Damien's Blog, corporate blog articles about FindAnyFloor.comhttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/rss/corporate.xmlen-Us60Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:56:23 ESTCopyright 2010 Damien Patton, FindAnyFloor.com All Right Reservedhttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Internet/TheCalmBeforeTheStorm.xhtmlI just wanted to make a quick post to tell everyone hello. I have been off the blog for a couple of weeks and it may be several more before I am back to a few posts a week.Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:45:16 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Internet/TheCalmBeforeTheStorm.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comInternethttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Internet/TheSocialMediaWorkout.xhtmlEvery year, thousands if not millions of people choose exercise as their New Year’s Resolution and they join a gym. This year, I read several Twitter and Facebook posts about people wanting to devote more time to Social Media. Most posted read something like "starting with the New Year, I am going to have a better social media presence, and keep it in shape." Well, just like many gym memberships, many of those Twitter and Facebook accounts are going unused.Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:24:15 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Internet/TheSocialMediaWorkout.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comInternethttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Internet/SocialMedia-JustAFad.xhtmlThis past week I spent a couple of days at the Surfaces convention in Las Vegas. This is the one of the flooring industries largest shows of the year and attracts manufactures, distributors, retailers, and their customers from all over the world. One of the big topics this year is the economy and how businesses can survive during these times.Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:46:11 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Internet/SocialMedia-JustAFad.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comInternethttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/HowFloorConsumersUseSearchEngines-BigBobsFlooringConference.xhtmlThis week I am speaking at the annual Big Bobs Flooring Conference held in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Big Bobs is a large flooring store chain with over 50 locations in the US.Thu, 21 Jan 2010 07:05:09 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/HowFloorConsumersUseSearchEngines-BigBobsFlooringConference.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comCorporatehttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/FlooringLeadsAnyone.xhtmlOver the last several months I have been asked to speak at several flooring conferences and at each conference, I hear floor store owners convey how slow things are and how they wish business was better. During this slow economy, the flooring industry has been hit hard. As new home production slows, and credit sources for existing homes cease to exist, thousands of flooring related businesses have closed across the country.Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:20:08 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/FlooringLeadsAnyone.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comCorporatehttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/NoWonderDrugsCostSoMuch.xhtmlYesterday, I was on a plane from Las Vegas to Boston, a very frequent trip for those of you who follow me. I worked for the first 3 hours of the flight as usual and decided to take a mental break and read a magazine. While flipping through the magazine I came upon a full–page ad that caught my attention.Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:57:46 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/NoWonderDrugsCostSoMuch.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comCorporatehttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/ShoppingonlineReadthisbeforeyoucheckout.xhtmlWith the economy in its current condition, more consumers are turning to the Internet and away from brick and mortar stores because of the online savings. This is for many reasons; saving gas and time, more options to price compare, utilizing web only specials, etc.Wed, 06 Jan 2010 14:59:54 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/ShoppingonlineReadthisbeforeyoucheckout.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comCorporatehttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Internet/GoogletoFinallybeDethroned.xhtmlThe website visit statistics for 2009 are in and they tell an interesting story. If the current trend holds, Facebook will dethrone Google as the most visited website in the US. It just goes to prove that people love to socialize, at least online. During the holidays Facebook actually spiked above Google for the first time, and the long term trend line has it blowing by the search giant in 2010. Search Engine Land has a great Hitwise graph and article that shows Facebook eclipsing Google.Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:32:06 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Internet/GoogletoFinallybeDethroned.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comInternethttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/OneSmallGiftCanMakeAlltheDifference.xhtmlHow many people hand money to those who stand on the side of the road holding signs soliciting for money? Are you completely desensitized to it or skeptical? Does someone have to meet a certain criteria before you consider handing them money or is it something you would never consider?Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:34:33 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/OneSmallGiftCanMakeAlltheDifference.