In June, a few KSV team members attended the yearly Vermont Ski Areas Association (VSAA) gathering at Jay Peak. There were representatives from mountains all over the state including many of the mountains KSV has partnered with like Stowe, Sugarbush, and our current client Okemo. The VSAA is a tight-knit community and the vibe is much more about friendship than competition. There were a number of interesting speakers, including Michael Berry, president of the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA). Now that winter is fast approaching, I thought I’d share one or two observations from the event.
Last season (2011/2012) was a tough time for ski areas across North America. In Vermont, skier/rider visits dropped to 3.9 million, down from 4.3 million last season. If you attributed this drop in visitation to the poor snow, you’d be mostly right. However, there are a few other problems that are becoming more and more important for the ski industry each year.

Let’s talk smart grid. It’s here already in a lot of places, and coming shortly to many more. It has the potential to drastically change how we consume energy. And yet, there is a great deal of misunderstanding regarding smart grid.

A recent discussion in the New York Times, called “The Siren Song of Energy Efficiency,” caught my attention. A handful of leading energy thinkers responded to a question about energy efficiency with a variety of opinions.
Here’s the question:

This is the first in a series of creative reviews of infographics. Next in the series: “How Green is the iPad?”
I am fascinated by infographics. It’s the design geek in me who relishes the challenge of boiling down abstract concepts, ideas, and loads of data into a digestible, all-inclusive visual piece. No matter what the subject matter is, I typically give an

Everyone is talking about Pinterest. If you’re scratching your head thinking: how could this work for my brand? Here are some avenues for you to explore.

Browsing through David Letterman’s archives, you can find some real treasures. Here’s Dave’s “Top Ten Ways I, David Letterman, Am Conserving Energy” from the summer of 1999:
10.        Brushing teeth with air conditioner drippings.

As KSVs Director of Digital Strategy I spend my days thinking about how to help KSV’s clients achieve their business objectives through the use of paid, owned, and earned media channels. This has included helping Sugarbush to sell more lift tickets, Acorn to sell more slippers, and helping VSAC increase the post-secondary education aspiration rate of Vermont teenagers.

As we slump through the end of a discouraging ski season here in Vermont (and much of North America), I’m faced with dueling emotions.
On the one hand, I’m disappointed. Powder days were scarce this year. With the rest of the skiers and riders in the Northeast, my eyes were glued to the weather maps for most of the winter, trying desperately to predict where the next few inches would fall. It was exhausting.

No, it’s not about you. At least not all the time. Social media is about one very simple idea: two-way conversation. So, as in any good conversation there is the good conversation opener.
A good conversation opener is not: