Several months ago, I decided to take steps to reclaim my own attention.

Two weeks ago I attended Nielsen's annual Consumer 360 conference in D.C. and it was unlike any industry conference I've ever attended. It opened with high-profile stars from the entertainment world talking candidly about a number of very "uncomfortable" issues weighing on the media and entertainment industries today, from MeToo and diversity and inclusion to alternative facts and attacks on the news media.

Do you know where your data came from, where it is and what it's doing?

We're rapidly approaching summer vacation season. This time of year - perhaps more than any other - encourages us to unplug and drop off the grid. Summer seems to justify a little more distance from our daily to-do list. I, myself, am writing this while I'm on my way to Nova Scotia to do one of my "bucket list" bike rides, Cape Breton's famed Cabot Trail. Today, having spent several years looking for my own exit from the grid, I wanted to lay out some strategies for unplugging and unwinding in these lazy hazy days of summer.

Let's start with a confession. I sometimes feel guilty when I'm wearing my Apple AirPods. Wait, strike that. I often feel guilty when I'm wearing my AirPods. Why? Because I've created a private, portable, personal bubble of sound. It blocks out traffic noise -- which is delightful -- but it also blocks out lots of basic, human, polite interaction.

It's no doubt true that FIFA's brand name has an enormous smudge on it, which won't be going away anytime soon. However: While the global football-loving population positively hate FIFA, they love football and the World Cup.

The experience of selling our house has been a good reminder of the importance of goodwill in the negotiating process.

Often overlooked, never appreciated, email is still the backbone of a company's go-to-market strategy.

Speaking of the unintended consequences of technology -- which I do, a lot -- Trump is launching a trade war via Twitter. Actually, it's not so much the launching of the trade war that is unintended. Trump seems pretty intent on that. It's the way that this particular war may play out that may hold a few new twists. We've never had a president like Trump. And we've never had major policy dictated through a communication medium restricted to a relative handful of characters.

When I walked into the room, I was expecting a horror show. Why? Well, because the two-day event was called the "Fake News Horror Show" and was produced by the NYC Media Lab. So no one was pretending there was good news right around the corner. Still, while most of the horror was terrible, it wasn't surprising.