Category: Politics
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Explained: Why You Need a VPN to Protect Your Privacy Online
With monitoring of Internet access on the increase (thanks Congress) and the importance of privacy at an all-time high, I thought I’d explain what a VPN is, why you need one, and how to protect more of your privacy online. Explaining Privacy Right now, when we use the Internet – surfing the web, sending email,…
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Why We Can’t Easily Grow Unicorns
Chris Brogan commented recently, “77% of CEOs are complaining about the availability of key (usually technical) skills. Plenty of people are complaining about the lack of jobs. Maybe, just maybe, people need to bite the fear bullet and get trained on something highly technical that’s actually applicable to the work environment. I bet Christopher Penn…
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Why We Need Citizen Analysts More Than Ever
Nothing sums up the most recent political environment in the United States as well as the phrase willful ignorance. We are, as a culture, willfully ignorant of data, of facts, of information. We know it is there, but we choose to ignore it. For example, take this conversation Chris Brogan had on his Facebook profile…
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Should Politics and Marketing Ever Mix?
In the old days of marketing, conventional wisdom quite correctly suggested that politics and marketing don’t mix. The logic behind this belief is that unless your product or service directly sells to the political audience, taking a political stand simply alienates a portion of your audience for no reason. As with every rule, times and…
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47 Second Video: 5 Things You Can Do To Influence The Election
After seeing much digital ink spilled about the recent Presidential debate, I thought it might be helpful to remind you that you can do something to change the course of the election. Here are 5 things – some of which cost nothing but your time – that could change the outcome of the election towards…
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The economic case for marijuana legalization and taxation
This fall, citizens of the Bay State face ballot question 4, the question of legalizing marijuana for recreational use. A Yes vote legalizes marijuana for recreational, non-medical usage (it’s already legal for medical use). A No vote keeps the law the same. A bit of background about me: I’m a Massachusetts resident and have been…
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How to use Facebook to create political change [VIDEO]
Many people question whether our constant sharing of political news on Facebook does any good. After all, we tend to attract similarly-minded friends in many ways, so does sharing the politics news of the day truly change anything? This is a valid criticism of the echo chamber, of the fishbowl effect in social media. However,…
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Money, power, influence, and politics
What can we do to influence the political process? Vote, certainly. Make your voice heard. But amplify your voice by augmenting it with what politicians care about. Politicians are no different than any other kind of audience. If we are to get what we want, we have to provide value in return. This is the…
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Is it time to check out of the hotel?
Let’s say you’re at a hotel and the breakfast cook refuses to make anything except scrambled eggs. Try though you might, he won’t make any other dish. Now, he’s very good at making scrambled eggs. His eggs are considered to be the best in the region. But you want waffles? He’ll make you scrambled eggs…
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Unfair Advertising Advantage: How Marketers Lose
Net Neutrality is a terrible name for the problem at hand. If you’re unclear what it’s about, read this comic by The Oatmeal. Comics explain everything. As a marketer, Net Neutrality could be a double-edged sword. If I worked for a company that had control over the pipe, like a CoxCastWarnerCN Inc., I could make…