What's The Diff?

The things Quicken Loans team members care about and want to share with the world

Carbon neutrality for a day from the Quicken Loans blog & Brighter Planet

Monday, December 29, 2008

Quicken Loans blog: Kelly LaVaute is giving you carbon offsets this year!

Hey, I got you guys a present for the holidays! Ya know, ’cause I love ya.

Here it is.

What is this, you say? Kelly is giving me a link for Chrismahanukwanzakah? No, silly. I’m giving you carbon neutrality for a day. You gotta click on it. Fancy, huh? Better than that pony you asked for, right?

I first found this lovely little gem from Zeldman.com, who "gave" carbon offsets to all his blog subscribers. That list includes myself, so I signed up and now I can give it to you.

Here’s the deets from the company that started all this, Brighter Planet:

The One Day campaign is a small way to show your support to fight climate change. For every participant, Brighter Planet will donate 136 pounds of offsets — the equivalent of one day’s worth of CO2 emissions (based on the estimated average American footprint of 24.78 tons). The more people that give the gift of carbon neutrality for one day, the better. Thousands of gift recipients and givers will know that the climate movement is spreading far beyond the typical “environmental” realm and into the norm. All that Brighter Planet asks in return is that you consider conserving during the holidays.

After you sign up (takes 2 seconds and I have received no spam crap from them at all), you’ll get an e-mail and then YOU can give carbon neutrality away to all the people you love too…or maybe just all your blog subscribers.

So, enjoy. I didn’t wrap it or anything and I’m barely getting this to you before year end, but it still counts, right?

Ok, what did you get me? A pony??!

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Eartha Kitt – Tribute to a Legend

Friday, December 26, 2008

If today seemed a little darker than normal, despite the days getting longer, that’s because yesterday the universe lost one of its brightest stars. The legendary singer and actress Eartha Kitt died after a long battle with colon cancer at the age of 81.

Kitt’s story is straight out of a Hollywood hard-luck romance. Born on a farm in an obscure town in South Carolina, Kitt was abandoned by her father early in her life, and orphaned by her mother at the age of eight. As fate would have it, she came to live in New York with an aunt.

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Pizza Hut viral video – a sloppy mess that leaves a bad taste in your mouth

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Wow. Talk about "what were they thinking?"

I like to mention great examples of creative social media and word of mouth marketing here (Häagen-Dazs Honey Bees for example), so I guess it’s only fair I point out a terrible example that makes me say "huh?"

Pizza Hut recently created the below video and evidently actually thought it was a good idea. They sent out two guys with video cameras to bother small mom and pop pizza shops. Umm, yeah, nice way to make your brand look good guys.

About 99% of the comments I’ve seen on this are negative and it appears that Pizza Hut spent several grand to make themselves look like sophomoric bullies. I don’t get it.

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Quicken Loans launches Real Estate Appraisal Video Series

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Some of my friends in word of mouth marketing call this shameless self promotion. I call it self preservation.

Whatever you call it, I’m just letting y’all know that we’ve (we as in Quicken Loans) launched a new video mini-series on YouTube and other video sites about real estate appraisals. We’ve gotten a lot of questions about appraisals and there seems to be confusion out there about real estate appraisals, what they are, when they are needed, who does them, etc.

So…. we created this video series (6 vids total). Here’s the first one:

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Last Friday it was cool to own a HUMMER

Monday, December 22, 2008

A HUMMER in the snow is coolI’m one of those people that pretty much dislikes HUMMERs.

I don’t really like how they look, how big they are, how they consume resources, or how their owners usually drive them -  with that "I will roll over you like the Terminator and keep going as though I didn’t notice" attitude. And half the time, they probably wouldn’t notice.

Usually, and especially when gas was over 4 bucks a gallon, I like to point and laugh at HUMMER owners, gleefully telling myself how happy I am I get 40 miles to a gallon and they get like, 8.

But last Friday it was all different. It snowed over a foot here in Detroit. Nobody was laughing at anyone in a HUMMER. Nobody.

