An amazing chapter of my life has come to a close. A new one is opening that looks to be just as enlightening and fun. I am no longer working as a Virtuoso travel agent. Two years ago I entered into a partnership with Judi Walker ( @alliancetravel on Twitter) the owner of Alliance Travel Partners. She has spent 15 years building a very successful luxury travel business. She made the audacious decision to bring in a former stock market trader and analyst and teach him the business of booking luxury travel. I had a wonderful teacher. We end our business relationship as friends.

I had become disenchanted after 18 mostly successful years trading stocks. Those closest to me urged me to find a niche in the travel industry. It was suggested I become a travel agent, but after researching the industry I did not see an easy entry point. I was at the point of looking for another option when my hairdresser Hilda Villaverde suggested I talk to Judi. Hilda is an ordained minster, inspirational speaker, author, and a friend whose opinions I value. After getting to know me, Judi rolled the dice and my journey to becoming @Tomtravel2 began.

I first took a careful  look at the Internet landscape in the industry. It was my opinion (and remains my opinion) that most travel agents and most travel agencies were doing a poor job using the web to attract clients. I set out to build a better online mouse trap. After much study of website design, SEO and SEM I built the site that Judi continues to use with some success. The strategy worked well enough that I could have built a business for myself as a luxury travel agent over several years. What works even better is providing exemplary service which leads to referrals. Random leads are often dead ends that can be annoying. The calls generated by referrals mostly lead to bookings.

After much study and some great couching by my mentor I became a pretty good travel agent. It would have taken many more years to gain the product knowledge and sales skills I would need to become a great one. During this process I was urged to check out Twitter by Judi’s sister Linda  who works with some social media luminaries ( @lindaatv3 on Twitter). I began to study the social media gurus and by trail and error inserted myself into the travel community on Twitter. I discovered that this medium was a much better fit for my skill set than being a travel agent. By the time Travel Mart was over I realized I needed to start looking for a niche in travel that would put my best foot forward.

I was an early adapter of the Internet starting in the 1980’s. I helped my previous associates migrate from proprietary systems for stock market news and quotes to Internet based systems as they became usable. Anyone who remembers dial-up access via compuserve and aol knows that it took time for the Internet to mature into what we see today. By the time broadband was widely available and affordable, I was already hooked on the utility of the medium. I also was a fan of the early social tools via chat, forums, and user groups. Twitter is a natural extension of my personal web evolution.

So where is all of this heading? I am not sure of the destination at this time, but  I am confident that the journey will be interesting! I still feel that travel agents, travel agencies, travel consortiums, and agent organizations could benefit dramatically if they stopped looking at the internet as the problem. The problem they face is how to win market share back from the OTAs. The Internet is the solution for companies and organizations that understand how to play the game. The advent and spread of Twitter and other social media have made this game even more winnable.

I also am of the opinion that most travel suppliers could make far better use of Twitter and other social media. I am interested in helping those companies who would like to make full use of a very complex medium. I see some making great strides, and some doing their brand image more harm than good. It is my hope to provide some insight based on what I have learned over the past year building my own brand on Twitter.

I look forward to continuing to connect with all of you on Twitter. I also plan to share insights I have gained on this blog. I took some time to consider my next steps and say my goodbyes to the great people I was associated with as a travel agent. My journey as a blogger and advisor to the travel industry has now begun. Goodbye, and Hello!

I welcome your comments…

When I started my adventure in learning to be a travel agent I took dozens of trainings from suppliers of travel. One of the first was Princess cruise lines very exhaustive online course. I have to say that it was the most thorough and difficult to pass of all that I have taken thus far. One of the benefits of completing this course and becoming a “Commodore” is a complimentary “Graduation Cruise.” Princess offers space on select cruises at no charge for an inside cabin, and at very reduced rates for some better categories to travel agents who have graduated as Commodores. The agent has 2 years to use this cruise or lose it. The cruises are offered fairly close to sailing, so many great options came and went due to scheduling conflicts. I could have had Reykjavik!

With only four months of eligibility for my free cruise left, I had about given up finding one that worked for our schedule. Then came the email offering 10 days Panama Canal on December 10th. This worked for me and my better half as we both wanted to experience the canal crossing by ship, and the date aligned with winter break. We have been helping with our granddaughter while mom and dad are both trudging through graduate school. After  getting the thumbs up from the wife, I booked the cruise on a Friday and began booking air and hotels. On that Sunday evening a tweet from a friend introduced me to #followmeatsea.

