Is 'Green Monday' Your Last Day For Online Shopping? Maybe.

The Internet changed things forever, including how we shop. Many Americans now prefer to shop online instead of driving to "brick and mortar" stores. Just like those physical retailers, online sellers of goods and services also have sales. You're probably familiar with Cyber Monday and Black Friday sales online, but lesser known is "Green Monday." If you're a last-minute Christmas shopper, listen up.

Photo: AP/Mark Humphrey

According to Business Insider, Green Monday is "the day when shoppers wake up and realize that if they're going to order a gift for someone online, they'd better get on it." Ebay coined the term "Green Monday" more than a decade ago "after it noticed an uptick in orders on a particular day. It traditionally falls on the second Monday in December, the last day with at least 10 days left to order before Christmas. This year, it's December 11. Think of it like Super Saturday for online shoppers who wait until the last minute."

Granted, Green Monday is not as well known as other big sales days. And that's a large reason why it may not exist long beyond 2017. "With the two-day shipping guarantee that comes with an Amazon Prime membership," reports BI, "and Walmart's two-day shipping offering with any $35 purchase, there may not be a compelling reason for last-minute shoppers to click check-out on Monday."

Of course, many of us wait until there is little time left before finishing our Christmas shopping. And if you think about it, that alone is reason enough for Green Monday to live on and prosper.

Why It's So Cold In Starbucks (Drink Up and Get Out)

July 6, 2015 - Going to Starbucks? Take a sweater, it's cold in there. For several years now I have wondered why every Starbucks seems to be too cold. I mean, cruelly cold, far colder than they need to be for the comfort of their customers.

Image via Mike Elgan on Google+

It's not just me who feels this way. Most of my fellow Starbucks customers agree that the air conditioning is almost always arctic in its severity. But nobody can agree on just why. Some folks have long theorized that Starbucks keeps their stores bitingly frigid to discourage us from lingering. I always thought that was a bad theory. Turns out I was wrong, as revealed to me yesterday by a Starbucks employee.

I've asked many a Starbucks barista and manager why they can't turn the A/C to a comfortable temperature. The reasons given are always ridiculous. They'll say that their thermostat is controlled by Starbucks corporate headquarters in Seattle. Some have added that corporate HQ only gives them a leeway of five degrees on their thermostat. Others have said, amazingly, that the temperature is set to keep the employees comfortable because it "gets so hot behind the counter," implying that they care more about their own comfort, and the customers be damned.

Marketing Yourself When Homeless

Yours truly in Houston, TX
Photo by Kate Good

August 22, 2013 - Many thanks to the magnificent Kate Good for her heart-warming blog post about me two days ago. I encountered Kate while panhandling in Houston, Texas on a sunny Tuesday morning.

Note: Kate was not panhandling. I was, with my sign that reads "For My BMW Fund." To anyone with a healthy sense of humor and appreciation of irony, the sign is a lighthearted way of asking for money. A dismaying number of people don't get it, but Kate did. And that's why she stopped to talk with me on a busy Houston freeway offramp.

The brief time we had to chat, just a few seconds as she waited for the traffic signal to change, was uplifting. Kate is a nationally recognized speaker, she has a smile that could light up the dark side of the Moon, and enough enthusiasm to power an army.

Titled "The Unexpected Email I Received From A Panhanlder Today," Kate shared some observations about panhandlers and the value of marketing oneself. Read all about it at Homeless Patriot...

Blog Launches Citywide Taxi-Top Ad Campaign in Chicago

CNB's new taxi-top "blogvertising" in Chicago

Sept. 18, 2012 - Some taxi cabs in Chicago will be sporting an ad for a political blog. Beginning this week, about 300 taxis in the city will feature an ad from Chicago News Bench (CNB), a conservative blog of news and commentary.

CNBs latest "blogvertising" campaign is an unusual way for a blog to promote itself. Many just scrawl their blog's web address (URL) on public restroom walls with a Sharpie marker, post irrelevant and unwelcome comments on other websites with a link back to their own site, or send pitifully desperate emails to the publishers of  larger blogs and websites. Still other bloggers will print up a few hundred cheap stickers and slap them on light poles, boarded up storefronts, and bus stop shelters.

"There are many ways to promote a blog, but most bloggers think small," says Erma Gerd. She is CNB's Advertising Director, and the taxi-top campaign was her idea. "Advertising on taxis is never even considered by most of them but I don't know why not. It seems like a pretty obvious thing to do, don't you think?"

CNB's taxi-top ad campaign is scheduled through mid-January, 2013. If the campaign is successful, CNB will has plans for billboards throughout northern Illinois. Ms. Gerd says that CNB is also producing a one-minute television ad to air during the next Super Bowl.

