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Michigan Blog - Featuring Michigan Shopping, Travel, Business & PeopleMichigan Shopping, Deals and Coupons - People and community, Michigan Sports (as well as High School Sports), Traveling in the State of Michigan, Michigan Events and Michigan Business - all in one place.Friday, February 27, 2009 Dick Purtan Bed and Bread Radiothon- CLICK HERE!
Friday, February 27, 2009 - Hot News!The 22nd Annual Dick Purtan Radiothon benefits The Salvation Army Bed & Bread Program, which provides food and shelter for the homeless and hungry in metropolitan Detroit. Tune in to Oldies 104.3 WOMC Detroit's Greatest Hits from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. today or drop by the Oakland Mall in Troy and be part of the action. The 2009 Dick Purtan Radiothon benefits The Salvation Army Bed & Bread program which brings food, shelter and services to countless destitute people within our community, providing them with their basic needs and assisting them to get back on their feet. The Bed & Bread program provides almost 5,000 meals every day of the year to children, adults and seniors who would otherwise go hungry and shelters nearly 570 each night. By making a donation of $10 a month, for a total of $120 a year, or $20 a month, for a total of $240 a year, donors gain membership to the Bed & Bread Club. Bed & Bread Club members are eligible for a Michigan tax credit. Donors, who pledge $240 or more for the year, will receive a commemorative collectible of Harrison the cartoon Bed & Bread truck, with Dick Purtan as the driver. Donate Here Labels: Dick Purtan Radiothon, Salvation Army Saturday, February 21, 2009 The Landscape of the Internet is Changing- CLICK HERE!
The landscape is changing and it needs your attention!If you are a small business owner in Michigan ( or elsewhere ), the odds are ...a website was built for your company about eight years ago (on average) and then it was revamped about three years ago. If you did your homework and hired an internet savvy consultant or a web firm that understood a bit about meta tags and linking - then you probably have gotten a little bit of business from that website of yours. Nothing to call home about - but it probably nudged your business to profitability in one way or another. But the landscape HAS changed and the leads are lessening because more and more of your competition has jumped on the bandwagon and built websites. The advent of Google ads and Yahoo ads and other small Pay per Click and Pay per Position opportunities have arose. Much traffic is now generated by social networks and organic search results are getting harder to obtain. It was easier in the past - the steps were simple:
Now the process is a bit more complicated and it is not clear what parts of the process will give you the biggest bang for the buck.
The case for a full-time web designer, web marketer or at least IT professional is realized but not something you can afford. Where do you start? First - get a blog installed on your website. Blogger offers easy to use tools and allows you to integrate the blog easily with your own website. Second - set aside one hour each day (or evening) that you work exclusively on an online reputation plan. Create profiles in Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIN and Plaxo to start. Third - Get started on a PR strategy. Each month write a press release that announces the latest and greatest news about your company. Send these across the internet and even send them to your local paper Start with the above three steps and it should give you the momentum to obtain more business from the Internet. Once it proves itself worthwhile - THEN you can hire a web developer or online marketer on a regular basis. Happy ONLINE marketing! Labels: Michigan Web Design, online reputation, social networking Thursday, February 19, 2009 Skiing in Northern Michigan - A look at Shanty Creek- CLICK HERE!
We took the plunge this week and drove the four hours up to Bellaire - and didn't regret it.  I imagine that Northern Michigan is feeling the stagnant economy just as much as we are here in the Detroit area. For the Michigan skiier, this can mean great deals on skiing and lodging in all parts of Northern Michigan.We stayed at Summit Village in a condo not far from the main Summit Village lodge - which is called Lakeview Hotel & Conference Center and enjoyed a world of wondrous adventure during our short trip. Shanty Creek Resorts is not exaggerating when they say that they "provide a magical setting for your Michigan winter vacation". The beauty of the resort is breathtaking. Schuss mountain is just as challenging as it was when I was a teenager and the pools, food and service is even better. Schuss Mountain is currently offering great deals on skiing and on Tuesday, we got a 2 for 1 deal. This let two of us ski all day and all night for $45.00!!! With 37 downhill runs, 3 terrain parks, 7 lifts and 21km of Nordic trails we thought it was a steal! Night skiing is available at both Summit Mountain and Schuss Mountain and they have plenty of fresh snow (not like down here). We went tubing one day and enjoyed both indoor and outdoor pools and everything was much less expensive than you would imagine. If you need any equipment before heading up I-75 or 131 - don't forget to check our coupon section where you can find coupons for all major brand ski equipment: Remember - Shanty Creek offers many different options for those wanting to learn how to ski, snowboard and race. For those who just want to brush up on their skills, try a race clinic or sign up for one of our private lessons. Labels: Ski Gear Coupons, Ski Resorts in Michigan Friday, February 13, 2009 Michigan Festivals and Community Fairs- CLICK HERE!
