I don’t know why I am posting this outside of the fact I love seeing what people make for their jobs.  There are a surprising number of non profit heads and directors who make way north of $250,000, and now it is interesting to see what Nina Link of  Magazine Publishers of America makes for a living, via Gawker:

Nina Link, the head of the Magazine Publishers of America, makes $740,000 a year. Even at the very good magazine freelance rate of $2/ word, you’d have to write like 100 long features per year to make that much cash. So that means that Nina Link’s per word rate is like…. $740,000, because, I forgot, she is not a magazine writer, she’s a lobbyist.

My question is: what is too much money? Lawyers, rock stars, lobbyists, CEOs, founders, entrepreneurs, sports stars, and actors really risk a lot and their success and failure can be meteoric but also fickle and the end can very often come abruptly.

Law partners have to go through a lot of hell to get where they are and lobbyists tend to spend much of their entire youth sucking up to get to where they make an easy three-quarter million per annum.

So, what’s too much?

The way I see it, these people eat what they kill and they surely and always make much more than $740,000 for their parent companies, agents, investors, etc.

My buddy David Gelles writes for the Tech section of the FT, my favorite paper. Check out his latest article, New corporate firefighters. Sadly for me, he can’t shamelessly promote my company, Abraham Harrison LLC, because he has ‘journalistic integrity;’ however, it is awesome he works there because he writes awesomely-accessible articles about my space, including social media marketing, social media PR, blogger engagement, Twitter, and also the world of online and social media crisis-response.  It is amazing!  I beat up Pepsi Max over on AdAge and a couple weeks later, Gelles writes an article about the space.  I am both amazingly proud and a little paranoid!

New corporate firefighters By David Gelles

When advertisers launched a campaign last September for the pain reliever Motrin, they hoped to attract the attention of mothers whose backs might be sore from wearing baby-carriers. The advertisements implied that while baby-carriers might be fashionable, hauling a child around could be painful.

Mothers were not amused. Soon after the ads were released, anti-Motrin campaigns appeared on Facebook and blogs. Outraged mums, furious at the suggestion that their babies were a hassle, posted rebuttal videos on YouTube. Through Twitter, the micro-blogging service, thousands of people attacked the company.

Motrin was caught off-guard. For days, no company representative replied. Critics accused the company of being not only insensitive but also unresponsive.

Eventually a marketing executive at McNeil Consumer Healthcare, the subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson that markets Motrin, e-mailed individual bloggers to apologise for the campaign. But the damage was done.

Jeanette Gibson of CiscoThe “Motrin moms” episode illustrates the power of social media — the expanding network of websites that allow users to interact with each other and, increasingly, with companies. It also demonstrates the perils for enterprises that are unprepared to interact with social media.

But now a growing number of companies, including Ford Motor, PepsiCo, Wells Fargo and Dell, are creating new high-level jobs to ready themselves for engagement with social media, with titles such as director of social media, head of communities and conversation, vice-president of experiential marketing and digital communications manager. The role of these new executives is to monitor and influence what is being said about their companies on the internet.

Johnson & Johnson made its own appointment in the wake of the Motrin debacle. Having already dabbled in social media, in December the company promoted Marc Monseau, a 10-year company veteran and former director of media relations, to director of social media. “My responsibility is to work with the corporate office and the individual companies to better interact online,” Mr Monseau says. “It underscores the fact that we realise this is an important audience and one that we need to develop relationships with.”

These new jobs represent a broad shift in media relations strategy at large companies. “Corporate communications has radically changed,” says Andy Sernovitz, chief executive of the Blog Council, an organisation for heads of social media at big companies. “It’s no longer just companies talking to the press, and customer service talking to customers. All these other people showed up in the ­middle. They may not be press and they may not be customers, but suddenly their collective voice is bigger than the traditional channels.”

The essence of social media is conversation. Rather than a one-way stream of information, where companies make announcements to the press and customers, social media enables a great deal of interaction, where companies are in constant dialogue with the public. “We’ve seen a shift from doing things the old way to now having conversations with our customers,” says Jeanette Gibson, director of new media for Cisco Systems (pictured).

Ms Gibson, who began her job in 2007, says there is now a mandate at Cisco that all staff be attuned to what is being said about Cisco online. “It has definitely shifted how we’ve done communications,” she says. “Our executives are video blogging every day. Everybody’s job is now social media.”

Dell, the computer maker, has one of the most robust corporate social media programmes. Bob Pearson, former senior vice-president of corporate communications, became vice-president of communities and conversation for Dell in 2007.

He now has 45 people working for him. The core team works on “blog resolution” — trawling the web for dissatisfied customers, then attempting to contact them to make amends. Others on Dell’s social media team manage the company’s 80 Twitter accounts and 20 Facebook pages. Still others manage IdeaStorm, Dell’s forum for customer feedback.

Dell is taking its customer feedback seriously. When the company launched the Latitude laptop last summer, six of the features, including backlit keyboard and fingerprint reader, were ideas that came from IdeaStorm. “It’s always worth talking directly with your customers. It’s always worth listening to them,” says Mr Pearson. “It’s the wisdom of crowds.”

Peter Shankman, a social media expert and founder of Help a Reporter Out, a service that broadcasts reporters’ requests to a network of experts, says many companies are still reluctant to get involved: “Companies are slow to adapt because they’re still not 100 per cent sure they can make money with social media,” he says.

Yet Dell, for one, has made a business of it. By broadcasting discount alerts on Twitter, it says, it has generated more than $1m in sales. And in the US, 59 of the 100 leading retailers, including Best Buy and Wal-Mart, now have a fan page on Facebook, according to Rosetta, an interactive marketing agency.

