• ONLINE SPIN
    Who 'Owns' The Eyeball?
    In our world we are laden with industry jargon, much of which we poke fun at. I've written and joked about it before. Many agency folks have a little game called "media lingo bingo," where you count the number of times a word is brought up in a conference call, meeting, pitch, whatever -- words and phrases like: "out-of-the-box," "integration," "synergy," "viral"... the list goes on. One word I used to try and find a replacement for was "eyeballs." I admit, to people outside of our world, it does sound a bit creepy. However in our world it's a say-no-more …
  • ONLINE SPIN
    The Etiquette Of Seeking Advice
    I love helping college students and recent graduates, including from my alma mater, Syracuse University. I receive a good number of calls from there and elsewhere and I enjoy responding. However, I'm periodically aggravated by email from students who request "general tips to succeed." I'm not talking about help for any specific question or objective where I can offer unique value. I'm referring to thoughtless, generic requests for tips to make it in their careers. This tells me either you have no focus, you've not done your homework, or both. Even worse, it suggests you might not care.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Ten Questions Not To Ask A Social Media Panel
    I had a great time on a panel this week at OMMA Social, and even more fun networking throughout the event. My fellow panelists and moderator were some of the brightest people I know in this business, but some of the panels wound up addressing the same questions. To keep future panels more exciting, here are ten questions you don't need to ask other panelists about social media, along with the answers you're likely to hear.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Scenes From An Italian... Starbucks? (Sorry, Billy Joel)
    Ever notice how quickly and subtly your habits change as a result of digital media and the Internet? As I've said over and over, you need to look at things from the eyes of a consumer first before you put on your marketing goggles. Your marketing goggles allow you to see the myriad of ways that a consumer can be spoken to and messaged to, but looking at the world of the consumer first allows you to see the challenges they face and the ways they react to stimuli. It's this perspective that gets overlooked by most media planners …
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Bite-Sized Thoughts
    It has been one week since I started using Twitter. I honestly can't say if I figured out what thoughts qualify as "tweetable" and what thoughts will just get me in trouble. What Twitter really does is give a very public voice to your inner monologue. In the end, most Twitter activity isn't exactly useful. In fact much of it is downright silly, yet somehow it gives a very connected feeling, and the occasional gem of insight/feedback. And as such, I am addicted -- for now. So in the honor of my first full week on Twitter, and a very …
  • ONLINE SPIN
    New Netiquette?
    For years I have been writing about Netiquette. To me the best source is a book by Virginia Shea called "Netiquette" and a foreword by Guy Kawasaki. The book has a copyright that is 14 years old but sure does have a shelf life. So Ms. Shea (with whom I don't know), if I may...I'd like to share your fodder, expand on it and get our readers to think of the evolution of Netiquette.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    The Disintegration Of Big Media Brands And The Content They Carry
    As a media consumer, there's one thing that has changed dramatically for me in the past two years: the eroding significance of big media brands to the programming I like. Sure, publishers and networks play a major role in the funding, development, distribution and promotion of programming. But the once-blatant and important link between high-profile media distribution brands and specific programming and content is unraveling. What was once a complete package is deconstructing into separate chunks and bytes as distribution becomes free-flowing and abundant--or digital.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Botox Season on the Web
    It seems like every other major site and software program is getting its digital version of Botox lately. These sites want to look better, and generally more youthful, without calling too much attention to themselves. We'll review the latest round of e-Botox projects and see who wears their new looks well.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    What Rising Oil Costs Mean For Advertising
    There's been talk of a recession and its effect on advertising, but I don't think the recession is nearly as influential as the basic costs for transportation and heat. Americans are spending that money at the gas pump rather than on other types of goods and services. We might actually see a flat spend from year to year rather than the growth that many people project.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Social Media's Role In A Media Plan
    What role should social media play in a marketer's media plan? It's funny that something with the word "media" in its name isn't a shoe-in as a line item on most media plans. But the truth is that social media pulls more commonly from the "experimental" budgets (re: leftover or test) rather than the main "planned" media budget.
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