't really planning to do that but still curious as to where I can do that. Thanks!
For what it's worth, I wrote my comment about Social Networking and Social Computing on Friday night but saved it in case I wanted to make changes over the course of the weekend. I see that Heather and I have used one of the same sites as a recommendation to visit. I have obviously not selected a new one. Will I be penalized?
Stephanie,
There is no way to avoid duplication, without first reading all the posts then hoping by the time your post is uploaded, no one will have beaten you to the punch.
I won't penalize anyone for using a URL already presented. I will, however, watch for a pattern. If over a number of weeks, someone demonstrates a "lack of originality" their mark will be lower than someone who has clearly invested time and effort.
Prisca
TEXT
This blog uses a content management system (CMS), which limits the amount of HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) code you must write to post a message.
Very few CMSs completely eliminate the need to code. The oddity of this blogger program is that when you add a comment you can't just push a button to activate a URL. You can if you originate a thread. (Try it on you own blog to see the difference between originating a thread and posting a comment.)
This code: TEXT would look like this if I were trying to direct you to the Quark website:
Quark website
Note the link is hidden, and a text description of the link appears in the post.
To learn more about this use HELP. I suggest you visit your personal blog and use that Help, which is found in the top right hand corner of the screen when you log-in to your site.
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