IRS tax day freebies 2010 at Starbucks, Cinnabon; help the homeless

Today is April 15th, IRS Tax Day. That day where people get their last files together to make a list of fiscal expenditures and get their tax report in to the government before midnight.

While today may be a day of dread, fear not, for it's also a time of IRS tax day freebies 2010. Now the trouble is while this is a national trend, not enough retailers or eateries are actually sending out press releases announcing a marketing effort. If this blogger were in the restaurant business, everyone would get a free drink if they purchased a meal and could prove they just filed their taxes.

Now there is one company that seems to get "IRS tax day freebies 2010:" Starbucks. If you bring in a reusable mug on April 15th, or today, you get a free brewed coffee according to their website. Cinnabon, who makes those great, big cinnamon rolls with the thick frosting on top, is also part of IRS tax day freebies 2010.

Between 6 PM and 8 PM at Cinnabon, you can get two free cupcake bites to, as the website reports, "make it less taxing." But if you do this, I personally ask that you give your free cupcake bites to someone who needs food. It's personally sad to see people sitting or begging and know that retailers have these freebees that someone homeless generally doesn't know about.

So if you see someone near by, think about them.

Stay tuned.

IPhone app and Twitter for Small Luxury Hotels of The World

See: small luxury hotels, luxury hotels of the world, iphone app hotels, twitter small luxury hotels

If you think that hotels don't get tech and social networks and aren't willing to try, think again. Small Luxury Hotels of The World, a collection of over 500 hotels in 70 countries has both a Twitter page @SLHLuxuryHotels and an iPhone app. But if you're wondering just what a "Small Luxury Hotel of The World" looks like, here's one in my 2007 video of my trip to New York City to appear as a guest on CNN's Roland Martin Debate This Show:



That hotel at 1:24 is called the Jumeirah Essex House and it's next to Central Park and just a few blocks from CNN's New York studios in The Time Warner Center. It was the first seven-star hotel this blogger ever stayed in, thanks to CNN.

It's not hard to understand why Small Luxury Hotels of The World like the Jumeirah Essex House are so popular, and why a Twitter page and an iPhone app (no blogs or other social network systems so far) are so helpful to the fans of the hotel brand.

While the Twitter page only has 1,259 followers, it has more followers than @SLHLuxuryHotels is following, which is a healthy follower to followed ratio for future growth. Where @SLHLuxuryHotels can grow is by tweeting about subjects beyond the realm of the hotel, thus picking up more Twitter followers. Still, the Twitter use and the frequency of tweets is a great start.

The Small Luxury Hotels of The World iPhone app is both cool and useful and its free. You can find and call to book a room at any one of the hotels in their system right from your iPhone. Then you can share what you've found with your social network contacts.

CNN introduced me to Small Luxury Hotels of The World like the Jumeirah Essex House before this iPhone app; you can bet that when I buy a Verizon iPhone, the Small Luxury Hotels of The World iPhone app is one of the first I'm going to use.

Stay tuned.