Today I got a last minute invitation that I just couldn’t pass up. My friend and neighbor Adrienne Carter is the President of the Board at the International Hospitality Council of Austin. From their site:

The International Hospitality Council of Austin (IHCA) demonstrates community leadership for providing a broad array of intercultural services for international students and visitors to Central Texas. …the organization is a forty-six year old nonprofit designated as a Center for International Visitors and therefore is the local contact agency for the U.S. Department of State. It is also a member of the National Council of International Visitors.

Basically, they host international visitors on business or government missions and make connections to local people and culture, non-profit and non-partisan. They are famous for hosting a yearly Consular Ball in partnership with the Mayor of Austin’s office and the Texas Secretary of State.

Adrienne invited me to join her at a dinner for Ambassador Tran Van Tung and Dr. Nguyen Manh Ha of Vietnam, fresh from their meetings last week with Hillary Clinton and Henry Kissenger. They attended a conference in Washington D.C. “U.S. & Vietnam: Commitment to a shared future” discussing our countries’ history together and the future. They are introduced by Clinton in the second paragraph.

Tung and Mahn Ha discussed American and Vietnamese food with us, the climate and environmental differences between Texas and Vietnam (could they be any more different?) and also heavier topics of learning from the war, politics of war and personal experiences. They told stories of families split between North and South, sometimes by politics, sometimes by chance. The devastation that American deforestation chemicals wrought on agriculture, medical issues on both sides caused by Agent Orange and the loss of family members. They told us of a monument to mothers represented by a 106 year old mother that lost her 9 sons, husband and brother to the American/Vietnam war.

We also spoke a little about Vietnam’s economic future, education goals and trade. Tung said they are very focused on education, sending thousands of students abroad for advanced degrees to help build business back in Vietnam. He spoke enthusiastically about Bill Gates‘ recent trips to Vietnam to encourage health, education, manufacturing and especially technology innovation. In the next sentence though, they mentioned they were also both very excited to have purchased iPads to bring back to share with their colleagues.

Mahn Ha also let us in on how much of a soccer fan he is, from Manchester United to Argentina’s River Plate team… unfortunately, I had to disagree with him, as my wife (who is from Argentina) is a HUGE fan of River Plate’s arch rival, Boca Juniors. It’s a small world when an Argentina futbol rivalry extends to Hanoi, Vietnam and back to Austin, Texas.
Thanks so much to my friend Adrienne and the IHCA, it was a pretty amazing experience to meet and have such great conversations with such prominent figures on the world stage… and to share such simple and powerful connections. I can’t say I have a good hook to bring this back to some marketing topic, but it was a great connection experience and a reminder that we have so much in common with each other, no matter what our history.

As you may imagine, I’m very interested in the announcements at today’s Apple Worldwide Developer’s Conference, so I thought I’d share some of the resources I monitor for
up-to-the-minute news (besides Apple Developer Connection, of course).

There are several “Live Blog” sites and several Twitter users you can follow for updates:

• Ars Technica
• gdgt
• Gizmodo.com
• Engadget.com
• CNN Tech on Twitter
• Mark McClusky from Wired Magazine

After the announcements, let us know what you are most excited about!

We saw an amazing headline this week: “Apple Sells Two Million iPads in Less Than 60 Days“. Which is a pretty amazing feat considering that the iPhone took over 2 quarters (6 months!) to sell that many phones. That’s also counting less than a week in international sales, so that’s mainly in the US. I’ve heard that many US Apple Stores are out of stock, or are limiting the number purchased to 2 per customer, as they are in short supply.

From the announcement of the iPad, to its launch, even today, I hear people asking “Why iPad? What would I use it for?” I got asked those questions about 5 times this week, but yet some people clearly “get” it and are picking them up like free tshirts.

When I try to tell people why I enjoy my iPad, I often feel like it’s difficult to express why it’s useful, why I use it instead of my laptop or why my 3 year old daughter loves and uses it so much. It is different from my iPhone and different from my laptop, but it combines several elements of each… enough that make it a really nice and convenient device to have around.

Here are some of the ways I and my family use our iPad, some of these may resound with you, some may not… I’d certainly like to hear how YOU use your iPad, or why you aren’t.

