Happy Fourth, Taking Aim!

by Kim Taylor

Maybe the fireworks will have to wait until our fifth anniversary, but today marks our fourth year blogging at Taking Aim.

When we began this journey four years ago, we hoped to enable our team as thought leaders—to give them a voice in the industry they’ve chosen for their careers. Sometimes we get off topic, but we find our way back to issues of targeted communication, social media, things that inspire us creatively, and topics vital to the success of public relations.

We’ve even been awarded by our peers with a Grand Image Award, Image Award and Judge’s Award.

And, although I’m most proud of the content our team has contributed, I’m pretty tickled by the stats, as well:

We’ve written 564 Posts and received 545 Comments. More than 41,350 eyeballs have read the pages of Taking Aim, but this was the most-read post of all time (congrats, Heather!). Most of you find our blog through Twitter and Facebook, and Taking Aim is still the No. 1 driver of traffic to our website.

Thanks to you, Mr. and Mrs. 41,350. I hope you continue to read (and comment) for years to come.

All Intensive Purposes

by Kim Taylor

I know what you’re thinking … it’s all intents and purposes.   You’re right; it is.  But, if you’re one of the students James Courter refers to in his Wall Street Journal piece, you might – like I did a few years back –mistake the two.

Courter blames students’ lack of reading for some of these hilarious gaffes:

Except, the reality is, they’re not so hilarious.  And, they made me think immediately of a blog post I wrote a couple months ago about Florida’s FCAT dilemma.  But, here’s the thing.  I’m well-read and college-educated, but somewhere along the lines of life I heard (or misheard) the phrase “all intents and purposes” (first coined in 1546, by the way) and it stuck.  I used it incorrectly until I was finally corrected by a friend—it’s still a joke between us today.

The point is, FCATs aren’t the answer; reading isn’t the answer; and, writing isn’t the answer.  They are all the answer.  But, thanks for the laugh, Mr. Courter.

Gogo Walks the Talk

by Roger Pynn

Gogo Internet … the provider of online services to travelers strapped into an airline seat has to live up to a pretty high standard: they sign emails “fly classy.”

I complained to Gogo that I felt sucked in when, while on the check-in page of the Delta Airlines website, I was offered the opportunity to save money by pre-purchasing wireless Internet services as I checked in for my pending 11.5 hour flight from Venice, Italy, to Atlanta, Ga.

I’ve used Gogo many times and love their service … and I thought “here’s a way to get a head start on returning to work after a European vacation. So I agreed to spend twelve whole dollars for the ability to use my iPad to connect to my desktop, retrieve files and work through those boring hours across the Atlantic.

Except … you got it … there was no WiFi on the flight.

So when I contacted to Gogo on my return, I first got an explanation that the company only offers service on domestic flights … but, good news, my credit would never expire and could be used on any Delta flight.

But, I explained, I hardly every fly Delta … and I certainly wouldn’t use the equivalent of a 12-hour pass on my frequent 1.5-2 hour flights — usually on Southwest Airlines.

No problem. The folks at Gogo lived up to their motto and their customer service agent said “I have canceled your pass. I have included a promotional code for free service on any future flight on any Gogo equipped plane …”

That’s classy. It took just two e-mails to straighten out the problem. The folks at Gogo clearly understand that reputation and responsiveness go hand-in-hand.

Hopefully someone from Delta will read this and figure out that it isn’t nice to trick flyers into a purchase they can’t use.