Ship My Pants! Is Kmart Being Smart?

A little blue humor and the blue light special

Original photo by DoppioM via Flickr

I remember being in a Kmart a hazy handful of times in the ’70s seeing a blue siren flash after an announcement over Kmart’s intercom. It was exciting, and an obvious gimmick to get some quick attention while having a little fun.

Something similar is happening now with Kmart’s latest ad campaign, dubbed “Ship My Pants.” Highlighting the retailer’s offering of in-store shipping, excited customers riff about shipping their pants, drawers, a bed, and… you get the idea.

I love some wacky wordplay, so I’m naturally a fan of the ad. I don’t know that I’ll be shopping at Kmart any more because of it, but I’ll definitely be smirking the next time it happens, or maybe even the next time I drive by a store.

It reminds me of the “Make 7up Yours” campaign from the ’90s…

I noted the similarity to Kmart through Twitter, and they acknowledge the connection.

@rsmithing Same idea! Thanks for the compliment #ShipMyPants

— Kmart (@Kmart) April 20, 2013

My take away is that, although this might be a bawdy approach, it gets us talking (blogging) about the brand when there was absolutely no chatter before. In the case of Old Spice, this did get me interested in the product, and it will be interesting to follow Kmart’s business as consumers start to, um.. ship their pants.

What do you think? Can you recall a similar campaign? Would this make you more or less likely to shop at a Kmart or similar advertiser? Let us hear from you in the comments.

Related articles

• Kmart’s ‘ship my pants’ ad causes shockwaves and smiles (usatoday.com)


• Kmart’s Hilarious New Ad Will Make You Ship Your Pants (dailyfinance.com)


• Lessons for Communicators From Kmart’s Wildly Successful “Ship My Pants” Viral Video (prnewsonline.com)


• How Kmart Used Social Listening (And Some Nerve) To Create A Ship-My-Pants Funny Viral Hit (fastcocreate.com)

Evernote, Three Months In

At the beginning of this year I made it a point to get in the habit of using Evernote. I’ve kept reading its praises and since I’m in the world of collecting ideas for future blog posts, it made enough sense to give it a try.

I should say that I’ve previously relied on emailing myself ideas, links, images and other content, filing them away under “read later” or “ideas” in Gmail. This has kinda worked, but I don’t really find myself going through that content often. The idea of a standalone app dedicated to capturing ideas and organizing them at least makes sense to me for that reason. I get the concept, but it’s still taking work to make myself use the program.

Part of the adoption curve for me is having content actually in Evernote. Without many notes to search, there’s not much to draw from, so I can see how some users may get turned off if, say, within a week or two they aren’t reaping tremendous benefit.

But so far for me, it’s been at least good for peace of mind, knowing that all the stuff I’d otherwise be emailing myself is now tagged and easily referenced. In fact, it was the process of going through my notes in Evernote that led to this blog post, so hey… there’s something! I’m interested enough to keep using it, and I’m surely only scratching the surface, given the capabilities some of its power users explore. There will be more to come on this for sure.

What do you think? Do you use Evernote or a similar service? What’s your process for capturing ideas, to-dos or things go investigate later? Let us hear from you in the comments.

Related articles

• The Ultimate Evernote Guide, Part 1: Getting Started with Evernote (teleread.com)


• Evernote-branded device coming. Wait, what? (bizjournals.com)


• Evernote Promises Its Own ‘New, Magical’ Hardware Gadgets Are Coming (embargozone.com)


• Evernote is my Everything (raventools.com)


• Three Third Party Evernote Apps for iOS (centralisious.com)


• Why You Should Be Using Evernote As Your Go-To Place For Remembering Everything (TimeManagementMagazine.com)

For When You Don’t Feel Like Blogging

Writing a blog post shouldn’t be a big deal, especially if you’re serious about blogging. That said, there are going to be days when you just don’t feel like it.

Check out the full series of blogging-themed images
I created over at Flickr and feel free to use them on your own blog.

Having done this for over a year now, a couple times per week steadily, I can fully attest to the occasional lack of motivation – but I always fight through and deliver the goods. Along the way, I’ve picked up these tips for those dark moments when you might not feel like keeping up with your own blog.

1. Have some posts in the bank

In those spells when you feel like writing, or when an idea hits, try to go with it. Take two minutes to get your thoughts into a few sentences or headings you can easily expand upon later. I’ve found the best tool for doing this is dictation software, or at the very least, the drafts feature in WordPress. I’ll even email some ideas to myself as a way of quickly capturing a subject or notion I know can be expanded upon down the road. That way, when the time is right, the content is ready to go.

Another great site for
writing inspiration:LanguageIsAVirus.com

2. Know your inspiration

Have some role models or examples of sites you enjoy on hand to get you thinking about material for your own blog. Or, as Janet Aronica aptly states over at Shareaholic (among the many other excellent tips there):

“Consume the content you want to create.”

By being able to easily refer to your sources of inspiration, you’ll be more likely to generate your own material with your unique perspective – which is the very best part of having your own blog. Set up some bookmarks, feeds, subscriptions, or whatever aggregation method works best for you so you can get inspired and have your own creative juices flowing.

3. Keep it simple, genius

A blog post does not have to be 10,000 words, nor should it be. In fact, brief is often better. I’ve found some of my most popular posts are sometimes the ones with just a compelling image and only a few sentences. Being handy with the phone cam and always on the lookout for quality visuals to share is something I enjoy, and also something I recommend for having interesting blog fodder at the ready.

What do you think? Are these suggestions useful? What tips would you suggest for drumming up motivation or inspiration in blogging? Let us hear from you in the comments.

Related articles

• Ask an Expert: Does the Length of Your Blog Post Really Matter?(blogs.constantcontact.com)
• Don’t Go Slick (stirrup-queens.com)
• So you want to start a blog… (lipglossismylife.com)
• How To Blog Successfully About Anything (seomoz.org)
• I love blogging but can’t find the time (awesomeelo.wordpress.com)
• An Amateur Blogger’s Tips For Creating A Better-Than-Amateur Blog(sitdownatatypewriterandbleed.wordpress.com)

Flickr to Instagram: It’s ON!

I just had my first whirl with the new Flickr mobile app. And… woah. It’s good. I mean really good.

Flickr’s New App. Shown here with the “Mammoth” filter. Look out, Instagram…

The new Flickr app for iPhone sports filters, easy browsing, a nice uploading interface… all on top of Flickr’s superb online Pinterest& Twitter integration. Overall, I must say it looks like Instagram got Flickr to step up its game. To that I say, well-played, Flickr. Well-played indeed.

Operation: Target Instagram

If Instagram feels like it’s in the crosshairs, it’s with good reason. I had long been a fan of Flickr for general storage, but gravitated toward Instagram for the image discovery & immediacy of sharing. I have a feeling that’s going to change. And not just for me — I know more than a few folks who have been less than pleased with and seekingalternatives to Instagram lately thanks to spam or yanking its previews from Twitter.

This is not to say it’s perfect. It’s still not as snappy as Instagram, since applying filters and edits takes a bit longer — but you can do meaningful edits right from within the app like adding text, brightness/contrast, and basic retouching. You have to use aseparate 3rd party app at present to do any of that for an Instagram upload. Conversely, features like the ability to tag people in photos, browse your favorite groups, and do batch uploads (thanks, Emily @_@) were already baked into Flickr. Having these tools now in the mobile app — along with just basic functionality like being able to zoom in — makes Flickr’s app superior to Instagram on a number of noticeably important fronts.

Given the massive leap forward of this latest edition, I’m optimistic that things will only improve further for Flickr going forward. Here’s a closer look with video of the new app fromFlickr’s blog:

 

What do you think? Are you a fan of Instagram or other online photo networks? What’s your experience with Flickr been like? Let us hear from you in the comments.

If you like this, share it on Twitter (and thanks).

