The New Rules of Week 9

I will admit I am a bit of a nerd when reading our books for social media. This week, while deep into The New Rules of Marketing and PR, I pulled myself away and decided to look at some of the Web sites Scott was talking about. First, I went to Cervelo. Now, I don't like bicycling. In fact, I actually hate it. My dad used to take us out west every summer and we would bike around national parks for hours. And even though I am not a fan of cycling, I know good bikes and what matters. This Web site was really easy and instead of just reading about how fantastic their marketing strategies are, I got a look at them first hand. One of my favorite things Cervelo has on the Web site are reviews. You can click on either the 2008 or 2009 bikes. Then, under these categories, you can click on over 10 different bikes. On each bike's page, there are so many details such as price, what professionals have them, where they have been featured, highlights, and then reviews. These reviews are from various magazines and Web sites who have critiqued the bike. I love that Cervelo connects the consumer directly to positive media about their product. I think the review section would be even more sweet if they included a place where customers who have purchased bikes can write their opinions.

Aside from just looking at bicycles, I checked out Amazon.com. And until I read chapter 2, I never really noticed how helpful this site is. I signed in under my mom's name and as soon as I got to her home page, Amazon already provided suggestions for me including movies and books. And surprisingly, they were things I am or would be interested in purchasing. I clicked on "A Charlie Brown Christmas," because who doesn't love this movie? And Amazon not only told me details to the movie and showed me what other customers who liked this product bought, but Amazon showed me what other products were often bought at the same time as this movie. For those of you interested, it was "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

I completely agree with Scott that these two Web sites take the new rules and really apply them. I think it's time for some online shopping thanks to Amazon. I feel like they want me to be happy with my purchase and be aware of my choices and the variety they offer. And I sent my dad, the bicycling enthusiast he is, the Web site for Cervelo. Maybe a new bike will be make him happy enough and I won't have to ride with him!