Natalie Black is joining me here on the NTM blog, posting her unique insights into marketing and new media. Natalie has been working with us for about six months, and is a PR and social media expert with experience working with major national brands.

I’m glad to have her help keeping the blog up-to-date (especially as my due date nears!). Natalie has a sharp mind and oodles of energy (oh how I envy that!) and will be a great addition to the blog. Enjoy!

So you may have heard that we are experiencing a gas shortage here in Atlanta. Yesterday, my husband and I went to about twelve stations in the area and none of them had gas. There is a QT (Quik Trip) nearby that had gas the other day, and a long line, but it was very orderly. They had an employee directing traffic and everyone waited their turn.

That got me thinking. That QT is across the street from another station, and a block away from several others. When the gas crisis is over, people will fall back into old habits and pull in to which ever station has the cheapest gas and is on the right side of the road. But does it have to be? That QT has an opportunity to capture me as a customer right now. They have a captive audience waiting in line for 15-30 minutes at a time. Why not take advantage of that? What if they had an employee bringing bottled water out to the cars (complimentary, or heck, go ahead and offer it for sale). Or samples of the food they would like to sell inside? What about passing out coupons to get us to come back when the shortage is over?

Can you imagine the buzz this would create if, in addition to being the orderly station with gas in the neighborhood, they were also the station that was handing out free food, drinks, and coupons? That would engender enormous good will and word-of-mouth, and create new customers for that station.

What do you think? What else could the station do?

Google continues its plans for world dominance with its own browser, available for download Tuesday. Google contends that web surfing has moved beyond text and graphics and that browsers need to work better for video and other interactive applications. We’ll definitely keep our eye on this.

Read more here: Google set to introduce its own Web browser – Yahoo! News

Ditch your Lonely Planet guidebooks and logon on to TripAdvisor. That’s what 70% of the folks surveyed and referenced in this article say they do. (The article doesn’t tell me much about the survey participants so take this for what it’s worth.) I still find the guidebooks useful when I’m walking around a city, but like many people, I plan my trips online first. My husband and I used TripAdvisor to find hotels and activities in Italy for our honeymoon, and recently used it to plan a trip to New Mexico. We’re big fans. TripAdvisor features user reviews on accommodations, activities, and restaurants. User reviews are the online equivalent of word-of-mouth. And word-of-mouth remains one of the most powerful marketing tools.

Businesses have caught on. We’ve been asked by hotels we stayed at to post our reviews on TripAdvisor. Super smart marketing.

Read the article here: Travellers’ internet tips proving a hotter destination than popular guidebooks – WalesOnline

Again, from the you-can’t-make-this-stuff-up files: PETA wants to advertise on the border fences. They want to warn immigrants that crossing into the U.S. could be harmful to their health because we eat so poorly over here. “If the Border Patrol Doesn’t Get You, the Chicken and Burgers Will — Go Vegan” is the message that would be printed in both Spanish and English on the fences.

This doesn’t work at all. Seriously, PETA, that’s your target market? Or maybe you’re trying to get free press for the half-baked idea? You might get it, but I suspect it’ll be of the mocking variety.

Read more here: PETA wants to put vegan ads on border fence | Pets Houston | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle

I was just telling a friend how I wish there was an easy way to create a digital baby book. I’ve grown so accustomed to creating digital photo books that I can’t quite grasp the notion of printing photos and writing in an old-fashioned baby book. Well, I can grasp the notion and like the idea of being a part of such a cool tradition, but it does seem to me that I could do so much more online, like store videos and share pictures and stories with our relatives. I had contemplated setting up my own secure social network on Ning but this site, Kidmondo, looks like a much better tool. It’s an online baby journal. Secure and password-protected, of course, so only those you invite can see all the precious moments of your little one.

As far as marketing trends go, the social networks are a buzz with all things mommy and baby. As we have blogged about before, women love to pass out referrals; in fact, we feel compelled to help businesses grow. As a marketer, if you can tap into that innate desire women have, then you hit the marketing jackpot. Mommy blogs are a great place to start. And I’ll bet the mommy bloggers are talking up tools like Kidmondo.

Read more here: Kidmondo: an online baby Journal

He was, in many ways, a marketing phenomenon. An example of how an idea catches on and spreads like wildfire on the web. (Because it was a good idea and an inspiring message; not because some marketing folks pushed it.) His touching “Last Lecture” was viewed by millions online and his book about the lecture became a bestseller. Today, Professor Randy Pausch, succombed to the terminal cancer he has battled for over two years.

Read about his incredible life here: Last Lecture Professor Randy Pausch, 47, Dies – Well – Tara Parker-Pope – Health – New York Times Blog

Trends in fashion, home decor, life . . . as marketers we pay attention to what’s “in” and work hard to cultivate the Next Big Thing. Some trends are just plain silly or clearly for the young (bubble skirts fit both categories in my opinion), and some trends are just plain cringe-inducing. Like the latest Bridezilla request. It seems that brides across the nation are requesting their bridesmaids get botox, spray-on tans, and all manner of cosmetic enhancements. Gone are the days when you bought your bridesmaids a dainty pair of earrings or politely requested they wear matching shoes.

Look, I’m not a Botoxer myself, but I have no problem with women who choose to go under the needle or the knife, if that’s their preference. I do have a problem asking others to do it on my behalf.

Besides, if you’re really worried about wrinkles in your photos, there are easier ways to camouflage that. Photoshop works wonders. And in my experience, the joy of marrying the man of my dreams put such a glow on my face that I doubt anyone noticed my wrinkles. Or at least, that’s what I’d like to believe! (That’s me in the photo, at 41, on my wedding day.)

Read more here: Skin Deep – It’s Botox for You, Dear Bridesmaids – NYTimes.com

You can’t make this stuff up. McDonald’s is running a contest on MySpace to update its classic Big Mac jingle (remember “two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese . . .”). The five finalists’ videos are on MySpace. Turns out that one of the finalists served jail time . . . FOR ROBBING A MCDONALD’S!

If he wins, I have no idea how McD’s will spin this. But it does point out the uncontrolled nature of UGC (user-generated content) and web contests.

Read more here: McDonald’s robber is finalist in jingle contest — for McDonald’s — South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com