Today, we got the funniest note from one of our customers, Michelle Riggen-Ransom at Batch Blue Software. She was one of 5,000 people who descended upon Austin last week for South by Southwest Interactive and had the pleasure of sporting an Emma-sponsored lanyard for the five days of the festival. Here’s how Michelle described it, in her funny, cheeky way:

“Hello Emmateers-

I just wanted to say thank you for providing such a durable and attractive lanyard from which to hang our South by Southwest badges. As a new Emma customer, I was pleasantly surprised to see Emma’s name and sexy/geeky girl logo gracing the necks of thousands of sexy/geeky conference attendees. Then I thought, of course! Emma is the perfect company to be usefully, tastefully embracing the SXSW masses.

I’m pleased to report that the lanyard held up very well. Its bright green color looked so smart with conference attendees’ spring wardrobes in a way that was both fresh and modern. And what craftsmanship! Even in a sudden downpour, the lanyard steadfastly displayed my badge, serving the all-important job of providing me access to conference panels, parties, unlimited events and opportunities. The magnetic release clasp was like a love letter from home - if you get in trouble dears, it seemed to say, I will sacrifice myself so that you may be safe.

It was very bittersweet when, on the last day of SXSWi, the cheery green Emma lanyards began to be overtaken in number by the gothy, navel-gazing black of the music lanyards. I took a look around, packed my badge and Emma lanyard in a special spot in my suitcase and cleared out.

SXSWi2008 may be over, but thanks to the lanyard, I will always have my memories. Thanks again for being part of the magic.”

Thanks for the note, Michelle, and for coining the term “Emmateers.” Like a well constructed lanyard, it’s a keeper.

Technorati Tags: sxsw, sxswi, sxsw2008, batch blue software, myemma.com

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South By Southwest kicks off this Friday with the Interactive portion of the festival. For geeks like us, little gets us more excited than to sit in a room full of other geeks talking tech (yeah, we need to get out more). But don’t be fooled. SXSW began (and remains) high on the cool chart, because it all started as a music festival. What’s cooler than a music festival, right? Over the years the conference has expanded to include three categories: Interactive, Film and Music. All categories are now considered equally cool. Even though The Sadies aren’t playing at the Interactive portion. Whatever.

Anyhoo, we’re proud to be a sponsor of SXSW this year. You won’t miss us if you’re attending the Interactive portion because we’ll be wrapped around your neck, um, literally, as this year’s lanyard sponsor. Have a closer look at the lanyard and you’ll see a special project we’re working on with Plant-It 2020. You can help us plant 1,000 trees if you’re attending, and more information is available here.

If you’re planning to be at SXSW Interactive, we would love to meet you in person. Whether you’re an Emma client, a fan or just interested in learning more about what Emma does, perhaps we could find time to grab a beverage, or a snack, or even a meal.

To get in touch:
Email Dave Delaney, New Media Specialist or find Dave on Twitter.
Email Erik Jones, Emma Database Architect or find Erik on Twitter.

We hope to see you there!

Technorati Tags: sxsw interactive, sxsw, myemma.com, Emma

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We’re downright flattered to be mentioned in this month’s edition of Inc. Magazine as a part of their profile of several email service providers out there. The kind folks at Inc. featured Emma as the best email marketing service for design help, and to celebrate, we turned the article into a handy-to-read PDF, which you can download here. Also, our office celebrations typically don’t involve creating and distributing PDFs. Just so you know.

Technorati Tags: Inc. Magazine, email marketing, design, myemma.com

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According to Facebook’s statistics page there are 51 million active users today. Are you one of the 51 million? If so, we’d love you to drop by and join our new Friends of Emma Group. Of course, membership is free.

We’ll be adding news and links to goodies in the coming weeks. Join today and add yourself to the discussions on topics like: email marketing, newsletters, new media, and any other topics that come up.

We hope to see you there.

Technorati Tags: Emma Email Marketing, Friends of Emma, Facebook, newsletters

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If there’s anything that we enjoy here, it’s the opportunity to get out and spend some quality time with the stylish members of the Emma community. So when we had the chance to work with Emma client Office PDX and help sponsor the bSide6 preview party in Portland, Oregon, we naturally jumped on board.

bSide6 is a soon-to-be-open workspace for cultural creatives on East Burnside in the heart of Portland. It’s without a doubt on the cutting edge of architecture (so this non-architecturally-savvy person is told), and a few Emma clients in the Portland area are eager to call the new space home when it opens next summer. For work, that is. Not actual home. I mean, let’s face it. No office is cool enough to shower in.

