Social media has been described as having an “enormous influence” on consumer behavior. A 2011 Nielsen study found that …
Consumer Overload: Why We Tune Out Info & Services That Are Supposed to Help
Who would want to ignore great deals, the chance to improve goods in the marketplace, and information that’s supposed to protect us from rip-offs and unsafe products? It turns out a lot of us would—because we’re swimming in an …
How to Get Freebies Without Giving Up Too Much Personal Information
Freebies are awesome. But giving up personal info, putting yourself at risk of identity theft, and having e-mail inboxes constantly clogged with spam? Not so awesome. There are ways, however, to snag loads of samples, perks, swag, and other promotional goodies at no cost—and with little or no risk.
Some Stores Finally Decide It’s a Bad Idea to Spam Customers
Got an in-box clogged with ads from retailers? You’re not alone. In recent months, many stores have been sending customers promotional e-mails at a pace of more than one per day. Spam-happy retailers such as Neiman Marcus deluged …
Death by e-mail
This week I’m sitting in for an editor who’s on holiday. August is when a lot of magazine journalists travel, and our staff right now is skeletal. You know they’re desperate when they ask the likes of me to manage a section. I am the dregs, people. The grill scrapings. The underside of the barrel.
Anyway, among the innumerable …
Whole Foods Debacle Won’t Keep Execs From the Web
Two news items involving boldface-name CEOs this week ought to teach execs about the perils of the Internet. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, was outed as Rahodeb, a sort of anonymous commenter on a Yahoo! Finance web site who had a thing for slamming Whole Foods’ rival Wild Oats. A bit awkward now that WF owns WO. Oopsy.
The other top …
