Not So Deep Thoughts

Al Getler and Online Reputation ManagementI had an interesting...

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:42:37 -0400

Al Getler and Online Reputation Management

I had an interesting opportunity today, Al Getler asked me to participate in his latest venture – L…

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Casey Movers’ continues to feel the wrath of the...

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 10:46:21 -0500

Casey Movers’ continues to feel the wrath of the Streisand Effect

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Graduating from Enthusiast to ProfessionalView Postshared via...

Sun, 20 Jan 2013 22:55:57 -0500

Graduating from Enthusiast to Professional

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Casey Movers Threatens To Sue Me Over Bad Review See the Casey...

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 21:40:00 -0500

Casey Movers Threatens To Sue Me Over Bad Review

See the Casey Movers post about how they are trying to threaten and intimidate customers.

How Exaggeration Ruins Everything

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 21:36:28 -0400

I saw a story posted on BoingBoing this afternoon about how the Portland police department had posted mugshots of the people they arrested during Occupy Portland.

It really doesn’t matter where you stand on the actual goodness or badness of that part of the story, because the following line is what drove me to post this…

“As inadvisable police tactics around Occupy Wall Street go, this feels like it’s right up there with tear gassing people in wheelchairs”

Really? Posting a mugshot of someone who knowingly broke the law is on par with gassing people in wheelchairs?

That is the kind of ridiculous exaggeration that stops an entire conversation. In real life if someone said that, you just shake your head and walk away because you realize that they’re mentally compromised.

The Work - Life Balance isn't the same for everyone

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:29:30 -0400

I saw an interesting post from my Twitter friend Alan Bleiweiss today. He recently became a big-wig at Click2Rank and wanted to implement a policy that would encourage people to get back home at a reasonable hour. He tweeted:

I really strive to foster a balanced life in my team. It’s why they’re no longer allowed to work past 7PM.

I am 100% on board with the idea of a life/work balance… for me.

My only concern is that everyone is different right?

It’s like working someplace that offers free coffee to employees - well so what, I don’t drink coffee, I drink a soda every morning. I’ve seen some workplaces offer a free massage - again, I don’t really want anyone touching me like that at work - so that doesn’t work for me.

What about the person who honestly loves their job. The idea of doing their work is what drives them out of bed every morning. They can’t wait to get to their desk. They love their customers! Why are you limiting them?

Are you limiting them because you don’t feel the same way? Because you need more “downtime” to recharge your batteries? Why not let people decide for themselves what that balance is?

I think for the vast majority of people, pushing them towards more time away from work is the right thing. I just don’t think you can do it across the board with no exceptions.

What do you think?

Andy Kenney at the News & Observer doesn't get it

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 21:55:22 -0500

I saw a link to a News & Observer article in my Twitter stream this evening from Allison Campbell.

It was pointing to a story written by Andrew Kenney, a staff writer for the News & Observer in Raleigh, NC. What caught Allison’s eye was the opening line.

The most interesting part of the “… Triangle code monkeys…” line is, to us in the tech industry, we use it in a semi-disparaging way, so for someone who couldn’t even figure out how to add a hyperlink to the company name in the second paragraph, it’s border-line offensive.

How would Andy Kenney feel if someone wrote a story about him, and opened it like this:

Andy Kenney, a word monkey at the News & Observer, is trying to understand the new landscape for journalists.

I’m guessing he wouldn’t appreciate it.

Christmas photo shoot outside McClatchy Interactive

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:32:26 -0500

Christmas photo shoot outside McClatchy Interactive

Finn after mass

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 20:17:52 -0500

Finn after mass

I'm losing faith in Craigslist

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:24:47 -0500

Tonight I took a quick peak at the ads on Craigslist to see if there was anything interesting out there.

I always take a look at the computer gigs and web jobs to see if there is anyone looking for some help.

In the past I’ve found some really cool people that way. A couple months ago, I ended up doing a gratis site for Johanna Greeson as she was finishing up her doctorate.

Over the past year I’ve noticed a couple things about Craigslist.

Everyone wants something for nothing
More scammers

How many ads for a full blown web presence that will probably take 100 man-hours to complete end with the phrase “… looking for a student who would like to add this to their portfolio”? Most of them.

Then the pay scale offered either says “negotiable” or “$8/hr”. Really, is that how much you value your entire web presence?

As far as scammers, I saw this ad for a Social Media Website:

Now looking for people that understand how social networking websites operate. New company that is poised to take the place of Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter has formed and needs new people to join as members. Don’t miss out on your piece of this company. Revenue sharing, bonuses, and commissions… 336-790-7148

Notice the omission of the word salary? Yeah, so did I. I decided to Google the phone number listed, shocker, more scams attached to 336-790-7148.

I now believe Seth Godin is right when he says Craigslist would be better if it charged $1.

Giving someone a kick in the ass

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:51:00 -0400

I know that I can talk a good game. I’ve always been pretty successful at being able to connect with someone 1 on 1 and convince them that my perspective has some merit. I like to think that’s because I’m brilliant and always full of great ideas, but I know that’s not 100% true.

Usually it’s because I’m telling someone what they already believe, but are not ready to take the next step.

That happened last week when I was talking with Susan Neilson. Susan is the business and research librarian at the Cameron Village library in Raleigh and wanted to try some of the tools I had talked about, especially blogging.

She had some reservations that I can sum as “what if nobody reads it?” It’s a common fear, but I convinced her that it really doesn’t matter. It tool a good 5 minutes, but I saw the switch flip.

As she was walking out with me and Rob Laughter, Rob said he wished there was a way he could tweet his book requests. We chatted about that for a minute and headed out.

Then today I saw this:

That was awesome, it made me look at some of her previous tweets where I then saw she had also started blogging!

I’m really proud of Susan, I know she’s going to crush it!

Awake… and asleep.

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:09:56 -0400

Awake… and asleep.