Princess had offered a group of travel bloggers and writers an opportunity to experience a Caribbean cruise in hopes that they would blog, tweet, and write about their experience. What started as a PR experiment quickly devolved into a twitter hashtag battle. Some environmentally minded people in the travel world on twitter began to attack their compatriots who went on the cruise on two fronts: the ethics of taking freebies and the environmental failings of cruises. For those unfamiliar with the whole hullabaloo, some of it got pretty nasty.

As I had just booked my own cruise I took an immediate interest in the goings on. I ended up reading all the tweets in #followmeatsea daily. I also followed most of the links that were put out by those tweeting into the hashtag. Several blogs talked about the PR aspects of the affair, mostly emphasizing the lack of a response on the part of the cruise’s sponsor. As an avid student of Twitter, and best practices thereof, my first reaction was one of agreement. It was baffling why Princess failed to address the critics head on. There was very little offered by those critics that was specific to Princess. Most of the links the offered were fact light and opinion heavy. I did learn that some people think cruise ships are a plague upon the earth, but I still am not sure why some of them hold this opinion due to so few facts being included.

Eventually most of the critics slunk away from the hashtag. The people who went on the cruise quickly lashed back at their critics. Many of the fans of the well known tweeters and bloggers also came to their defense. By the after cruise postings I had changed my mind about what Princess did and didn’t do in regards to the critics. When you have allies and friends defending you from criticism there really is no need to defend yourself. Without lifting a finger Princess, and the cruise industry in general, came out of the whole mess the winner!

Anybody who looked at the totality of #followmeatsea would come away with two main impressions. There is a small group of people who hate cruises and think bloggers shouldn’t take freebies, Secondly the people who went on that cruise sure had one hell of a good time! It was the latter impression that was by far the most powerful. Despite the impassioned intent to sink “The Love Boat” the critics failed to even put a dent into the overall positive PR the trip generated. It was clear from the tweets and blogs of the invitees that most had never been on a cruise. Many had low expectations of how they would like the experience. For most the trip far exceeded their expectations. Thus, what seemed early on to be PR stuck on a reef turned out to be PR clear sailing!

Like the bloggers of this journey, I had low expectations before my first cruise many years ago. It came as a compromise for a multi-generation family adventure. The whole experience was much more fun than I could have imagined. It was not my last cruise by a long shot. Even though I prefer land based trips to cruises, I continue to add an occasional cruise to my plans. They are particularly great ways for families or groups of friends with varied interests or degrees of hardiness to travel comfortably en masse. My looming sailing will be the first I have taken as a couple without an entourage of family or friends. I am really looking forward to it. We have sailed with Princess several times and I can’t wait to get a bit of pampering.

People who have been on their first cruise report a very high level of satisfaction with the experience on surveys. The vast majority state that they would be likely or very likely to cruise again in the future. A very small percentage of Americans have taken that first cruise, so the market is sure to continue to grow. It is secure in this knowledge that the industry steams ahead doing better than the overall travel business in the worst travel market of all time. Some new ship orders that had been put on hold have been put right back into the queue. The public demand for cruise vacations just keeps expanding and new ships will be needed to fill that demand. Once they get you on your first cruise, they know almost all of you will sail again. 

This is bad news for those who think of the industry as the scourge of the earth. If the goal is to get the public to stop taking cruises, what we have here is a massive FAIL! As I have written before I see travel as problematic in environmental terms. I have very green intentions, and live my life with as little impact on the earth as I can within reason. I am a practical person first and foremost. Most people will make greener choices only when it fits into their lifestyle. It is my opinion that working for green alternatives to fossil fuels for airplanes, cars and ships makes more sense than urging people not to travel a certain way, or not to travel at all. If there were green alternatives I, and many others, would opt for them. I will not opt to stay home.

Today a panel of leading economists agreed that the awful recession of 2008-2009 probably ended some time this summer. (article) As some of you will recall, back in August I took exception to the gloom and doom outlook of the keynote speaker at Virtuoso Travel Mart. Larry Hochman spoke at length on “cutting costs without cutting your throat” and other cheerful concepts. My response to that tone was that the elephant had left the room. Most economists have a great rear view mirror, but that usually is not a good way to drive. As I suggested at the time it would be wiser for travel businesses to focus ahead on how to cope with the imminent recovery. If you were cutting in August you were late to the game.

I am not an economist and have no formal education in the field. I like to say I went to the Levy school of economics. For 18 years I worked managing a bond portfolio and trading stocks with a former floor trader in commodities. In order to maximize our investments we spent much time reading economic tea leaves focusing on getting ahead of the market when things change. I was taught to focus on leading indicators and often mundane things like how many shopping bags one can see at the local mall. In travel 2009 brought fire sale prices on hotels, cruises and tours. By May I noticed a sharp drop in what was being offered at a steep discount. There were still good deals on select travel products this summer, but I felt the everything must go sale had ended.