We also swung by Amalee, a little boutique in the city. As the mark of a fabulous Emma customer, they had an email signup list on proud display (way to go, you bearers-of-the-permission-policy, you). In addition to having plenty of stylish clothes and accessories, they also host the occasional art show. So if you’re in Portland and the timing is right, you can shop there while enjoying a cocktail, some hors d’oeuvres, and a little culture on the side. Really, it’s like a cornucopia of style. That’s right. It’s almost Thanksgiving. I can say cornucopia.

Technorati Tags: portland, amalee, office pdx, bside6, myemma.com

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During the last week of August, temperatures topped 102 degrees in our home city of Nashville. No better time to head north, eh? Steve Turney, Emma’s Manager of Agency Sales, and I headed up to Chicago to greet some existing friends of Emma, make new ones and impart some wisdom about our industry’s best practices to a group from AIGA Chicago. Low 80’s, here we come!

That evening we held an Emma Social Hour at the swanky Martini Park. Our social hour is all about meeting our Emma fans and customers face to face. That, and cocktails. We had the great pleasure of meeting the crew from Jacobs & Clevenger - one of Emma’s earliest agency clients. Looks like Megan is enjoying the Pineapple Navan Martini. Megan, we strongly recommend you try the Strawberry Basil Martini on your next visit.

The next evening we headed to the Chicago Art Institute to present Email by Design for 60 members of the Chicago chapter of AIGA. There were questions about building permission based lists, creating eye catching content *above the fold* and how to interpret bounces. It was this email marketing nerd’s paradise.

My very favorite part of my time in the windy city was Sunday afternoon. I headed to the Chicago Antique Market, which just happened to be walking distance from the Greek Town festival where I had lunch. According to one friendly Chicagoan, there are more street festivals there from May to September than anywhere else in the world. I can’t prove it, but I digress. On my stroll down the street to discover the treasures of antiquity that might await me, I passed the restaurant Saltaus. What a coincidence. They’re an Emma customer. It’s über-hip, which means they don’t serve people until the sun goes down, but I took my chances by knocking on the door. I had the great pleasure of meeting the proprietor, Nader:

Nader pointed out to me, after a VIP tour of his restaurant, that the ladies next door referred him to Emma. Turns out another Chicago area customer, Bespoke Cuisine, was right next door. I had to go say hi. Here are the owners, Kim and Jeannie. I should also mention here that Jeannie is a founding board member of The Porchlight Music Theater who also uses Emma to keep in touch with patrons and fans.

So, move over Kevin Bacon. There’s a new game in town - six degrees to Emma. It seems these days a gal can’t stroll down the street without happening across a friend of Emma. And that beats any antique treasure every time.

Technorati Tags: chicago, aiga, email by design, saltaus, bespoke cuisine, jacobs and clevenger, martini park, myemma.com

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This past Saturday, members of Nashville’s New Media community gathered at the Exit/In for 12 hours of speaker sessions, networking, drinking, and fun (presented in part by Emma). I could write a long summary, but I think breaking it down to the best quotes is the way to go. So, without further ado, here are our top ten favorite quotes about BarCamp Nashville (in no specific order):

1. “Barcamp Nashville is a bunch of folk guitarists that tend bar on the side who are going to sleep under the stars in their $300,000 RVs and sing cowboy songs around the propane log fire.” - Going Like 60
2. “The entire day had the trappings of a Nashville entertainment event right down to the venue. Each city’s barcamp needs to have its own flavor. And there was an unmistakable Nash-Vegas flavor at this one.” - Shotgun Concepts
3. “I really only caught the beginning and end, because, let’s face it - I have other things I’d rather do on a Saturday than hang out with a bunch of web nerds.” - Selling Albums in a Singles World
4. “I’d love to have my product on Oprah. I’m working on that now.” - Viva La Lesley
5. “A great coming together of minds and ideas.” - Super Wonder Bang
6. “Learned some cool stuff about Google… more than I probably wanted to know, but I’ll be sure taking advantage of Google a bit more.” - Gavoweb
7. “Good Stuff - Good People - Right here in Nashville!” - WonderDawg
8. “Man it is hot in here…” - Brian Bruijn
9. “The BarCamp Nashville conversation needs to continue into the afterlife of BarCamp.” - Music City Bloggers
10. “It just goes to show that for all the progress and connectivity of ‘web 2.0′ — people still want a personal connection.” - Shotgun Concepts

