Oracle Topliners Opt-in Override

The wording on this one is certainly something to note, or at least comment on. It reads as though I was opted in without having actually subscribed to the list. Oracle, on the whole, does not market to marketers all that well. The content certainly wasn't all that compelling, and the newsletter format is weak. I can't decide if this is being driven by Eloqua or Oracle.
Oracle Topliners email newsletter, 2015-01-29
Long ago, I did join an Eloqua community user group called Topliners. It's morphed into this years later. Eloqua pitches a better marketing automation solution than the one it just executed on behalf of Oracle. It begs the question.. why wait three years before sending an user newsletter?

5 Things Learned at Vancouver's Economic Breakfast

This year's event at the Vancouver Hilton attracted 500 businesses, politicians, and other movers and shakers that work in and around the Clark County region. The keynote speaker was Ken Fisher of Fisher Investments, whose dry wit humor either met a really tough crowd or it was too Californian for the Pacific Northwest. After hearing his speech, I wondered if I sounded like to PNWers that when I relocated from California to Washington.

Get there early, at least a half hour before breakfast starts. You can mingle and network with other early risers before settling down on a table for breakfast.

Bring your "A" game in social networking to this event, because social + networking has nothing to do with posting a status online. As a commercial real estate agent said to me at the event, it's all about schmoozing.

Dress to impress, like you would if you were going for a job interview. The event has panel sessions after the breakfast. This your chance to ask industry insiders about their take on what's happening in the city or county -and- make an impression. You never know what opportunities may arise from meeting each panel of speakers.

Sit with some rain makers. You may not know who they are or what companies they work for. Heck, half the attendees look like they could be retired. You are better off sitting with old geezers (men and women) for their wealth of knowledge, than with younger, snappy dressed people.. unless you are trying to pick someone up as a dating prospect. Vancouver's economic breakfast audience is made up of four distinct types: older generation (50+ yrs old), local government officials and their staffers, CEOs and entrepreneurs, and students. Ok, there are really five groups but the fifth doesn't want you at their table (these people have purchased a table just for their company and/or friends; it's very clique-ish). It makes for interesting table discussions during breakfast. Because of the noise of the banquet hall, you are limited to intimate conversations of people sitting on either side of you. The first time I attended, I sat at a city official table before reading the sign on the table. That was awkward.

The breakfast is a venue for making connections happen. Be that guy (or gal) who knows a guy (or gal) that knows a guy (or gal). Everyone brings something to this event. And, everyone has the potential of becoming more than just that guy (or gal) you met or sat with at breakfast.

Sometimes, Automatic Scripting Errs

One of the many problems plaguing crowdsourced traffic data are the errors. Part of this is due to Google partnering with Waze, a mobile app that crowdsources traffic data from users on the road. Sure, Interstate 5 is a very long freeway and it spans across the western US coast. Given the masses of regional data that Google has at its disposal, one would think that having a traffic incident related to the King County metro area wouldn't show up in the Portland/Clark County metro area, 170 miles away. Why this incident shows up at the Washington/Oregon border is anyone's guess.

In the Waze smartphone app, users can indicate the speed and flow of the route they are currently on. An incident happening on I-5, might not actually be in Seattle but be somewhere on the Portland portion of I-5. For example:


2015-01-20, a Seattle incident reported in Portland

Email Layouts

Don't treat your whitepapers like they're just something to read. Think of your audience. Think of how they'd react when they seem something like this:


It could just be that it's late at night and I'm tired. Doesn't this layout just scream "delete me"? And, you'd think that a publication whose audience is made up of CMOs that the little things like content layout and a thought-provoking headline would be used. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that this entire email was packaged and sent by a bot.
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