Part 4 : Five "key" questions

Which website do you visit most often and why?

• ClickZ - great marketing advice from experts who don't just talk, but "walk the walk" as well
• canoe.ca - Canadian news and information portal...my default home page
• inregina.com - home-town portal site keeps me updated on local news and events
• cnnsi.com & soccerage.com - don't get much soccer news in Canada, so it's the best way to get my fix of European soccer information
• theonion.com - to remind me that the Web is for play, as well as work

What did you last buy online and why did you choose that site?
Book "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom, from Chapters.ca... this site is sort of a Canadian equivalent to Amazon.com, and I try to buy from Canadian sites where possible

What would you miss most about the Internet?
Discussion lists - interaction with peers from around the world. I learned most of what I know about on-line marketing from folks I've met through e-mail lists.

What was the best piece of web advice you ever got?
The best piece of advice came from an article I read on-line (and shame on me, I can't remember the source)...but the advice was, when communicating with customers, whether through your site or via e-mail, always write as if you were conducting a one-to-one conversation with an acquaintance. That means, forget the buzzwords, lose the hype, the marketing babble and the "two-dollar" words, and write just as you would talk. Polite, congenial, and in plain English.

Which web personality would you most like to have dinner with and why?
Can't decide between two:

Andy Bourland, ClickZ founder - I love his writings about cultivating great business relationships...he's an expert, but he's humble about it. I respect that.

Seth Godin - author of "Permission Marketing", a real visionary in terms of how the web changes relationships with customers... I remember visiting his website before Yoyodyne was bought out by Yahoo! and thinking "Wow", this guy's got it!