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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
Some food for thought for you, if you’re into politics. If you’re not, feel free to skip this post and come back another day, or go read my “Everything is measurable in PR” article over at SHIFT Communications. When the major airlines failed to offer anything compelling, companies like AirTran, Southwest, and JetBlue stepped into…
Over the weekend, I was mulling a few different concepts over, and one got stuck and wouldn’t go away until I wrote it out. In the news, we see lots of stories about police brutality and the police state. We see lots of stories on social media about companies that rule over their employees with…
Are you proud to be an American? Is America the kind of country that you think best represents you? Do you think other people in other parts of the world think, when confronted with a tough political, social, or economic problem, “What would the Americans do?” If there’s one commonality in today’s America that people…
A simple infographic illustrates the data quality issue: As always, all things Warcraft are trademarks of Blizzard Entertainment. Feel free to share, Warcraft fans.
I’ll be on vacation for a few days, so while I’m out, I’m going to feature the 5 talks I’ve watched recently that are worth sharing. My blog will resume its normal content on Wednesday, October 2. Enjoy the videos! Today: Margaret Heffernan talks about whistleblowers and willful ignorance. My favorite line: freedom doesn’t exist…
