Eco-Friendly Digital Marketing Internship

As the summer is coming to a close, so ends Lauren and my journey as Taste of Ann Arbor food critics and Eco-Friendly Interns at Ingenex Digital Marketing. So to celebrate our journey from wide-eyed interns to digital savvy marketers the whole Ingenex gang joined us on our lunch excursion.

Today’s lunch brought us to Sheesh Mediterranean Cuisine, a Lebanese restaurant, just a few blocks down from our office on Main Street.

Upon our arrival, the Ingenex team noticed the painted murals and lush burgundy curtains that adorned the space and gave the restaurant an authentic look and feel. As we took in our surroundings a booth was found to accommodate our 7 person group with plenty of leg and elbow room. We were promptly brought a few baskets of pita bread and the restaurant’s Middle Eastern salsa, along with glasses of ice-cold water. Among the buzz of conversation we also decided to order some homous to tide us over until our food arrived.

In Lebanon it is customary for meals to last a few hours because the host will urge their guests to take second, and many times third helpings because this shows that guests are enjoying their meal and are savoring the whole dining experience. To be expected our servers were very hospitable and frequently visited the table refilling our pita and water glasses, however the wait time between when we ordered our food and when it arrived was rather lengthy.

Ordering everything from Fatoush Tawook Feta to Mjadra and Falafels our team sampled a wide variety of Lebanese cuisine. The general consensus at the table was that despite the lengthy preparation time, Sheesh was worth recommending in the future.

Lauren and I would like to thank everyone that made A Taste of Ann Arbor possible and we know we will most definitely miss our Ingenex co-workers as we move on to the next stages in our digital marketing and advertising careers. Thank you for all the experience, it has truly been a pleasure.

This week’s A Taste of Ann Arbor took us outside of our typical walking distance to Weber’s Restaurant and Hotel, located on Jackson Avenue in Ann Arbor, MI. The boutique hotel, well known for its overnight accommodations in Ann Arbor added its restaurant to the mix in 1937, and has remained a landmark Ann Arbor hotel and restaurant, perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner, for over 70 years.

Weber’s Ann Arbor restaurant features a daily lunch buffet offered at an affordable price. Today’s buffet options included salad, sandwiches, kielbasa, sauerkraut and soup – all of which many guests in the main dining room, where we were seated, seemed to be enjoying. However, to get a true feeling for the affordable lunch menu, each of us (Megan, Tiffany and myself) ordered from a variety of menu options.

Our very kind and attentive waitress started our meal with a warm basket of bread, the perfect beginning to any fine dining experience. Our menu choices included, french onion soup, walnut chicken Gorgonzola salad, chicken picatta and a french dip sandwich. All of which were delicious, and served to perfection.

That atmosphere created within the walls of Weber’s Restaurant and Hotel is peaceful, and unique. After enjoying our meal in the main dining room, complete with monogrammed place mats, glasses and a variety of beautiful chandeliers that complete the interior design, we gave ourselves a tour of the area and found these other seating locations:

• Ventura Bar -the perfect place for wine tasting, fine ports and after dinner drinks
• Habitat Ultra Lounge – a spot for enjoying dancing, bands and entertainment in Ann Arbor
• Outdoor Terrace – next to the Habitat Ultra Lounge, this outdoor dining area allows up to 50 guest to experience beautiful annual flowers while seated under designer shade umbrellas

Weber’s Restaurant and Hotel has created an all inclusive experience for all of its guests. One of the top ranked hotels in Michigan and Diner’s Choice winner at opentable.com for 2010, Weber’s also offers banquet and conference property to its guests. So whether you are nearby, or across the country on a business trip or a vacation, Weber’ Restaurant and Hotel is the perfect Ann Arbor destination. We all enjoyed it, and we hope you will too.

Follow Weber’s Inn on Twitter, or visit them on Facebook.

As Lauren mentioned in last Tuesday’s post, she and I visited a different kind of lunch spot today. This week’s trip took us inside Google’s Ann Arbor Office.

Now you may be wondering how Lauren and I were able to merit an invitation to one of Google’s private employee lunches. So here is the story…

While sitting at one of the Lunch Ann Arbor Marketing (LA2M) networking events, a non-profit educational organization dedicated to teaching about all things marketing, I met a guy named Rob. Rob works for the Google Adwords team and oddly enough knows my roommate’s sister- small world. While talking with Rob about his job at Google and my internship at Ingenex Digital Marketing, where I dabble in Adwords, we discussed the fun, laid-back, colorful work environment that has become synonymous with Google’s name. And being that we were at a lunch event, we discussed the fabulous lunches that are served at his office each day. Long story short Lauren and I headed to the Google office, located on South Division just a few minutes walk from our office, this afternoon.

Upon entering the reception area we were greeted with a warm welcome and hello, and were asked to sign in. Rob arrived a few minutes later and we walked through the brightly colored halls to the Google cafeteria. Inside we helped ourselves to the buffet style lunch that had been laid out by the office’s culinary crew. The spread was delicious with fresh salads, fruit, veggies, rice, salmon and lamb linguine pasta. After our meal, the general consensus was that Lauren and I could not leave without tasting the peach cobbler dessert. So we walked around the corner and to our great surprise the tray was being filled with a brand new peach cobbler- still warm and gooey, fresh from the oven.

After the meal Rob gave us a tour of the building. We got to check out the employee rec room- with games, tvs and loads of snacks; a few conference rooms- each named after cities in Michigan; the employee work stations- each decorated with colors and personalized themes; and so much more. But I think it’s safe to say that Lauren and I enjoyed viewing the Lansing room best of all; being that we are grads of Michigan State University (I graduated last May and Lauren will graduate this coming spring) and Lansing and MSU are near and dear to our hearts. So it was neat to see the Lansing room with its mural of the State Capitol, and photographs of the MSU football stadium and campus.

We’d like to thank Rob and the rest of the Ann Arbor Google Team for allowing us the chance to sit in and enjoy such an exclusive lunch with you.

Ann Arbor Art Fair week, it is here. A five day stretch of the art fair brings in individuals from all over the great mitten shaped state. With all the preparations, the atmosphere surrounding Megan and I thought it would be a great idea to pick an Ann Arbor restaurant that has outdoor seating in the middle of the action. We chose to dine at the Prickly Pear, a southwestern style cafe on Main Street, just a few doors down from Ingenex Headquarters.

Use Google Maps to find your locations virtually - check out the walking directions - perfect for the downtown area!

As is the trend, we had a FABULOUS meal. Ann Arbor sure knows how to satisfy everyones taste buds. Today was the perfect day for a outdoor seating lunch, not too hot and not too cold. The Prickly Pear has a great team of employees, our water glasses never went empty and they brought us a basket of chips and salsa to enjoy before our food arrived. Great customer service all around!

Megan went for the House Specialty Beef Burrito, and for me, the Red Pepper Pesto Glazed Chicken Breast Quesadilla. I think that it is reasonable to say that we would both highly recommend BOTH of these choices from the Prickly Pear menu – original and tasteful, southwestern cuisine.

Since we chose to dine outside, we did not get the opportunity to check out the inside of the restaurant, however if I can tell anything by the outdoor seating, I am sure it is quite comfortable. The Prickly pear uses colorful napkins and dishes giving it a fun image. The seating was covered by umbrellas. While this may not be preferred by all, I enjoyed being able to sit in a reasonable distance from those dining at the next door restaurant, Gratzi. You can take in the visual elements of two dining experiences at one time – the wonders of downtown Ann Arbor!

Be sure to check out next weeks blog as well – we have an exciting destination planned!

Being a recent Michigan State University graduate, I have recently discovered the value of a strong alumni network. No matter what it states on that very expensive piece of paper I worked so hard to achieve, without the right connections and experience, very few job opportunities are open to myself and the rest of today’s graduates. And while joining an alumni network is no guarantee of employment, it can definitely open up the door to internship opportunities and other circumstances that help young, inexperienced grads gain much-needed “real world” experience.

I consider myself lucky enough to be a part of an alumni group that spans the nation, and to some degree the world, making it easy to find networking and support wherever life takes me.

The Michigan State University (MSU) Alumni Club of Washtenaw County, my current location, serves as a hub for networking, socializing and general relationship building for all MSU Alumni and supporters living and working in the Washtenaw Area of Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Saline, Chelsea and Milan. The main purpose of the group is to support the continued success of Washtenaw citizens and businesses, while also allowing them to become active in their community through networking and activities.

As the month of August approaches the Alumni Club prepares for two of its big events- its First Monday meeting, and Annual Spartan Golf Scramble and BBQ.

First Mondays are social events that bring the Washtenaw branch of MSU’s Alumni Club together on the first Monday of each month. These informal meetings usually start around 6 pm and last as long as people want to stay and network amongst the group. The August meeting will take place on August 2nd at the Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti, located at 720 Norris St. The Corner Brewery is known for its large outdoor beer garden and tasting room. Behind the scenes, it is a production brewery that produces and bottles beer for distribution throughout the state of Michigan.

The Alumni Club’s other big up-coming event is the Spartan Golf Scramble and BBQ. The Spartan Golf Scramble and BBQ is an event that is held each year to raise money for a scholarship endowment fund that benefits Spartans from the Washtenaw Area as they attend MSU. Each year the group looks for avid golfers and die-hard MSU alum to come out and enjoy an afternoon of Spartan fellowship and networking, while supporting future Spartans through financial contributions to the event. The event will include 18 holes of golf on the Lake Forest Golf Club green, with each participate golfing in teams of four. Single players are welcome to sign up for the event and will be placed in a foursome on the day of the outing. All skill levels are welcome to come out and play. The Spartan Golf Scramble and BBQ will be held on August 14th this year.

For more information or to look ahead to more club events, visit the club calendar.

Trending on social bookmarking sites and blogs is the subject of Facebook and women’s privacy. Mashable published an article last week on some shocking statistics found by Oxygen Media and Lightspeed Research. A study of over 1600 people was conducted regarding their social media usage. The company found that the majority of young women check Facebook first thing in the morning even before the bathroom and 42% of women feel it’s “okay” to post pictures of themselves drunk. With so much time being spent on the internet and the little effort to protect one’s own privacy, Facebook can ruin careers and reputations.

Last week I went to a networking lunch and met a very nice accounting student. She was friendly, intelligent and seemed like she’d be a great contact. I asked her name and told her I’d be looking her up online to connect later on. My first stop was Facebook. Her profile picture displayed ample cleavage, the page was littered with profanity and her photo albums included multiple pictures of alcohol and drugs… I went no further and decided not to befriend her online.

The Eco-Friendly Internship has put together a checklist to make sure your Facebook is not only clean, but also easily found. These tips are relevant to males too, but are geared especially towards young women.

The Facebook Clean Up Checklist

1. Get rid of all alcohol and drug related content.
2. Monitor pictures others are posting of you. Anything remotely questionable, delete.
3. Defriend anyone you don’t know personally. The use of fake profiles to steal information is growing.
4. Go through your applications and get rid of any you don’t need or trust.
5. Edit your interests to things that will promote your talents and strengths instead of hurt you.
6. Make sure all of your information is complete
7. Communicate with others effectively and professionally: People, brands, pages.
8. Keep notes and videos relevant and re-post worthy.
9. Create a URL tag that matches your other social media profiles (http://facebook.com/yournamehere.)

Photo Credit: Flicker user Marisa beth

Facebook is about marketing yourself and connecting, so do your best to advertise yourself well because all of the information is going to be shared (no matter what Facebook says otherwise.) Employers will be looking at this information so target to them as well. You wouldn’t show up to an interview drunk or in a micro-mini, so don’t let those images be the first thing someone sees. Once you’ve made sure your content is clean, ensure that you are found easily. Facebook pages are no longer just to keep in touch with John Wewenttopromtogetheronce. It’s an effective marketing tool so that you can promote yourself without a single word leaving your lips. Remember: first impressions are crucial and YOUR first impression may happen online without you knowing.

Five blocks or so from Main St. down E. William St. is the home to a landmark restaurant. An Ann Arbor Italian cuisine location that opened its doors in 1948 and in 1986 expanded into the pizza franchise market. The Original Cottage Inn was the destination for this weeks Taste of Ann Arbor Experience.

Excited to get to the roots of the franchise pizza spot in our home college town of East Lansing, Megan and I took off for the journey through Ann Arbor sidewalk construction. Tucked into a brick building near the campus of The University of Michigan, we were without a doubt impressed. The inside of the building is beautifully decorated with painted leaves that can be located throughout the inside and outside of the building, grapes and more giving an elegant – yet cozy environmental feel.

From Flickr user: Robert Blackie

Jordan, our waitress, was kind and personable, yet not overbearing – adding to the relaxed environment. After we made our preliminary menu choices, Jordan was helpful in helping to make the final decision. Megan tried the wheat penne pasta with pesto based sauce and minestrone soup, I opted for the lunch special, a BBQ Meatball pizza, recommended by Jordan. And while we waited for our food, we enjoyed fresh bread and oil.

I have found that recommendations may just be the best asset to a restaurant. I personally always find myself having a hard time making a decision, but with the help of a waiter or waitress that barrier is crossed. And I have yet to have an experience where I did not like the recommendation. So a thank you goes to Jordan, for keeping that streak going – our meals were delicious!

While the franchise locations offer some of the same great food, The Original Cottage Inn is a different experience. Hidden in the streets of Ann Arbor, the restaurant is a delicious dining experience that can only be gained at the original.

I would hate to jinx it for the future, but Megan and I have yet to experience a distasteful restaurant or meal. Thank you Eric for the suggestion, we loved it!

Google Chrome is the newest addition to the Web browser game. According to recent browser stats, Chrome is ranked number 3 as of May. The folks at Google have implemented an interactive marketing strategy that allows designers and programmers to create “Experiments” for visitors using Javascript, HTML5, Canvas, and more. It has been tagged as “Not Your Mother’s Javascript,” and indeed, it is much more. One such designer, Mr. Doob, created Harmony- a procedural drawing tool. By clicking around, I made this:

It’s not much in the way of art, but it is quick, easy, accessible, and an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon researching at Ingenex Digital Marketing. Other experiments are more geared toward gaming such as Stewart Smith’s “Browser Pong” and Paul Brunt’s “Bert’s Breakdown”. Google is taking submissions and posts the best experiments so design away.

Developers at Google have also developed a race across the internet called Chrome Fastball. Google takes you on a scavenger hunt around the internet. Time yourself and see how quickly you can tweet, find a bike route, or translate text. See if you can beat me!

Social Media, Twitter, Blog, RSS, many words and phrases used today to describe components of digital marketing. But maybe you are wondering what these words and phrases mean, or maybe you are having a hard time explaining it to someone else.

If that is the case, I introduce you to, Common Craft, a company based out of Seattle, Washington that produces simple, short and informational videos “in plain english.” Each video features paper cut outs, increasing the ease of comprehension.

Simply put,  Common Craft, is a simple company, that gives perfect explanations, and that is all there is to it. This video is one of the many technology related videos on the website, and will explain “Blogs in Plain English:”

Now that you have see the Common Craft explanation of a blog,  visit other Ingenex blog pots:

• The Digital Bus, to learn about digital marketing from the professionals at Ingenex
• Eco-Friendly Internship Blog, to find out what is new in digital marketing and eco-friendly from the interns at Ingenex
• New Media Drivers License, will feature posts by students as they learn about new media in the course instructed by Derek Mehraban, Ingenex CEO

As the phrase “I’m currently in transition” becomes increasingly popular, it is no wonder that sites like indeed.com are garnering more and more attention. Indeed is a site that makes searching for jobs on the web easy… well easier at least.

Indeed.com functions like any other search engine, except that it is specifically for searching want ads and job posting sites. The concept is that users can log into indeed.com and by simply filling in their fields of interest, be given a list of related jobs. “Searchable” fields include salary, title, company, location, job type, and employer/recruiter.

A feature that makes recruiters and headhunters, like Collin LaLonde, recommend indeed.com is the trend capability. By hitting the trend button at the top left corner of the screen, users will see a graph of their chosen field pop-up. The screenshot below shows the graph that was produced for marketing professionals during the year 2009 and 2010. When looking at the graph it seems that marketing jobs were predicted to stay fairly consistent, as far as demand is concerned, throughout the year 2009.

Another feature on indeed.com that is drawing a lot of attention is the online forum. Forums are pages on websites that allow users to post comments, questions and/or concerns; while they also allow users to respond to their fellow users’ posts. This a great way for people to build a network- which is huge when searching for a job, maintain connections, and receive peer feed-back. Making indeed.com an important tool for anyone who is “currently in transition”.