Other savings can be realised through the Web’s ability to reach many people at once. “If you solve someone’s problem on the phone, nobody knows,” says Mr Sernovitz. “If you solve that same problem in writing on a blog, it costs you no more, but thousands of people are satisfied. And then, if 100 people never call because they found the answer, you very, very quickly get to multimillion-dollar savings.”

Other companies are using Twitter to douse public relations fires before they erupt. Scott Monty, head of social media for Ford Motors, used Twitter to appease users who were angry after the carmaker sued an enthusiast website that was selling unauthorised Ford merchandise. When fans of the enthusiast site posted angry messages, Mr Monty “tweeted back” to explain the company’s position.

Bonin Bough, who was appointed director of social media for PepsiCo last year, also used Twitter to defuse a brewing crisis after the company released a series of advertisements depicting a cartoon calorie character committing suicide.

“Social media is much more than getting out there and having conversations,” says Mr Pearson of Dell. “It transforms a business if you use it correctly.”

While I have already thanked all of the wonderful, generous bloggers who have blogged about Operation Survivor since Labor Day, there has been a countinued outpouring of support. As a result, I have added all of the new posts, banners, Twitters in addition to the initial posts — as of 25 November, this is everyone.

1. 5 Minutes Around the World via 5 Minutes for Mom.
2. Banner via A Disgruntled Republican.
3. Survivor Corps Program-Help! via Swimming Against the Red Tide.
4. Survivor Corps: Founds Operation Survivor Project to Assist U.S. Military Combat Veterans in Transitioning to Civilian Life via A DC Observer.
5. Survivor Corps. Rise Above. Give Back via All 4 My Gals.
6. Banner via American and Proud.
7. Support ‘Survivor Corps’ this Veterans Day via American Thinker.
8. Support ‘Survivor Corps’ this Veterans Day via Americanthinker.
9. Returning Troops…a Noble Cause via Dodgeblogium.
10. Indigenist News Items for: 11-14-2008 via Inteligentaindigena Novajoservo.
11. They don’t go away when Veterans Day ends via Around the Island.
12. Survivor Corps via Assoluta Tranquillita.
13. Survivor Corps via Jake’s Life.
14. Banner via Bearing Drift.
15. Vast Write Wing via Be Logical.
16. Survivor Corps Operation Survivor: A Worthwhile Cause to Consider via Mount Virtus.
17. Someone alerted me to the good work that Survivor Corps via Big Bark.
18. Standing up for Max Cleland on Veteran’s Day via Big Bark.
19. Twittered via How to Change the World.
20. Do Not Abandon Our Vets via understanding the effects of unresolved abandonment issues.
21. Help Our Troops This Veterans Day via Locust Fork Blog.
22. Soldiers Angels Web Surfing via MySpace: Kathie’s Soldiers Angels Account.
23. Banner via Blog Mommas.
24. An Appeal via Don Surber’s blog.
25. Survivor Corps: Help a veteran break the cycle of violence via Hormone-Colored Days.
26. Support the Survivor Corps via Burbsblogs.
27. Veterans Day via Bodhi Baby.
28. Supporting Our Troops via Booker Rising.
29. Operation Survivor via Britannica.
30. As Per Request via Budget Nomad – US Ex – Pat on the Move.
31. Per a Request via Budget Nomad – US Ex – Pat on the Move.
32. Help veterans through Survivor Corps via South by Southwest.
33. Remembrance Day via Around the World in beautiful Shoes.
34. Veteran’s Day via Danny Fisher.
35. Survivor Corps via Charming Just Charming.
36. Veterans Day via Chip’s Quips.
37. Please Help Me Support Our Troops on Veteran’s Day via Chris Abraham.
38. I Will Not Be Broken via For the Heck of It.
39. Ray via Notes from the Cookie Jar.
40. Survivor Corps Helps Injured Vets Cope via Connecticut Bob.
41. Help Our Troops This Veteran’s Day via Culture11.
42. Supporting Our Troops: Operation Survivor via Culture Kitchen.
43. Supporting Our Troops: Operation Survivor via The Daily Gotham.
44. Donate to help our Troops via Make it Happen.
45. Survivor Corp-Returning Troops via What’s Delmer Look Like?.
46. Banner via Popcorn and Sushi.
47. Banner via Supercozy WorldHome.
48. Supporting Returning Troops via Donklephant.
49. Operation Survivor-Survivor Corps and TroopTube via Where the Hell Am I?.
50. In Their Boots via Holly’s Fight for Justice.
51. In Their Boots via Holly’s Fight to Stop Violence.
52. Banner via Gapers Block.
53. Banner via Gary Presley.
54. Operation Survivor via The Political Junkie.
55. Veterans Day via On the Fringe.
56. Survivor Corps Supports Returning Troops and Their Families via GoMekong.com.
57. Support Our Troops NOW via MamaBugs…Homeschooling Where the Air Force Sends Us!.
58. Soldiers Angels Web Surfing via Hooah Wife & Friends.
59. Breaking the Cycle of Violence via Another Opinion.
60. New Book from the founder of Survivor Corps via The IAVA Blog.
61. Some Odds and Ends of the Election via The Liberal Life of a Navy Wife .
62. cross-post via Personal Injury and Social Security Disability Blog.
63. Banner via Iraq The Model.
64. In Honor of Veterans’ Day via James Kotecki.
65. Survivorcorps.org via Jelly Mom.
66. Banner via Into the Woods, Living Deliberately.
67. Survivor Corps via A Leg Up.
68. Standing up for Max Cleland on Veteran’s Day via Informed Comment.
69. Helping Veterans (a day late) via Just Enjoy Him: Ramblings of a Mid-Life Mom.
70. Soldiers Angels Web Surfing via Mail Call! Supporting the Troops.
71. Survivor Corps via Kung Fu Monkey.
72. Banner via Kim Stagliano.
73. Survivor Corps via Knee Deep in the Hooah.
74. Banner via Kentucky Progress.
75. Courage via Last One Speaks.
76. Banner via Leucadia Blog.
77. Iraq snapshot (The Common Ills) via Like Maria Said Paz.
78. Banner via Lisa’s Cookbook.
79. For a Good Cause via The Local Crank.
80. Banner via LooneyBin4Sure.
81. Tis the season to help our troops via Manatee’s Military Moms.
82. Thoughts of a conservative mind: A worthwhile charity via A different kind of Conservative Blog.
83. Banner via Married to the Army.
84. Veterans Day via State of Ohio Blogger Alliance.
85. Veteran’s Day via Weapons of Mass Discussion.
86. Operation Survivor via Big Blueberry Eyes.
87. Survivor Corps offers peer support to injured vets via Media Dis&Dat.
88. Survivor Corps via Tanker Bothers – Soldiers in the War on Terror.
89. Survivor Corps via Tanker Brothers.
90. Miss Beths Victory Dance via Miss Beth’s Victory Dance.
91. Survivor Corps via Miss Cellania Blog.
92. side bar Banner via Mommy Bytes.
93. Survivor Corps. Help for Surviving Troops via Mommy Does it All.
94. Operation Survivor via My American-Iraq Life.
95. Banner via Myrtus.
96. Mine removal personal ambition for Missouri State instructor via News-Release.com.
97. Survivor Corps: Support for returning heroes via News Blaze.
98. Veterans Deserve Your Help via New Zeal.
99. Supporting Returning Troops via Northloop Neighborhood.
100. Read Terrance D.C. via Oh Boy it Never Ends.
101. Banner via only red head in taiwan.
102. Banner via On the Upside.
103. Banner via Papamoka Straight Talk.
104. Banner via Pardon Me For Asking.
105. Survivors of War via Ponderings on a Faith Journey.
106. posted link on blogroll via Political Grind.
107. Survivor Corps: Operation Survivor via Political Reps.
108. A Day To Honor Those Who Have Served Their Country via Political Vindication.
109. Banner via Praise and Coffee.
110. Banner via Preemptive Karma.
111. Survivor Corps Supports Returning Troops and their Families! via Progressive Independent.
112. cross post via Quick Quotes Online.
113. In Banner Rotation via Redline.
114. Veteran’s deserve not just a word, but also a hand: Operation Survivor via Rich Kirkpatrick.
115. Survivor Corps Supports Returning Troops and their Families! via Right Michigan.
116. Banner via Rightwingchamp.
117. Katrina Vanden Heuvel is an Idiot via Ruth’s Report.
118. Katrina vanden Heuvel is an idiot via Ruth’s Report.
119. Survivor Corps via Sanbans Lymphorama.
120. Helping the Walking Wounded on November 11 via Serge the concierge.
121. Banner via Seven Wheelchairs.
122. palin, survivor corps, heroes and more via Sex and Politics and Creeds and Attitudes.
123. Links, Awards and Other Good Blogishness via She Lives.
124. Peace, be still. It’s Armistice Day. via Short Woman.
125. Sick of It via SICKOFITRADLZ.
126. posted Banner and review of I will not be broken via Writing in FaithWriting in Faith: Previews and Reviews.
127. Banner via Socialism.
128. Survivor Corps – Electronic Media News Releases via Soldiers Angels Network.
129. Survivor Corps via Soldiers Angels New York.
130. Survivor Corps via Soldiers’ Angels New York.
131. Need a little Inspiration? via My Life As A Military Spouse.
132. Banner via Stepping Right Up!.
133. Survivor Corps via Straight, Not Narrow.
134. Veterans Day via The Adventures of Super Mommy & Spitup Boy.
135. Support ‘Survivor Corps’ this Veterans Day – American Thinker via Survivor.
136. Operation Survivor – excerpt from website via Arthriticyoungthing.
137. posted Banner via Screw Politically Correct B.S..
138. Banner via The Political Jungle.
139. Survivor Corps via Tao of Katie.
140. Help veterans through Survivor Corps via The Reaction.
141. The bridge, the sacrifice, more via The Common Ills.
142. Banner via The Inside Dope.
143. A Belated Veterans (Day) Post via The Moderate Voice.
144. A Belated Veterans (Day) Post via Funny Blog.
145. Veterans and PTSD via Where There’s a Will There’s a Way.
146. Tuesday, November 11. 2008. via This French Life.
147. we posted? via This Fucking War.
148. Survivor Corps Website via Untreatable Online.
149. cross post via News Updated Frequently.
150. Survivor Corps via Unveal Blues.
151. Banner via VDog and Little Man.
152. Banner via Virginia Left Wing.
153. cross post via Today on Vot3r.
154. Banner via mikesmercurialmaddness.
155. As Long as We’re Bailing Out CEOs… via World-O-Crap.
156. Wake Up Americans via Wake Up America.
157. Survivor Corps via Wake Up America.
158. Xyence via The Xyience Diet Resource.
159. Please Help the Veterans via Yaw and Mog.
160. Survivor Corps Supports Returning Troops and their Families! via Young Philly Politics.
161. Survivor Corps Supports Returning Vets and Their Families! via Zimbio.
162. Mojo Mom says thank you to military families via Mojo Mom.

I daresay we’ll be get more so there might very well be another thank you email. Again, both Abraham Harrison and Survivor Corps thank you very much for all of your continued generosity and support!

This news is from the hasn’t this already happened before department?  Also, from the I can’t believe it took this long department. Via the Washington Post.

Yahoo chief executive Jerry Yang will step down, the company announced last night, as the once-highflying Internet portal struggles to steady itself in the turbulent environment for Web media.

Yahoo! should be one of the coolest brands on the block.  With Flickr and del.icio.us, Yahoo really should be #2 — and it could be #1 if it would stop with the self-loathing — and it is not. Why?  Because Yahoo isn’t nearly shameless enough to survive in the 2008 Internet.  It is no longer the world of wizened Unix gurus who would easily define what is and isn’t couth on the Internet. Yahoo! is stuck in the days when it was uncool to splash your own brand on the brands you own (so is AOL); Yahoo! is stuck in the Internet of the 90s, an Internet wherein being good enough was good enough.

If Yahoo! was trying not to become gauche or become an ugly American in the Europe of the Internet, then it was successful! Yahoo! has become irrelevant. At least people hate Microsoft & AOL. Hell, I have nothing at all to say about Yahoo! except I adore del.icio.us and Flickr.  How could the owner of two of the Internet’s coolest properties never be able to harnest the gravity of these two major celestial bodies and slingshot themselves into #1?

Maybe there is too much modesty, not enough braggadocio, in the halls of Yahoo!  Maybe if you look closely, Yahoo! is the company that does no harm and does no evil.  Maybe the company who’s motto is “Don’t Be Evil,” is actually pretty shameless and far from modest. Maybe on the modern Internet (and in modern business) it is more important to say you’re doing good, being good, and being modest than it is to actually be modest.

Yahoo!, Yahoo!, Yahoo! please try your darnedest to spend more time sharing yourself with the world and less time being the best of the good citizens.  Google is absolutely shameless when it comes to all the good work they’re doing.  They are not keeping their religion to themselves, they’re not praying quietly to themselves in a bare cell, away from prying eyes!  Google is on the soapbox!  Google is bragging!  Google is sharing the Holy Spirit with the world!

If you keep on slipping those alms into the alms box of Internet Good Works by dark of night you will actually become irrelevant.  Nobody is against you but nobody is for you, either. Nobody cares.

What’s worse, I don’t think enough people even really think much about Flickr and del.icio.us being Yahoo! properties.

Yes, you make folks become Yahoo! members, but that’s not enough. In DC and Virginia, everyone has a Safeway card but nobody like to shop at Safeway — it’s only because Safeway makes it super-easy to become a member.  There is no brand loyalty, there is no passion behind the brand (OK, OK, Safeway Select pasta sauce is awesome — it is like Safeway’s Flickr), even if everyone has a Safeway scan card on their key ring.

Anyway, Yahoo!, I am so sorry for the rant.  Oh, also, why is it that all of my geeky friends in the Zope and Python world all want to work for Google and not for Yahoo!?  How come all of my PHP and MySQL friends ache to work for Google and not for Yahoo!  How pissed you must be to suffer that Google drank your milkshake.  They took you toys!  You, Yahoo!, where supposed to be that success story!  I mean, you were the first search engine, after all!  You were the first directory, right?

Well, it is time to get off your pity pot, kick Jerry to the curb, and again become the Yahoo! I have known you since 1994 and have loved you (although I have not used your email address since Gmail came out, sorry) and I really want you to get you some smarts.  Give me a call at +1 (202) 352-5051 or +49 (0)151 52579077 — I would be more than happy to try to help you turn this ship around!

Viel Glück

I just received this announcement from Nancy Martira over at Ketchum, following-up on my blog post with the big announcement that Frank Luntz is leaving Luntz, Maslansky Strategic Research:

As you reported on your blog, the close of the 2008 Election Season also brings to a close Frank Luntz’s time as CEO at Luntz Maslansky, a non-partisan, market research and communications consulting firm.  As reported in Ad Age on Friday afternoon, Lutz Maslansky Strategic Research (LMSR) is pleased to announce that President Michael Maslansky will be taking over the role of CEO effective January 1, 2009.  The Luntz, Maslansky Method of Language Strategy, used recently by news organizations such as CNN and FOX News to track voter reaction to the presidential debates, is used to understand how target audiences “hear” messages and how to craft the precise language that resonates most powerfully with those audiences. 

Founder and outgoing CEO Frank Luntz will relinquish day-to-day responsibilities and assume the role of chairman emeritus.  Prior to his five years of service as the President of LMSR, Michael Maslansky was president of MarketResearch.com, a leading market intelligence company where he remains on the Board.  “Michael is the ideal person to take the firm to the next level,” said Luntz.  “At no time in recent history has the importance of clear, credible and persuasive communications been greater than it is today, with corporate American facing unprecedented financial challenges and a new era in Washington.”

I don’t think that anyone can explain anything to Sara Palin. Does anyone know what her IQ is? I know that the United States sees a rugged individualist out fighting bears and wolves in the wilderness whenever she looks at herself in the mirror. Ignorant ruffian is not the source of our Constitution or our Bill or Rights.

None of the founders of this country were ruffians and all fancied themselves to be both men of letters and of the people. Diplomacy, freedom, liberty, and self-determination are things that came from the foundry of Enlightenment.

Americans mis-remembers their history: the founders of our country were not the same people who settled the continent on the shoulders of Puritanism, they were revolutionary humanists! The were men who valued the rights of man above anything else, believing men to be worthy the responsibility of being stewards of both a Nation and each other. Worthy of a democracy!

I don’t know what people think smart is, but I don’t count street smarts when it comes to world politics and diplomacy. Are we in an anti-intellectual, anti-thought, anti-rational US now? Is being a maverick better than being wildly capable. I value intellect, education, training, capability, creativity, compassion, altruism, generosity, humanitarianism more than most.

You know, good rational thought. A good sense of logic and fairness. A deep background in philosophy, history, civics, poetry, literature, and the law. We always forget — or fail to state — that Barack Obama is a Harvard-educated civil rights lawyer! This is a blessing in a world wherein we, the United States, are single-handedly dismantling the same rights, protections, privacies, and freedoms that our founding fathers, soldiers, and Americans have been fighting and dying for since we were born as a nation.

One’s mind is only knowable through the things one expresses, be it in writing or spoken word. After taking a bunch of multiple-choice tests, one’s left only with one’s capacity to communicate.

I really don’t know what to say except there are even brilliant people in my career who have trouble writing a good sentence. In communications and PR, well-written messages, conveying complexity, simply, are so valuable yet so under-valued. While I have not yet read The Age of American Unreason, we’re too close to our own dumbing-down and have become what we fear in other countries: intolerance.

We don’t even see that our own personal behavior as a country, supposedly protecting us from tyranny and “wrong-doers,” is making us tyrannical!  We’re sacrificing many of our freedoms of a perception of safety.  Safety from what? After 9/11, there is not been a brutal follow-up of discotheque bombings, the like of which marred 1980s Europe. We have not had to suffer any of what the UK needed to suffer under the IRA. We have not needed to avoid city buses the way Israelis sometimes do during real and present threat.

Since 9/11, nothing’s happened.  Nothing. And don’t even suggest that our democracy is 100% sealed against such things and that our military intelligence, our domestic intelligence, our federal and local police, our FBI, and our special operations commandoes can protect us were there another bold and well-funded attempt against any place in our continent. Impossible! Nothing’s happened.

And yet, our civil rights, our freedoms, and our personal privacy is constantly being eroded and threatened just because people are scared out-of-proportion to the real and present threat. Hell, we’re not being stolen from, we’re actively pursuing perceived security at whatever cost is necessary. Egad.

Back to writing. Back to communication. Back to anti-intellectualism. The problem is: people don’t know what “bad,” “wrong,” “imprecise,” “inarticulate,” or “confusing” writing is. I don’t buy the “anti-East Coast” thing. Mid-West universities are some of the best. There’s Rice and Austin even in TX! I see people pissing and moaning about how they need to use “SMS shorthand” on Twitter because Twitter keeps your microblogging posts under 140 characters. Well, I am “restricted” by 140 characters, too, as are we all; however, I use complete sentences, never blaming Twitter’s 140 limit!

I agree that one needs to read and read to become a better writer. It is like that in everything, including painting and photography. My dad was a shooter. He told me, “to know good photography, one must both shoot, shoot, but also look, look, look!” When your job is to communicate, “knowing social media” isn’t enough. We win gigs because we can communicate exceptionally. I don’t know German yet. I would never consider doing PR in Germany unless I hired exceptional writers and thinkers.

In America, yes, but around the world, subliteracy abounds. I love Frank Luntz’ tagline: “It is not what you say, it’s what they hear.” Understanding comprehension is key to controlling the message. When I started on USENET in ’93, it was still an ivory tower in many ways. You would win or lose argument threads through precise argument.

If I didn’t think my USENET post through, I would have my argument — my post — picked apart. The argument is every bit as important to communication and persuasion — the process and proof — as is the truth you’re trying to convey.  Not being able to think through one’s own political or esoteric argument as well as being incapable of parsing and comprehending another’s argument is what is getting the United States into such a mess.

If you can’t map historical context, rigorous research, and experiential perspective to current events, you’re liable to be manipulated or persuaded against your will based on your emotions or fears instead of logic or reason. Yes, there is a sucker born every day, and it is my passion to do my best, day by day, to avoid being that sucker.  I recommend that we all try to check the facts, the history, the recommendations, the logic, and the reason of all of the news and political discourse that we’re listening to right now, in these few days before the U.S. General Election.

Are you thinking things through or are you carrying someone else’s ideas, convictions, or beliefs?  Do you even have your own?  What do they even look like?

Cool new news from the gang over at WOMMA, A Twitter Shakeup (Via Marketing Conversation):

Jack Dorsey and Evan Williams, the co-founders of Twitter, have decided to switch company roles. Dorsey, the current CEO of Twitter, will become the Chairman. Williams, the current Chairman, slides into place as the new CEO. Said Fred Wilson from the Twitter Board of Directors, ” ‘We all think Ev is a better fit to lead the company from a product perspective, an operations perspective, and a business standpoint.’ ” The news was greeted somewhat quizzically by the New York Times’ Bits Blog, which pointed out that Twitter has become somewhat of a stable enterprise, especially after its highly successful weeks of presidential debate coverage. Bits suggests that perhaps this shakeup is a way to start Twitter on a path to generating revenue.

This is an op-ed written by Jerry White, founder of Survivor Corps and author of I Will Not Be Broken: Five Steps to Overcoming a Life Crisis, on the Fourth of July, 2008:

My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth.” These are not the words of a pacifist or peacenik. General George Washington, the canny military strategist and first leader of the American army, recognized that war is a horror. While we bask in our independence today, let us also recognize the price paid by those—then and now—who fight for it. After the Revolution, 25,000 Americans lay dead. About 25,000 more were seriously wounded or disabled. That is a high price, indeed, for our freedom. Since 1776, the world has fought more than 300 wars, and nearly 40 conflicts still rage. The cost remains steep.

Today, 1.6 million Americans have served in Afghanistan and Iraq. Over 4,000 are dead. Those who return are missing limbs, are disfigured, are coping with traumatic brain injuries. Still others have less visible wounds. Over 300,000 now exhibit symptoms of post-traumatic stress and alienation here at home. They have broken marriages, unchecked anger, thoughts of suicide. Their military service may be over, but they and their families (including over two million children) remain profoundly affected. The costs related to stress and depressive disorders may reach $6 billion over the next two years, according to a recent study by Rand.

And that’s where we, as civilians, must activate. We must commit ourselves as everyday people to reach out to these wounded warriors to help them overcome. Because I am here to tell you, nobody survives trauma alone.

