Posts Tagged ‘Coles’

I’m sure we’ve all seen and heard about the left brain vs. right brain battle: Which side of your brain is the most dominant? We’ve probably also heard all the reasoning behind the results: This affects your personality. This is reflective of your gender. This is what you can work on to strengthen your “weaker” brain side traits.

I just saw another mention about the brain side match-up and went perusing the Internet for some “brain quizzes” to tell me — or perhaps remind me — of which brain side I use most. And what was the result? Inconclusive. One quiz said I was right-brain dominant, the other said left, and a third said I was fairly equal to both. Hmmmmm.

Which brain side do you prefer? It depends — apparently on which quiz you take. Check out some of these and see what you think!

• Right Brain/ Left Brain Quiz
• Hemispheric Dominance Inventory Test
• Are You Right or Left Brained?

Supposedly understanding where the different brain functions reside inside your head, and which side of your brain is dominant, can help you better access your creativity and inventiveness. On the left side, I am definitely more detail-oriented, favor words over pictures and am very organized. On the right side, I am more emotional than logical, imaginative and prefer music to math.

The first question I saw asked me, “When you walk into a theater, classroom, or auditorium (and assuming that there are no other influential factors), which side do you prefer?” If I had to think about that answer for awhile and still didn’t really know — what does that mean? (I wonder if my brain sides are duking it out!)

Since its inception, Facebook has been subject to a host of changes — different layouts, formats, policies and so on. One of the more recent and widely-noticed changes has been the phasing out of the Facebook Fan Page in favor of the “Like” button. But are you giving the “Like” a thumbs up?

The change was part of a broader plan to spread the “Like” button across the web and lower the barrier for users to become connected with brands and organizations. According to Facebook, users click “Like” almost twice as much as they click “Become a Fan” — so,  if Facebook changes “Become a Fan” to “Like,” more users will click on it. Right?

However, in a poll by Mashable, 29.6% preferred the “Like” button — while 57.3% preferred to “Become a Fan.” The rest were indifferent. (Come on people — Choose a side!) Then, there are the articles that talk about how “fan” is a whole other level of “like,” dictating the Wikipedia definition of the word “fan.” And believe it or not, there is actually a Facebook page titled “‘Like’ vs. ‘Become a fan,’” and you can choose to “Like” it or not. (By the way, there’s only 20 people who do!)

Jay Krall’s article on the Cision blog notes that “when you ‘like’ an article, it gets published to the news feeds of your friends on Facebook. This little feature has the potential to drive new traffic to your content. If you publish press releases or blog posts online, then you should consider using it.”

Is the “Like” button more lightweight, like Facebook says? Do you “Like” the “Like” button? Well, it really doesn’t matter if you actually “Like” it — so far, there is no “Dislike” button.

Bright House Networks today announced in partnership with TNT and PGA.com, it is featuring coverage of the 92nd PGA Championship live in 3D on Thursday and Friday. The company is offering its digital HD customers exclusive 3D coverage of the PGA Championship, shown live from Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wis., at no additional cost.

The 3D coverage will focus on Whistling Straits’ Nos. 12 and 17 – both par 3s – from 3-7 p.m. EST each day. Host Vince Cellini, who will be joined by 2002 PGA Championship winner Rich Beem, will provide commentary and analysis on the famous par 3 holes. He will also provide analysis throughout the weekend during PGA.com’s extensive 2D online offerings. The 3D feed will be available to Bright House Networks digital HD customers on channel No. 1000.

The 3D production will utilize eight cameras produced specifically for 3D that will provide a unique look at course action and give fans a dynamic visual experience to watch the world’s best golfers play the course’s challenging par 3’s. Bright House Networks digital HD customers who wish to access the PGA Championship in 3D will need a 3D TV and the TV manufacturer’s specified 3D glasses.

Managed Health Services is the title sponsor of a communitywide back-to-school event Saturday during which children can obtain free school supplies and parents can undergo free health screenings. The Mid-North Back to School Rally starts at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Martin Luther King Center, located at 40 W. 40th St. in Indianapolis. The event concludes at 2 p.m.

Free glucose and cholesterol screenings for adults will be conducted by the Marion County Health Department and Martin Center. Healthcare professionals will provide dental education, general health information for families and answers to attendees’ health-related questions. Food will be available and entertainment for children, including a bounce house, will be provided.

The Mid-North Back to School Rally is also sponsored by the Marion County Health Department, the Radisson, United Way of Central Indiana and the Indianapolis Tornados.

Bright House Networks in central Indiana will add 10 new high- and standard-definition channels this month and debut its exclusive Start Over feature on some of its most popular channels. Seven of the 10 new channels will be in high definition and available free to customers who subscribe to the corresponding channel tier. These channels will be added to Bright House Networks programming throughout August:

DIY HD (channel No. 826)
National Geographic Wild HD (channel No. 831)
Fox Soccer HD (channel No. 825)
Game 2 HD (channel No. 905)
Sportsman Channel HD (channel No. 443)
Fox Soccer Plus HD (channel No. 824)
Starz HD (channel No. 276)
Logo (channel No. 156)
Military History Channel (channel No. 159)
Fox Soccer Plus (channel No. 424)

Start Over allows viewers to restart a live program from the beginning at any time during its scheduled broadcast. When customers tune to a Start Over-enabled show in progress, they are alerted to the feature through an on-screen prompt. By pressing “select” on their remote control, customers can restart the program from its beginning. Bright House Networks will offer more than 32 channels with Start Over capabilities by the end of August.

