Portland Development Commission Hosts a Who’s Who Lunch 2.0 Portland

I would like give thanks to the Portland Development Commission (PDC) for hosting a great Lunch 2.0 yesterday.

This event turned out to be a “Who’s Who” in Portland.

For those of you who want to know more about PDC here is their vision and mission.

PDC’s Vision…
The Portland Development Commission’s Vision is to be a catalyst for positive change in the creation of a world-class 21st Century city; a city in which economic prosperity, quality housing and employment opportunities are available to all.

& Mission…
Our Mission is to bring together resources to achieve Portland’s vision of a diverse, sustainable community with healthy neighborhoods, a vibrant central city, a strong regional economy, and quality jobs and housing for all.

Here are just a small sampling of the people who were there yesterday.

Shirley de Rose (speaker and marketing coach) and Carri Bugbee (Public Relations and Social Media) even stopped their conversation and posed for me to take a quick picture.

Taylor Ellwood

Steve Gehlen

Amber Case

Late,
Gary Pool SEO

Lunch 2.0 Portland Hosted by the Portland Development Commission is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Talking Sustainability and Business in Astoria Oregon

I am staying at the Comfort Suites Columbia River. This all-suite Astoria, OR hotel is touted as featuring superior amenities and features like:

• Free high-speed Internet access
• Free deluxe continental breakfast
• Free local calls
• Free weekday newspaper
• Free use of on-site business center

I guess “high-speed” in this case is meant to be faster than most dial-ups. The deluxe continental breakfast was just what I have come to expect from Comfort Suites, a very nice choice of biscuits and gravy, waffles, hard boiled eggs, pastry, and/or cereal. Of course they have a full compliment of beverages which includes good coffee.

We have a great room with a view of the Columbia River. If we find ourselves in this part of the state we will definitely consider staying here again.

We are here in Astoria to visit with some prospective clients as well as meet with the Seafood Consumer Center as part of my duties with the Sustainable Catering Association. The Seafood Consumer Center, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Their mission is to promote quality west coast seafood and provide new economic opportunities for area seafood businesses. They also provide market and product development services, seafood cooking classes, demonstrations and industry workshops.
(Post from Search Engine Optimizician.)

We also hope to be able to meet with someone at the OSU Seafood Laboratory.

The Oregon State University Seafood Laboratory (OSU-SFL) was established in Astoria, Oregon in 1940 to meet the increasing needs of the seafood industry.

The principal goals of the OSU-SFL are:

1. Research and Development
2. Extension Service to the Fishing Industry
3. Graduate Research, Training and Instruction

Both of these seem to be a perfect fit for the Sustainable Catering Association. The SCA’s goals are to bring education about sustainability and resources to caterers.

Late,
Gary Pool

Sustainability Business in Astoria Oregon is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Wednesday October 14th, 2009 as a Crowd Ascended Upon the Oregon Convention Center for Bravo Live …

I spent yesterday at Bravo, the premiere marketing event geared towards event planners. The star of the show has always been the food and beverages. Exhibiting again this year was the best catering Portland has to offer.

• Aarnegard’s Premiere Catering
• Crave Catering & Events
• De Angelo’s Catering
• Dippity Doodads Chocolate Fountain
• Elephant’s Delicatessen
• Espresso Arts Catering
• Espresso Elegance
• Gourmet Productions
• Helvetia Winery
• Ingallina’s Box Lunch
• Jo Foody’s Catering
• Maui Wowi
• Pacific Perks Coffee
• Phresh Organic Catering
• Portland Catering Company
• Simply Thyme Catering
• The Party Scoop

Some of my favorite food and beverages came from Crave Catering, Portland Catering Company, Espresso Arts Catering, and Maui Wowi. Some of these even let me come back for seconds.
(Post from Search Engine Optimizician.)
Go Green and sustainability were a theme at Bravo this year.

• Sustainable Catering Association
• Green Meetings Industry Council
• dwa Trade Show & Exposition Services
• Advantage Graphics
• PosterGarden
• Smart Meetings

Marketing

Marketing in the real world isn’t really all that different from marketing in the digital one. You still need precise language to describe your products and/or services, beautiful eye catching images and/or pictures, and most of all an actual product or service.

Some of the displays were breathtaking, others were elegant, some just functional, and for the most part they were a combination of all three.

Some of the people I enjoyed talking to at Bravo that weren’t exhibiting food were from:

• ecoShuttle
• Mittleman Jewish Community Center
• Holiday Inn (Wilsonville)
• The Lodge at Suttle Lake

There were also some very interesting products on display.

It was a great day and I enjoyed talking to every one.

Photo credits Shirley de Rose, Executive Director, Sustainable Catering Association.
When are you planning on getting your booth together?

Late,
Gary Pool

Marketing in the Real World: Bravo Marketing Outside the Digital World is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Hangin’ out in Seattle doin’ some SEO Work While My Wife is Attending “On the Road with Catersource”

Post from Search Engine Optimizician.
We drove up today from Portland to Seattle for my wife, the Executive Director of the New Sustainable Catering Association, to attend “On the Road with Catersource” and meet with other catering enthusiasts.

The trip was basically uneventful with the exception of the heavy traffic that began to build up just after Fort Lewis. This trip, also, was a great time for my wife and me to discuss some of our views on SEO and its application for the Sustainable Catering Association website.

The Catersource Consulting Unit takes it’s expertise on the road with series of one-day workshops that will roadmap the strategies you need to keep current customers and find new ones even in the face of this challenging economy.

Mike Roman and Carl Sacks will present Catersource’s proven concepts to help front- and back-of-the-house staff, salespeople, chefs, managers and owners overcome the challenges of catering during a recession. Learn how to establish cost-cutting and profit-making solutions that will not only neutralize but capitalize on this unique economic climate!

While my wife is at Catersource I will be hanging out at the Quality Inn & Suites Seattle Center, a Seattle hotel near KeyArena at Seattle Center. I will be working on some SEO projects like Fairway Village and hotel chamonix, drinking coffee, and I might even spend a little time in our in-room jacuzzi. This Room even comes with a DVD player. I see myself maybe even watching a movie and drinking coffee in the jacuzzi.

Tomorrow, as the day goes on maybe I will find something else to write about?

Late,
Gary Pool

SEO, Seattle, Sustainable Catering Association, and Catersource is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Going Green doesn’t always equal Sustainability

I attended the Natural Step open house in Portland, Oregon last night.

It was a great standing room only affair with beer and wine in ample supplies and food to die for. As I weaved my way patiently through their new digs I could hear discussions of what sustainability was, what it meant to everyone’s business and why they were interested in going green. There was a slide show playing a loop on the East wall of the office giving tribute to sponsors and giving some of the latest local sustainability news.

Definition for Sustainability

Scientists agree that our current unsustainable path comes from four basic root causes directly related to human activity. In a sustainable society, nature is not subject to systematically increasing:

• concentrations of substances extracted from the Earth’s crust
• concentrations of substances produced by society
• degradation by physical means
• people are not subject to conditions that systematically undermine there capacity to meet their needs

As I made my way back to the North end of the office where most of the people seemed to congregate I realized why. The marvelous food was laid out there in all it’s spectacular glory. Crave catering was offering grilled beef skewers and artichoke cups. The artichoke cups were just incredible, they were the perfect combination of spices and texture. You can visit Crave Catering online at Portland-Catering.com. The other food offering was by Artemis Foods. Artemis had quite a display the delicacy that caught my eye was there beautiful truffles. I almost missed the tiny URL in their literature, they are at ArtemisFoods.com.

the Natural Step

When I got home from the soiree I decided to visit the Natural Step website to find out more information about them. Since there URL is very prominent on their literature I figured I was in for a treat. Their home page was impressive at the least. Beautiful lay out, the colors are very attractive, and the navigation looked clean and simple. I clicked on the top level “OUR SOLUTIONS” and was hit in the face with a 404.

OK, I decided to use one of the drop down links I chose “+ Solutions for Business” I knew this would take me to a page. Guess what it did!

It took me to a page alright but a page with no information. And why would I want to share it?

Don’t make these mistakes with your site. Make sure if it is a link it will actually go to a real page and not an error page and make sure if you have a page at the end of a link it actually has information on it.

It is OK to launch your site before it is complete (by definition a website is never complete it is always growing) just don’t make your visitors pay in advance for your lack of content. The search engines don’t like this either. We don’t want either our people visitors or the search engines spiders disappointed with us. It could be fatal for our internet sustainability even if we are going green.

Late,
Gary Pool

Go Green, the Natural Step and Sustainability is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Can I go green in using paper in my office and at home?

We all use paper in our day to day operations and sometimes we will even print on our own. Have you ever thought if you could be more green and use some sort of “green” paper? A true environmentally responsible paper is more than just recycled paper.

I have done a little research and found that you can be a little more responsible to sustainability and still get your in-house printing done. But will it break the bank?

I decided to go to a website listed on a brochure I had been given recently. What enticed me to investigate this particular company was that brochure. It started out with the phrase “Join the ECO>lution responsible paper for every environment – Introducing our environmental certifications.”

I went to the Wausau website to see how easy they were to find and the price of papers that might be considered sustainable. My first step was to go to the printing & writing retail products page. It was interesting to find no mention of anything they had talked about in their brochure. I decided to choose a paper I might be interested in for business and personal use and investigate further. The only white 24 lb. Writing paper listed on the page was Stardust.

Absolutely no mention of anything referred to in the brochure again.

Stardust™ White Paper
No matter what you’re using it for, this brilliant white paper with multi-colored flecks is always a star.

500 sheets, 8 1/2 x 11, 24 lb. Writing
Item Number: 22318
Announcements
Brochures & Pamphlets
Copy Projects
Everyday Printing
Flyers & Notices
Home & Office
Presentations & Reports
School
School Projects
Scrapbooks

So I decided to really look at some of the paper they were talking about in the brochure.

Bingo! Exact Eco 100 fits the bill.
Exact Eco 100® an environmentally-responsible paper you’ll feel good about using. Made with 100% recycled post-consumer fiber, Exact Eco 100® multipurpose paper is acid-free, lignin-free, and inkjet, laser, copier, and offset guaranteed.

The only trouble was there is no information on this product.

OK. Let’s try again. I found another one from the brochure, Exact®.
In today’s multi-tasking world, you should use a paper that works just as hard as you do. Our Exact brands are designed to meet your everyday printing needs – including copiers, inkjet printers, laser printers and more. These papers are as multipurpose as you are. Because precision and quality always count, choose a Wausau Paper Exact brand.

Interesting they never mention anything about environmentally-responsible paper here. It is listed on the brochure. I went back and checked out the brochure and I found this caveat:
Most or all papers within the following product lines are Green Seal certified and contain 30% recycled post-consumer fiber.

I was really disappointed they didn’t hit you with their “ECO>lution” right off the bat on their home page. As I tried to find this touted environmentally-responsible paper I began to understand why. This fancy brochure from wausauPAPER is just a marketing ploy. It isn’t in their hearts it is in their pocket books.

So did I answer my question? “Can I go green in using paper in my office and at home?” Not at all. I didn’t find any products or prices. Well for those of us that are trying to do our part we will just have to work harder and investigate compare and shop wisely.

Late,
Gary Pool

A True Environmentally Responsible Paper is More than Just Recycled Paper is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Sustainable Book Printing Process

As a follow up to my post Going Green – Can Print Marketing Really be Green? here is some information on going green in the book publishing industry.

The Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing Group and Amerikal Products Corp are touting their new THINKTech process. They claim this THINKTech process will allow books to be printed on a heat-set web press without any curing and will revolutionize how books are printed and manufactured.

This sustainable process was developed using Amerikal’s Genesis line of sustainable chemistry. This process turns off off gas-fired ovens, chill drums, chill water compressors, electrical pumps, silicone applicators and electrically powered blowers and replaces traditional press cleaners and wash-up chemicals with Genesis BRIGL Wash and building inks to run with THINKTech Think Ink Film Technology.

Everyone has their version of being ‘green,’” says Steve Brooks, prep/press superintendent at Maple-Vail, “but this goes completely beyond the typical ways to be more eco-conscious. This process will forever change how books are printed. It will allow printers to reduce their energy costs and [volatile organic compounds (VOC)] while increasing quality.”

According to Maple-Vail, this new process will achieve:

• complete elimination of natural gas usage for the ovens
• dramatic reduction in electricity since the chillers are no longer necessary
• VOC ink levels slashed from 31 percent to 42 percent to just under 3 percent due to the fact that the process is bio-based
• VOC emissions from the special fountain solution and blanket wash result in a reduction to a fraction of the prior levels
• increased production efficiency because of the quick-drying nature of the THINKTech process
• elimination of all federal and state regulated toxins such as silicone, federal 313 chemicals and hazardous air pollutants

We are constantly striving for new ways to improve the printing and manufacturing process,” says Amerikal President Bob Danielson. “What we’ve created with Maple-Vail is a prime example of how we’re committed to helping our customers achieve great results. We not only helped them reduce their carbon footprint; we also reduced their overall costs and improved productivity, and that is imperative in today’s economy.”

The first book printed using the new process was by Stephen Marglin’s “The Dismal Science: How Thinking Like an Economist Undermines Community“. The Publisher is Harvard University Press.

Go green – sustainability is our future and every step will help reduce the foot prints we leave behind. I haven’t had a chance to hold one of these books in my hand yet but as long as it is a quality product and can compete in the market place this process gets my vote.

Late,
Gary Pool

Go Green! Publish Your Next Book with Sustainable Printing is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician

Going Green – Can Print Marketing Really be Green?

I was reading the June issue of Graphic Arts Monthly and I came across an article “Green Print” by Bill Essler.

Living in Portland, Oregon going green is at the forefront of just about everything that is done here, business or otherwise. A good friend of mine Mark Lopez is even starting up a Sustainable Catering Association. The Pacific Northwest is known for its GREEN attitude. We have comprehensive recycling programs and are the forerunners in increased consumer lifestyle and sustainablility. Portland even considers itself the actual definition of ecology.

“How Green is Your Process?
Some buyers think sustainable print means adding certification logos. But it’s really about the process.
By Bill Esler, Editor in Chief — Graphic Arts Online, 6/1/2008

One of the nation’s largest and most respected printers told me that designers and buyers are quick to ask for sustainable print production, but balk at the up charge for chain-of-custody certified papers (10% or more), wind power (20% premium) and low-VOC chemistries. While the steps to being certified to apply those little logos (FSC, SFI, PERC) can be modest, maintaining facilities and records requires methodical tracking and improved processes.

…SFI Printers
Chain-of-custody certified print firms under criteria established by the Sustainable Forestry Inititative as of May 26, 2008: www.sfiprogram.org.”

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) has a comprehensive labeling program that includes percent content labels for those who choose to use Chain of Custody (CoC). Certified retailers, printers, publishers, merchants and others are eligible for on-product label use and CoC certification.

Paper is critical to going green in print. Natural Source Printing has a FiberStone Paper that is very interesting. Tree-free, it has a white glistening surface, say printers who’ve used it. And no rocks are injured in production; it’s 80% limestone quarry waste.

The chart shows ingredients and resources used to make one ton of virgin or recycled paper and FiberStone Paper.

If you really want to go green with your business you will have to be willing to go that extra mile not only for your business’s definition of sustainable development and definition of ecology, but also with your pocketbook. Even your marketing materials will have to consist of sustainable publishing products. It’s not just a matter of showing your, recycle sign, recycle symbol, or recycle logo. Going green is a state of mind and an attitude of commitment.

late,
Gary Pool

Go Green | Sustainable Publishing Products is a post stolen from the Search Engine Optimizician