Better hurry up.  The chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut has teamed up with Miranda Creative of Norwich to do just that, get you On the Map.

Before you click here to learn more: http://www.mirandacreative.com/engage/social.html consider this:

Domino’s Pizza in the UK attributed a 29 percent surge in pre-tax profits to an online promotion on local-based mobile app Foursquare, as well as social media. The company reported a 13.7 percent increase in sales at 553 over a 26-week period this year.

Not sure how your business would benefit from being “On the Map”? Consider this item posted by Danny Brown the social sensei at Bonsai Interactive,

When we shop, we don’t always go for the cheapest offer. More often than not, we go for the one that best suits our needs. That could mean mix-and-match purchasing – we get jeans from one store, a top from another, and shoes somewhere else.

So why aren’t we offering that more often via geo-location marketing?

For example, let’s say I go to the movies to see the new Batman movie. Obviously I check in there and maybe even write a note to say what I’m there to watch.

Now, imagine if that movie theatre was partnering with the local comic book store or chicken wings diner. As soon as I come out of the theatre, there’s a Foursquare alert from the comic book store that tells me I can get 10% off all Batman purchases that day.

Or if I go to the wings place, I can get 2-for-1 on special Bat wings (not real bats, obviously!) for that day only. Or good for a limited time from the update – say, 72 hours.

Again, it’s tying into something I already like so I’m more than likely to check it out. And if I like Batman, there’s a pretty good chance I’m going to like comic books, too.

Like I said at the start, there are a ton of options available for smart marketers to use when it comes to geo-location.

All they need to do is find them. Do that and they might just find more customers, too.

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Each Monday night Ocean Beach Park in New London hosts a wildly popular Cruise Night classic car show that features a parade of antique cars and the sounds of KOOL 101 FM spinning the classic sounds of the ’50s and ’60s. Hundreds of cars are on display and the beach rocks with the sounds of that long-ago era, thanks to Jim Reed and the Kool gang.

The two guys in the photo of the Kool car are, from left, Ron Carson and Jim Reed.

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We’re not talking about the paper map you carry in your car’s glove compartment, we’re focusing on the evolving field of mobile maps, the kind that you access through your smartphone’s ability to reach one or more of these geo-location tools: Google Places, Yahoo Local, Foursquare and Yelp.

The Chamber of Commerce has partnered with Miranda Creative to bring Chamber members these valuable tools to draw attention to their businesses and customers to their doors.

We have summer interns working on the project to get you signed up for a very nominal fee. Check out the details at www.mirandacreative.com.

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Tell us if you plan to travel, or visit some of the attractions and attend the popular events in our own backyard. Whatever you do, we hope you’re thinking about including the 2010 Sailfest in New London in your plans. The full lineup can be found at www.sailfest.org

Starting today, Sailfest begins its three-day run. There are events, entertainment and a variety of other reasons to visit, including the annual fireworks extravaganza, sponsored again this year by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. A fabulous show.

What are your summer plans?

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Gov. Rell has declared Friday, July 2 as Welcome to Connecticut Day in recognition of the Chamber’s effort to promote our state.  That day will mark the official unveiling of the video on ferries of the Cross Sound Ferry Service, which each year bring 1.5 million people to our shores.

On that day, the start of the extended Fourth of July Weekend, there will be a brief dockside ceremony marking the occasion.  A representative of the governor will read the proclamation, and a number of local and state legislators will help distribute Chamber-produced brochures to those arriving here. The ceremony begins at 10 a.m.  at the Cross Sound Ferry Terminal.

In addition to being shown on the ferries, the video can be viewed by going to the Chamber’s website, www.chamberect.com, and clicking on photo gallery.

The video production and the recent formation of the Greater Mystic Visitors Bureau (www.mystic.org) are private-sector initiatives that are particularly important since the state’s budget woes has resulted in elimination of the tourism promotion budget.

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Well, the government and BP have tried everything else to stop the tragedy unfolding in the Gulf, and now they want our help.  A unit of the Department of Energy is asking for any ideas you may have to end the oil gusher shooting up from a mile below the water’s surface.  Click here to learn where you can share your thoughts on the subject.

Bill Valdez, the acting director of the Office of Small and disadvantaged Business Utilization sent out a plea for help, recently, after noting that the Department of Energy is “working tirelessly” to end the mess .

“At the request of President Obama, Secretary Chu traveled down to Houston to work closely with a team of top scientists from academia and the U.S. government, with support from more than 200 personnel from DOE’s national laboratories, to analyze the response efforts and recommend additional options for stopping the leaking oil.”

Apparently that wasn’t enough, so now Acting Director Valdez wants your help. The government may not know how to plug the oil, but it has at least come up with a name for the initiative to get our opinions: the Deepwater Horizon Response.

So, if you have a thought on the subject, you can add it to the more than 20,000 ideas submitted so far to:  http://www.horizonedocs.com/artform.php

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By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
If you have a son or daughter graduating from college this year, you’ve probably gotten the word. When meeting this year’s college grads it’s best not to ask: “Hey, what are you doing next year?” Too many recent graduates don’t have an answer. They can’t find jobs even remotely related to their fields. This year’s graduation theme is: “Don’t ask. Can’t say.”

We owe our young people something better — and the solution is not that complicated, although it is amazing how little it is discussed in the Washington policy debates. We need three things: start-ups, start-ups and more start-ups.

Good jobs — in bulk — don’t come from government. They come from risk-takers starting businesses — businesses that make people’s lives healthier, more productive, more comfortable or more entertained, with services and products that can be sold around the world. You can’t be for jobs and against business.

Continue reading on the New York Times…

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In my term here as president of the Chamber, I have regularly come across information that could be of help to business owners. Some of it is better than others and it can be challenging at times to separate the wheat from the chaff.  But I have found one that is consistently interesting.

The Ask an Expert column that is written by Steve Strauss in USA Today is designed to serve small businesses. Some of the more recent topics include:  “Now is the time to start a small business “spring cleaning;” How to grow your home business” and how to “protect your business from the cybercrime wave.”

Those were posted on the USA Today website. An index there allows you to instantly read columns going back a year. Look them over and let me know what you think.

Tony Sheridan, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut.

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In the not-too-distant past, when getting information about a business usually required consulting something written on paper, there were relatively few options available for the curious. Not so today, as we all know. Click here to read more and maybe provide an example of how your business uses social media tools.

For instance, Yelp used to be something a dog would do if you stepped on its foot. Foursquare meant having firm convictions or something having four equal sides, and the global positioning systems were waiting to be invented. Now using Yelp or Foursquare, a location-based social  networking site, can find you a restaurant or virtually any other kind of business near your location. And tell you the best way to get there. Now, that’s service.

Increasingly we are using social media tools to take a lot of the guesswork out of getting answers, or helping us get by in today’s fast-paced and more complex world. We’d like to start a conversation about how businesses are using these tools. Why don’t you start the conversation?

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Healthcare Debate:  It’s All About Us

The national debate over our healthcare system is really a discussion about the best way to take care of ourselves, medically speaking. The Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut thought the subject important enough to spotlight it at our annual Congressional Update breakfast. We’ve all felt the heat generated by the debate, but we thought it time to shed light on the subject. Click here to see where you can find out more about this important subject.

For businesses here are some key websites where information can be obtained:

www.irs.gov for authoritative information on small business credit and other issues;

www.healthreform.gov, a site linked to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services;

http://smallbusinessmajority.org/tax-credit-calculator, an online calculator for determining the amount of your tax credit.

www.courtney.house.gov/choice

This information was assembled by James Stirling, CEO, Stirling Benefits, Inc., 20 Armory Lane, Milford, CT 06460; phone, 203-647-0628. He was joined at our recent program by U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney; Bruce Cummings, president of Lawrence & Memorial Hospital; and Marc Vallario of United Healthcare in discussing what is arguably the single most important issue facing our country’s wellbeing, the health care delivery system for our people.

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