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comCorporatehttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/PoliticiansandRoadsideLitter.xhtmlIt is that time of year again where the roadsides are littered with political candidate signs. I for one can’t stand to see the landscape transform into a giant garage sale of loud and obnoxious signs. First of all the signs are an eyesore, not to mention most are horribly done (politicians thinking they are marketers). But more importantly most of these candidates are promoting “green” and climate awareness. I especially love the candidates who have something to say about global warmiTue, 22 Dec 2009 08:12:01 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/PoliticiansandRoadsideLitter.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comCorporatehttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/TimetoGetBackintheSwingofBlogging.xhtmlIt has been a couple of weeks since I last posted a blog. With the holidays and all the travel for business I just haven’t had a second to post anything. The good news is that I have a ton of things I want to write about, so hopefully I will have some time to catch up this weekend.Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:52:10 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/TimetoGetBackintheSwingofBlogging.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comCorporatehttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/GooglevsRupertMurdochandtheFutureofNewsprintinAmerica.xhtmlWe all know that newspapers are losing circulation at an alarming rate. Some reports show them gaining circulation, but this is because of new rules that they are allowed to use to count subscribers. The AP did a nice article on this entitled Newspaper Circulation May Be Worse Than It Looks. A few weeks ago I was in Silicon Valley staying at the San Francisco Airport Hyatt. Each morning the New York Times was placed outside my front door. It was also placed at every other door in the hotel. I quickly Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:15:26 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/GooglevsRupertMurdochandtheFutureofNewsprintinAmerica.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comCorporatehttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/ATTvsVerizonJudgeDealsBlowtoATT.xhtmlI thought I would follow up on the blog I posted earlier this week about AT&T suing Verizon over Verizon’s commercials depicting the weakness of AT&T’s 3G mobile coverage. Since I posted the blog, AT&T and Verizon were heard in an Atlanta courtroom and the judge ruled against AT&T in their immediate pursuit to get an injunction for Verizon to stop playing their commercials where AT&T is mentioned. The federal court judge set a court date for mid December to further hear aFri, 20 Nov 2009 13:30:47 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/ATTvsVerizonJudgeDealsBlowtoATT.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comCorporatehttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/ATTVersusVerizonTheMobilePhoneWarisHeatingUp.xhtmlFrom the highways to magazines, you just about can’t go anywhere these days without seeing an advertisement for AT&T or Verizon. Even if the ad is not the mobile phone carrier directly, you are sure to see to ads for the iPhone or the new Droid that are exclusive to AT&T and Verizon respectively. So which mobile carrier is better or is there even a difference. They both claim to dominate the marketplace and both claim no other company compares to their service.Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:54:00 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/ATTVersusVerizonTheMobilePhoneWarisHeatingUp.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comCorporatehttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/NoWhiningDuringWineMaking.xhtmlNext Monday I am in Sonoma, California attending the DCS conference to talk to flooring retailers and professionals about how consumers really search the Internet to find their flooring needs. Since Sonoma is known for its wine I decided to try my hand at making some. Last week while in Boston, I joined a colleague at his homemade wine making operation. The funny thing is that I am allergic to grapes and therefore don’t drink wine.Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:29:45 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/NoWhiningDuringWineMaking.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comCorporatehttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/ConsumerSearchEngineHabitsatDCSConference.xhtmlNext week I will be addressing the audience at the DCS conference in Sonoma, California. The topic of my presentation will center around consumer search behavior and separating myth or perception from reality. I will share results from a test we conducted with over 30,000 consumers searching online to buy flooring and what they actually typed into the search engines, where they went, and in the end who they purchased their material from.Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:22:59 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/ConsumerSearchEngineHabitsatDCSConference.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comCorporatehttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/AmericanExpressDontLeaveHomeWithoutIt.xhtmlAs business owners we cringe when people use an American Express card because of the high fees associated with it. This is the reason that Amex is the least accepted credit card between the top three; Visa, MasterCard and American Express. But outside of the business owner role, Amex is the best credit card business travelers can have in their wallet (in my opinion).Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:23:44 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/AmericanExpressDontLeaveHomeWithoutIt.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comCorporatehttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Internet/ChargingSubscriptionsOnlineDoesItWork.xhtmlI was surprised to hear this week that video site Hulu.com is going to start charging a subscription fee to view videos. For those of you not familiar with Hulu, you can watch movies and TV shows with limited commercials. What surprises me is that Hulu isn't able to turn a profit with their current advertising model. For example, if you watch an episode of House you will have to view 4 to 5 short commercials from 10 seconds in length to 30 seconds. This is still far fewer commercials then watching the Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:36:01 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Internet/ChargingSubscriptionsOnlineDoesItWork.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comInternethttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Internet/TheFacebookAffect.xhtmlBased on all the comments I have seen on Facebook this week, the Facebook community as a whole is upset about all the changes made to their homepage. I agree some of the changes don’t make sense, and usability was thrown out the window. I always wonder what companies are thinking when they make certain changes, especially those that appear so obvious to negatively impact usability and a users experience.Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:33:30 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Internet/TheFacebookAffect.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comInternethttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/SayingGoodbyeisAlwaysHardtoDo.xhtmlI am taking a detour today from my normal blog writing to use this time to reflect on the life of my brother in law, Terry Dougherty, who succumbed to ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) this week. He leaves behind a loving family, my beautiful sister Keely and their 6 children. From the beginning it was like the Brady Bunch as my sister and Terry each had 3 children (3 boys and 3 girls) before getting married. I was lucky enough to walk my sister down the aisle at their wedding, which was truly unforgettWed, 21 Oct 2009 12:06:31 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/SayingGoodbyeisAlwaysHardtoDo.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comCorporatehttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/BreastCancerAwarenessMonthShouldbeBreastCancerActionMonth.xhtmlI have been amazed by the amount of e-mails, texts, tweets and phone calls I have received in response to last week’s blog on those exploiting breast cancer to make a buck. I received dozens if not hundreds of follow up articles and personal stories of triumph and tragedy. This blog was to initially thank those who shared their stories with me, but I wanted to take the opportunity to address a point missed by many.Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:56:37 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/BreastCancerAwarenessMonthShouldbeBreastCancerActionMonth.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comCorporatehttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/RichardPettyDrivingExperienceMakingDreamsaReality.xhtmlIn an earlier blog, I wrote about the accessibility of Las Vegas for those with disabilities, or maybe I should say the inaccessibility. My frustration to find adequate and reasonable transportation for those with motorized wheelchairs came out loud and clear. The goal was to take two friends out to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway so that Darrell, a huge NASCAR fan, could ride in a race car around the speedway. After failed attempts in securing transportation, we rented a trailer for their wheelchairs anThu, 15 Oct 2009 15:59:25 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/RichardPettyDrivingExperienceMakingDreamsaReality.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comCorporatehttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/PinkistheNewGreen.xhtml The month of October is known as Breast Cancer Awareness month. We have all seen the pink ribbons, products with a new pink color and even NFL uniforms changed to draw attention and donations for this great cause.Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:30:20 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/PinkistheNewGreen.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comCorporatehttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/DoYouUseMobilePhoneAds.xhtmlMaybe the title should be "Do you want to see mobile ads?" It was reported in TechCrunch yesterday that mobile ads will top 4 billion dollars by 2015. While this pales in comparison to online and traditional media advertising, it is a gigantic leap from where we are today.Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:56:35 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/DoYouUseMobilePhoneAds.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comCorporatehttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/HowAccessibleisLasVegas.xhtmlFor years I have heard how accessible and friendly Las Vegas is to those with physical disabilities. I have always taken for granted that we live in a place that is one of the vacation capitals of the world that has made public accessibility a priority.Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:57:31 ESThttp://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporate/Corporate/HowAccessibleisLasVegas.xhtmlFindAnyFloor.comCorporate