eMarketSouth Central

Well, maybe that’s not completely true, but read a number of blogs and you might start to see the power they hold. In a lunch lecture I attended yesterday, the speaker, who owns her own PR firm, admitted that bloggers are evil creatures, often causing havoc for her clients. In her examples, the content related to bloggers who obtained privileged information and made speculations or started rumors on their blogs. But therein is why she has a job in the first place.

If you are concerned about your company’s information leaking to the public, you should be sure to guard it and have complete trust in those who share such information. On the other hand, using your blog to purposefully share information to the public in a timely manner can be a very proactive measure.

At the recent BlogSavannah UnCon, speaker Josh Hallett spoke about the problem Sony had by creating a fake blog where two of its team members pretended to be game players that started a blog to convince family and friends to give them a new PSP for Christmas. The public quickly caught on and called them out, as did the media. Sony came back with a revamped blog, under Hallett’s direction, which now provides communication directly between Sony and its PlayStation fans.

But what is it about bloggers that make them so evil? Well, maybe evil isn’t the right word… perhaps they simply require that companies be more accountable for their actions. Information via the Internet is viral, and while you may not always see comments on a specific blog, you can bet people have read them. (Feel free to review my post from November about Spirit Airlines - the ultimate “OOPS” case study.)

So what are people saying about you? Make Google your best friend. Type in your company name and take a look. Spend some time on Technorati. If something strikes you, see what you could do that might make the situation better. Then take a look at what people are saying about your competition. Those are probably issues to you as well. Don’t start your blog to be a PR response - it needs to be a conversation with your customers, and they will be able to immediately notice if you have someone else writing or some ulterior purposes behind your posts.

Tags: Blogging, Search Engine Optimization, eMarketSouth by Lisa Scarbrough
No Comments »

Location, location, location that has always been a catchphrase in real estate and it holds a great truth. I have just returned from the island of Grand Cayman … can we talk about location? There are few bad locations on this rather small island (22 miles in length and roughly 8 miles wide and occupies 76 square feet). One of the most amazing lessons I gleaned as we wandered through paradise, was seeing how little real estate you really need to have everything at your finger tips. There are bars and restaurants in the downtown area with as little as a step ladder access to an incredible underwater world of creatures & corral. Most bars and restaurants boast 8 or 9 tables … what more do they need? A few customers, some good food and cold drinks with a built in view. There is very little need for more. Maybe it is the concept that the ocean lends itself to vast openness and extreme fresh air. Maybe it’s the constant breeze and crashing waves or the cold drinks and easy way of being on the island. There is no where to get in a hurry to go… no one wants to be in a hurry.With the exception of some waterfront properties with hurricane shutters, three car garages and large swimming pools over looking the bay, the residential areas in the interior of the island are very humble. The homes are ranch style and appear to have two to three bedrooms with possibly two full bathrooms. Most homes have a small porch or portico with windows open and very few hvac units were spotted. Several have clotheslines with the day’s laundry strewn about to dry and roosters pecking the ground. The houses are not very well organized but sort of randomly situated around the interior. There are few street signs and several round abouts. No need for a map … you can probably cover the island by car in an hour or two and that is with traffic.When we talk about waterfront property and being on deep water in Savannah, we are hoping for access to the open seas and a place to dip our crab lines. Location matters where ever you decide to plant roots, be it island roots or city roots. Location is everything … decide what you require around you, what would appeal for resell and what your family needs … that determines the value of your location but keep in mind a little blue water never hurts!

Tags: USA Homes by Suzy Buelvas
No Comments »

If you have been in the Savannah area for any length of time or on the east coast recently, you know that the fastest growing port is right here in our very own backyard. Savannah is rapidly becoming one of the largest ports on the southeastern seaboard. All this time I have noticed more and more container vessels coming in and lots of news about the ports but until these images came across my desk I didn’t give much thought to the process of loading and unloading container ships. They don’t look that big from here … like Lego blocks! But up close, well you have driven up next to an eighteen wheeler haven’t you? You see what I mean. How can the port grow, the containers increase and the cranes stay the same. They can’t … so just yesterday the cranes came to town. Sent from China in December, the cranes finally made it into Savannah’s port yesterday. The city even made sure the bridge connecting us to the low country of South Carolina was closed to traffic … just in case someone had measured wrong. Crazy! What a mess that would have been for that ship to hit the bridge. Luckily they had about eight feet of breathing room. The port authority and all the employees at the port were well prepared for the arrival of the cranes. They were not prepared for the crowd of onlookers. People covered Riverstreet and strained to watch as the cranes made their way to their new home. With the installation of these great big cranes, it doesn’t appear as though the growth of Savannah’s ports will slow down anytime soon. What an exciting time to be part of the blossoming of our fair city … Savannah. Join us and see what the fuss is all about!

Tags: Key to Savannah, Savannah Home Finder, eMarketSouth by Suzy Buelvas
No Comments »