A question for TAs

[ This is a repost of the following article: ]
[ From: Juliana L Holm ]
[ Subject: A question for TAs ]
[ Newsgroups: rec.travel.cruises ]
[ Message-ID: ]

On Sunday I am speaking to a class at the local community college on Travel
Marketing. Primarily I am to talk about the logistics of internet marketing
(what pieces do you need to put together to get on the web, how do you set up
opt-in email lists, what are the downsides of being a spammer, how to register
a domain, stuff like that)

This is to people of whom many are NOT internet savvy (some will be, some will
not). My credentials are as an experienced IT professional with significant
Travel interest. The professor of the class happens to be my TA.

I also plan to discuss internet travel communities, primarily from the point
of view of a resource for a new agent (how do you find out what a cruise
is like if you have never been on that boat, evaluate a hotel you have not
been to). But I will also talk about the importance of truly participating
in internet communities; providing value for the value you get from the
community. As the professor is not very knowledgeable about this topic,
she'd like me to talk about them a little more.

I have some questions for the TAs on this board. You can reply, in case others
are interested, or reply to me via email. If you reply via email, I can
post a summation of findings to the newsgroup.

so here are some questions? This is not a scientific survey. I'm not trying
to say x% of TAs on rtc do y, but rather to say ta's on internet communities may
do y, z, etc.

1. Do you use internet communities (bulletin boards, review sights, usenet
newsgroups, mail lists) as a resource? Or primarily as a way to make yourself
visible to potential clients? Or do you do it out of the general enjoyment
that we non-TA members of the community use? Some combination of the above?

2. Is this a successful way to do what you identified in 1? Why or Why not
(examples are welcome but not necessary)

3. Some internet communities (especially Usenet) has more of a tendancy to
attract naysayers of all types. Is this a problem for you? How do you handle
this?

4. How much time does particpating in these communities take for you in a
typical week? Is this time worth it in terms of business? In terms of
personal knowledge?

Is there anything else that you would like to say?

Thanks in advance.

--
Julie
**********
Check out my Travel Pages (non-commercial) at
http://www.dragonsholm.org/travel.htm

--
Julie
**********
Check out my Travel Pages (non-commercial) at
http://www.dragonsholm.org/travel.htm