Tony Parham's Blog

My new favorite travel search engine

April 23rd, 2011

kayak.com used to be my favorite travel search engine. It is a meta-search engine which compares the listings from a variety of other travel search engines.

Well, a new player in town takes the concept to a new level. Hipmunk provides the same meta-search capabilities, but provides them in a very useful, streamlined user interface. It also leverages an “agony algorithm” which ranks flights by a combination of price, duration and number of stops.

Fast Company magazine provide some additional description in its hipmunk review. Or just check out the hipmunk.com site and form your own opinion…

(Oh, and here are some additional “tips for flying” from Chris Brogan.)

@tonyparham

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Knocked Down, but not Knocked Out

April 23rd, 2011

It is rare that successful people trumpet their failures. Most communication effort seems to be centered around the applause-winning successes.

However, I came across a business publication which included some compelling failure-lessons:

Endeavor (a global organization for high-impact entrepreneurs) learned you can’t always win. In the business mantra, “Go big, or go home,” we need to spend a lot more time on the second half: “Go home.” Knowing when to shut down a failed initiative is as vital as knowing when to start one.
Three lessons from a Humane Society activist: (1) Don’t declare “mission accomplished” too early. (2) Trust, but verify. (3) Court both adversaries and allies, and use self-interest as a motivator.
Mohammed Ali teaches the studio chief of Colombia Pictures that “getting knocked down is part of being in the business. It’s inevitable. But once you know you can get up, no matter what, you become stronger and resilient.”
After surviving extraordinary challenges in a failed attempt to scale Mount McKinley (aka “Denali”), a mountaineer found that “nothing I have faced in business or in my personal life—nothing—has seemed insurmountable.”

These and other stories of success and failure can be found at the Harvard Business Review Failure Chronicles.

Another article (from Inc.com) candidly discusses the impact of entrepreneurial failure on the owner’s personal life.

@tonyparham

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@tonyparham Twitter Digest (2011-03-13)

March 14th, 2011

Failure as a Business Imperative http://post.ly/1ifaH ->
A local Police Department has indicated that this old VISA scam is becoming popular again. Be on the alert: http://bit.ly/hj2K9k ->
Failure as a Business Imperative http://bit.ly/egeF9F via@chrisbrogan ->
RT @mediaphyter HubSpot rcvs $32M from Sequoia, Google Ventures & Salesforce 2 expand 'inbound marketing' http://zd.net/gsVsGy /via @mvolpe ->
Hey @The_Wilbur get me in the #SHAQALLSTARCOMEDYJAM with @THE_REAL_SHAQ ->
JS Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor played on a "glass harp" (musical water glasses). Amazing! http://bit.ly/fOeSGI ->
Zite provides an improved Flipboard-like iPad app which automatically learns what you like to read. http://on.mash.to/gUC1iS #in ->
Why Your Business Isn't Getting Leads From LinkedIn http://linkd.in/fQtQ2I #in ->
Download NML's newest white paper: 5 Marketing Lessons Learned from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition http://bit.ly/hZLQos ->
Tech firms still top WSJ's top 50 venture-funded companies. List: http://on.wsj.com/dFXAz9 Article: http://bit.ly/eeMag8 #in ->
How churches used social media in 2010: http://bit.ly/gRpSi1 ->
In the age of digital platforms, @BlurbBooks helps customers design/publish professional-quality PHYSICAL books http://bit.ly/fycYKl ->

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Failure as a Business Imperative

March 8th, 2011

I have not written on success and failure in a while now…

This morning, Chris Brogan distributed an interesting post on the concept of “failure as a business imperative.” In addition to the common concept of “failing fast,” he went so far as to state that “every bit of success I’ve had has come through failing.”

He included some interesting references, including Sam Walton, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and colleagues at HubSpot.

Click here to read his post. I think you may find a useful gem (or two…).

(You can also find this and a few of my other posts on “success/failure” here.)