Affiliate Marketers Under Assault

Affiliate marketers have come under assault recently. It's getting rough out there, as though the weak economy wasn't bad enough. Recently, Google has killed the search engine rankings for tens of thousands of affiliate marketers with its ("Google Farmer" or "Google Panda" algorithms).

Many of you are also bitterly aware of the recent debacle in Illinois, where Governor Pat Quinn and his fellow Democrats decided that taxing Amazon.com affiliates would be a good idea. It destroyed the livelihoods of hundreds of Illinois residents.

A report in March at Chicagoist.com summed up the anti-affiliate online tax legislation in Illinois: Online retailer Amazon barely waited for the ink to dry on Gov. Quinn's signing of HB 3659 into law by dropping its Illinois-based affiliates. HB 3659 requires all online retailers with a business presence in Illinois, like Amazon's affiliate program, to collect state sales tax on online purchases. In a statement to its Illinois affiliate owners, Amazon said, “We had opposed this new tax law because it is unconstitutional and counterproductive. We deeply regret that its enactment forces this action.” Full article...

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Thief Uses Mind Control as "Conversational Hypnosis"

It seems to have worked for a robber in Europe recently, as reported by the BBC. According to the video below, you to can hypnotize people secretly - just by talking to them. Some call this "conversational hypnosis." That's an amazing power to have. How useful would that be in a business meeting, or when you're talking with your boss? "Boss," you say, "you really want to give me a big raise and my own corner office." Imagine that actually working. You can find out how to hypnotize people this way, too! Let's watch that video: The full BBC report (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7309947.stm) says: 'Hypnotist' thief hunted in Italy Police in Italy have issued footage of a man who is suspected of hypnotizing supermarket checkout staff to hand over money from their cash registers. In every case, the last thing staff reportedly remember is the thief leaning over and saying: "Look into my eyes", before finding the till empty. In the latest incident captured on CCTV, he targeted a bank at Ancona in northern Italy, then calmly walked out. A female bank clerk reportedly handed over nearly 800 euros ($1200). The cashier who was shown the video footage has no memory of the incident, according to Italian media, and only realised what had happened when she saw the money missing. CCTV from the bank showed her apparently being hypnotized by the man, according to the reports. Italian police believe the suspect could be of Indian or North African extraction. Learn how you can achieve the power of conversational hypnosis. Discover how you can learn the secret of how to control people's minds without them even knowing it. Make them obey cover commands during normal conversation! Click here to learn the secrets now! NOTICE: This is an advertisement. The poster of this blog post is an affiliate of the advertiser.

Last-Minute Tax Deductions For Small Businesses

Business owners! Reach an educated and affluent audience with an ad on Chicago News Bench! This great advertising opportunity offers you lowered pricing and last-minute tax deductions! You know this if you're a business owner. Put your ad here on Chicago News Bench this week and you'll get great exposure on this popular blog (Page Rank 5; over 10,000 impressions monthly), plus discounted pricing, and it's tax deductible as a business expense! Hurry: The year is almost over and there's only so much space on the blog that we can sell. Contact us anytime at tmannis @ boxbe . com and find out how we can help your business. Take a look at our demographics and more here...

Reasons To Advertise Here, Now

Business owners! Reach an educated and affluent audience with an ad on Chicago News Bench! This great advertising opportunity offers you lowered pricing and last-minute tax deductions!

Put your on Chicago News Bench now and you'll get great exposure on this popular blog (Page Rank 5; over 10,000 impressions monthly), plus discounted pricing, and it's tax deductible as a business expense! Hurry: The year is almost over and there's only so much space on the blog that we can sell. Contact us anytime at tmannis @ boxbe . com and find out how we can help your business. You can take a look at our demographics and more here...

Year-End Advertising Specials For Business Owners!

Business owners! Reach an educated and affluent audience with an ad on Chicago News Bench! This great advertising opportunity offers you lowered pricing and last-minute tax deductions! You know this if you're a business owner. Put your ad here on Chicago News Bench now and you'll get great exposure on this popular blog (Page Rank 5; over 10,000 impressions monthly), plus discounted pricing, and it's tax deductible as a business expense! Hurry: The year is almost over and there's only so much space on the blog that we can sell. Contact us anytime at tmannis @ boxbe . com and find out how we can help your business. You can take a look at our demographics and more here...

Advertising Deals, Tax Deductions at Chicago News Bench

Business owners! Reach an educated and affluent audience with an ad on Chicago News Bench! Click here for info...

This great advertising opportunity offers you lowered pricing and last-minute tax deductions! You know this if you're a business owner. Put your ad here on Chicago News Bench now and you'll get great exposure on this popular blog (Page Rank 5; over 10,000 impressions monthly), plus discounted pricing, and it's tax deductible as a business expense! Hurry: The year is almost over and there's only so much space on the blog that we can sell. Contact us anytime at tmannis @ boxbe . com and find out how we can help your business. You can take a look at our demographics and more here...

