As I was making my way through the local mall for my holiday shopping a couple of weeks ago, I noticed something quite curious. I’m not really sure what to make of it.

I walked into the store, not looking for anything in particular, and then I saw a sign saying that I would be able to “save double the GST” on nearly all purchases, but the sale wasn’t until tomorrow. These signs were posted throughout the store on brightly colored paper. They were eye-catching for sure.

The good side of this is that customers could be encouraged to buy their gifts (and other products) at this store rather than at a competitor. The bad side is that these signs were effectively deterring customers from making their purchases today. They’re basically being told to come back tomorrow.

By not buying today, the customers could potentially go somewhere else. They may not come back tomorrow to take advantage of the sale, even if they make a mental note to do so. This pre-advertising could be counterproductive, since the customer is already in the store.

What do you think? Is this kind of in-store advertising good or bad in the long run?

The WordPress platform is incredibly versatile and can be used in many different ways. As a result, many of the blogs that you’ll find on the Internet are as different as the bloggers behind them. This is once again a matter of personal preference, so your opinion may vary. Do you think that you should have a brief “about” section on your blog’s front page?

You’ve surely seen this around the web. People post one or two sentences, usually next to their photo, telling readers who they are or what the blog is all about. This brief snippet can be placed in the sidebar, near the header, or even in the footer. Some bloggers choose to provide an additional link to a longer bio page, whereas others feel the brief snippet is good enough.

Regardless of the type of blog that you run, it is important to have an “about” section of some kind. This helps to introduce new readers to your blog, giving them a better idea of what to expect from you. Depending on the nature of your blog, this can be a personal bio or it can simply be “about” your blog. That’s up to you.

Personally, I think that having a separate “About” page is better than having a brief snippet in the sidebar. The full page gives you more space to provide a more comprehensive bio or explanation. Also, this saves some sidebar space that can be used for other purposes.

What do you think? Do you put a bio in your sidebar?

As we approach the end of 2009, now is a good time to consider your business strategy and practices for the coming year. Is the status quo “good enough” for you or do you want something more? Something better?

One pitfall that many business owners have is the inability to distunguish between good leadership and good management. On the surface, these two characteristics may sound nearly synonymous. While they may be related, they are distinctly different from one another.

Good leadership is when you are able to set the right goals and objectives for your business. It is determining the best direction to take for both the short and long term success of your company. It is knowing exactly what is most important. Leadership is conceptual.

On the other hand, good management is knowing how to fulfill the objectives outlined with good leadership. Management is knowing how to plan and how to get the job done in the best fashion possible.

As you can see, good leadership without good management goes nowhere and good management without good leadership is counterproductive too. You need to have both.

The netbook market has really exploded onto the scene, giving people a full laptop experience in a more compact package. However, the smaller screen, smaller keyboard, and decreased performance can still leave a lot to be desired.

Fitting somewhere between a netbook and a fill-sized laptop is the recently released ASUS UL30Vt-X1 . This is a mildly modified version of the Asus UL30A that was released a few months back, taking on the same multi-touch trackpad, slick black design, and 13.3-inch LED backlit LCD.

The single biggest difference is the inclusion of a dedicated graphics card from Nvidia. The kicker is that this notebook also has Intel integrated graphics, giving the user the ability to switch between the two options on the fly. Discrete graphics offer improved performance, whereas integrated graphics provide better battery life.

Other highlights include the new dual core consumer ultra low voltage Intel processor, four gigabytes of RAM, built-in webcam, Windows 7, and a 500GB hard drive. The Asus UL30Vt-X1 is listed on Amazon.ca for $899.99.

Santa Claus is coming to town and it seems that the blogosphere is abuzz with the festivities. How are you preparing for the holidays? Going anywhere special?

Miss604 starts us off with a great list of events to cruise you through Christmas. Get ready for things like the PuSh Festival, Busking for Change, and the Skate with Santa. Don’t forget about the Bright Nights in Stanley Park too.

Deb Ng flips us over to the business side of things. She describes how freelance writing is like Christmas shopping. Act early and avoid the crowds, but don’t act impulsively. That will ultimately harm you in the long run.

Chris Bibey continues with the freelancing theme, asking his readers whether they’ll be working through the holiday season. Part of the appeal of being a freelance writer like me is the relatively flexibility that this career affords, but that also lends itself to overworking.

Buzz Bishop has found himself amidst a winter wonderland in Calgary. He may still be hunting for a home in Cowtown, but he has learned what a Lady Gaga Christmas would sound like. You’ll never look at Santa quite the same way again.

Joseph Planta recorded his last interview of the year for The Commentary. It’s a little bit of tooting my own horn, but his year-ending interview happens to be with Michael Kwan. Yup, that’s me. We talk Kindle, BlackBerry, and holiday shopping habits.

I don’t know if you’ve caught it, but there is a commercial that is making its way across several channels on television. It starts out looking like any other commercial for the Snuggie, but we later see a man with a crowbar “tear down” the screen to reveal a Subaru Outback in the great outdoors. The idea, I suppose, is to show that Subaru owners are about being a rugged and tough, rather the snuggling up with a sleeve-equipped blanket.

This may seem like a very clever marketing campaign, but it could come at a serious price. People who may have otherwise been interested in buying a Subaru vehicle may be alienated or turned off from the product if they also happen to be fans of the Snuggie. They can be mildly offended by what the commercial is seemingly trying to say. This demographic may be a relative minority, but they certainly exist.

Where discussion of this commercial gets interesting is when you take it from the perspective of the Snuggie people. On the one hand, they could be getting free advertising for their product. On the other hand, their product is being depicted in a largely negative light. They say that any exposure is good exposure, but is this still true when it comes to commercials like these.

Then again, it is very well possible that Snuggie and Subaru partnered on this ad campaign in some way. Perhaps Snuggie compensated Subaru for the “free” advertising. I can’t say for sure, but it does demonstrate some interesting cross-brand marketing opportunities. Can you employ a similar strategy with your company? Would you want to?