I have spent the past twelve years building a global network of people helping each other overcome the terrible cost of war—helping “victims” become “survivors.” In over 116,000 peer visits across the war-torn regions of the world, we have learned a few things about what separates those who lie down and embrace their suffering, and those who rise above, rebuild their lives, and rejoin their communities.

Survivors who successfully overcome traumatic injuries follow five basic steps. First, they Face Facts. These people don’t run from the truth of what’s happened to them. They don’t deny injuries, or disfigurement, or anger. They look at them, and incorporate them into their lives.

Second, they consciously Choose Life. It is crucial to remind ourselves and each other why life is worth living. Rising suicide rates must be addressed head on, because most of these individuals don’t want to die as much as they want their pain and despair to end.

Third, true survivors Reach Out. They reject isolation and divisiveness. They know that, to move out of a war victim mentality and onto the path of positive survivorship, they must drop their shell of anger and resentment.

Fourth, survivors have to Get Moving. Those traumatized by war, whatever the condition of their bodies, must get active. We all must take responsibility to do what it takes to “get in shape” for whatever the future may hold.

The fifth—and perhaps most crucial key to resilience and recovery—is to Give Back. Survivors recognize that it’s better to be a benefactor, not just a beneficiary. Everyone can have a role to play and contribute in big and small ways to our families and neighborhoods. To the veterans who served in war, I say learn to serve again. Become active members of your communities. Show your strength, creativity and work ethic to your friends and neighbors. You may look different, you may feel different, but you can still contribute.

And to the United States, as we struggle to recover from the war trauma we experience as a nation, I offer the same practical advice: Face Facts. Choose Life. Reach Out. Get Moving. Give Back. Families and citizens remain divided over whether we should have gone into Iraq in the first place. The Revolutionary War was no different—many wanted to avoid war or align with England. (Benjamin Franklin’s own son, William, the Governor of New Jersey, remained loyal to Britain throughout the war, as did nearly 20% of the colonists.) But at the end of the war, then as now, we emerge as Americans.

When we can admit our imperfections and share our strength as survivors, as Americans, we are united. Certainly, as victims of war we have pain. We know loss and sacrifice. But we are still strong. Because it is more than just pain that unites us. It is our shared hope for humanity—our ability to overcome—that binds us together.

I am convinced that within each human being lies an inextinguishable flame, an irrepressible voice whose refrain is unmistakable: I choose freedom. I will not choose to hate, to wallow in self-pity, to retaliate. I instead choose to live, to thrive. I believe that this is the American way. Some say we are becoming less resilient and more cynical as a nation. And, if we keep making excuses and pushing our responsibilities to each other away, that is the path we will be on. But, I think we are better than that. I believe strength and generosity can be found within each and every one of us.

So, let’s honor our Day of Independence by uniting in empathy and support for families struggling with fresh wounds. In our mutual survivorship, there is no “us” and “them”—no civilian versus military, democrat versus republican, victim versus survivor. We are united in our commitment to one another. Choose resilience and optimism. Choose to reach out to those who are suffering. Let our lost loved ones, and their memories, cheer us onward and upward. And as fireworks explode behind the Washington Monument this July 4^th, let it commemorate and shout out America’s characteristic optimism and can-do confidence that we can and will overcome this “plague of mankind.”

I just spent some time setting up my own CokeTag for my Facebook Profile after hearing about it from CC Chapman.

What I like about it is that it isn’t nefarious. One just sets it up to reflect one’s interested, passions, properties, and there you go! There’s a lot of fun there because you can set up the CokeTag to reflect who you are, instead of just biting everyone and sucking their blood. So, I chose to reflect myself through my favorite TV shows, movies, sites I own, sports I do, and my favorite foodie sites. Then, after you install the CokeTag application, set it up, and so forth, you can start grabbing other people’s CokeTag or you can even check out who is checking you out via the Click Tracker. At the end of the day, I don’t have the vision for the CokeTag application; however, CC does and so here’s what his vision is,

“Trying to make people realize how kick ass this would be for musicians to create a CokeTag and then fans can take it and share it on their sites. or a brand could.”

Here’s the Social Media News Release for the campaign…

Coca-Cola Launches CokeTag Facebook Application With Olympic Tie-In

 

CokeTag Application Empowers Anyone to Promote Themselves and Their Interests With a Do-It-Yourself, Portable Application.

June 6, 2008

Facts

What is a CokeTag?

• A CokeTag is a personal, customizable widget for individuals, bands, bloggers, artists, and companies to share links to content they want to promote and drive traffic to anywhere on the Web.
• Empowers users to bundle links to on- and off-Facebook content in an attractive convenient package, which is associated with and accessible from their Profile or Fan Pages and shared via Facebook private messages or Wall posts.
• Coca-Cola released CokeTag to provide an engaging and relevant online experience for consumers. The useful application is another way that Coca-Cola is leveraging innovative technology and social media to reach consumers where they are increasingly spending time online.
• One of the first uses of a CokeTag will be to promote the we8 recording artists. we8 is an artistic and cultural exchange, uniting eight of China’s most exciting artists and design firms with eight of the West’s most progressive musicians to design a vision and soundtrack that celebrates the infinite possibilities that await when the doors are flung open from East to West. The we8 program is being launched as part of The Coca-Cola Company’s 2008 Bejing Olympic Games marketing activities.
• The CokeTag application is being launched as a beta. Among others, the goal is to watch, listen and learn from consumers to determine how the community wishes to use the application and to gather suggestions on how to improve it as it expands outside of Facebook.
• The Coca-Cola Company aligns itself with delivering the promise of a cross-platform web experience, consistent with Coke’s brand value of bringing people together for social connections across cultures.
• CokeTag is the result of a partnership between The Coca-Cola Company and Linkstorm, which is an advertising technology company that is pioneering a new approach to social networking, online marketing and publishing.

