ZKQ Blog

Top 10 in Three Months on SmartCollgeVisit

The following excerpt is from Top 10 SmartCollegeVisit Blog Posts on SmartCollegeVisit.com.

In the three-plus months we've been creating content on the topic of college visits for you to read here on SmartCollegeVisit, it's been a pleasure to draw attention to some of the exceptional opportunities and people we've found involved with the colleges and universities we've been fortunate enough to get to know.

To read more and see the top 10 list, click this link: www.smartcollegevisit.com

Three Months New

Tuesday, February 9, 2010, was the three month launch anniversary for SmartCollegeVisit. A quick review of the first quarter of this startup includes the following highlights:

• A change in business status from sole proprietorship to corporation
• Fresh content creation: 79 blog posts written/edited -- roughly the same number of articles/posts I wrote as a freelancer during the entire year prior to the site's launch date
• Two custom tools developed:

* Smart College Evaluation form to help students and parents keep notes and track their college visits

* Smart Fuel calculator developed to help travelers estimate fuel costs for their college visits

• Branded hotel search page created
• Shop SmartCollegeVisit, an Amazon Affiliate store developed with product focus on travel and college guide related books and electronics
• Development of an evolving social media marketing strategy
• Development of an evolving traditional media marketing strategy
• Established series of college and university Twitter Lists
• Inclusion in the The Top 50 College Info Websites created by Suzanne Shaffer, founder of Parents Countdown to College Coach 
• Sponsorship of the First College Visit series on Handshake 2.0
• Membership in the VT KnowledgeWorks business acceleration program
• Authorship of the CollegeVisit TravelingMom column for TravelingMom.com

Things I have not done: printed business cards, found college student interns interested in learning how to build a social media marketing and public relations strategy, or figured out how to get more done faster. The "to do" list keeps growing as does the excitement and joy over creating a business based on passions of my own: the importance of a college education, the marketing of colleges and universities, and helping families through the college search and college visit process. People keep telling me the key to success in business is to follow your passion. I hope they're right.

Super Bowl Ads: The Play by Play

Who doesn't enjoy a good ad, a good joke, or a good meal? When properly prepared and delivered, each of these can leave you feeling thoughtful, happy and satisfied. So, how did you feel about the watching the most expensive advertisements created for television viewing during the Super Bowl?

I was still hungry when the game ended.

More satisfying than the actual ads was the running commentary on Twitter. Activity included: 2,695 tweets from 1,802 contributors. Tagged with the hashtags: #brandbowl (see http://brandbowl2010.com/ for ad rankings by popularity) , #superbowl, or #sb44, the Twitter chatter left me amused, enlightened, and happy to play ad critic in 140 characters or less.

Related Links:

Brand Bowl 2010 by Mullen & Radian

#BrandBowl Twitter Transcript from WhatTheHashtag

Honoring Super Bowl XLIV: Top 10 44s

We Know the Super Bowl Is Really About the Commericals