Next Communications: December 2008

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Merry New Year

Lest you think this is just another post where I decided to phone it in and not give anything of substance on this last day of 2008, I give you a parting thought:

Laughing at the face adversity, pain and obvious disdain will enable you to live a happier life. It's not easy, but sometimes it is necessary.

And now, a short video:

See, I told you it was short. Merry New Year.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Taking a short pause, for a good Claus

Image via WikipediaI thought about writing one of the many blog posts that have been floating around in my head lately for today.

I considered addressing some communications and public relations issues related to education.

I wanted to write about whether Communications is a discipline or a means to and end.

But, then I thought about it some more and chose to instead take a brief break and just say Merry Christmas.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Quick advice for community engagement

DSCN4324
Originally uploaded by vedo's pics

Run with
(not over)
your people.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Seven Things You Don't Know About Me

The setup:

I've been tagged by Geoff Livingston to participate and share Seven Things You Don't Know About Me writing project. This is the first such tag for me in my early blog writing career so naturally I was intrigued at the idea. So here goes:

The Seven:

I proposed to my wife during a live performance in college. We started dating in December of 1998. The following May, they were performing in a Terrell Hall production of "Post Modern My Fair Lady," sponsored by the University of North Texas' Performance Group (PIGS). At the end of the performance, when we were the only two on stage, I got down on one knee, pulled out a ring, and asked Kristen to marry me. We were married that August.
I destroyed my dad's console TV. I accomplished this by leveraging my chubby frame and ramming speed in perfect symmetry on a tricycle dead-center into the screen. (Or so I was told.)
One of my biggest pet peeves is when people use jealous and envious interchangeably. They mean two different things.
I had a weiner dog named Dollar. (Get it, Richie Rich.)
I auditioned, and made the UNT mascot spirit team. (Yes, I was one of those spirit geeks and loved every minute even if the old Eppy the eagle costume looked like a big white chicken.)
I would pay good money to have a Galaga arcade game in my house. I've spent many hours (and quarters) with this wonderful game. There is just something magical about that game for me. My wife and I have made a deal on the arcade game if we find one since they can be found as a dual game paired with Ms. Pac-Man. She's so cool. (photo props: Kevin Mosley)
I convinced my younger brother that he was stolen from a Chinese family. This little joke came to an unfortunate conclusion when he professed aloud (and loudly) to my parents at a Wendy's, "I know where I came from...you two stole me from a Chinese family." To make things worse, there was an Asian couple sitting nearby well within earshot.

So that's it. I don't know if any of the above sheds any light into the writing on this blog, my sense of humor or energy for things that are important to me, but it sure was fun to share.

I now tag Linda Jacobson, APR, Patrick Evans, Lauren Turner, Billie Hara, Jake Good, Donald Claxton, and Louis Sandoval, Jr.

The rules:

Link your original tagger(s) and list these rules in your post.
Share seven facts about yourself in the post.
Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
Let them know they’ve been tagged
(Hat tip to Beth Harte for the rules.)

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Twitter and relationship damage

The question was a simple one, born of curiosity and to try to start a conversation on Twitter:
For the Married Tweeple: If your spouse is not on Twitter, does he/she "get" your interest? Has it ever been a problem? I wasn't sure if anyone was even paying attention. But then, a few replies came in to answer and discuss the issue of Twitter users' offline experiences with their significant others who may not quite understand (or care to figure out) what is so special about Twitter. Here are some of the responses:

Relationships matter

Apparently I had touched a nerve with a few people. In fact, I had one response from a friend on Twitter [who will remain nameless] that stated: "Since you asked, I have been having serious twitter problems with my spouse. That's why my tweet volume has been so low."

Twitter is a very powerful and intriguing tool. It can also be seen as an alluring distraction if you are not careful. Following and being followed seems (and at times is) a little stalker-ish. It is easy to get caught up in the numbers, Twitter grading, and comparisons. I would caution against putting too much stock in these things especially at the detriment to any significant other people in your life. Think about your day in terms of your time - how much time are you spending in Twitter conversations compared to conversations with your family?

Remember the people you care about most. Use Twitter and other social media tools with the delicate life and relationship balance they deserve especially since sometimes social media just doesn't really matter.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Sharing to save Darfur

Image via Wikipedia Today is the 60th Anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Yesterday, December 9, was the 60th Anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Unfortunately, it is fitting that 60 years later our world has another horrible example of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Darfur by the Sudanese government.

Since early 2004, the Security Council has also passed more than two dozen resolutions concerning the situation in Darfur. Khartoum has violated nearly every single provision in them, seemingly without consequence. To date, the member states of the [U.N.] Security Council have failed to adopt and implement a comprehensive strategy to end this man-made tragedy.

I don't claim to know all of the ins and outs of this situation, but I do know that there is something that can be done to make an impact on the situation from here in the United States. You can Be a Voice for Darfur. I would like to dedicate my tiny outpost here on the Internet to drawing attention to this worthy cause. It doesn't cost you anything but a few moments in time to add your name to the call for change to make sure that ending the genocide in Darfur is a top-priority for the Obama Administration as already promised by the President-elect. You could also participate with the petition application on Facebook to reach your circle of influence.

However you choose to take action, be sure to let your voice be heard on this remarkable cause and simultaneously demonstrate the power of effective social media integration.

(Note: If you happen to use Twitter, please be sure to use the Twitter hashtag: #voice4darfur.)

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

The NHL should thank Sean Avery

Image via WikipediaSean Avery is a moron and has no business being on one of my favorite local sports teams. In less than 30 seconds, the Dallas Stars player further dug himself into a hole of stupid behavior when he had some less than gentlemanly things to say in reference to an ex-girlfriend.

In case you missed it, here is what he said along with a few of his teammates' responses. (I don't feel like posting his coverage here, but it is relevant to the thought I am throwing out.) What I find particularly interesting is he starts out by saying, "you got a camera." Clearly he was seeking an opportunity to hold court for an audience of journalists.

Maybe Gary Bettman should thank Sean Avery
This may not be a very popular thought, but considering all of the attention Avery has brought with his comments, maybe on a certain level, the NHL should privately thank him when he meets with the commissioner on Thursday. As of this writing there were nearly 31,000 blog posts (via Google Blog search) and I am sure the topic came up in the media across the country on television, sports (and non-sports) radio, and print. The possible results? Major media coverage and public attention for the NHL, the Dallas Stars, and players.

I like hockey. I consider myself to be an occasional fan of the game. This publicity might just bring some needed interest for a professional sport that quite honestly, could use the influx of interest to increase its relevance. It reminds me of the time when Mark Cuban stated that he "thought the volume of media coverage of the Kobe Bryant [rape] trial would result in higher TV ratings for his games and for the NBA in general." I wonder if this will do a similar thing for the NHL.

In the interest of fairness, I did read that Sean Avery issued an apology via his LA publicist:

"I would like to sincerely apologize for my off-color remarks to the press yesterday from Calgary. I should not have made those comments and I recognize that they were inappropriate. It was a bad attempt to build excitement for the game, but I am now acutely aware of how hurtful my actions were. I caused unnecessary embarrassment to my peers as well as people I have been close with in the past. I apologize for offending the great fans of the NHL, the Commissioner, my teammates, my coaching staff and the Dallas Stars Management and Ownership. As many of you know, I like to mix it up on and off the ice from time to time, but understand that this time I took it too far."

I wonder if the Stars will get rid of this guy. I wonder if now Sean Avery will take some time and think before he shoots his mouth off again. I wonder of this little episode will actually end up helping the NHL.