In today's economy, spending money on advertising is often thought of as an extravagance.

However, there are bargains to be had.  As economic numbers go down, radio listenership goes up.  And with ad revenues low across the media board, this is the perfect opportunity to negotiate time on your local radio station.  For small business owners, or anyone offering value for money, this could be just the ticket to create sales.

I am fascinated by advertising, good and bad.  Always have been.  How could I not be?  I grew up watching reruns of 'Bewitched' and 'The Dick Van Dyke Show.'  The lead characters both worked in advertising.  It seemed like the coolest job around.

Get your feet wet with DSWNA's new co-op radio promotion -- a really great and inexpensive way to explore radio advertising!

Here's more info.

If you've never had the pleasure of eating kelp fresh from the Bay of Fundy, you're missing out.  It's totally unlike those dried varities that are chewy, salty and often downright unpleasant.

Fresh kelp off the rocks is an amazing thing.  It's slightly crunchy, pleasantly salty and, dipped in warm vinegar, is absolutely delicious.  The thing is, you have to know where and when to get it.  For that very special experience, you should get in touch with Wanda Van Tassel at Fundy Adventures.  Don't miss out -- it's worth the drive to Gulliver's Cove!

We're still developing a market for seaweed in this country.  For instance, much of the beautiful and exotic product from Acadian Seaplants here in Cornwallis is shipped to the far East, repackaged and imported to specialty shops in Canada and abroad.

A headline in today's Globe and Mail floored me:  'Job seekers swarming to Atlantic provinces.'  Seems our neighbours in Ontario and beyond are beginning to realize that the trade-off of a smaller salary for a better quality of life is not only doable, but an attractive proposition.

A PEI-based headhunter says, "I'm searching for an engineer in Halifax right now - and everyone from the automotive industry in Ontario is applying for the job. They might make $60,000 in Toronto or Guelph, but they're willing to take $50,000 here because of the housing costs, the way of life is a lot simpler, there are no traffic jams and it's more family oriented."

This is just the kind of mindset we hope to tap into at our Test Drive the Community event in Calgary.  If you would like to request an invitation to this unique soiree, simply click here!

Perhaps the old newspaper adage, "If it bleeds, it leads," is, well, dead.

The Globe and Mail published a wonderful article on Friday, March 13, reporting that NBC news anchor Brian Williams put out a call to viewers for good news stories.  A tsunami of responses hit the station.  Seems people are aching to hear something other than the typical gloom and doom economic news of late.

The Spectator's Geoff Agombar posted such a story this week too.  Click here to read how Nova Scotians are already beginning to see a silver lining on the economic horizon.

A very informed and plainspoken article by journalist Neil Reynolds about the use of wood, a primary source of biomass, has just been published of the Globe and Mail.  In great measure, it supports the idea of ADEDA's proposed community energy project, and our region's newly formed co-op to be headed by local woodlot owner, Harold Alexander.

Click here to read this article.  We thank the community for their continued support of this project!

The Globe and Mail has a great business video series called Incubator Case Studies.  Last week, they released a new instalment called What's Good Customer Service?

If you read my blog entries from November 21 and 24, 2008, you'll see two shining examples of excellent customer service here in Annapolis Digby.

Check out the Globe and Mail video by clicking here -- there are some great tips for service providers!

According to the Globe and Mail's Karen von Hahn, 2009 will see us once again 'cocooning':

Think hand-knit sweaters, fireside board games, do-it-yourself projects and the homey pleasures of the crockpot.

Doesn't sound so bad, does it? In fact, reminds me a great deal of growing up in Nova Scotia. I still harbour a rather large collection of board games which turn out to be the go-to suggestion when family visits. There's nothing like a good game of monopoly to really get the sibling rivalry going, not to mention a great deal of laughter.

The Globe and Mail recently published an article in the Report on Business section about how Canadian Tire has plans to test sell groceries at two Ontario stores next month.

As much as I love Canadian Tire, I really don't understand how one would feel inclined to buy food there.  Further, I can't imagine that the offerings are sourced locally so perhaps it's just a canned goods section.  Either way, it's likely just this retailer's attempt to tap more cash from their male customers' wallets rather than allowing them spend that money in a grocery store.

This move seems counter-intuitive to an international trend toward buying local and a newer trend surfacing in Vancouver that's been referred to as 'inefficient shopping' ... otherwise known as visiting the butcher for your meat then to the local grocer for fruit 'n' veg, then perhaps making a trip to the hardware store to buy a hammer.  Hmmm, sounds vaguely like the olden, golden days of small town shopping to me.

An article published recently in the Globe and Mail by Leah McLaren caught my eye. 'Maybe square dances are the kind of bailouts we need,' she writes from her new perch in the UK. In Toronto on business and a family visit, apparently Leah's mother shamed her into attending a community fundraiser - a square dance, no less - which she first laments, then lauds.

Considering Leah's position as the Globe's resident fashionista, could it be that the good old-fashioned square dance is poised to make a comeback?  Perhaps, in the face of economic downturn, it simply reflects our desire to get back to basics, hold hands with loved ones, and forget our troubles for a few hours.

Whatever the reason, when you're planning your next community fundraising event, consider a square dance -- it's just retro enough to be guaranteed fun!