Making the rounds in my world this week is an essay by Linds Redding: "A Short Lesson in Perspective." Linds, a former ad exec who passed away last month from esophageal cancer, spent at least some of the time during his illness looking back on how he had spent his life. And, as is so dismayingly often the case, he was distinctly ungratified by what he saw. Here's an excerpt:

Like all of you, I've been following the news about the fiscal cliff negotiations in Washington, DC. Not because I can do anything about it. Not because it is riveting storytelling and drama. Rather, I've been following this news because whatever is decided will have a significant impact on me, my family and my industry. Oddly enough, I kind of feel the same way about the recent spate of media agency reviews.

Native advertising is another of the most-buzzed-about elements of digital media right now -- but it's not scalable, and it's at odds with everything else currently happening in the business. Native advertising is actually a new term for an old idea: customized ad integrations for a single partner. The Web was launched with it, and native advertising of another kind is what I think keeps print from fading away.

Owning a direct, one-to-one connection with the right consumer is the holy grail for consumer brand marketers. In spite of this, the rise of social media has prompted consumer brands to shift their CRM focus from owning to renting consumer connections.

When the book "Those Guys Have All The Fun: Inside the World of ESPN" was first published last year, much of the coverage focused on the lascivious elements of the story. Especially during the early years, the cable sports network attracted all kinds of characters, some of who engaged in sex with coworkers, took drugs and drank like fish. ESPN also had a serious issue with sexual harassment. But this bad behavior and debauchery is ultimately a small part of the story and distracts from what the book is really about: the improbable rise of one of the most powerful …

For the past year, I've been involved with a new venture called Ministry of Awesome (MoA). This nonprofit exists to water the seeds of awesome in our local community: bringing people together and providing inspiration and support to turn awesome ideas into reality. Our Facebook strategy has been simple. We post links to things we think are awesome (in our local area and around the world), as well as relevant updates or notices from MoA. We try to post reasonably regularly, but only when we actually have something to share that we feel good about. We haven't invited a single …

I guess I was called a "Second Life booster" back in the day -- and guess what, I was OK with that. I still am. As an early adopter (professionally) in the virtual world of Second Life, I witnessed firsthand the highs and lows; how the press initially went gaga over it, and then turned their back, to the point of making it their personal vindictive mission to destroy evidence of any self-created hype.

n my house, we spend random conversations speaking in British accents, talking about and acting like we're characters in "Harry Potter." I know -- this might sound strange to you, especially when you realize I'm not from London; I'm from upstate New York. My boys like it, though. They can't wait to be old enough to read the books and watch the movies! What doesn't seem to work as of yet is the magic and wizardry behind attribution. Is there a chance that attribution will sometime soon become the realm of muggle science, or will it always be a fantastical …

My uncle died a few years ago from prostate cancer, which appeared out of nowhere. That's why one of my favorite "viral" Internet sensations is Movember, a global campaign to raise funds and awareness for male cancer research. Each year, millions participate in support of daring men who start clean-shaven on Nov.1 and dedicate the rest of the month to growing a moustache and getting others involved in this good cause.

Agencies, ad tech firms, and start-ups tend to be staffed by younger people. The hours are long, the problems are complex and the technology is constantly changing. As a result, high growth companies are now mostly comprised of Millennials, the massive generation of Americans born after the year 1980.