There are still some relative bargains to be had in travel this fall, but even those places like Arizona and Las Vegas which were hardest hit are starting to tick up in price. My many conversations with the “boots on the ground” people from the luxury travel suppliers reinforced my belief that the worst of the economic pain was behind us some time this summer. As business slowly picks up (it may be a very gradual recovery) hiring will as well and the lagging indicator of employment will begin to improve as well. The most important thing Mr. Hochman pointed out at Travel Mart was the only point of agreement for me: are you ready to deal with recovery? What goes down will eventually go back up. The only market strategy I ever used was to try to buy as close to the bottom as possible. I would have been buying travel this summer.

The bigger challenge facing our industry is how to cut through the clutter and get our message heard in the brave new world of information technology. The Internet has indeed changed the rules of the game. Just as we have begun to rise out of the economic mess, we can also find a way to rise above the noise on the web. New media represent not a problem, but an opportunity. The winners in the internet game have been those that connect people to what they are looking for, not those who are selling to people. The emerging stars are those sites and services that are finding the best ways to connect people to one another such as Facebook and Twitter. This sea change in the internet game works in the favor of a business model that works on person to person contact. The challenge facing the travel consumer using the internet is not finding information, it is finding information they can trust.

The Writing is on the “Wall”

Sounds crazy doesn’t it? It’s not as crazy as it sounds. Social media are after all “social” and no one is more sociable than travel agents. Sites like Twitter and Facebook are a series of interpersonal interactions, and often rebroadcasts of those interactions. Person to person is the name of the game (or person to person to person ad infinitum). Large companies are often struggling to understand this. Providing a personal view of the world of travel has been what my social media brand has been about from day one. Interacting with people and responding to comments and questions is how I built that brand.

Travel agents were preceded on Twitter by all the big names in the Internet travel business. The people tweeting for these companies have used a marketing and brand building approach with a few exceptions. Like many other companies in a variety of business sectors most are missing out on the most elegant aspect of the media which is the interpersonal nature of the communication. Would you rather talk to a person or a company? Advantage: travel agents.

Anyone who studies the industry of travel booking knows that the Online Travel Agencies have a very poor customer retention rate. The vast majority of people who book online express no loyalty to any one brand or web site. The very business model that drove them to early success is what is leading to their current problems. OTAs came onto the scene well funded with venture capital and stock market money. They used that money for traditional advertisement on all the big media outlets. What this gained them is shoppers and customers who are more than happy to shop elsewhere if the perceived bargain is better. They did a good job of selling the perception that they offer bargains which are most often the same bargains a travel agent has access to. They have not done a good job of creating and sustaining relationships.

Let me Recommend…

One of the great things that has happened to me on Twitter is getting personal endorsements from clients. Some of these have mentioned specific things I have done to add value to their personal travel experience. These are the hidden benefits of using travel agents many consumers in today’s Internet focused world are unaware of. When someone tells their network “Thanks @tomtravel2 for getting me a room upgrade and free breakfast for no extra cost!” the benefits of using my services are broadcast with a personal touch. Most people trust personal recommendations more than web site reviews and far more than advertisements. I see this happening to other travel agents I know as well. That is the power of social media. It also is the strong suite of travel agents who succeed. Most of us build our businesses by personal referrals from our satisfied existing clientele. Sounds kind of like #followfriday doesn’t it?

A knowledgeable travel agent can quickly and personally answer questions about travel. I  do this daily and see other travel agents doing it as well. This publicly demonstrates how much easier it is to just contact someone who already knows the answers. Most people click through many different web sites before booking travel online. One tweet to a professional travel agent often gets a better answer than a consumer would find on their own after much time spent. We travel frequently to preview destinations, cruise ships  and lodgings. We take extensive trainings on the above to constantly expand our knowledge. We are actual travel experts who spend our days helping people select, price, book and their travel. Many of us also provide assistance to our clients while they travel when the unexpected occurs. Online travel companies are experts at setting up and advertising do it yourself travel booking web sites. What do they know about travel beyond the prices?

The Numbers Game

As the travel agent community becomes more aware of the potential power of using social media, the number of travel agents grows. Recent trainings by Virtuoso at Travel Mart on the subject have prompted a ground swell of new users to join Twitter and Facebook. Many will choose not to participate for a variety of reasons. Considering that there are around 100,000 travel agents in the United States there is a potential for a large number of us to be on the popular social media over the next few years. There are already considerably more travel agents using social media than online travel agencies and our numerical advantage will continue to grow.

