I am always amazed about the coolhunting qualities of the Finns. I am currently teaching our annual virtual COIN/Coolhunting seminar at Helsinki University of Technology and as happened to me the previous three times, the cool trends being set here just blow me away. It starts with well-known things like the Finns’ ubiquitous use of mobile technologies. Nokia communicators are everywhere. They are used as browsers in the restaurant, to call up Google and resolve the burning question of which is the oldest church in Finland. To find the restaurant in the first place, the communicator of course also includes a navigation system which easily guides us there through the narrow streets of Helsinki. And when we take a taxi back to the hotel, we pay the taxi driver using our cell phones. Quite different from the US where most taxi drivers in New York still want to be paid in cash!

Finns are also eager users of blogging and social networking. They were among the early adopters of LinkedIn, and they are currently actively embracing Facebook extensions and plug-ins. They even coined a new term for people who buy tech gadgets to obtain the right to belong to their own self-chosen digital tribe. “Yhteisöllisyys” comes from the term yhteisö which means “community” or “society” in Finnish. But as was explained to me, Yhteisöllisyys is more than just the Finnish word for community. It stands for a self-selected group of people who get part of their meaning of life from belonging to a loose association or virtual community sharing the same passion for a high-tech gadget. I am not sure if I understood the meaning completely, but from observing my son playing “world of warcraft” it seems to me that he is definitively part of that Yhteisöllisyys. It is not enough do be part of a virtual community, what counts is to be a passionate member of the virtual community. Surprisingly often, what Finns are passionate about becomes a trend very soon thereafter in the rest of Europe or in the US.

E-Site Marketing president and IAOC member Felix Laboy tells me the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) for the first time is inviting bloggers to their press conference and networking cocktail reception, on Thursday, Feb. 9 at the Marriott Marquis in New York City.

Ministers and Directors of Tourism from the Caribbean will be addressing "What's New and Hot in the Caribbean."  Each representative will have a few moments to discuss the their plans for 2006, followed by a Q & A session.  Following the press conference, bloggers are invited to join a "Networking Cocktail Reception," which provides an opportunity for bloggers interested in travel writing to connect with a lot of Caribbean destinations in a single meeting.

The press conference starts at 4:00 PM in the Julliard Suite on the 5th Floor of the Marriott Marquis (45th Street and Broadway). 

If you're interested in attending, or have an associate who might like to attend, contact Anne Daloia at (516) 594-4100 or e-mail: Anne@Kahn-Travel.com. She'd like to hear from you by Thursday, Feb. 2, if you plan to attend.

Don Dunnington

The travel industry has traditionally embraced new online technologies early on due to the fact that what they sell lends itself extremely well to online presentation and distribution. Online travel continues to be one of the top categories in terms of e-commerce with an estimated market of $54 billion in 2004. What we will look at today is some early application of RSS in travel and some statistics related to these implementations.   more »

Destination Hotels & Resorts, one of the largest operators of independent hotels and condominium resorts in the United States (www.destinationhotels.com), recently hosted a media panel of writers who provided insight and information into travel trends in today�s hospitality market. One panelist mentioned that our company �is the wave of the future.� She was referring to the fact that Destination offers a unique collection of independent hotels that are unlike standard branded hotel chains; characteristics that meet the needs of today�s active Baby Boomer and Generation X travelers.   more »

It's hard to imagine travel planning without the Internet these days. Can you believe Travelocity has been online since March 12, 1996? Three reasons we feel that Travelocity and other online agencies are the preferred place for millions to make their travel arrangements are:   more »

If this is your first day joining the travel blog this week, you are in good company. Even the White House has seen the importance of blogging and this week accepted the first blogger into the White House press room! (See article from CNN) . Today�s topics will be on Internet marketing and what is in store for the travel industry.    more »

This is the last of today's conversations with Rudy Maxa. If you have questions or comments for Rudy, you can leave them here, and we'll try to hunt him down in India to get answers.   more »

This is Part 2 of our Q&A with Travel writer/host Rudy Maxa. Do you see travel blogs becoming a major influencer in how and where people travel? Are travel blogs impacting your work as a travel writer?   more »

Rudy Maxa is on a plane this morning from Orlando to St. Paul and from there heads off to India for a National Geographic Traveler assignment. So we're doing today's discussion with Rudy as a four-part Q&A. In part one, we talk to Rudy about how he got started as a travel writer and onair commentator and his early days as an online travel personality.   more »

Recently it seems that you can�t pick up a magazine, watch a news show or browse a website without seeing reference to a Blog or its accompanying technology - RSS.   more »

Blogs are becoming a critical component of the Internet landscape, and we believe blogs and the accompanying RSS technology have the potential to greatly enhance online marketing results.  Our goal with this weeklong blog is to provide the travel industry at large with valuable Internet marketing and online communication information while promoting and showcasing the power of blog technology.

The travel blog is part of an ongoing “This Week on IAOCblog.com” program hosted by the International Association of Online Communicators. IAOC (www.onlinecommunicators.com) is a professional membership organization that represents online communicators in more than a dozen countries. Membership is open to all those whose work or teaching is centered on Internet content creation, including online writers, editors, producers, college professors, public relations practitioners and online publicists.   Thank you for joining us this week - please feel free to post your comments and questions to make this blog as interactive as possible.   Felix Laboy, Founder and CEO, E-site Marketing

 

 

Monday, March 7

Topic: RSS Technology and Blogs

Moderator: Paolo Torchio, Vice President, E-site Marketing 

• Introduction to Blogging and RSS

• Why RSS technology is important to travel marketers
• How hotels and other travel industry professionals can utilize RSS technology & blogs as a marketing tool

Tuesday, March 8

Topic: Interview with Travel Expert/Journalist Rudy Maxa, Producer of Savvy Traveler on PBS

• How travel blogs are impacting his work as a travel expert/writer – his view on travel web logs
• How hotel and travel industry PR professionals can better utilize online technology to communicate with travel journalists
• What it takes to secure hotel brand loyalty in today’s environment
• Hottest destinations of the moment

Wednesday, March 9

Topic: Internet Marketing/Hospitality Industry Best Practices

Moderator:  Felix Laboy, Founder and CEO, E-site Marketing

• ROI
• Search Engine Optimization
• Search Engine Advertising
• Interactive Media
• Website Design

Thursday, March 10

Topic: Third Party Online Distribution Channels

Moderator:  Patty Hagar, Travelocity

• Benefits of using an Online Agency to the Customer
• Benefits of Online Agency to Suppliers
• Grass Roots Marketing (Gnome Update)
• Destination Live:  Travelocity's experts will cover everything from hot destinations, airport rules, finding great deals to America's local secrets.

Friday, March 11

Topic: Marketing Independent Hotels

Moderator: Andy Anderson, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Destination Hotels and Resorts

• How to successfully market independent hotels
• Experiential Travel
• Baby Boomers individual perception