When most of us hear the word "Festival", we usually think of Summer Pastime Fairs with parades and street-side vendors, but Michigan has festivals in thier communities year-round and many are unbelievably unique.  For example, there is still time to get to the Cherry Capitol Winter Wonderfest this weekend. Festivities begin today at 4 pm at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa. The festival is a means of celebrating all that winter has to offer while, at the same time, providing a way to generate donations for Special Olympics Michigan. Activities available here at the Resort include cross-country skiing, skating, snowshoeing, horse sleigh rides, and snowmobile rides. Last month, students at Michigan Technological University constructed more than 50 elaborately carved snow statues, some up to 30 feet tall at Houghton's Winter Carnival. They offered horse-drawn sleighs to view the statues on campus. And last weekend was: The North American Snow Festival in Cadillac. We have a number of festivals in our main directory. If you are a volunteer, marketer, event planner or just a citizen of the community and you know of a festival that is not listed, please list your Michigan Festival for free. We will verify that everything is accurate and approve the listing. Labels: Michigan Festivals, Michigan Travel Sunday, February 8, 2009 45,343 Reasons to Plan a Michigan Vacation this year!- CLICK HERE!
 The Michigan Business Directory and our wonderful staff have been spending alot of time researching the many ways to enjoy our beautiful state. It's that time of year that vacations are being planned, tickets purchased, honeymoons decided on - and we hope that our expansive reasons convince you to take a look at Michigan and then take a second look at everything Michigan has to offer. We built a database with 45,343 features in the State of Michigan that should attract tourism. Each and everyone of these is NOT commercial. Another words, our database does not include hotels or amusement parks (although you can find thousands of these in our business directory) - but our county feature database includes: ... and a whole lot more! Each of the 83 counties in Michigan have been broken down into a list of cities. On each of the county pages, a visitor can quickly click on the features in that county ranging from canals and lakes to hospitals and cemetaries. For example, did you know that in Clare County alone, there are over a hundred summits, mountains and picturesque locations to enjoy? Plan a Michigan Vacation and make sure that you spend time enjoying the natural beauty of the state as well the tourist attractions. We currently have 20% off coupons for ski lift tickets at a number of Michigan Ski Resorts. Labels: Michigan Travel, Michigan Vacations Lady Liberty Steps Into Spring- CLICK HERE!
Sedo Little, 18, of Warren, Michigan puts some Spring into Lady Liberty's step.