As the number of travel agents using social media grows their imprint will grow as well. It took me several months to get the hang of Twitter and develop a strategy to increase my impact. I am confident that other travel agents will also do well in the social media environment. Most already have a large client base to work with. A good travel agent is also a relentless networker. Think of the impact when we all have our Twitter profile and Facebook address on our business cards, email signatures, and web sites (why did I have to buy 1000 cards before I realized this would be important?). Travel agents are already winning back market share from the Internet booking sites. Our growing use of social media will help us win back even more over the next decade.

What do you think? Please leave me a comment and let me know!

As the luxury travel business gathered at the Bellagio in Las Vegas for the world’s largest luxury travel exposition the elephant was an expected (though not very welcome) arrival by nearly all of the participants. A little birds also flitted into the halls. “The elephant in the room” at any gathering of people who work in the travel business these days is of course the economic malaise that has dragged down the world economy. At the opening ceremony Matthew Upchurch addressed it in his opening remarks. The keynote speaker spoke about it at length. It was of course a topic on the table in many of our discussions and at the meetings with travel suppliers.  We all knew it would be. We speak to people all the time and the subject often comes up.

The travel business has been one of the industries most effected by the deep recession of the past year. The elephant needed no introduction to the people at this event. We all know more than one person who has lost a job this year. Many in the industry have had to scramble to survive on lower revenues and bookings. We have all had our villages visited by the elephant. Our gardens and often many of our houses have been trampled by the beast. Most have learned to adjust to life with this unwelcome intruder. In fact, it was my overwhelming impression from discussing the outlook for business with hundreds of people, most of us are looking past it. Despite a rough year we in the travel business are mostly looking forward with hope or outright optimism. “The Power of One to One” in this case put the issue on the table and dismissed it forthright.

Those who know me are not surprised that I am optimistic. What surprised even me was how many shared that outlook. When asked how business currently is  most reported things have already improved somewhat. Looking forward most of what I heard indicated that bookings for the coming quarter, and for next year are continuing to show improvement. The worst of the damage from the elephant is probably behind us. Despite its large presence none of us let the elephant ruin our party! Whether the recession has ended already or will be ending this fall won’t be known until after the fact. I consider the positive outlook of many travel suppliers and travel agents very reassuring. One of my favorite stories heard during the doings was one of the agents being asked by the elevator security man “What type of convention are you attending.” She replied “We are travel agents and suppliers.” The man said “I have never seen a happier group of people in my life, and I have worked here a long time.”

Well before the elephant was addressed at the opening session, the bird had slipped into the picture. For many the splash they would go on to make was a huge surprise. For those “bird watchers” like me in attendance the impact was anticipated, but the scale of the buzz created shocked even me. For the first time Virtuoso introduced trainings on social media at Travel Mart. The first of these events preceded the Opening Ceremony by a day. By the evening’s events at VAST Globetrotting Expo I was already becoming aware of the bird buzz that would follow me around for rest of the event. Several people recognized me from seeing my picture at the training (or from seeing and hearing me answer questions at the behest of the trainers). There was a shared recognition by several people I have mutual follow relationships on Twitter. Several others recognized me from my profile head shot but couldn’t place where they knew me from. As these two use a company logo instead of a head shot I had no idea where we might have met until they remembered that Twitter was where they knew me from.

The little bird flitted throughout the massive conference center tweeting the news about social media everywhere it went. It became probably the hottest topic of conversation at Travel Mart. As one of the visible bird watchers at the event I had anticipated some bird buzz. The scale of the buzz was way beyond anything I had imagined. I ended up having several hundred conversations with people who sought me out to comment or ask questions about social media. It took me several hours to make my way to the door to leave one of the cocktail parties because people kept stopping me to talk about it all. Take my word for it, Twitter, Facebook, and Linked In were the hot topics for this year’s Travel Mart.

Not all of the twittering about social media was from fans. There were a good number of people who asked me very pointed questions indicating strong skepticism about the whole phenomenon. Even though some of these people weren’t so sure of the value of all this online sharing they were aware of it and at the least curious. A few of the most cynical questioners have since shown up following me on Twitter or friending me on Facebook. As interesting as those conversations were, that fact may be far more telling than the words we exchanged. No person is now unaware of the existence and trendiness of social media networks unless they live in a total media vacuum. Television and radio networks and personalities happily chirp out “Follow us/me on Twitter and Facebook” with increasing frequency. Even those who are convinced it all amounts to a hill of beans feel the need to become more informed about it.