• Checking and responding to personal and work email, it’s better than my iPhone for typing longer emails.
• Checking and updating Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media status and content. Those links to websites, articles, news, videos… all work great on my iPad.
• Reading news and other content sites via dedicated apps, RSS apps, websites, then sharing on my social networks.
• I load it up with videos, podcasts, iTunesU content and books for travel or other relaxing downtime, for myself, my wife and my daughter. We all use it to consume media.
• My daughter loves it as a educational and fun game device… from drawing apps, to matching and alphabet learning apps, she picked up how to use it on the first day, and continues to learn new apps nearly immediately. What other things can you really say that about, with a 3 year old?
• I use it while my wife and I are watching movies or TV, to look up characters/actors, topics or locations around the world that are mentioned. I don’t have to get up, I don’t have to strain my eyes to see the results. I had the iPad to my wife and share the info… the technology gets out of the way.
• Many days, I use it instead of a printed newspaper while having breakfast and coffee with the family. I can instantly go into more depth during a news topic discussion, or offer insights when somebody says “what happened in Buenos Aires this week?”
• Even though I have the WiFi only model, I’ve taken in on a few daytrips and client meetings, using it for email, Skype calls and our company PowerPoint presentations too.

To not sound like toooooo much of an Apple Fanboy (Although I really am), I should mention that I’m not connected to my iPad like a leash (my wife says my iPhone is stuck to my left hand though). I don’t use it all the time, I don’t use it to create long-form content, like this blog post. This amount of content is really more suited for my notebook computer… this may change if I get a Bluetooth keyboard though (when my wife lets me).

Sometimes I use my iPad instead of my phone, sometimes instead of my laptop… sometimes instead of the TV or newspaper too. My family and I use it on the road for fun, I use it for work and presentations. It allows me to bring less gear with me, but still gives me access to much of the information and utility, and it can be a lot of fun too… I am certainly hooked, and I bet you would be too. Give one a try and see what you think… let me know too!

First the good news; I’ve been keeping pretty busy with some new clients, partners and projects… Unfortunately, that’s pushed my blogging here down lower on the to-do list. Apologies.
I’ve been focusing my blogging updates to my FriendFeed microblog, rather than longer form blog posts, this gives me enough time to share some of the great news and happening from around the web, but in a more concise (and faster) way.

I hope you’ll enjoy the updates there, or you can join me on FriendFeed directly here.

Brian Massey has a great presentation and book about marketing yourself for a new job or business development in general through a cultivated “lifetime career” network. Check out MarketForMeBook.com for the overview and a free book deal in partnership with CardboardResume.com. They offer a CRM-type site for job searchers.

Brian also shares insights at The Conversion Scientist, very good info.

I’ve been focusing a lot of my spare time on new social media conversations like Twitter, (CharlieNB) FriendFeed and the like. Sorry that the frequencey of my blog posts have suffered for it! But I think social media and “instant customer conversations” that happen are a VERY important trend that deserve to be investigated fully. I learn new things, meet new connections, repair relationships with companies, stay in touch with friends, and often get questions answered immediately. Good stuff! (but that’s not the point of this post…
As the various elements of “social media” emerge from person-to-person conversations to business conversations as well, measurement and return on investment become top priorities.

“Why should my business/employees be a part of Twitter, what’s in it for my business or customers? Why should we be looking at comments or blog posts?”

There is, of course the intuitive answer, of getting better in touch with customers and understanding their needs, but that’s pretty “soft” and may not fly with metrics-driven organization… and really who isn’t with this economy?
Recently there have been quite a few startups tackling this question. I’ve seen Radian6 and ScoutLabs, they seem to be strong startups with rich tracking, measurement and reporting. Mashable has a great overview of the Top 10 Monitoring tools, so I won’t reiterate the rest.

I guess I’m most excited about one of the heavyweights in the web analytics industry’s addition of Twitter measurement into their primary offering. Omniture has announced that Twitter measurement will be integrated into their SiteCatalyst product via an API. They’ve also mentioned a few new features/ideas on how some of this data can eventually be used to better inform search marketing campaigns. Clickz coverage is here, there doesn’t seem to be a press release from Omniture available yet though.

My dayjob is an Omniture customer, and we’ll likely be taking advantage of this, as I’m sure many customers will. It’s a great sign of a maturing trend that not only startups jump on with new products and services, but industry heavyweights do too.

I really enjoyed the story of how this new product feature came about, which Adam Greco (Omni_man) covers on the Omniture blog. It’s great to see an organization move so quickly and be so agile with their products.

Even more so, it’s great to see more measurement being brought to social media!

How is your organization measuring and particiapating in Twitter and other social media conversations? Are you talking to your customers and prospects?

Since I’ve had my iPhone, over 14 months or so, I’ve reveled in my ability to check email, do research, watch videos, get directions and product/service ratings and generally keep myself occupied where ever I am. In my car, at a restaurant or even when I don’t want to get up off the couch and walk to my desktop computer.

