Sex (really, Weed) Sells in Political Social Media
You probably have better things to do with your time than crunching numbers gathered from dozens of political Facebook fan pages. But this is exactly what our social media strategists love to do in their spare time (it’s a little geeky, I know).
Our team recently did such an analysis on the Facebook fan pages of the upcoming California ballot initiatives. And, without spending too much time, we discovered something worth considering: ballot initiatives that enjoy a high level of popular appeal have a significantly higher number of Facebook fans than those dealing with more typically policy related matters. The table below summarizes number of Facebook fans for the various Yes and No initiative campaigns on the California November ballot. It becomes clear that the "sexier" an issue is culturally, the higher the level of social media engagement.
If The Recession Ended Months Ago, Why Won’t It Leave?
The
National Bureau of Economic Research announced that the recession that began in
December of 2007 ended in June of 2009. While the economic contraction lasted
only 18 months, job losses in California have lasted for twice as long.
The
peak of California employment was in July 2007. Through August of 2010, total
nonfarm employment continued to drop, although the major losses seem to have
abated since last December.
International Tourism Boosting Recovery
Although the state travel
industry has shown notable gains in 2010, we’re not out of the woods yet.
True, the number of passengers flying through California’s top 10
airports is up 5 percent in 2010, and the number of hotel rooms sold through
July increased 7.5 percent over last year, but we can’t afford to getcomplacent about sustained economic recovery.
To
mitigate future economic
downturns and thrive, it’s important we think of investments over
thelong haul. For the California travel industry, we’ve been
diversifying
our tourism marketing efforts as a long-term investment, striking a
balancebetween investments in our high-return domestic markets and
lucrative
international markets, whose travelers tend to stay longer, spend more
and
represent the highest growth potential long-term.
Recent
statistics prove this strategy is paying off. Although many destinations have
cut back on marketing international travel, leaner and meaner approaches have
enabled California to stay in the game globally. This has been critical, as a
rebound in international arrivals this year is expected to outpace the domestic
visitor rebound.
Consumers Should Get More Than Just Expense From Green Chemistry
Imagine you’re in the market for a fire extinguisher. What do you
suppose might be the first question you’d ask of the store clerk who
hopes to sell it to you?
"Does it come in other colors besides red?" Perhaps you’d ask this,
but it’s not likely to be your first question. The same goes for "Is
that handle ergonomically designed?"
Chances are the question at the forefront of your mind would be, "Will
this thing actually put out fires and make my home safer?" If you’re
about to pay for a safety measure, you’d want to know whether the
investment will, in fact, enhance your safety.