While we all knew the elephant was coming to Travel Mart most of us gave little heed. The little bird’s arrival was much less anticipated but far more dramatic. The jury is still out on exactly what the long term impact of social media will be on the travel industry as a whole or on it’s individual constituents. This is what I take away from my rather unique experience of the bird buzz at this year’s Virtuoso Travel Mart: the players in the travel game are aware of social media and it’s potential import. Many people are jumping on the social media band wagon and trying to quickly learn all they can to get up to speed. Some are sitting back and observing to see where it all leads before they do anything. The smallest number are those who choose to ignore the whole thing. An elephant and a little bird went to this year’s Virtuoso Travel Mart. The elephant will soon be an unpleasant memory for most of the participants, but the bird will be on the radar screen for many years to come.

Thanks to Virtuoso I will be live blogging on Twitter and likely posting this blog right after the training. What follows are my notes:

“United breaks guitars” video played and a discussion thereof. Social Media is a reality. Deal with it or pay. David Kolner speaking. Manger of Tech Group for Virtuoso. Popular Technologist.

Stay Small owner Elite Traveler International and elitetravelgal blog @elitetravelgal on Twitter as if you didn’t know already.

Michelle Duffy Wandermom blogger member of Virtuoso technology team as program manager author of “traveling with kids” @wandermom

David: What am I going to do on monday morning with all this?

How do you manage to fit all this techno babble into your everyday work life?

Why get started? Branding. Compare who we are to who we want to be. Tech is another fundamental shift. Like email changed our work lives. Consumers are changing from experience consumers to shares of experiences now with many via blogs, twitter and facebook.

Remember postcards? Compare that to a blog with details and pictures from a trip.

I’m too busy! The most common reason not to start with all the social media and tech.

It’s not for me! Many don’t see themselves as the “type” to be online.

It’s overwhelming! That is partly true it can be a time suck.

It’s Scary and unsafe! Scary yes, and one should be careful not to put oneself at risk.

Its all moving too fast! It is moving too fast but if your not on the bus you will have to get on a moving bus when you change your mind.

From write ups weeks after @EliteTravelGal has shifted to live blogging of trips etc. building brand personalizing #tmtechno

Michelle mentioned online community of support on Twitter when her book came out from other travel writers and tweeps.

Discussing how Stacy live blogs on her blackberry with uber twitter and twitpics. Easy to find all these resources on Twitter or Google.

How the heck does a busy travel advisor find the time for all this blogging and tweeting ect? Michelle tries to focus and find ballance. Set aside that time for online brand building.

Getting back to Virtuoso basic value statements: Trust, relationships, etc.

Online is not one way it is communicating like a phone call, but not one to one one to many.

Travel mart is about conversations. This is another type. Half of conversations is listening.

Online conversations are not a cake walk. It is your company brand! You are your online company brand.

Dave Kolner googled all of the people signed up for the training. 76% on line. 14% compete with famous name. 90% are indexed . 8% have extended presence.

What is your online brand? How do you blend online and offline conversations together? Stacy: branded as elite travel gal on blog then twitter to make it easy to follow her. good keywords and easier to find and remember than a name. facebook as her name but linking to her blog her company web site and her twitter id. Michelle: has personal life and her techie life. sees it as a business she is building as a family travel writer. Choose carefully how you brand yourself. Use keywords or company name for best effect. Don’t do what I did and make one up on the fly (even though I could have done worse than tomtravel2).

Ideas for beginners: Stacy educate yourself read “whuffie factor” search on Twitter for social media. Mikiah tools like xobni tweetdeck (or seesmic my fav) Michelle: wanderlisting search top travel on twitter google to see conversations

Stacy: wefollow allows you on directory and can search for others.

Advanced": Stacy: follow breaking news on cnn or anncurry faster than TV. Online contests get brand out. Find authors clients by looking them up and following them. Michelle monitor your return on social media set KPIs how is it helping your business. Website use analytics to see source of inbound traffic. Twitter? Google?

I have arrived in Las Vegas for 5 days of travel business fun and madness. I checked into Bellagio and picked up my registration materials for Travel Mart. Today should be more fun than madness. At 3:00 I attend a training “One to One and Beyond: Harnessing the Power of Social Media.” When I saw the offerings for Travel Mart this little meeting was the first thing that jumped off the screen at me. At the time I was mostly curious what this would be about. I was early in my intensive effort to learn Twitter and how to make it work for me. I was really beginning to see progress by that time. Virtuoso on the other hand was hardly visible on Twitter. I signed up mainly to see what they would come up with in a few months starting from scratch.

