High atop the Allerton Hotel on Chicago’s famed Magnificent Mile, Michigan Avenue, is the sign shown in the accompanying picture. It features the name of the hotel, as well as the name, “Tip Top Tap.” Where one would think there is actually a bar or lounge called Tip Top Tap inside the hotel, there is not. There once was, and for historical reasons the sign cannot change on the building. This article in the Chicago Tribune on the recent renovation of the hotel tells more of its story.

Granted, the name Tip Top Tap does not sound contemporary by any modern standard. However, when there is a sign on both sides of your building, visible to millions each year, would you want to leverage this or simply ignore it? When the hotel was renovated, the space where the bar used to be was made into meeting space, and now there is a contemporary lounge on the second floor which, according to the hotel’s Web site, does not have a formal name.

This is not the only example of old names on buildings in Chicago. The former Marshall Field’s State Street store still carries its large name plaques even though it has been Macy’s for the past few years. Many banks dot the streets of the city with the names of their predecessor banks etched in stone and a plastic illuminated sign shows the current name. Though in today’s business mergerpalooza environment, there is probably little confusion as to what bank is what, and Macy’s still receives so much negative press in the Windy City that people know what really is on State Street.

I wonder how many people go into the Allerton Hotel looking for the Tip Top Tap? Count me as one, as my wife and I went in as she recalled her uncle’s stories of having cocktails at the bar many years back. Maybe if enough people go there asking for it management may consider returning the name? There is no shortage of brand and advertising people within a few blocks of the hotel to make it happen either.

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Business • (7) Comments • Permalink

Just in time for Colonel Tribune’s tweetup this evening in Chicago, an offer to help you when you meet people – social networking cards.

So what is a social networking card? In reality is nothing more than a rebranding of the tried and true, standard business card. However since you may not be in business or want to represent yourself as an employee when at a social networking event, Staples had the foresight to take something they already sell – in-store made business cards – and offer them to a new market with a new name.

In my humble opinion there has not been a true replacement developed for the business card. Sure, you can beam contact information from one Palm device to another, send a text message to retrieve contact information or simply tell someone your social networking site or link. The business card works on a lot of levels. It is small, provides visual cues along with the information on the card and allows you to write on it, providing you did not get a gloss coating on it. And they work best in a crowded room, where it’s loud and busy, and you are trying to balance a drink in one hand and the last thing you want to do is tap on a portable device.

Will the business card be replaced? Maybe. But in the meantime, you should have your own, and they work best when you carry them on you.

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Business • Technology • (7) Comments • Permalink

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1 - Who are you, and what are you doing here?

My name is John Wall and I enjoy Technology, Learning and Marketing. During the day I work at AccuRev, the company with the best version control tool available at any price. In my spare time I've been experimenting with social media like blogs and podcasts.

You can find out all about me at RoninMarketeer.com.

2 - You have been podcasting since 2005. What good and bad have you seen evolve in the podcasting world over time?

The good is really simple - for anyone that considers radio dead, boring, or repetitive there's now a huge world of audio content out there beyond audiobooks. The bad is that tons of it is garbage that the average person can't bear to listen to. It's been fun to watch as the landscape and business models of media have been completely destroyed and are now being rebuilt.

3 - How would you say the rebuilding of media business models is going?

If you are Apple, TiVo, Amazon or NPR, things are great. ClearChannel, Satellite Radio, or a store selling CDs, not so much.

I'm surprised that "Big Media" is coming around faster than I thought they would, but also surprised not to see any superstars or millionaires yet.

4 - Will there be a decline of superstars, and an increase of people being stars within niches?

Yes, absolutely. Media is fragmenting at an accelerating rate. Mass media is slowly falling apart. These are just figures off the top of my head, but the MASH finale was the most watched show on TV at something like 106 million, the biggest thing going now is the Super Bowl down around 97. Between TV, Web, Movies, Magazines, Podcasts, Newspaper, Radio and DVDs, consuming media has gone from a modest selection to more than one individual can comprehend.

5 - You host 2 podcasts, The M Show and Marketing Over Coffee. How do you stay on the edge with them and how do you see them evolving?

Marketing Over Coffee is content based on what I do for a living so I am gathering content for that program during every waking hour. The program has been growing at a stable rate for over a year, has sponsorship, and is a great platform for Christopher Penn and I to get our message out. It will continue to grow and expand.

The M Show is at the other end of the spectrum. It was built with old media in mind (I patterned it after Don Imus' radio program) and unfortunately even though tools that allow you to compete with big media are now available for all at next to nothing, the downside is that you have to compete against the entire world. Although the M Show is fun to do, it's proved not to be a viable business. Ultimately I'll leave the feed open for fun stuff, but Marketing Over Coffee will end up using all the resources that go to it (e.g. my time).

6 - What is one question I did not ask, and what is its answer?

Does any of this social media stuff provide business value? Can you make money doing it? The answer is yes and no. On it's own, social media is useless, it exists only to magnify and amplify what you already have to show or say. Think of it as the internet in 1996, if you have a well-crafted message, this is another venue to get it out to the world. If you've got nothing to say, you can say it louder, but that still doesn't mean that anyone is going to care.

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6 Questions • Business • (4) Comments • Permalink

Do you need to include the “www.” when displaying a URL? This was a recent topic on Seth Godin’s blog, and reading various other blog posts and articles on the topic, the general consensus is you do not need to include the www-dot before a domain name. When someone sees a domain name all by itself, they assume it’s a Web site. But does it mean that every time you enter just a domain name you will get the Web site?

Unfortunately the answer to this is no. And it has nothing to do with marketing or how much room you have to display a domain name. It has to do with Web server and network configuration.

Here’s an example of where leaving out the www-dot will not show you the Web site. Berkshire Hathaway is the multi-billion dollar empire of Warren Buffett. Though he hangs out will his fellow top-tier billionaire Bill Gates, he shuns technology whenever possible. Berkshire Hathaway does have a Web site, albeit extremely simple. If you browse to it at http://www.berkshirehathaway.com you will be presented with the Web site. However, leave off the www-dot going to http://berkshirehathaway.com and you get an error.

The www-dot in question is called a subdomain, and is used to identify various types of servers on a domain. If you have ever configured Outlook or an email program with an email server, you probably entered a server name beginning with mail-dot. As a result, using – and not using – the www-dot subdomain needs to be configured. It needs to be addressed within the network domain configuration as well as the Web server or servers. It must be configured and tested properly, as leaving off the www-dot can be configured to take you to an altogether different Web site!

Why not take this time to check your own Web sites and blogs to see if they pass the test of leaving off the www-dot. And while you’re at it, check your vendors, partners and even competitors. Good luck telling them if doesn’t work – I emailed Berkshire Hathaway over a month ago when I first saw this problem, and it still exists.

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Domain Names • Technology • (0) Comments • Permalink