Tag: shopping

Affiliate Purchases: A Nice Way to Say Thanks This Year

Over the last year, I have spent a lot of valuable time and effort evangelizing a new social media network. I have consulted with some great minds, held discussions with very influential people and have heard some amazing stories from the people I have met. During this time I have done my best to share what I have learned to allow you to benefit from my knowledge.

Because the work I do online is not related to my vocation, it is strictly a labor of love. I am not paid for my time on Google+, my evangelism of the network or the tutorials I share. Apart from a small bit of AdSense revenue that I receive from my YouTube videos, this is strictly a volunteer effort.

Without having to solicit you for donations or putting a “tip jar” up on my website, I thought I would ask you to do something even simpler. If you shop during the holidays for your friends and families and sometimes find yourself using a website called Amazon, your purchases can help pay for my web hosting, domain registration and bandwidth necessary to run this site.

If you would like to say thanks, you don’t have to pay me in cash, simply make your Amazon.com purchases through my affiliate link (http://goo.gl/k3df4). The small affiliate revenue generated will go a long way in ensuring that I can afford to keep this website up and running. If you would like to go further, please feel free to visit my Amazon Wish List this Christmas and send me something swell. Some of the items will help me create better video content, and utilize my mobile and tablet devices more efficiently.

Whatever you do this holiday season, be sure to thank the people that have shared knowledge, help and guidance in all of the things the interest you. Thank you all for being a receptive, interactive and well-engaged audience. I appreciate all of your participation and attention. If you have reached out to me in the past via Google+ notifications and I haven’t responded, please don’t be offended. The best way to get in touch with me is always through e-mail: petergmcdermott@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you.

Happy Holidays,

Peter

Walmart Neighborhood Market Review

Normally, I wouldn’t share reviews of grocery stores on a blog focused on digital marketing and customer engagement. However, I think customer service is evolving and I want to share a story about my trip to the local Walmart Neighborhood Market. It goes something like this… Continue reading Walmart Neighborhood Market Review

How Much is Convenience Worth?

The Consumerist recently posted about two articles, one from +CNBC and the other from +The New York Times about the price of single-serving coffee packages.

I, for one, own a single-serving brewing system. I am a fan of the device (a Keurig) because it removes a lot of barriers from me brewing my own coffee. The most important of these barriers in time.

Before owning my Keurig, it took a lot of effort to brew a cup of coffee. More often than not, when I would brew a “pot” of coffee in the morning, most of it would go to waste. So, between cleaning the pot, cleaning the basket and measuring the cofee each morning I was spending a lot of time. Even after all of the preparation I would have to wait several minutes for the stuff to brew.

Now I find myself flying down the stairs with an extra 15 minutes of sleep, ready to press a button while I grab my banana and have my coffee in my thermos, the exact amount, the right temperature, perfectly fresh and all ready to go. I realize that on a “cost-per-pound” basis, this is way more than I would ever consider paying for high end coffee.

photo by rudolf_schuba on Flickr

+Starbucks Coffee offers select roasts for $13.95/lb and I’m paying somewhere in the neighborhood of $25-$30. Surely, this is way more expensive using my perfered method when viewed in a cost-per-pound perspective. However, if you look at the amount of coffee that is wasted and the amount of time spent brewing a “pot” of coffee each morning, I think I’m actually saving a lot more time and money than I would with the traditional method.

So, what’s your bottom line? What do you think the convenience is worth? Just because it costs more per pound does that mean you’re spending more overall? How do you do your coffee in the morning?