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Solar-powered bags – Last-minute Gift Idea for the Greenies in your Life

Monday, December 22, 2008

solar powered bag

Wondering what to get the eco-conscious people in your life this holiday season? If a hybrid car is beyond your budget, and an in-kitchen composter is a little too weird, you might consider giving a solar-powered handbag or back pack.

That’s right folks, you can plug in your laptop, cell phone, camera, recharger batteries, or GPS right into your personal portable solar cell. How many times have you been stuck looking for an outlet in an airport of coffee shop?

You can give your friends and family freedom from plug panic with this practical present.

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Mashable’s Digital Charity Toolbox – 50 ways to give online

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Mashable Digital Charity ToolboxKelly LaVaute loves Mashable.com. Much more than she loves me. I know this because she visits and reads Mashable every day, but doesn’t ever listen to me.

Anyway, yesterday Mashable put out a list – DIGITAL CHARITY TOOLBOX: 50+ Ways to Get Your “Give” On that’s really cool and I figured I share it here.

If you have a few fins to spare and would like to spread some love, Mashable gives you more than 50 worth while sites to consider. Trust me, now more than ever, charities need our support.

Give if you can.

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The Right Time and Place to Help the Hungry

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

‘Tis the season for giving. And wouldn’t I like to give to every semi-frozen Charity Rep standing outside every toy/electronics/apparel/outdoor/home goods/dollar store in the metro area. Thing is… I never carry cash. You can jingalingaling that little bell all you want, but the chances of me finding even a dollar, hell, a quarter (I park in metered cities often) is slimmer than Heidi Klum’s abdomen. I WANT to donate, I WOULD donate… if you only accepted debit. Needless to say on a shopping spree of 3+ stores and no cash for handouts, the thick coagulation of guilt is… err… not so Christmas-spirited.

But yesterday I ran into the smartest group of caroling charity supporters and police officers I’ve ever encountered. With sloppy joes on the menu for last night’s dinner I had to stop and get some very necessary Manwich at Kroger at the corner of Livernois and Long Lake Roads in Troy (Michigan).

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Quizzle from Quicken Loans welcomes its 100,000th Quizzler

Monday, December 15, 2008

Quizzle from Quicken Loans reaches 100,000 happy clients with free credit reports!

It’s party time!! This morning, our super sweet money & home site Quizzle welcomed it’s 100,000th account. Confetti did not fall from the ceiling, but 100 Grand candy bars were passed around from the head Quizzler himself, Mr. Todd "Hey Bud!" Albery.

If you’ve been living under a rock, Quizzle.com is THE website to manage your money and home, even offering a free credit report and score. No, really…it’s free. No strings attached. We even have a Quizzle blog to keep you on the up and up of fun finance stuff. So if you don’t have a Quizzle account, take a minute to get yourself acquainted with Quizzle now. We’ll wait.

Quizzle is just a baby at 10 months old, but we’ve had some super supporters (like radio finance guru Clark Howard) who’ve truly helped us spread the word.

So, congrats to everyone here at Quicken Loans that has worked or currently works on Quizzle and big THANKS to everyone who lives inside Quizzle (we like to call you Quizzlers). We all work hard to make Quizzle something you’ll love, so be sure to let us know what you think! And tell your friends!

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Phillips Norelco Bodygroom launches Manalogues scriptwriting contest

Friday, December 12, 2008

My Man Pelt which soon will be victim of a Phillips Norelco Body GroomerFirst of all, I wish it was the 70s.

Back in the 70s, it was cool to be a man with body hair. Burt Reynolds was super cool and he had a huge man pelt. Sean Connery may have been balding, but he had no lack of manliness from the neck down. And guys back then wore their fur with pride.

Not anymore. Now, it’s "eeeewwww" and "oh my God" and "put on a shirt" when, heaven forbid, some poor soul is forced to view some of my chest hair. I’m sorry, but God made me this way and  people today hate me for it.

This hatred of body hair has even made it to the big screen. Did anyone notice in the movie 300 that not one of the warriors had any chest hair?

Excuse me? They were Greek guys right? And all 300 of them had bald, shiny, glistening chests. Oh, whatever. I defy you to show me 300 Greek guys in the entire world that don’t have chest hair. I defy you.

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Thursday, May 17, 2012