Is Social Media Making Us Nicer?

Last week I heard that BzzAgent was offering space in its offices to entrepreneurs, start-ups and those out-of-work.   The offer and the BBJ story link were widely re-tweeted. This isn’t the first story I’ve heard recently about companies/individuals “bunking together” during these tough times.  Noobpreneur had a post earlier this month about how small businesses could collaborate in order to survive.  Meanwhile, every list of Twitter Tips and Twitter Rules reads like they are written by overzealous Boy Scouts — […]

Last Night They Paid Me in Pizza

When you are what you sell — as most services are — you often find yourself being asked to help out.  Which is totally cool — I really don’t have the financial wherewithal to make big donations to my favorite charities or my friends’ projects, but I can help out, applying my expertise in PR/marketing and social media.

Why Focus Groups Fail

Title aside, this is more of a book recommendation for marketing people.  Read The Drunkard’s Walk, How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow.   A terrific discussion on randomness, chance and probability, this book can help marketers understand how numbers can be used and misused.

Miffed with the Verizon FIOS Guy

Watching TV and saw the Verizon FIOS guy doing his shtick — he reaches into the old mail box, pulls out a letter and talks about how no one will need to go to the video rental store any more.  “And let’s have a moment of silence for the poor video rental store…” Silence.  “Ok, that’s enough.”

Is the Microsoft Thesaurus Changing Our Language?

Was reading the Sunday Boston Globe this morning.  Love “The Word” by Jan Freeman. Something in this week’s column makes me wonder if some of the language transformation we are seeing might be the fault of new(er) tools in a writer’s arsenal? (Yes, I know they have been around for years but I am of the opinion that, except for some notable examples, language evolves rather slowly.)

New Book Recommendations for Marketing Folks

I read a lot.  My husband reads a lot.  My kids read a lot.  Our house bulges with books.  It is entirely possible to be killed by a collapsing pile of books in our house.  I figure we single-handedly kept particular bookstores afloat as long as we could.  (Sadly, Lexington, MA recently lost its two downtown bookstores — I guess we weren’t buying enough books lately.)

Awards, Contests and Plans for Success

I used to be on the PR and marketing contests judges circuit.  You judge one contest and you get asked to judge for another one.  I did a stint with the Bellringers, PR News, the “Anvils” and a couple of local contests, including the NYC PRSA.  Huge amount of fun; lots of reading; great opportunity to learn.