I also see it’s limitations, and still make use of my notebook computers and desktop computers most of each day, if not over the weekends. But as I travel, and my 2 year old daughter wants to watch movies/games when we are traveling, I’m interested in a “netbook” PC for more mobile use that I can’t always accomplish with my iPhone. This new generation of light, mobile PCs has come down significantly in price, from over $1,200 or $1,500 to $300-$500 in some cases. Dell has a Mini 9 Netbook with a 9 inch screen, and MSI has a Wind line with a 10 inch screen are some great examples.

This article from CNet on the “big bang” of conflict between computer manufacturers getting smaller products to market and phone handset builders going more full featured was very interesting. They focus on the handset and the small netbook pc at the ends of the spectrum of “mobile computing” but of course I think it’s smarter to look at the human side of “getting my computing/information needs met”. Broader and more holistic I think.

I see the trend of my needs/wishes from work computer, to desktop home computer to some type of notebook computer to phone handset. Depending on my tasks/intentions, I’ll choose the right tool for the job… much like my kitchen knife set, paring knives, steak knives or chopping knives on call all at the right time. It’s a simple analogy, but I think it works… as computing becomes another tool of our environment, our options multiply and conform to our work styles.

I’m considering a “netbook” (somehow I doubt this term will catch on with mainstream consumers) for traveling and light work when my MacBook Pro is too much, and my iPhone isn’t enough. I think it will also replace the need for a mini travel dvd player for long flights to Argentina with my daughter. It won’t replace my desktop (Mac Mini with 23 inch display), my work notebook or my iPhone, but I think it’ll find it’s niche in my life and computer use.

What about you, will you go with a netbook and a simple phone handset? Or a desktop and smartphone? Is there ONE perfect device for you or is “perfect” the option of micro, mini and maxi at the right time?

Between 1990 and 2003, the U.S. Hispanic population grew by 61 percent, encompassing 35.3 million people, the fastest-growing minority group in the country and one with the astonishing purchasing power of $650 billion, according to prevailing estimates. Today, savvy businesses recognize the importance of this huge market, yet this segment continues to be underserved in terms of the amount of advertising and marketing dollars spent on it.
(from Marketing Y Medios website)

This is a quick list of resources, email me with your favorite!

HispanicTrending.net – A Latino Advertising and Marketing Blog. A great blog with links to TONS of resources.

Hispanic Entrepreneur Blog – We profile Hispanic and Latin American entrepreneurs, companies and investors which provide them with start-up funds and capital.

Hispanic Digital Media – Member-powered Hispanic and Latin America Digital News

LatinVision.com – US Hispanic Business and Media News Network Site – A GREAT resource.

Think Multicultural – Multicultural Advertising and Marketing Blog

HispanicSMB.com Hispanic Small Business Marketing Resources and Community

AdAge’s “Hispanic Fact Pack – Annual Guide to Hispanic Marketing and Media (5.7 mg PDF) 2006 Edition

Marketing Y Medios.com Monthly News

HispanicAd.com Tool for Hispanic Advertising and Media Professional

HMWeekly.com – Hispanic Market Weekly

HispanSource.org “Your Source for Hispanic Market Information”

AHAA.org – Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies Trade Organization

HMCA.org – Hispanic Marketing & Communication Association

Multicultural.com – Multicultural Marketing Resources

HispanicOnline.com – Hispanic Magazine and Hispanic Trends

HispanicBusiness.com

Advertising Age – Hispanic Marketing

Hispanic Marketing: A Critical Market Segment

LatPro.com – Job Board for Hispanic & Bilingual Professionals

BizJournal Article: Hispanic marketing: ‘Se habla dinero!’

Direct Marketing Association – Hispanic Marketing Council

MarketingProfs.com – The Top Three Mistakes in Hispanic Marketing

MSNBC reports that Target was just hit with a US$6 million settlement and damages for not making it’s site accessible to blind. They’ve agreed to a 3 year oversight relationship with constant testing by National Federation for the Blind and their screen reader testing software.

Wow. This is a bit of a wake up call for American businesses that have long ignored or under delivered on the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The key here is that Target contended that the ADA only covered physical spaces, not electronic ones. I’m no lawyer, but this is at least some type of precedent for other lawsuits agains US businesses for non-accessible and unusable sites.

It’s a good time to get into the accessibility consulting business! Anyone wanna work together on one?

David Armano has a great info graphic on the evolution of organization/individual touchpoints on Flicker. I commented, what do you think?