Bloggers Must Admit Paid Endorsements or Face Fines

A lot of bloggers these days are paid to write product reviews. Whether it's a household appliance or a cruise ship vacation, some bloggers are compensated for writing about their experiences with products or services. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says that's okay, but that bloggers had better make it obvious that what they are writing is paid commercial endorsement. If this rule is violated, the offending blogger could be fined up to $11,000. Requirement for disclosure is nothing new. Bloggers should not be upset by this, because other media have been required for decades to disclose whether something that appears to be editorial content is actually a "paid commercial endorsement." It's called full disclosure, folks, and I for one am all in favor of it. More about this from Adam Ostrow at Mashable.com: "While most well-run social media programs already include appropriate disclosure, there’s still no shortage of unscrupulous marketers using deceptive practices to sell products. Now, with the threat of serious fines, those who look to push the boundaries of ethical blogging will be doing so at their own risk." Full Article... Conservative Caps, Shirt and more! - Visit us on Twitter! Leave a Comment - Chicago News Bench RSS Feed

What's In a Name? Notice to Webmasters, Media

A friendly reminder to webmasters and fellow bloggers: Please note that the name of this blog was changed in December, 2008. I know, this is whiny, but darn it, I'm just trying to protect my brand. I respect yours; please respect mine. I always appreciate a link, don't get me wrong. I'm just requesting that you refer to us correctly, as we make every effort to refer to you correctly. The name of this blog is "Chicago News Bench." To refer to it as "Rogers Park Bench" is, well, inaccurate. Yes, our URL remains http://rogersparkbench.blogspot.com,/ but would you refer to Illnois Review, for example, as "Illinoisreview Typepad?" Their URL, after all, is http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/. (Sincere thanks to Illinois Review, by the way, for referring to us correctly as "Chicago News Bench.") If your fingers are tired or you're just really in a hurry, "The Bench" is still a welcome nickname. Other examples: "Chicago Daily Observer" is not "Cdobs" (http://www.cdobs.com/) "Bill Baar's West Side" is not "Baars Westside" (http://baarswestside.blogspot.com/) "Wisconsin State Journal" is not "Madison" (http://www.madison.com/) You get the point. I'll stop whining now. Thanks, folks. Chicago News Bench RSS Feed Cool Stuff...

Helping Small Minds Understand the News

"Uncle Jay" should have his own prime time televsion show. He looks at the big news stories of the day and turns them into... well, he mocks them in song and phrase, enlightening while entertaining. An Uncle Jay show on network television could easily be a hit, but in the meantime we can all enjoy his great web site and also on YouTube, where he regularly posts hysterical videos. He is a sarcastic curmudgeon, and you can't help but like the guy. Uncle Jay describes himself thusly: Uncle Jay thinks it’s really, really important for today’s news to be understood by today’s innocent, ignorant and immature minds. Also children. Yes, the children. You adults out there will probably get more out of "Uncle Jay Explains" than kids can, especially if you're already news-savvy. Uncle Jay touches on news headlines, but never really goes into lengthy explanations. If you already have a grasp of current events, you'll find yourself laughing hysterically through every video and each episode of Uncle Jay Explains. He's not a half-bad singer, either, as he demonstrates in his "Year-End!" episode, in which he sings the entire news roundup. It's a must-see. The self-description continues: “Uncle Jay Explains the News” began in 1995 on a local TV station. It even won an Emmy. Today, Uncle Jay continues his mission on the internet. Tell all your friends about Uncle Jay so that you can all learn more about the world and figure out what it all means. Then you can explain it to grownups, because they … maybe you noticed … haven’t. Okay, Uncle Jay, as your newest fan, I'm telling all my friends. Subscribe to Chicago News Bench

Internet Ad Revenue Keeps Growing

While newpapers and magazines suffer ad revenue losses and dwindling circulation, ad revenue for Web sites is projected to keep growing. That's essentially what Geoff Ramsey writes at eMarketer: In our latest projections, released in August, eMarketer saw online advertising growing from $24.5 billion in 2008 to $28.5 billion in 2009. eMarketer benchmarks its online ad spending projections against quarterly reports by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), which uses PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to conduct its surveys. For the first half of 2008, the IAB reported 15.2% growth for online ad spending, which is in line with eMarketer’s predictions. Ramsey correctly points out that not everybody is optimistic, but he does provide strong evidence and statistics that support the bullish outlook. Marketers should rightly ask, “What is behind the bullish projections for online ad spending, especially when most traditional media are taking the financial equivalent of body blows?” The seven reasons are as follows:... FULL ARTICLE at eMARKETER...