Benefits and Features

• Includes a self-service editor that puts the creator in control of the CokeTag content and skin.
• Every CokeTag packs several levels of easily navigated, expandable menus in a stylized, compact design that allow visitors to instantly navigate to specific content that they are interested in and want to see more about.
• The built-in click tracker lets creators know every time someone looks at their CokeTag and which links they visited. This data is only viewable to the creator of the CokeTag.
• Sharing and posting features facilitate viral distribution via highly targeted personal networks for friends and fans.

Distribution

• Initially built for Facebook, the plan is to allow for a CokeTag to live beyond those walls and will soon be available across OpenSocial sites (i.e. MySpace, Bebo, etc.) and eventually to the greater Internet on Blogging platforms and elsewhere. The goal is to empower users with ubiquitous Web distribution for sharing the information that matters to them and maintaining it one place.
• Facebook users can add a CokeTag to both their personal profile as well as to any Facebook Fan Page. This opens it up so that a company, band or special event can build a CokeTag full of links about them and then fans can take that CokeTag and add it to their own profiles.
• Current Facebook distribution options includes:
  • Create and post your CokeTag on your personal profile page
  • Create and post a CokeTag to any Facebook Fan Page you administer
  • Grab and post any CokeTag that you discover on to your own personal profile
  • Send a CokeTag as Facebook e-mail attachment
  • Post a CokeTag as a Facebook Wall post

Quotes

Attributed to Michael Donnelly, Director, Worldwide Interactive Marketing, The Coca-Cola Company :

“The Coca-Cola Company’s social networking approach has been one of very sincere respect for the communities we participate in. We prefer to politely enter and let the already existing ecosystem help guide us in the right direction as we continue to learn what works best for our brands.”

“I’m excited about the CokeTag program, because while we are starting small and simple, we look forward to quickly growing it beyond Facebook with feedback, advice and counsel from consumers.”

“While Facebook may be the starting point for CokeTag, it is only the beginning. We are excited to be working towards the potential of expanding the use of the CokeTag application throughout the web and we are now working on the best way to leverage the OpenSocial platform. We are looking forward to the day when anyone could potentially create a CokeTag and have it on all of their social network profiles and their blog and only have to worry about updating it in one place. That excites me.”

“We made a distinct decision not to overly brand this application.  We want this to be a helpful utility that connects consumers in a way that is all about them, not us.”

Attributed to David Sidman, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Linkstorm:

“Coke is the inaugural partner of our Portable Universal Profile (PUP™) platform for social media. Their vision and commitment have brought the platform to life in the form of a CokeTag. The platform is a unique way for brand marketers and advertisers to add great value to social media users’ experiences with a fun, unobtrusive and useful tool.”

“Unlike many other social media marketing programs which force themselves between the users and what they really want to be doing, the PUP enables the brand to become a conduit for user communications.  The brand message can be as subtle as the sponsor and its community may wish, but the application is designed to enhance the user experience of connecting and sharing with friends without intruding”

Multimedia

In addition to the website, www.coketags.com ,we have assembled the following links and multimedia that will assist you in informing others about the application.
IMAGES

• Musician / Band CokeTag
• Sci Fi Fan CokeTag
• Causes CokeTag
• Triple CokeTag Shot

• CokeTag Logo
• Coca-Cola Banner
• The Coca-Cola Company Logo

• Linkstorm Logo

• CokeTag Facebook Application Page
• we8 Fan Page

• http://del.icio.us/coketags

About

About Coca-Cola
The Coca-Cola Company is the world’s largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 450 sparkling and still brands. Along with Coca-Cola, recognized as the world’s most valuable brand, the Company’s portfolio includes 12 other billion-dollar brands, including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid and Georgia Coffee. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, juices and juice drinks and ready-to-drink teas and coffees. Through the world’s largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company’s beverages at a rate of 1.5 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that protect the environment, conserve resources and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. For more information about our Company, please visit our Web site at www.thecoca-colacompany.com.

About Linkstorm
Linkstorm is an advertising technology company that is pioneering a new approach to online marketing, e-commerce, publishing and social networking. The company’s unique ad enhancement technology significantly improves performance of all online advertising and improves user engagement by overlaying cascading menus onto any ad format and quickly connecting customers to the information they want. Clients include national and global advertisers, agencies and publishers such as Cisco, Microsoft, Wal-Mart, Chevrolet, HP, Ogilvy, MRM and Hachette Filipacchi. Linkstorm is headquartered in New York City and is funded by visionary investors such as Esther Dyson and Jim Rutt.  For more information, please visit www.linkstorms.com

Contact Info

Contact:	C.C. Chapman
Phone:	508-241-1062
Email:	cc@theadvanceguard.com
Website:	http://www.theadvanceguard.com

Tags & Sharing

Coca-Cola | Coke | CokeTag | CokeTags | Facebook | Facebook Application | Widgets | Social Media | we8 | Linkstorm

As you can see, I have been writing about Sadie Allison for years now — Dr. Sadie Tickles My Fancy with TickleKitty and See Sexy Dr. Sadie With Your Own Two Eyes On TV This Sunday — and just recently received 5 copies of Sadie’s new book, Ride ‘Em Cowgirl: Sex Position Secrets For Better Bucking. She’s a friend of mine — and she’s super cute and knows what she’s talking about! OK, I am sort of crushing.

Before that, Sadie penned three sex-help books, Tickle Your Fancy, Toygasms!, and Tickle His Pickle — but she has outdone herself with this book! Oh, and on page 97, the G-Spot is finally demystified! Come on fellas, you’re really missing out if you haven’t sorted out some of the magic little bits and pieces of lovemaking. Definitely a worthwhile endeavor for the both of you!

