How do you use today's technology?

I went to a holiday party this weekend where the conversation turned to how long we have been out of college and how much technology has changed how we live today. When I graduated in 1995, I had never sent an email, the internet was no where on my radar screen and all of my training for work in the world of interior design had been done with pencil in hand vs. on a CAD system. We have been talking about this at LILL lately as well and while I have since emersed myself into technology and it runs most of our operations today - I didn't "grow up" with it like those 10-15 years or so younger than me.

Technology for me is something I have to think about versus something that is ingrained in my daily routine. I have dabbled in blogging, lightly use facebook and have yet to personally twitter. I keep my blackberry close at hand most of the time, primarily for email. I just started to understand the purpose of texting - and actually really like it. All this is great, but it is December, 2009. And, so, you might say I am pretty far behind the times in terms of keeping pace with some of my more technologically savvy customers. I feel the technology gap each time we discuss ways to reach this portion of our demographic. With all of the options that social media provides it can be a bit overwhelming to decipher which methods are the best tools to stay in touch. I find myself probing anyone who seems "totally connected" for their ideas and what they are doing now to communicate to friends, find out about events, promotions and products etc.

One idea we recently tried that was successful for us was working with Groupon - a collective buying program - where we adverstised a special purchase opportunity to their mailing list. It generated a huge amount of buzz for us in the first two markets we tried - Chicago and KC. Since we participated, I am on the daily deal email list and it is one of my new favorite ways to find out about different businesses and specials around my city. (We are the deal of the day in the Boston market tomorrow - 12/15 - so if you missed an opportunity to get in on the deal earlier, you can join in the Boston deal as coupons are valid at any of our stores www.groupon.com/boston )

That is one example of a great new tool - there are many more out there that I am looking to learn about. So I am asking - where do you go to find out about new concepts, cool experiences, great sales, etc? Send me your ideas. Leave your comments here - for each one I get, I'll put your name in a drawing for one of my favorite bags of the season - Grace in Chateau de Lill.

Or - come tell us your thoughts in person - if you are currently attending a large midwestern university and will be in Chicago over the holidays, we will be hosting a focus group on Thursday, Jan 7th from 1pm to 4pm at our Chicago boutique at 904 W. Armitage in Lincoln Park. If you are interested in participating, please complete this questionnaire below no later than Wednesday, Dec 16th. https://app.e2ma.net/app2/survey/27318/16426/0f8892001a/

(If you are selected, you will be notified by Monday, Dec. 21st. Focus group participants will receive an 1154 LILL Design a Bag Kit in return for their participation in the focus group session).

Jen Velarde