From November 2008


Slamming the Spammers

Spam is something we have to deal with, but I (like millions of others out there) are thrilled with the Facebook verdict. Facebook won $873 million in damages from a spammer, the largest award to date under the Can-Spam Act. Rock on! Surely they will not collect most of it. But talk about a deterrent. Social media sites provide an entirely new platform for spammers (and other unethical companies). Content on social media sites continues to climb, and spammers are inventing new ways to get around the spam filters. Their latest strategy is to leave unique comments that make them seem……

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Taking stock of Florida’s resources

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to sit in on the meeting of Workforce Florida’s Strategy Council. The council is made up of public and private stakeholders throughout the state, and is charged with determining and driving Florida’s mission to create a world-class talent base.  Sena Black, senior vice president of marketing at Enterprise Florida, gave a phenomenal overview of The Roadmap to Florida’s Future. Sena was followed by Tony Carvajal of the Florida Chamber, whose message reinforced the need to, as Sena put it, look not just in the rear view mirror but also through the windshield. One……

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Learning by Doing: Bridging the Gap with Experiential Learning

At a time when communications professionals are expected to be more tuned in, more connected and more informed than the ever before, there is only one way to really become the master of your domain. It all starts with doing. And I’m not talking about just “going through the motions” doing, I’m talking about “diving in, full speed, head first, inhibitions left on the shore so nothing can slow you down” doing. Learn from doing. We all have to. People aren’t just born into big, comfy CEO chairs. The successful people in the news today had to do, learn and……

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Election Night Revisited

Four years ago, Richard and I were sitting in a café in Paris watching the presidential election night results on CNN.   Our French friends kept saying, “How could you do that again?” They mentioned the war and terrorism.  But they kept asking, “How could America vote for President Bush again?”  It was an interesting conversation assessing why the vote went for Bush. There were discussions about how the election was held, strategy conducted by both parties, and the overriding factors in determining the election.  That night it was Americans and French engaged in a very lively conversation about democracy.  ……

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A lesson from the presidential election

Regardless of how you voted, most communications professionals would agree President-elect Barack Obama’s communications strategy played an integral part to propel him to victory.  The communications strategy was built around the product of a charismatic, well-spoken individual with the message of “change.”  But even more important—which will be a case study for years to come— is the grassroots campaign from the ground up via social media.  The internet was used successfully for both fundraising efforts and volunteer field work.  With consistent, clear and confident communications Obama campaign managers were brilliant in their grassroots approach and communications strategy, motivating their target audience……

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