As I reluctantly drove to the library yesterday, my thoughts were not as sunny or warm as the day was. I was grateful that Mother Nature finally gave us a break from the bleak winter weather, but I was also feeling down due to some self-imposed, internal pressure. Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of a tall, slim figure, dressed in a long, flowing, shiny turquoise-colored gown. This aqua-green robed figure had a large, spiked hat on his head and was dancing on the sidewalk, stepping to his left and right. He was holding up a sign that I could not read yet. He was clearly having a great time, listening to his own music and swaying in the sun. I immediately smiled and began to laugh out loud, forgetting my grey thoughts. As I turned onto the main road, I was able to see the front of this young man dance around in his costume. He was holding a sign up that said Liberty Tax Service. It seemed as if he had not a care in the world. In the distance, I spotted another turquoise -gowned person, smiling and enthusiastically waving a big red hand mitt. He also held up a sign, which said "Got W-2's? File Now" Both of these people appeared to be genuinely happy in the moment. Their enthusiasm was inspiring to me. I felt that if these guys could dress up as Lady Liberty, stand on the sidewalk and entice people to come in and get their TAXES done, then I certainly could go to the library and get some of my work done. So I turned the car around and drove back to meet Lady Liberty and thank him for making me smile. Turns out the dancing Lady Liberty was a young man named Sedo Little. The other Liberty impersonator was further down the street and I was unable to meet them. When I walked up to Sedo, I realized he was just a teen. Well, 18 is almost not a teen, but for a 40-year old like me, 18 is still teen. I introduced myself and told him that I saw him dancing and that he made my day brighter. He smiled and seemed a little embarrassed, but he was happy and kind. Sedo told me that this was his part time job. "Well, his only job,"... he said. I told Sedo that he was doing an excellent job and to keep on dancing. He certainly made my day better just by watching and meeting him. I think I told him that he was "cute". Yikes! I hope I didn't say that! An 18-year old does not need to hear he is cute! Especially when he is dressed as Lady Liberty.......but I think he knew what I meant. In any case, Sedo Little is a little shy, very gracious and has a great personality. I told him I was a writer and wanted his permission to use his name and image on a blog. He seemed surprised but said "sure". After Sedo and I spoke, I drove away, and felt much more enthusiastic about getting to the library and doing my work. Turns out, my work became more fun just by meeting Sedo. I now had the freedom and ability to write about my encounter and a new attitude to help me enjoy the rest of my day. However, I believe the best part of my adventure was when I realized that I had no concrete reason to stop in at Liberty Tax service. My husband is incredibly talented and handles all of our taxes. I just give him my stuff and he takes care of business. I needed no forms, no files, no nothing. So, in spite of myself and my bad mood in the beginning of this encounter, I ended up happy and feeling ahead of the game. I stopped in at Liberty Tax Service and met a very interesting Lady Liberty who taught me how to put some spring into my own step.
Labels: Liberty Tax Service, Michigan Service Tax, Michigan Taxes Sunday, February 1, 2009 The Michigan Business Directory ( www.MichiganBusiness.us ) goes Geospatial!- CLICK HERE!
 The Michigan Business Directory (MBD) announced today in a press release that it has launched an extensive geospatial integration using Google Map's API with it's popular business directory ( http://www.michiganbusiness.us/ ), school directory, and county feature application.I am outlining the features below, but highly suggest that you visit the directory: http://www.michiganbusiness.us/ to completely experience the geospatial features. If your company is listed on the directory, make sure you login and update your information, especially your address so that the mapping is accurate. The MBD New "County Feature Mapping" The MBD's new county feature mapping application allows visitors to find geographical features such as hospitals, forests, mines, beaches and public parks organized by Michigan County. The application has over fifty different options to choose from and over 46,000 features in it's database. In some cases (for example for "Forests"), the MBD mapping system shows all features in Michigan on one map. Each of the features is stored in the database as a longitude and latitude which eliminates geocoding and saves much time in loading the map. Business Directory Mapping With the launch of the new "geospatial" Michigan Business Directory, mapping capabilities are expanded to:
School and Educational Facility Mapping The MBD has integrated popular Google Map API features to create a useful, educational and expandable application to help get Michigan on the map. Mary Joyce, CEO and Managing Partner of the Michigan Business Directory stated, "We are happy that our programming team has provided this useful application, but we are aware that we have only dented the surface of what can be and what we will be providing in the near future." She added, "Michigan is suffering with the stagnant economy and we are working in overdrive, here at MBD, to add new marketing capabilities and features for Michigan Business and the Michigan Travel Industry". About the Michigan Business Directory The Michigan Business Directory is an online portal offering Michigan companies the opportunity to market thier companies online for free. Advertising is accepted on the site through Google Adsense. Not only can Michigan companies create a profile for thier company, but they can also list events for free on the popular event calendar. The portal also features an expansive travel section, blog and education section with every school in Michigan listed with up to date contact. Labels: Google Mapping, Michigan Colleges, Michigan Schools |
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