Technorati Tags: Going Like 60, Shotgun Concepts, Selling Albums in a Singles World, Viva La Lesley, Super Wonder Bang, Gavoweb, WonderDawg, Brian Bruijn, Music City Bloggers, BarCamp Nashville, barcampnashville, myemma.com

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Last week, we headed to Portland for the Open Source Convention, lovingly known as OSCON, where thousands of open source software developers, system administrators and technology lovers from around the globe came to bask in the glory of unadulterated geek-speak. Naturally we had to gather our laptops and pocket protectors to be front-and-center at this event, since the promotion and development of open source is a subject dear to our heart. For those new to the phrase, open source promotes community involvement when building products, believing that collaboration and openness to review leads to the highest quality and most flexibility. We heartily agree, making this event high on our must-do list in ‘07.

We spent a lot of time enjoying the information exchange and general company of core PostgreSQL and PHP developers (those two technologies comprising Emma’s database and the language her brain is written in, respectively). Erik Jones contributed his support by helping with the PostgreSQL table at the convention center - a booth that earned the unofficial distinction of having the most knowledgeable “army of nerds” in the exhibit hall (considering the crowd, that’s quite a compliment). The conference sessions were a delicious (yes, delicious) array of topics on exciting new tools and technologies, and we’ve already felt the benefit of bringing them back home to Emma.

I also can’t help but share my newfound love for Portland itself, and we explored the neighborhoods and parks using their excellent public transportation system until our cameras and feet simply couldn’t take any more. From the pearl district to the famous Rose Test Gardens, we were completely charmed by the city and its culture. Portland, if it were possible to deck you in medals of awesomeness, we would do it.

In summary - new friends, new inspiration, and more pictures of roses than we’ve ever taken in our lives.

Technorati Tags: oscon, oscon2007, portland, postgresql, php, myemma.com

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Earlier this month, our friends at MarketingProfs hosted a virtual conference. We’re big fans of all things ‘Profs - and admittedly a little intrigued when the word ‘avatar’ gets thrown around - so we decided to participate as a vendor and set up our own virtual booth. On the day of the conference, visitors could come by the booth to download tips for improving their email marketing efforts, chat with someone from Emma (Sara, the one from Nebraska, volunteered), and learn more about what we do. We also had the option of including a 60-second video greeting to welcome visitors to the booth. And what says “welcome to our virtual booth” like a video of an old-school conference booth? Go on, think felt tablecloth, fishbowl, and a big bowl of Werthers. You know what, don’t imagine it.
Just watch it here.

Technorati Tags: myemma.com, marketingprofs, virtual conference, virtual booth, myemma.com, emma, email marketing, email newsletters, enewsletters

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I just got back to Nashville from Podcasters Across Borders (PAB). A side project from Emma is my gig as producer and co-host of Two Boobs and a Baby +, a comedy parenting Internet radio show.

Last year I attended the first PAB conference in Kingston, Ontario. Each year members of the Canadian podcasting community and beyond meet to share stories, watch presentations, learn and drink. This year was no different than last year, only the group doubled in size.

If you’re a podcaster I definitely recommend you attend PAB2008. You can find out more from the link above. Also, if you are interested in listening to some of the sessions check out the Canadian Podcast Buffet. Hosts Mark Blevis and Bob Goyetche also present the conference, so they podcast the presentations after the conference for those who couldn’t make it.

I also suggest you check out Neil Gorman’s presentation about podcaster burnout. I should note, this was his first time presenting (and definitely not his last - he rocked!).

Finally, I want to thank Emma for offering to allow me to buy my PAB friends drinks!

Cheers.

Technorati Tags: PAB2007, Podcasters Across Borders, podcasting, two boobs and a baby, neil gorman, bob goyetche, mark blevis myemma.com

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