Related articles

• Unlike Instagram, Flickr latches on to Twitter (venturebeat.com)
• Yahoo revamps Flickr app to join Instagram-Twitter photo-filter fray(mercurynews.com)
• Redesigned Flickr for iPhone adds filters two years after Instagram (theverge.com)
• Flickr earmarked as top priority for investment by Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer(guardian.co.uk)
• Silicon Alley Insider: Marissa Mayer’s New Flickr Is Beautiful And Deep With Functionality Far Surpassing Instagram (YHOO) (businessinsider.com)
• Flickr for iPhone app takes on Instagram (slashgear.com)
• Marissa Mayer’s Flickr revamp takes on Instagram (bizjournals.com)
• Pinterest adds Twitter Cards Support (Kelly Lieberman)
• Step Aside, Flickr. Instagram is Replacing You (pixelbits.wordpress.com)
• Will Instagram be the Next Flickr? (arikhanson.com)
• Understanding Instagram and why Flickr Just Might Have a Chance (giga.om)
• Instagram Vs. Flickr? (nalicharan1.wordpress.com)

Blissful Listlessness

If indifference is a hinderance (see Severance),

And omniscience can be contentious,

Then, perhaps a consonance: omniscient ignorance.

Consider the consequence. Blissfulness?

Listlessness.

“Afield, Ahead.” See more photomontages at my 500px, Flickr or Pinterest pages.

Thanks to Pavel Konoplenko and Angelique of Afmarcom for the inspiration on this one. Join us 2:00 p.m. on Tuesdays for the #AskAngel Twitter chat.

Related articles

• Do You Want to be “Omnipotent,” “Omniscient” or “Omnipresent”?(usingtherightwords.wordpress.com)
• self-existing wakefulness (justdharmaquotes.wordpress.com)
• Difficulty defining difficulty (slashbang.wordpress.com)
• effective editing: One Disguise (roxieh.wordpress.com)

Blogchat: Sundays on Twitter

There’s one thing I’ve really gotten into the social media realm lately: Blogchat. This is a chat on Twitter where folks talk, er… tweet, about blogging-related topics.

Graphic by me via iPhone, using Hipstamatic & Phonto

I’ve made so many connections there, garnered blogging tips, and become more adept at Twitter by taking part. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in getting more from blogging (as a blog reader, I assume you may have an interest). Once, I even helped suggest a topic for an upcoming chat:

Mack Collier@MackCollier

This Sun's #blogchat topic, as suggested by @rsmithing &@jackinessity is What Writing Tips Can Make You a Better Blogger? cc @PilotPenUSA

16 Aug 12

• Reply
• Retweet
• Favorite

To participate, follow the hashtag #blogchat on Twitter, stay on topic, and keep hitting “refresh” on whatever means you use to keep up with the conversations. It’s fast-moving, so using a tool like TweetChat or HootSuite with multiple columns or tabs can be very helpful, although I’ve navigated it successfully just by using Twitter from the browser, or even by iPhone. It’s led by Mack Collier and happens every Sunday at 9:00 p.m., U.S. Eastern standard time. Recently covered topics include time management for bloggers, copyright issues, and using images.

Mack Collier@MackCollier

So what are some of your favorite sources of free photos? Where do you get the images from that you use on your blog? #blogchat

11 Nov 12

• Reply
• Retweet
• Favorite

There’s also a monthly open mic for non-specific blogging-related topics. Even if you don’t specifically participate 0r prefer just to listen in, that’s totally fine. You’ll probably still pick up a tip or two, and it’s a good way to see how the conversations flow.

Participating has encouraged me to explore other Twitter chats, and I’ve found them consistently beneficial, especially given the breadth of perspectives from some experienced and friendly folks. Try it sometime – and have fun chatting.

What do you think? Have you ever participated in a Twitter chat? What are some other resources you recommend for blogging advice and ideas? Let us hear from you in the comments.

Related articles

• Nine Steps to Becoming a Twitter Chat Pro (digitalethos.org)
• Five things to know before you start a healthcare Tweet chat to build community(medcitynews.com)
• What to Blog About: 7 Great Sources of Inspiration (geek-freemarketing.com)
• Danyelle Little @TheCubicleChick is One of My Social Media Heroes!(janiceperson.com)
• Ready for a Tweet Chat? 5 Tips on How to Join the Conversation(community.constantcontact.com)

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