What do you want for Christmas? Please share below!

I have encouraged friends, family, clients, etc. to use this platform, boasting about its robust set of features.  While there had been “cooings” (is that doves?) about Hootsuite transforming from a previously free version to a paid subscription, it was not until this week that the squawking became a reality.

The freemium model is not new in the social and digital space.  In essence, Hootsuite’s new pricing attempts to follow the freemium model.  But unlike other services that upgrade only their new set of features with a paid subscription, while maintaining their free plan with already existing features, Hootsuite has elected to alienate its greatest talkers and loyal fans (those that have been there from the beginning) by diluting its free product.

HOO would do such a thing??? *

Last week, when I first saw these changes starting to take place, I tweeted a complaint about Hootsuite.  After thousands of praises, I finally had something to say to them that I needed a response to.  And did I get it?  No. I got crickets…no owls at all.

I believe that these great developers and entrepreneurs should be paid for their creativity, services, and hard work.  However, it is bad business to turn your previously free services into a paid model and expect little to no objection from your loyalest fans.  Hootsuite could learn a thing or two from 37signals who have never used the freemium model.  If you demand money for your already free services, you’ll turn fans against you quickly.  Is the bad, fast-traveling, word of mouth worth it?

Hootsuite, here is my suggestion:  Create better features for your new Pro plan and leave the Free plan the way it was; or at the very least, show some appreciation to the people who got you where you are today and let them keep the features they have grown accustomed to.

And to all businesses out there:  Don’t shut out customer complaints.  Listen to them and respond!  A remedied bad situation will get more people talking than you can imagine.  Don’t be afraid to approach negative feedback – engage it!

They will also be meeting with ultra-talented GDM member Ondine Karady at the event, whose 50′s movie- inspired kitchen, “Bumblebee by the Beach,” which was designed for House Beautiful’s “Uncompromising Design“ video series can be seen below.  Alexandra and Amanda have just updated that Ondine’s video has been playing on the big screen in Rockefeller Plaza throughout today’s event– congratulations!  Tomorrow, Ondine’s kitchen design will continue its reign in the spotlight at cooking demos and more sponsored by Jenn-Air.

Credit: Ondine Karady for House Beautiful

Tomorrow, Alexandra and Amanda will attend the Word of Mouth Marketing Supergenius Conference hosted by Gaspedal for some educational nourishment.  The event will feature how-to crash courses in Word of Mouth (WOM) Marketing, brilliant speakers, and real-world case studies.

If you happen to be in New York, head over to Rockefeller Plaza to partake in some of these exciting events. Even if you’re not a design enthusiast, there’s sure to be something for everyone to enjoy!

Again, stay updated on Twitter and follow Alexandra and Amanda as they journey through New York! More to follow…

I asked a few of our team members what they would splurge on today.

Martha's splurge- a vacation ending in Savannah, Georgia

“A 2 week vacation along the East Coast – New York to Savannah, Georgia, visiting museums, historical sites, etc.”  – Martha Kirkpatrick, Director, Member Services

“Haha I will try to think of something other than the iPad… although let’s be honest!” – Amanda Butterworth, Senior Director, Creative Services

“I would upgrade the rest of my flights in 2010 to First Class.  I might also buy some new Ferragamo shoes so I’m flying in style.”  – Yours truly (Alexandra)

“Prada shoes.” – Andrea Gibson, Advisor

Amanda's splurge- An Apple iPad. Photo: wired.com

On this spending day, I also started thinking about what I would really want to splurge on for Gibson Design Management or any of our other companies. 

The answer came to me fairly quickly.  Our team loves learning; it makes it a really fun environment that everyone gets so passionate about learning new things and then applying them to make our company better and to make our clients more successful.

If I had to splurge today on something on behalf of the company, I would take our whole team to more conferences.  I particularly would put SXSWi (South by Southwest Interactive), any of GasPedal’s Word of Mouth Marketing Supergenius conferences, Inc Magazine’s GROWCO conference, and TWTRCON NY.

Without sounding too cheesy on a fairly cheesy holiday, education is the gift that keeps on giving.  So would it really be that big of a splurge?  (I guess if we were all to fly first class, like my splurge, it would be).

What would you splurge on for your business?

Happy Spring!

After a snowy and (seemingly) endless winter, spring has finally arrived in full force: the sun is out, flowers are blooming, and jackets are becoming a distant memory.  Nature’s happy perseverance is definitely something to celebrate.  So, in the spirit of spring, the GDM team has answered some questions about what we’re looking forward to most this season:

1. How will you spend time outdoors this spring?

Martha Enjoying a View of the Rockies

Riding my horse.  We’ve had so much snow this winter that he’s gotten fat…him not me.
-Alexandra Gibson, President/CEO

My husband and I love to take late spring motorcycle rides through the Colorado Rockies, experiencing the beautiful scenery coming to life after a long winter.
–Martha Kirkpatrick, Director, Member Services

I can’t wait to bike from Rosslyn to Old Town Alexandria with my friends. The Mt. Vernon Trail is right along the Potomac – a gorgeous ride to gorgeous Old Town!
-Amanda Butterworth, Director, Creative Services

Walking to the Charlottesville City Market on Saturday mornings for Shenandoah Joe’s iced coffee, running outside, and reading poolside.
-Lolly Rush, Senior Associate, Member Services

Doing homework in a bikini on my back porch to upset my crotchety neighbor and his 20 feral cats.
-Isabel Lampton, Intern

Grilling outside with friends on spring evenings, watching UVA lacrosse games at Klockner Stadium, and wishing I had a puppy to walk.
-Jessye Aibel, Social Media Intern

A View of D.C. from the Mt. Vernon Trail

2. What are your favorite warm weather treats?

Happy hour on the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville.
-Alexandra

Hot fudge sundaes delivered by car-hop at the local Sonic burger joint; a cold, crisp Pinot Grigio on the deck at the Platte River Grille; grilled shrimp tacos on my back patio.
-Martha

A Pitcher of Homemade Sangria

Now that it’s warm out, I cannot wait to sit outside with my friends and a pitcher of sangria. Whether it is homemade or out at a happy hour, a glass of ice cold sangria always hits the spot.
-Amanda

Arch’s Frozen Yogurt is a must for warm weather and Slurpees from 7-11.
-Lolly

Curry and wine outside at Monsoon.
-Isabel

Chocolate milkshakes, homemade peanut butter banana smoothies, and margaritas from Continental Divide.
-Jessye

3. This spring, what song makes you want to drive with your windows down?

One of my favorite songs— The Killers “All These Things That I’ve Done.”
-Alexandra

“Beautiful Day” by U2.  Awaiting their June 12^th concert in Denver with breathless anticipation.
-Martha

An oldie but a goodie, I love blasting Third Eye Blind’s “Semi-Charmed Life” when I’m driving with the windows down!
-Amanda

“Cruisin’ Together”—Gwyneth Paltrow and Huey Lewis.
-Lolly

Anything not by Justin Bieber.
-Isabel

Tom Petty’s Greatest Hits CD; it reminds me of cruising around with my dad during childhood summers!
-Jessye

4. What’s your favorite spring color to wear?

Turquoise on the Runways | Spring & Summer 2010

Turquoise- Pantone’s 2010 color of the year!  I look forward to sporting it with a better tan.
-Alexandra

Orange!  One of the happiest, most vibrant colors I know.
-Martha

Turquoise!
-Amanda

White pants (after Easter of course,) with my new favorite color charcoal gray.
-Lolly

White! But not while eating aforementioned curry…
-Isabel

Yellow! It’s sunny and cheerful, which is how I’m always feeling in the spring.
-Jessye

My latest company crush is on a Greenville, South Carolina identity and branding company called Brains on Fire.  I am obsessed with the culture that they’ve created and enamored with the fact that their website shows that culture and personality.  [I especially like their Tequila Shots book which explains the 12 company beliefs; imagine a mission statement minus the boring undertones].

I know that I have this business crush when I think

1.  I want our company to be like that, or

2.  If I wasn’t having so much fun working with my team, I would want to work for theirs, or

3.  I want to be their client because I want to hang out with them.  [Pay for friends?  Hmm, they must be that good].

In the Brains on Fire case, all 3 fit the bill.  Is this crush actually business love????!

Amanda Butterworth, our Director, Creative Services, was lucky enough to meet Spike Jones, one of BOF’s Firestarters, and she said that Spike epitomizes the brand.  It’s always good to know that your business crush is not just smoke and mirrors.

Now that I’ve aired my crush to the world…Who is your business crush?

The other day a friend of mine and I were discussing some of the tribulations of our days when it hit us – focusing on the stress was actually holding us back in our daily endeavors. My friend suggested a new tactic – thanksgiving! We took a few minutes to think about the things in our lives that we are thankful for. The instant repose was so gratifying. It was such a simple but successful way to open our eyes to the blessings in our lives and to how much we were limiting ourselves.

So the next time you’re feeling weighed down with the trials of your day, take a deep breath, relax, and remember that thanksgiving doesn’t have to be just one day a year.

I asked a few of our Gibson team members to write about their favorite Thanksgiving memories.  Here is what they said:

“Growing up as the youngest child in my family (by so many years – I would almost say I was an only child) the holidays seemed dull. I would often think of how much fun it would be to have a big family – like some of my friends.

Strickland clan

Now that I am married Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. We spend it with my husband’s family, which I love. Everyone comes to our farm in Virginia, where we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with a table set for 24, eleven of which are children. I love to see my four children enjoying time spent with their cousins, aunts and uncles. Our family travels from Connecticut, California, and Maryland and they arrive early in the week, and stay though the weekend. We play games, visit, and eat lots of good food. I am so very grateful to be able to spend this time with our family and create memories that will last generations.”

- Margie Strickland, Associate Director, Accounting Services

- Heather Bien, GDM Blogger Extraordinaire

(Photo from espn.com)

“When I was in 5th grade, we lived in Idaho and my mom, dad, and I traveled to New York (the big city!) for Thanksgiving.  It was a great week for a 10 year old–eating Thanksgiving dinner at the Four Seasons, petting every carriage horse in line outside Central Park, and seeing the Rockettes at Radio City.  We saw the Macy’s Day Parade live on the street and quickly realized that witnessing it on TV was much better considering the sub-arctic temperatures outside.”

- Alexandra Gibson, CEO

- Amanda Butterworth, Director, Creative Services

From Full Cry: A Hound Blog

“I loved waking up on Thanksgiving morning and going to the Blessing of the Hounds in Keswick, VA. The ceremony entails formally attired foxhunters, their horses and hounds, and a blessing for protection and thanksgiving for the harvest season. After the blessing my family would rush home and watch the Macy’s day parade.”

- Lolly Rush, Senior Associate, Member Services

- Martha Kirkpatrick, Director, Member Services

What are your favorite Thanksgiving memories?