It has been fascinating watching toes being dipped into the Twitter stream by travel agents, travel vendors and now by my travel consortium. I began to notice several individuals from Virtuoso trying to get up to speed. The individuals running the training I am about to attend ended up contacting me for inside baseball on Twitter. I hear I am going to be mentioned during the training which is cool. I still am very curious where they are going with the thing. I am also curious to see who will be attending. Last year I did not attend the early sessions at Travel Mart. I started the first day of meetings (where agents and vendors sit and meet one to one). I was quite surprised to see how many people are here a day early on a Saturday.

So in a few minutes my first taste of Travel Mart 2009 will tease my taste buds. I am looking forward to all of it, every hectic interesting slice of this mixed berry pie. The two things I am looking forward to the most are this class today and the Tweetup on Tuesday afternoon. The classes tomorrow look interesting as well, and I hope to blog about them as well a bit. “Getting up to techno speed: flexing your online muscles” is another one I probably could have taught. The other is a big part of what I am building my business on “Tapping the X-Y potential-the next generation opportunites.” I recently blogged about how only 7% of 20-30 year olds use travel agents. My angle was that they are missing out on the VIP treatment at hotels they are willing to pay up for at fancy nightclubs. Virtuoso VIP treatment usually costs them nothing yet they all book on the internet.

I see people streaming by on the way to the training, and it looks to be time to head that way.Here comes the summary take-aways and my comments:

• Mission Statement- Making Social media useful focus on Twitter and Facebook
• Oprah? Yeah we are watching Oprah explain Facebook. As much as I am not about celebrities on social media, she did have a coherent basic explanation presented with high end video production.
• Kier and Mikiah did their own video for Twitter. Not as slick as O’s but much more informative. Hey there’s Tomtravel2! That was very weird to see me up there with Mathew Upchurch and Ashton Kushter.
• They are running the live feed of #tmsm but there is no wireless in here. Some of the Virtuosos are tweeting on their crackberries and I am stuck writing in my blog for later.
• Policy- Who is going to represent your company or brand? Think before you jump!
• One agency blocked facebook and twitter and reinstated it within 4 hours after employees complained.
• Agency owners managers- coming to grips with how to implement and do we set rules? One id for personal and one for business ie.
• Suppliers-Big Five encourages social media use by all employees. Use facebook for internal communications and sharing pictures etc.
• Fairmont- doing top down and bottom up hotel by hotel. I have been generally impressed with their approach. Not totally there by any means but always moving in the right direction.
• I just got drafted into answering a question by one of the members. Caught me offguard. What can you post more than four times a day that could possibly be of interest. I answered news, answer questions interact with others.
• How do you get followers? Mikiah cited what Tom did by interacting and adding value. This is fun.
• @Wandermom made a great point about putting your website URL in your profile.
• Some of the blackberry contributers: @travelingking1 @cedery @davidtravel @tafaritweets @brownell  @ jjohnson66 @joshua_bush @scottru @bigfivetours @travelnetwork @travelking1  @?brownell? @?junefullersloane?
• strategy- networking, personalization, advertising, fresh light focus on travel,
• Scott Ahlsmith Virtuoso: hit it from all directions social media web site blog etc keep it interesting-genuine

• Tips-fill out complete profile-yes indeed I agree (put a link and picture as well)
• Quality over quantity- in terms of followers/friends
• Start something- anything- I agree on that.
• tools: Xobni (can  add emailers to facebook automatic) posterous (post later tool) tweetdeck (twiiter client) I prefer seesmic but Ok that’s taste issue. Tweetdeck is very good as well.

Comments: Virtuoso should have had wireless access set up for those of us who don’t tweet from a mobile device. Or am I the only dinosaur left who doesn’t? I hated seeing the #tmsm scroll and not being able to tweet! Here I sat writing a blog in Live Writer that I had to schlep the laptop back to the room to post! Oh well, it is a minor complaint. So I have to pay Bellagio for a day! They say there will at least be a tech center room starting tomorrow I can go wireless in. Over all they did a good job getting themselves up to speed. It was cool being called out, but caught me off guard when they wanted me to answer questions. Good thing I was a Speech major way back when. Always ready to improvise.

More to come after VAST!

I was told to take a step back from Twitter for a day by someone whose opinions I value. It was great advice. Like many of you, I love Twitter. I have come to see it as a valuable tool for business and interpersonal connections. I am a big fan. I am more or less hooked. Like any good thing, too much of it can turn into a not so good thing. In order to preserve the domestic tranquility I have worked hard for many years to attain I have chosen from the beginning to not tweet from my mobile device. This has been a good move for me and has created a simple on off switch so I don’t get sucked into tweeting 24/7. I have a life off twitter and sometimes the twain do not meet so well.

