del.icio.us tags 01.27.08

Some people do things just to be nice (not me). techPresident wraps up the year in political video. Consumers won't dismiss your company as using "green" as a marketing ploy if you're honest with them about what you're doing right -- and wrong. And a couple of things just for fun: Sesame Street and whiny white people.

Word of Mouth

It clearly says something about me that I presumed most people wrote online reviews to stick it to a company that's done them wrong. According to Keller Fay, it's just the opposite. The majority of folks who write online reviews have something nice to say and and want to share their good news to benefit other customers. They're also motivated by the desire to reward a company who makes them happy or to help that company get better at what they do.

Politics

techPresident has posted the best political videos of 2007 -- both "voter-generated" and videos from the candidates.

I love the SwiftKids

"My mother baked me this cookie."

Citizen Journalism
Download An Introduction to Citizen Media from Rising Voices for a non-techie guide to the "fundamentals of citizen media." Comes via PBS's MediaShift Idea Lab.

CSR

Consumers are growing skeptical of companies who claim to be "green," dismissing such rumblings as being mere "marketing gimmicks." According to Linda Passante at The Halo Effect, some of the companies that are doing the best work are making the least noise. Her words of wisdom? (And they are, indeed, very wise.)

"If you firmly believe that your company is committed to the environment, to workers’ rights, to fighting heart disease, or to even just excellent customer service, then you can’t just talk about it in some altruistic tone using vague corporate language. You need to show how you will do it, do it, and then provide details as to what you learned and how you’ll work to improve. Because, in the end, we all know that no one or no corporation is perfect, but consumers will respond to an authentic and transparent commitment."

Cool Stuff

Get ready to regress into your childhood: Sesame Workshop has launched the Sesame Street video player with hundreds of videos, searchable by keyword or character. The site is in beta. Will the "real" launch include the capacity to embed content? Please?


White Whine has a new "white person complaint" every week (“I really wish the Wings DVD’s would get here . . . I’m almost done with Mad About You.”) I'm sure they could come up with more . . .