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Zappos has me hooked

The shoe and apparel company Zappos is making the best marketing use of Twitter I have seen to date. (The American Red Cross still has the best utility usage of Twitter.) The Zappos CEO, Tony, is inspiring awareness of Zappos.com through contests and give-a-aways introduced through Twitter!

Twitter @zappos link 2 ur favorite shoes & ur favorite Zappos core value (hint: @missrogue has blog) by 7 PM Pacific. Will pick 1 winner! [Source, Twitter, @zappos]

They also happen to be avid bloggers! Zappos has given away shoes to random Twitter followers, each month they give away a pair of shoes to people signing up from Zappos.com, and even flew a random Twitter follower to Vegas for lunch with Tony the Zappos CEO. Oops. I was typing up this post and browsing shoes and got my entry into this contest either right on the wire or a few minutes late but I know Tony will have more contests! Right Tony? I chose the Michael Toschi Lorenzo SKU #7415650 and the company core value "4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded." I have a wide foot. The picture doesn’t look like it would fit comfortably. Fortunately Zappos has free shipping both directions and 100% satisfaction guaranteed with a full refund within 365 days of purchase!

Be sure to follow Zappos on Twitter @zappos. Search Twitter for "Zappos" and you can discover the COO and other Zappos staffers! You can follow me @djuggler. Watch Miss Rogue’s Interview: Zappos.com’s Tony Hsieh and Rachael Brown to learn more about this great company. Btw, the Zappos ten core values are:

  1. Deliver WOW Through Service
  2. Embrace and Drive Change
  3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
  4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
  5. Pursue Growth and Learning
  6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
  7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
  8. Do More With Less
  9. Be Passionate and Determined
  10. Be Humble

Honestly, I’m sold. My next pair of shoes is coming from Zappos! Fortunately for Zappos, this seven family household needs roughly 14 pairs of shoes in the very short term.

Update: Sarah Lacy does not like Zappos but many of her commenters disagree.

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Which prizes are left?

Are you following Darren Rowse’s Problogger Birthday Bash $54,000 giveaway? Here are the prizes with the ones already offered up scratched out.

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I want Problogger to give STAR $1000

Darren Rowse of Problogger fame and Lara Kulpa are busy giving away $54,000 for the Problogger Birthday Bash. FreeMoneyFinanace.Com has agreed to help them by giving $1000 to the favorite (US tax deductible) charity of a person who blogs about it and has their post linked by from Problogger by 9am Sunday Oct 7, 2007 (50 minutes from now).

I would like Problogger and FreeMoneyFinance.com to give $1000 to Shangri-la Therapeutic Academy of Riding (STAR). $1000 will cover more than half the cost of a class of 4 riders for 1 session.

STAR’s mission is to foster personal growth and achievement by providing educational, recreational, and physically challenging therapeutic experiences using horse related activities for persons with disabilities.

Our oldest son, Tommy, has Asperger’s Syndrome. We blog about it at Asperger Teen. Tommy has lived a life of being told "never." He did not speak until about age 3. At age 6, we were told he would never read. At age 10, we were told he will never function in society and to lock him away in a home. The nevers go on. Tommy has surprised the world today is a well-rounded, good natured, polite 17 year old. If I never announced his Asperger’s, no one would ever guess. He has succeeded were many expected him to fail. We have STAR to thank in part for that.

Tommy rode with confidence!Tommy’s success comes from the incredible support system that surrounds him. Shangri-la Therapeutic Academy of Riding is an important part of this support system. STAR has nurtured his love of animals, given Tommy confidence, and really helped his social skills. Tommy is now hoping to go to college to study in vet school!

As an independent consultant, I have broken many of the rules required for success. As such, we live with constant cash flow problems. Without STAR’s Rider Sponsorship Program we would not be able to participate. Whenever possible, I try to encourage donations to STAR because I believe in the program and by encouraging donations I feel I have giving back where they have helped me. I do not have the means to give directly. Whenever possible, I give my time to help STAR through efforts like our Blogathon blog. I have seen many more than just my son touched by their love. It is difficult to drive through Knoxville and not see a license plate with a reference to STAR or see someone wearing a STAR t-shirt. Their success and growth can only continue through the generous donations by people like Darren Rowse, Lara Kulpa, and FreeMoneyFinanace.Com.

Please consider STAR for the $1000 charity giveaway. Thank you!

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IMPORTANT! You can only win once!

Problogger has announced their 3rd giveaway! The first 25 people to send an email receive a tube of Mederma scar treatment. What is important is the eligibility note on the post!

In answer to some questions I received about who can enter and further rules about eligibility: Please keep in mind that the winners of today’s first and third prizes will not be eligible for any other prizes during the duration of the giveaway, and it’s going to be like that for the entire event, so if you’re not really interested in a particular prize, it’s probably best not to enter for it. The reason we do this is to give the greatest number of individuals a chance to win something. By all means, if you’re interested in more than one prize, enter for more than one, but know that if you win anything, that will be the only item you win.

So, think before you jump! Make sure the prize is one you want.

Update: Darren Rowse has a full list of prizes and sponsors.