We are thrilled to be selected as a finalist in the 2009 Software & Information Industry Association’s (SIIA) CODiE Awards!

The CODiE Awards have been running since 1986 and celebrate outstanding achievement and vision in the software, digital information and education technology industries.

This year we were considered alongside 850 nominations from 600 companies. Entries were reviewed by 190 judges, who selected 345 finalists in 71 categories.

TravelMuse is a finalist in the Best Online Consumer Information Services category, alongside:

• nationalgeographic.com, National Geographic Society

• www.criminalsearches.com, PeopleFinders.com

• HeritageQuest Online, ProQuest.com

According to SIIA president Ken Wasch, “The competition is particularly steep this year during the 2th Annual SIIA CODiE Awards, making selection as a CODiE Finalist a real achievement. All the companies on this year’s list of CODiE Finalists should feel justifiably proud of their accomplishment in making it to this stage, and have much excitement to look forward to regarding the upcoming CODiE Awards voting!”

The next step in the process brings the Finalist products before the SIIA members for their votes to determine the winners in each category. The 2009 CODiE Awards will be presented at a gala event on May 5, 2009, at the historic Palace Hotel in San Francisco, Calif.

A complete list of the 2009 CODiE Awards Finalists can be seen here: www.siia.net/codies/2009/finalist_list.asp

Wish us luck!

TravelMuse is excited to take part in the EyeforTravel, Social Media Strategies for Travel USA 2009 conference to be held in San Francisco, March 10 to 11 at the Hotel Nikko.

We’ll be making a short presentation and participating on a panel focusing on Social Media Marketing: Why a Holistic Approach Pays Dividends, alongside Jeff Hanson (Marriott International), Jeremy Jameson (Southwest Airlines) and Juston Parker (Parker Hospitality Group).

Last year we attended the conference and came away armed with lots of ideas, so we’re looking forward to this year. The conference is aimed at travel marketers who want to learn more about social media and how to generate leads, drive traffic, boost conversions and ultimately grow sales.

•    Learn how to measure and monetize your social media campaigns

•    Discover how to profit from mega-sites like YouTube, Facebook and Bebo

•    Create a social media strategy that leverages your marketing spend

•    Align your search strategy with your social media campaigns

•    Find out how the semantic Web will impact your business

•    Reach out to specific audiences on niche social media sites

•    Target the business traveler through social networks

•    Appeal to the next generation by utilizing online networks and mobile technology

There’s a wide range of leading industry experts from new and established companies presenting, including OTAs (Orbitz and Priceline), social networks (LinkedIn and Bebo), hotels (InterContinental Hotels and Joie de Vivre) and more (Disney, Lonely Planet, Mobissimo, UpTake etc.). 

To find out more and register, go to: http://events.eyefortravel.com/social-media/agenda.asp.

To receive a 20 percent discount on your conference pass, send an e-mail to Helen Raff (helen@eyefortravel.com) and tell her that TravelMuse referred you!

Hope to see you there!