Another thing I do is to occasionally back completely away from the laptop which is constantly running Twitter on Seesmic just to gain some perspective on my use of the medium. This is what I did yesterday. I took a “Twetreat” or a retreat away from my usual very involved with Twitter life. I have come back today a bit behind the curve, but refreshed. Sometimes I like to take a step back from something to reflect on what it is, how it’s working for me, and where I want to go with it down the road. Twitter has become one of those things now for me. I love my work and my family, but I find it valuable to take time away from them to reconnect with myself.

I spent my “twetreat” all by myself. I drove to a mountain lake and spent the day kayaking and fly fishing. The fishing was slow, but I loved being out on the lake with blue skies above me and blue waters below. When you work with your brain all the time it is refreshing to do something mindless and physical all day long. Last year I bought a two man kayak and the more I did it the more I loved it. This year I had to add a solo kayak for those days I couldn’t find a partner to go with me. It is a very quiet way to transport oneself. I have had several boats of different types in my life including an oar boat, a canoe, and a motorized runabout. For me the kayaks are the perfection of my life long love affair with water. It works amazingly well and it is as simple as can be. It made for a great twetreat.

If you find Twitter becoming an obsession, or leaking into other parts of your life where it is not welcome it might be time for twetreat of your own. If you are like me you will have a chance to gain some insight into your relationship with it. You might also come back refreshed and ready to tweet some more. I chose 24 hours for my twetreat. I often will shut the laptop for the evening to do a mini twetreat and spend time with family with my full attention on them not on Twitter. When I am out and about I leave Twitter behind. Each person has to find the right balance for themselves. I know I don’t want a good thing to become too much of a good thing.

Direct Message

The Direct Message feature of Twitter is one I use sparingly, and for good reason. Twitter is a fairly public interaction between people for the most part. If one is promoting a business like I am, the public nature of the interaction is the whole point. Direct Messages are seen by no one but the sender and the recipient. I always respond to those rare private messages privately. On occasion I have something to say to a Twitter friend that I think they would prefer not said in public. That is the only thing I do with DMs.

It is my opinion based on studying those individuals and businesses that are using Twitter with great success that the DM is best used only for things of a sensitive or very personal nature. It is also best to refrain from over using it with those one doesn’t already interact with in the public timeline. A quick introduction to a new follower will usually not offend unless it is impersonal and self promotional. I choose not to use the DM to introduce myself. If I want to spark up a conversation with someone new I have found, or someone who has found me, I do it in the public timeline.

Dead Message

In my opinion the worst usage of the Direct Message is what I call the “Dead Message.” This occurs when one follows a new Twitter profile and receives a DM without a follow back. Like most people, when I see a new DM my first instinct is to respond. If you have seen my other blog postings you know I learned to tweet by studying the best practices of Twitter consultants and others who have had success with the medium. You also know I believe those most successful on Twitter are those who interact with others. This twillosophy has worked very well for me. If you look for “travel” on Twitter grader I am very high on the list. The responsive nature of Twitter is the key to it’s success as a medium.

The lack of an ability to respond turns a DM into a Dead Message! It was sent to me, read by me, and without the ability to respond it dies. If a business has the goal of annoying their potential customers and partners the Dead Message will certainly do the trick. Put yourself in the mindset of the recipient. They found your business somehow and decided to “follow” you. That was very nice of them. You have sent them a message back, but unfortunately you decided not to start a conversation. In effect you have ended the conversation before it had a chance to start!

When I first encountered a dead message I was rather offended. Most people are. The more the person getting the dead message is accustomed to the use of Twitter the more likely they are to be offended. I had another travel agent  express in no uncertain terms how angry it made her to not be able to respond to a direct message without a follow back from one of her favorite travel vendors. This was a company she is actively promoting to her clients on a daily basis. She is a very successful agent who is one of this companies best partners. The dead message left a bad taste in her mouth.

Twitter is not Facebook

Many companies first dipped their toes into social media via Facebook. It is important to understand that Twitter is not Facebook! It is perfectly acceptable to set up a fan club type page on Facebook to broadcast your message. Taking this approach on Twitter is counterproductive and may do severe damage to your brand image. People who are using Twitter frequently become accustomed to interaction. Failure to respond or invite response by a business sends the wrong message to those people. The Dead Message is like having your  800 number respond with a recorded message saying “Don’t call us, we’ll call you.”

Ironically the company mentioned above that offended my fellow travel agent is one that is well known for it’s friendly customer service. Sending out a Dead Message is neither friendly or service oriented. Luxury travel vendors in particular should be wary of how their Twitter account reflects their brand to potential customers. They should be doubly wary of offending their partners in the travel agent community. In general we would be very likely to promote your brand on Twitter like we do every day talking to our clients by phone or in person. Help us help you by opening the lines of communication.

