It has come to our attention . . .

I download lots of whitepapers, ebooks, and webinars, habitually – just part of trying to keep up to speed with what’s going on in eCommerce, social computing, content management, and open source software in general.

Often downloading these things requires registration, and some level of profile information: an email address, a phone number, a corporate address, etc. (Optaros often does this as well, and I can’t tell you how many times luke_skywalker@rebel_alliance.org or similar has registered to download whitepapers – but I generally use my real email address. I like to follow rules.)

Recently I got this email, presumably in reference or followup from one of those downloads:

From: Sales Person
Subject: BigCo

It has come to my attention that you requested some information from BigCo. Please let me know if I can be of assistance.

Take care
Firstname Lastname
sales@BigCo.com

Read more…

Online Communities Whitepaper

New whitepaper on the Optaros site today (free registration required):

Online Communities: What Should a Retailer Do?

Abstract:

Most retailers have found success in providing online product ratings and reviews, and many have dabbled in engaging directly with participants in social networks. Many retailers are seeking to do more in the area of community, but the lack of clarity in both ROI and specific implementation ideas are causing many to pause and look for guidance.

This paper describes two specific community concepts that leading retailers are beginning to successfully deploy with positive economic outcomes—private event retailing and fan networks.