April Fool’s Day this year began like every other April Fool’s Day had before. Wake up late (IF it was a weekend day), lay there is bed, check emails on the phone, and then realize “Oh crap! I have to call Aunt Nancy or I am going to end up on her shit list!”
Happy Birthday Aunt Nancy
My Aunt Nancy, with her grand daughter, Kellie
My Aunt Nancy, with her grand daughter, Kellie
Scott Talking With People – Episode 1 – Scott and the King
Scott Talking With People - Episode 1 - Scott and the King
Scott Talking With People - Episode 1 - Scott and the King
How the Internet Changed Life as We Know it
How the Internet Changed Life as We Know it
How the Internet Changed Life as We Know it
One Bad Apple Can Ruin the Whole Bunch
Occupy: The Media
To Wire, or Not to Wire…That is the Question
PR for the PR Profession
Really Netflix? Really?
Social Media Faux Pas – Blurring the Boundaries
Scott Talking With People – Episode 1 – Scott and the King
I’ve known Andy King for almost 25 years. We met back in high school as I was just beginning to play drums, and getting involved in music. While there was a healthy dose of competition between the two of us back then (and a fair amount of jealousy from me because of my lack of talent at the time, and his abundance of it), I will always count the guy as one of my biggest early influences on the drums. In Episode I of Scott Talking With People, Andy and I discuss the latest news on his band, Blackwood Royalty, and throw in some senseless banter as well.
In any case, I hope you enjoy!
How the Internet Changed Life as We Know it
Looking back fifteen years or so, I remember the first hints of what would become the Internet as we know it today. Back then, I was a young twenty-something attending Sacramento State University, majoring in Psychology, when a forward-thinking professor of mine decided to require the class to use email (then completely text-based) to communicate with him and the rest of my classmates. As put off as I was at this, I attempted to learn how to maneuver through this confusing ‘fad,’ and I started spending a significant amount of time in the school’s computer lab.
One Bad Apple Can Ruin the Whole Bunch
I am always reading blogs and Twitter feeds by reputable public relations professionals to learn new tips and tricks of the trade. Intermingled with those tidbits of useful information, I also make it a point to pay attention to idiotic moves by PR hacks. After a series of recent high-profile gaffes by executives and PR-noir agents, I started thinking about how the negative actions of a small set of people can seriously affect the perception of the larger group, not to mention the reputations of those individuals and their clients.
Occupy: The Media
Over the past few weeks, I have been watching the Occupy Movement stories with interest, and maybe a little annoyance, after having been harassed in Reno by a mob of Occupiers this past weekend. But whatever my personal view on this, I am grateful for the First Amendment, which grants us the rights to exercise freedom of speech, and keeps the government from infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble, or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.
To Wire, or Not to Wire…That is the Question
In my line of work, a huge part of my role is disseminating material company news to the largest audience possible. (For those not familiar with the term, “material news” is a public company’s news that might affect the value of its securities or influence investors’ decisions). So, when working with these companies, it is absolutely imperative that we, as communications professionals, adhere to the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to ensure that the company’s investors receive all pertinent information in a timely manner.
PR for the PR Profession
In a recent Gearheads post by my colleague, Jordan Hubert, he mentioned the big screen perception of PR professionals as unscrupulous and shallow manipulators of the truth. Over the decades, this view has become almost pervasive within not only the Hollywood set, but the journalist community, and even within the walls of the PR industry itself.
Really Netflix? Really?
Sometimes making a decision and apologizing for it later can really backfire on you. Sometimes, it really IS better to ask permission first.
This concept really hit home for me when Netflix came out with its surprise announcementthat it would be separating its streaming and DVD rental services, and thereby abandoning the $9.99 monthly fee in favor of two $7.99 fees.
So, in my usual manner of veiled condescension, I ask this question: Really, Netflix… really?
Social Media Faux Pas – Blurring the Boundaries
I wouldn’t say I was an early adopter of social media platforms like Facebook. After about a year of hearing friends yammer on about how great it was to be able to find people they had lost contact with long ago, I finally caved. From that point on, I was pretty much addicted to the site, which gave me great insight into very important matters such as what type of toilet paper my friends were considering buying, and how awesome the previous night’s bar-hop was.
As my use of the site deepened and I eventually amassed nearly 600 close and personal friends, I began to tire of so much needless information, eventually deciding to deactivate my account.