Here’s some of the stuff I have been able to steal from both Amazon and the Tickle Kitty website:

Enjoy an entire lifetime of sexual enrichment for the cost of a couple of cocktails!

• Fully illustrated to guide you. Over 100 tasteful point-n-play illustrations help you visualize your exciting new moves together
• Easy and fun to read. You’ll feel inspired by Dr. Sadie’s conversational style and hands-on encouragement
• Filled with secret touches. You’ll explore all the strokes, squeezes and sensations your lover wants (but isn’t telling you)
• She’ll start coming like crazy. Many of Dr. Sadie’s tips are designed to ignite the woman’s orgasms—including the wild and elusive “during intercourse” orgasm
• You and your lover are invited. Come discover how to reposition your bodies together for the most satisfying, fulfilling, mind-blowing lovemaking ever!

Product Description
Why is this today s best sex position guide? Instead of twisting you into impossible pretzel poses, Dr. Sadie illustrates hundreds of ways to shape your favorite sex positions into a more passionate orgasmic fit for the two of you. Comfortably! Even better, Dr. Sadie s fun, empowering hands-on coaching inspires intimate new explorations and sensational erotic touches. You ll reveal your lover s deepest sexual desires (and yours, too!) while triggering powerful orgasms like never before especially hers! Whether you re newly intimate together or long-time lovers ready to take the monotony out of monogamy this is the one lovemaking guide ready to create a lifetime of excitement, passion, confidence, supergasms, and un-wipe-offable smiles every morning after. Try it! And read it together…in bed!

Check out what’s inside Ride ‘Em Cowgirl!:
1. Your Passion Cocktail—How to shake awake your lovelife
2. Supergasms—The secrets to supercharging your orgasms
3. The Art of Penetration—Sensual entry secrets just for him
4. The Art of Being Penetrated—Sensual entry secrets just for her
5. Missionary Possible—New pleasure angles when HE’S on top
6. Doggystyle—Enjoy new come-from-behind victories
7. Ride ‘em Cowgirl!—Exciting moves when SHE’S on top
8. Spooning—Rediscover the world’s most romantic position.
9. Clitilicious—How to arouse her orgasm trigger every time
10. The G-spot—Finding and stimulating her deep pleasure spot
11. Backdoor Boogaloo—Why couples now say yes to this old taboo
12. The HE-spot—Finding and stimulating HIS hidden pleasure spot
13. Voluptuous Loving—Positions designed for our larger lovers
14. Pregnant Poses—Exciting positions for the soon-to-be-mom
15. Outercourse—An exciting alternative of good messy fun
16. Location! Location! Location!—Reasons to skip the bedroom
17. Vive La Difference—Exciting new ways to fit your lover to you
18. Sexy Playthings—Choosing the right sextoys for you

Appendix: Safety First—How to practice safer sex every time

Position Index—So many positions, so much time!
Excerpts from Chapter 9: “Clitilicious”

As opposite as the sexes often seem, women and men share one important sexual similarity—the workings of their sexual pleasure centers. Here’s why:

• The clitoris is micro-clustered with millions of the same type of erotic nerve endings found in the head of the penis.
• Men become erect during arousal—and so do women! As the clitoris swells with blood, it swells in size. Next time, feel it grow from small and subtle to round and firm as foreplay
  heats up.
• There’s rarely an orgasm without direct stimulation to the head of the penis. Likewise, there’s rarely an orgasm if you ignore the clitoris.
• The clitoris and the penis respond best when slippery-wet. Did you remember to pick up a good sex lube?

By understanding these similarities, it’s easy to see why it’s vital to stimulate the tiny but powerful clitoris directly, especially during intercourse. Guys…please read that last sentence again!

20 ways to supercharge intercourse

Between the two of you, you’ll find 20 warm, soft, active little clitoral stimulators that you’ll never misplace, need no batteries, and can lift the woman to the highest orgasmic peaks on earth.

They’re your fingertips—just add sex lube!

The fingertip secret is to touch the clitoris with slow, gentle caressing motions, matching the pressure and pace to the level of her arousal. Just be sure there’s lots of lubrication, start slow and soft, and you can’t go wrong.

Whoever is doing the arousing, vary your fingertip motions till you find a pattern that works: up ‘n’ down, side-to-side, round ‘n’ round, or even figure eights. For a real treat, try these motions with the tip of the penis.

About the Author
When you need answers about lovemaking, look to Dr. Sadie Allison, founder and CEO of Tickle Kitty, Inc., and ticklekitty.com. Dr. Sadie is a leading authority on human sexuality today, and author of the award-winning bestsellers Tickle His Pickle, TOYGASMS! and Tickle Your Fancy. She appears frequently on TV and radio, including E! Entertainment Television, Talk Sex with Sue Johanson, Dr. Drew s Loveline and the Bob & Tom Show. She is a sought-after speaker, and is often quoted in national magazines, such as Cosmopolitan, Redbook and Men s Health. She s a Licensed Doctor of Human Sexuality, having earned her degree from the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality. She s also a member of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors & Therapists (AASECT). Her Tickle Kitty brand of sex-help books, sensual pleasure kits and sex lubricants enable her to assist more individuals and couples find greater joys in sexual pleasure.

Editorial Reviews
Review
YEE HA! for Ride Em Cowgirl!, Sue Johanson, host of TV s Talk Sex –Sue Johanson, host of TV s Talk Sex

Read this together and enjoy the pleasures to come., Ian Kerner, Ph.D., Author, She Comes First –Ian Kerner, Ph.D., Author, She Comes First

Dr. Sadie Allison combines sex education with erotic temptation so everyone can learn and enjoy. She s one of the great emerging sexologists of the 21st century., Dr. Ted McIlvenna, President, The Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality –Dr. Ted McIlvenna, President, The Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality