Facebook’s new business webpage does not come along with any new features — it simply puts a lot of information that may be handy for small businesses in one place. Perhaps most importantly, it serves as a nicely timed reminder that unlike Google+, Facebook encourages companies to use its service for company branding. “Facebook allows small businesses to create rich social experiences, build lasting relationships and amplify the most powerful type of marketing –- word of mouth,” a Facebook spokesperson wrote in an email Tuesday afternoon. “We created Facebook.com/business to make it even easier for people to reach these objectives and grow.”

Read More at Gigaom

Groupon and Expedia have joined forces to create Groupon Getaways™ with Expedia, an unprecedented offering that will connect consumers with high quality travel offers and give travel suppliers brand exposure among millions of shoppers. Groupon Getaways with Expedia will offer consumers deeply discounted, highly compelling travel deals from among the more than 135,000 hotels worldwide that work with Expedia. Starting in the US and Canada, with plans to expand to other countries, Expedia and Groupon plan to also include package deals, airline tickets, car rentals, cruises and destination activities.

The deals will follow the proven Groupon model, in which customers have a limited time to buy a discount voucher good for future travel. Discounts will be significant – typically around 50 percent off retail rates found at other online travel sites. Once a customer purchases a voucher, they can redeem it at a later date of their choice within the redemption period. There is no pressure to plan immediately; the dates are flexible. Consumers can sneak away for a weekend, charm a loved one with an anniversary surprise or pragmatically save on the annual family getaway.

Groupon Getaways with Expedia represents a new and powerful marketing channel for hotels to reach more than 50 million combined Groupon and Expedia members in the US and Canada, many of whom are highly engaged in social media and often share great Groupon deals with their networks. Participating hotels and other travel suppliers will benefit from unmatched exposure, incremental customers and revenue at their property, and cash up front after the voucher sale closes, all at no cost to participate.

“Everybody wins with our new partnership with Groupon: Travelers get amazing deals for spontaneous travel to dream destinations; travel suppliers get the ability to reach an enormous audience at no upfront cost to participate; Groupon gets to extend its business into new markets; and we advance our new ‘Expedia Everywhere’ strategy with a powerful new high growth channel to deliver daily deals,” said Scott Durchslag, President, Expedia Worldwide.

Read More At Hotel Marketing ( Related Site: Groupon Getaways)

In general, how useful do you think surveys really are in accomplishing their objectives (which are normally something along the lines of “measuring attitudes and opinions” or “exploring the relationships between ‘x’ and ‘y’”)? Do you ever see any changes come about based on the results of a survey?

Similar to, well, everything, there’s a right way and a wrong way to approach surveys. A survey steeped in science can be a powerful tool, yielding reliable and valid results. A survey that ignores even the most basic principles that govern statistical analysis and measurement is nothing short of a waste of time—on the part of the survey developer and the survey respondent.

So why would anyone who has a need for a quality survey not take the time to ensure said survey is as effective as possible? There are infinite answers to that question, but for the sake of this discussion, we’ll narrow it down to two.

The first, and probably the most likely answer, is that it seems like a costly venture to employ some highfalutin consulting/measurement/analytics/whatever firm to develop, deliver and report on a fancy-schmancy survey you probably could have done on your own at a fraction of the price.

This transitions us nicely into the second most likely answer: Developing a survey seems like a fairly intuitive, straight-forward process that anyone with half a brain could follow. Figure out what questions you want to ask, ask them and then gather the data … simple!

As it turns out, neither of those answers are entirely true.

First, if you decide to partner with a professional organization, they need not be classified as “highfalutin” nor do they have to charge an arm and a leg for their services. Believe it or not, highly qualified organizations DO exist that will be thrilled to assist with your survey needs without wiping out your entire budget for the year. The bottom line here is the issue of cost can be resolved relatively quickly and painlessly. Carve out a few hours one day to do some homework. Shop around as you would for any service. You may be surprised at the amount of options you have!

But perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself. You still might be considering managing the entire survey process all by your lonesome. If this is your maiden voyage into the world of surveys and measurement, I commend you for your brave, pioneer spirit! You’re like a bold, westward-charging settler bound for glory. MANIFEST DESTINY! But, be warned! Just as many settlers succumbed to rattlesnake bites and dysentery along the Oregon Trail, so too have many first-time survey developers fallen victim to poorly executed surveys. It isn’t as direct and simple a process as it appears on the surface.

Read More at Hotel News Now

This is so important as this is your brand that someone could be messing around with.

One of the examples of what is coming through was a hook trying to get you to click on the link. There was a little rude so I won’t include that as an example. I work with Hootsuite so I have a link previewer which is certainly helpful on occasions where your not to sure about the DM. (Direct Message)

So what do you do if your account has been compromised?

Have you noticed:

• Unexpected Tweets posting from your account.
• Unintended DMs (direct messages) sent from your account.
• You are unable to log in to Twitter (and you know you haven’t changed your password or username).

If so, you please take the following steps according to Twitter.

Reset your password and Revoke Connections

1. Reset your password.

If you can log into your account, change your password immediately from the Passwords Tab in your Account Settings. You can also use the Twitter password reset feature to request an email with instructions for resetting your password. Select a strong password you haven’t used before.

2. Revoke connections.

Once you’ve logged in, visit the Connections tab in Account Settings. Revoke access for any third-party application that you don’t recognize.

3. Update your new password in your third-party applications.

If a trusted external application or widget uses your Twitter password, be sure to update your password in the application. Otherwise, your account may be temporarily locked.

If You Still Can’t Access Your Account see www.status.twitter.com where you’ll also find more information about Safe Tweeting.

New stats released yesterday by Twitter revealed that users now send out more than 50 million tweets per day. That means every second, 600 tweets fly through Twitter’s network. If you’ve ever followed a trending topic ex. XFactor, Haiti, Thierry Henry you’d believe it.

The stats so far:

• 2007 – 5,000 tweets per day.
• 2008 – 300,000 tweets per day.
• 2009 – 2.5 million tweets per day.
• 2009 end of year – 35 million tweets per day.
• 2010 – 50 million tweets created per day.
  For more stats

50 Million Tweets a day 2010

An example of usage growth, I first heard about the Newry incident via twitter the night before last. I heard it on Twitter before the news or radio. The first ten or so tweets where people in the area, then I saw Skynews, BBC and other news channels tweet. Within another couple of seconds, I read a post in spanish and then french. All within seconds and minutes.

Twitter is my source of real time news and I know there are plenty more people out there just like me. The fact is that more and more people are using twitter like a search engine for research and news. It is definately the most up to date tool online and we are getting information quicker than ever before from sources that may never before have had a voice. Don’t get me wrong it isn’t used in isolation but it’s part of an ever increasing tool box we have to keep ourselves informed.

The growth is apparent too from news channels, radio stations, individuals involved in media, businesses as well as the big brands. It certainly present a world of opportunity for hospitality businesses.

The end of year Twitter stats for 2010 should make compelling reading but let’s keep a watchful eye on Buzz.

Five years ago, Gmail was just email. Later we added chat and then video chat, both built right in, so people had choices about how to communicate from a single browser window. Today, communication on the web has evolved beyond email and chat — people are sharing photos with friends and family, commenting on news happening around them, and telling the world what they’re up to in real-time. This new social sharing is valuable, but it means there’s a lot more stuff to sort through, and it’s harder to get past status updates and engage in meaningful discussions.

Today, we’re launching Google Buzz, a new way to start conversations about the things you find interesting and share updates, photos, videos and more. Buzz is built right into Gmail, so there’s nothing to set up — you’re automatically following the people you email and chat with the most.

We focused on making the sharing experience really rich by integrating photos, videos, and links. No more fuzzy little pictures: Buzz makes it easy to quickly flip through photos and experience them the way they were meant to be seen: big and full-resolution. And videos play inline so you can watch them without opening a new window.

You can choose to share publicly with the world or privately to a small group of friends each time you post. And you can connect other sites you use, today there’s Picasa, Flickr, Google Reader, and Twitter, so your friends can keep up with what you’re doing around the web — all in one place.

To make sure you don’t miss out on the best part of sharing, Buzz sends responses to your posts straight to your inbox. Unlike static email messages, buzz messages in your inbox are live conversations where comments appear in real time.

You can follow the specific people whose posts you want to see, but Buzz also recommends posts from people you’re not directly following, often ones where your friends are having a lively conversation in the comments. If you’re not interested in a particular recommendation, just click the “Not interested” link and your feedback will help improve the recommendations system. Buzz also weeds out uninteresting posts from the people you follow — collapsing inactive posts and short status messages like “brb.” These early versions of ranking and recommendations are just a start; we’re working on improvements that will help you automatically sort through all the social data being produced to find the most relevant conversations that matter to you.

For all those times when you want to share something but aren’t in front of your computer, Buzz is also available on your phone. When you’re out in the real world, a lot of the information you want to share often has to do with where you are: for example, you may want to talk about a new restaurant you discovered or the score of the game you’re watching. So rather than simply a small screen version of the desktop experience, Buzz for mobile brings location to the forefront and makes it easy to have conversations about places. In addition to checking out buzz from people you’re following, you can also see nearby buzz from the people around you.

We’ll be rolling out Google Buzz to everyone over the next few days; you’ll see a new “Buzz” link under “Inbox” when it’s on for your account. We’re still working on some features to make Buzz work well for businesses and schools, so it isn’t yet available in Google Apps, but stay tuned. If you want to learn more in the meantime, visit buzz.google.com or check out the Help Center.

Source: Gmail Blog and Google Buzz

1 – Don’t hide. Include extra contact info in your Twitter bio or background. Sometimes, 140 characters isn’t enough for your audience to say what they want. To encourage further dialog, and limit your customers’ searching frustration, include your website URL, email address, and telephone number (if appropriate) within your Twitter page.

2 – Don’t ignore. Answer all replies or questions within a reasonable timeframe. If a customer called you up on the phone, it’s unlikely that you’d sit on the call in silence. When you’re participating online, the same rules apply. While it might be time consuming to respond on a regular basis, your social media success depends on your accessibility and ability to engage in conversation. In other words, grab a cup or two of coffee every morning or night, and answer away. Your followers will commend your commitment, and they’ll respect that you’re listening.

3 – Don’t yell. As much as you want to promote your business, limit direct marketing messages about how great your business is or why someone needs your product now. It’s OK to sell on Twitter, but for some users they prefer a soft sell or a message that has some real value to them (such as a product discount). To get some examples of how businesses effectively use the micro-blogging site, seek out some of the top companies on Twitter, such as @Zappos and @Starbucks, and learn from them.

See more at openforum.com

The mantle has been taken up by Bob Cotton, Chief Exec from the British Hospitality Association.

Mr. Cotton said hotels across Europe were seeking to persuade the EU Commission to overhaul the rules governing website reviews to ensure that they have been posted by genuine guests and not by rivals or people simply out to cause mischief.
Read full article at the Independent

So while the fight continues to seek out authenticity of reviews, what you do in the meantime?

We need to leverage all the positive feedback from guest we can and your guest loves what you do.

A couple of questions to consider might be;

1. Do you make it as easy as possible for your guest to give you that compliment or review online?

2. Where do all the positive comments from your comment cards end up? Do you leverage these in your Digital Marketing Strategy?

3. Put yourself in the shoes of the guest, under constant time pressure with short attention spans and wanting fast intuitive processes in their online world. Does your feedback system cater for that person?

4. Did you ever consider, your guest who’s had an amazing experience with you who may never have written a review on sites like Tripadvisor? Consider this, they may not know how to?

Make it as easy as possible for your Guests/Fans/Followers to give you the big thumbs up.

This scenario is not science fiction. It, or one similar to it, happens every day in airline cabins as tech-savvy passengers use social media tools to disperse information among their networks. Are airlines ready for this new world?

Although most of the industry is engaged online to some extent, there remains a lingering notion among a number of legacy airlines that social media is, to quote one senior executive, “just a silly fad.” Perceptions like these are reinforced by the fact that social media has yet to make a measurable impact on the bottom line of any carriers. But airlines such as JetBlue Airways and Virgin America are betting that their investments of time and resources in social media will pay off in the not-too-distant future.

While social media continues to evolve and the tools used to reach an engaged online community may change, the paradigm shift in customer habits is here to stay, say media analysts and airlines that have bought into the concept. “Shame on those airlines who think they can ignore this and that it will go away,” says Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst with Forrester Research.

JetBlue has more than 1.4 million followers on Twitter, the micro-blogging site that allows users to update their networks in 140-character posts, called “Tweets.” That is more than any other airline, and among the higher number of followers of any corporation. JetBlue’s attention to social media requires significant resources. A team of six in the corporate communications department monitors the feed until the last passenger has left the last airport each day, says Morgan Johnston, manager of corporate communications.

Get the Full Story at Aviation Week