Distractions in the workplace are inevitable, especially during these summer months when you continue to look outside from your office window — wondering why you can’t be out in the sun at the pool. (that’s not me, I’m just guessing that’s what “one” might be wondering;)

And certainly these distractions have the power to decrease our productivity.

From the Hoosier PRSA blog, here are some simple suggestions for working smarter, not necessarily harder.

• Make the most of your time both in and outside the office.
• Work on one task and complete it. If you have to jump to something else, try to always pick up where you left off.
• Prioritize and know how to delegate. Spend the last 15 minutes of your day preparing for the next.
• Unplug from controllable distractions, i.e. social media. Browsing is okay every now and then but try to stay on track. (What? No Facebook chat?!)
• Write things down or find online tools to help you organize your day. For those of you who live on your computers and mobile devices, try TeuxDeux. TeuxDeux is a simple, design, browser-based to-do app, and best of all- it’s free. Try for yourself, http://teuxdeux.com/.

  Also, set mini deadlines — if you give yourself a specific time to finish a project, you’ll pace yourself better and work faster than if it’s open-ended. So decide what you must get done by lunch. Or plan to call your mom in an hour, and complete something beforehand.

How do you stay productive? The sooner you get your work done, the sooner you can head out to enjoy the weather!

If you haven’t at least heard of Facebook and Twitter, you have probably been living under a rock — or in denial. But as quickly as you get used to the ins and out of the most popular social media sites, more are on the rise. And these sites want to know where you are, where you’re going and where you’ve been.

Welcome to the location-based social networks, such as Foursquare — which I have previously discussed in another post. I tried out Foursquare — and I while I’m not super familiar with it, I can see the appeal. You “check in” to businesses and other locations in real time, and many places are now offering special perks for their most frequent visitor — called the “mayor” — and others who check in.

But what about Blippy? Customers can tell their friends about the products that they buy through this site, which links merchant accounts to broadcast members’ purchases to the world. Blippy lets you communicate about and share purchases with friends by syncing already existing e-commerce accounts to Blippy such as iTunes, Netflix, Woot, eBay and more.

And then you’ve got TagWhat, which takes a leap into the world of Augmented Reality (AR). It allows people to tag real-world locations and attach information, reviews, links, photos, videos, notes and so on to those particular spots, whether tied to their current location or not. Users can also follow other people and merge their respective ‘markers’ together in an effort to build a global network of augmented reality hotspots.

A little overwhelming, right? Well, maybe it’s best to start with a toe in the ever-changing social media pool instead of taking a flying leap headfirst. But whatever you do, start swimming!

On this beautiful Friday, the Coles Marketing staff decided to kick off Memorial Day weekend a little early.  Check out the photos (shot on the iPhone) below.

Hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday weekend, as we honor those who served in our military.

Today’s news atmosphere calls for up-to-the-second news, as soon as you can get it and as fast as you can post it. That includes social media such as Facebook and Twitter, but it also applies to websites. One essential way to keep your website as updated as possible is an online newsroom with fresh, new content that is constantly evolving.

David Henderson, author of “Making News in the Digital Era,” said, “Static newsrooms are the least-visited part of a website because most are just graveyards of old press releases. Your newsroom needs to present the spectrum of all the things that your company is doing within its industry, and hanging press releases there kills credibility.”

The core audience for an organization’s online newsroom is everyone from shareholders and business partners, to customers, donors, employees… and THEN the media. And because newsrooms are not only for the media, practitioners must use a writing style that draws interest in a way people can relate to.

“Nobody cares what your company does unless you tell them in a way that adds value,” Henderson said.

What are some elements to add value to your online newsroom?

• News articles (300-500 words)
• Short videos (HD for B-roll)
• Links to company facts and contacts
• Search capability

And if you use WordPress as your content management system, you’re not alone. Even The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal use it for their blog networks, said Ryan Zuk. There are over 22 million WordPress publishers as of February 2010: 10.6 million blogs hosted on WordPress.com plus 11.4 million active installations of the WordPress.org software. According to Quantcast, around 250 million people visit one or more WordPress.com blogs every month, and they view over two billion pages on those blogs.

So get reading, writing and online newsroom–ing.

Not these days it isn’t. I remember the days of playing the game outside at school — also know as squareball. Today, Foursquare is a web and mobile application that allows registered users to connect with friends and update their location. Users “check-in” at venues using text messaging or a device specific application. They are then awarded points and sometimes “badges.”

Is this the next big thing? As it closes in on one million users this month, Foursquare is being pursued by Internet giant Yahoo Inc., which has offered as much as $125 million for Foursquare. Must be a must have!

It’s a new way for you and your friends to explore your city — and it’s available for the iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Palm and other devices. Have you tried it yet? And Foursquare Day was officially declared on 4/16: 4 squared = 16. 4/16.  Get it?

Ideas for how businesses can use Foursquare to enhance marketing efforts and generate leads are already appearing:

• Create incentives for new customers
• Offer promotions, contests and giveaways
• Maximize the success of events

With three million users expected by the end of the summer, it looks like Foursquare is for real.