@TonyParham

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@tonyparham Twitter Digest (2011-03-06)

March 7th, 2011

Meet #SueDevitt. Beauty expert for http://bit.ly/h3ogrV. @ThePulse @SueDevittBeauty http://bit.ly/idxQHS With @AudreyMclellan ->
"How I Got Good at Making Money" (Jason Fried, CEO of 37signals) http://bit.ly/fryQc4 #Basecamp #Entrepreneurship #leadership #in ->
"Conan 2.0" How a late-night Luddite accidentally fought his way onto computers & smartphones http://bit.ly/enTdzE #teamCoco ->

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@tonyparham Twitter Digest (2011-02-27)

February 28th, 2011

22 Hot New Social Media Tools Worth Exploring http://bit.ly/hRGkNp via @CindyKing #smexaminer #socialmedia #in ->
An insider’s guide to social media etiquette via @chrisbrogan http://bit.ly/g10Mpo #in ->
WSJ & Boston Globe declare Motorola Xoom as iPad's first real rival http://on.wsj.com/gbxNo6 http://bo.st/dYqCBJ #in ->
Creating STRONG Passwords (to avoid breaches in your online accounts) http://bit.ly/h961aq ->

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@tonyparham Twitter Digest (2011-02-20)

February 21st, 2011

Learn How to Use Facebook to Market Your Company. Join the free @HubSpot webinar http://bit.ly/fPb2pn #facebookmarketing #facebook ->
Cool YouTube page allows you to quickly sort through, view and vote on all of the Super Bowl ads http://bit.ly/gd2wxp ->
RT @nmlteam Help U.S. public school education by donating books & media with @swap's new #Swap4Schools program! http://t.co/4aX5cSi (client) ->
rt @cc_chapman Uploaded my #RaganSM slides for: How to Build a Passionate Social Media Team http://slidesha.re/f4VgJt ->
Presentation: How NASA uses Social Media http://slidesha.re/gqmIOa #RaganSM via @SarahRobinson @cc_chapman ->
Social Media ROI by @MarkRaganCEO #SocialMedia for #PR Summit http://bit.ly/gafpAJ @Tosolini #ragansm @AnneDGallaher @marisacorser ->
Thanks for sharing! RT @josefsorett: Leveraging Tweet-Ups in Your Marketing Mix http://bit.ly/fKEdgJ from @tonyparham ->
RT@nmlteam Congrats to @alure_home, winners of "Best Campaign" at the 25th Annual Marketing Over Coffee Awards http://cot.ag/igZAbo (client) ->
How the MA tech sector has evolved over the last decade http://bit.ly/eUBQK3 via @ScottKirsner #leanstartups ->
Top Social Media Brands – infographic http://bit.ly/gQKAy9 via @waynesutton ->

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New Product Information From CES 2011

February 14th, 2011

In January, I had the opportunity to attend CES in Las Vegas. Lots of interesting products and technologies.

Here is one of several interviews which I did with CES exhibitors. This video highlights a new product from Cobra. Their new radar sensors have incorporated a networking feature which allows you to be updated regarding “issues” on the road which other drivers are experiencing ahead of you:

(If the video does not appear above, click here.)

You can also check out additional CES 2011 interviews from my colleagues at The Pulse Network by going over to this link. (Scroll down to see a collection of tabs and videos on a variety of CES 2011 topics.)

Twitter: @tonyparham

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Posted in Innovation, Marketing | No Comments »

@tonyparham Twitter Digest (2011-02-13)

February 14th, 2011

Heart Disease #1 Killer of women in US. Join @Fitarella tonight 9pET for a heart health twitchat http://bit.ly/ftUrJ2 #HeartTruth ->
Kevin Straley's KMS Media Partners Acquired By CrossTech Ventures | AllAccess.com http://bit.ly/goa9dQ ->
See a live demo of the New Marketing Labs Dashboard today at 2:30p ET @ThePulse bit.ly/tpnlive #thepulse ->
WSJ re: socialmedia ranking sites (Klout, PeerIndex, Twitalyzer, Tweetlevel). Bieber out-Klouts Obama, Leno, Gates http://on.wsj.com/ibF3eI ->

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Posted in Twitter Digest | No Comments »

Tony Parham's Blog

My new favorite travel search engine

Knocked Down, but not Knocked Out

@tonyparham Twitter Digest (2011-03-13)

Failure as a Business Imperative

@tonyparham Twitter Digest (2011-03-06)

@tonyparham Twitter Digest (2011-02-27)

@tonyparham Twitter Digest (2011-02-20)

New Product Information From CES 2011

@tonyparham Twitter Digest (2011-02-13)

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