Thick Skin

I admit I used to be offended when one of my favorite travel vendors failed to follow me back, or worse sent me a “Dead Message.” I soon realized that it is not the company’s intention to offend me or others. They just don’t get it yet. I am seeing more and more who are getting it. Most still do not. While I no longer take offense I am still baffled by seeing companies that have wonderful products and great brand images doing things on Twitter that damage that image. You know, I love you but I really hate to see what you are doing to yourself.

Every company in travel and all other businesses knows that have to be on Twitter by now. Many would be best served to study the best usage of the medium before they start tweeting themselves in the foot.

People ask me often how I got where I am on Twitter. It has been a long and interesting journey. I was told in no uncertain terms that I had to get on the Twitter by a trusted associate. I created an account and followed a few people I knew and some that were recommended. I really wasn’t getting it for quite a while. It took me several looks to see the value in Twitter. The first great leap for me came with a webinar from @pistachio (Laura Fitton the author of “Twitter for Dummies”). Thus began a search for the meaning of and best practices for using this exciting medium.

I started following people who seemed to know what they were doing on Twitter. I also looked for people who were noted for their success on Twitter. In addition to learning from their tweets, I read their blogs where I learned even more. I also searched off Twitter by googling specific areas within Twitter I wanted to learn about. My interest has always been for what the best way to interest and engage people, and what the best etiquette for use of the medium. At the end of this post you will find some links to many of the blogs I found most helpful, interesting or amusing.

Starting with a very modest presence on Twitter, I began to consciously implement a simple strategy based on what I felt were the best practices based on my studies. Within a few months I had to make some adjustments because what I was doing worked. In the beginning I followed back everyone who followed me. This quickly became unmanageable and filled my tweet stream with spam and mindless self promotion. I started looking carefully at every new follow to see if their tweets were something I wanted to add or not. I came to a twillosophy on following that I have stuck to since.

What will follow is the main rules I tweet by and that I think might be helpful to anyone who wants to create an interesting and meaningful experience on Twitter.

• Engage! Twitter is not a broadcast medium. It is an interaction medium. The key to getting the most out of your use of Twitter is to interact with people. If something interests you, retweet it, as it will probably interest your followers as well. See a thought provoking tweet? Comment on it. Get engaged with the rolling conversation instead of being a passive consumer of tweets. If someone does something nice for you thank them. Common courtesy goes a long way to creating goodwill.
• Fetch! The people you want to interact with and respond to are out there, but until you find them it does no good. Use the people search feature on Twitter to look for people you already know you want to follow. Look for your friends and business associates and follow them as well. You can also search by keyword (I found people looking for many combinations with the word travel for instance. I also periodically search cruise(s), hotel, tour, tourism, cvb, and other associated terms). You can use Twellow to search profiles by keywords and I have found this very useful!
• Add! Try to add something of value with your tweets everyday. I frequently post links to travel news. I also tweet my observations on the business of booking travel. If I see a trend in pricing for instance I try to point this out to my followers. These types of useful tweets are often the most responded to and retweeted things I throw out into the Twitterverse.
• Entertain! I try to make my tweets as entertaining as I can. I rewrite news headlines in a quirky or funny way to get more attention. This also has had the effect of creating an identity for myself as the witty travel tweeter. I also feel tweets that make one think are very entertaining. New or innovative ways of looking at things can also be very entertaining and can make a tweet stand out from the crowd.
• Play Nice! Nothing has helped advance my interests on Twitter more than doing for others. RT are the two most important letters on Twitter. Every time I retweet someone I am creating a sliver of good will that when added up over and over becomes something more. Commenting on tweets can also please people. Giving recommendations to follow on #followfriday or #traveltuesday is another good deed that will serve you well. I also try to acknowledge the good deeds others do for me. Thanks are almost always appreciated on or off Twitter. All of this brings me back to my first point": engage, interact, and get into the mix!

Some Helpful Links to Learn More About Twitter:

http://pistachioconsulting.com/

http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/the_thoughtful_user_guide/writing_my_twitter_etiquette_article_14_ways_to_use_twitter_politely.php

http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/norman-birnbach/pr-back-talk/10-twitter-etiquette-rules

http://mackcollier.com/five-reasons-why-no-one-likes-you-on-twitter/

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2008/01/25/35-twitter-tips-from-35-twitter-users/

http://mashable.com/category/twitter-lists/

http://www.gissisim.com/2009/03/how-to-twitter-like-a-pro/

http://danzarrella.com/the-20-words-and-phrases-that-will-get-you-the-most-retweets.html

http://twitter.pbworks.com/

http://www.randygage.com/blog/tweet-this-a-twitter-manifesto