I just got promoted to media supervisor at my agency job. I am starting to wonder about my career path and becoming a media director eventually -- but I'm also intrigued by the secret lives of salespeople. I wonder if I should start exploring sales side opportunities before I get too senior on this side of the business. Would my agency experience prepare me for this kind of position? And is it ever too late to switch sides?

I think the business credibility crisis dominating the news will trickle into your daily professional lives inside an online publishing organization. This crisis can yield a great opportunity, however, if you play your cards straight.

To charge for content or not to charge, that is NOT the question." People is the world's most profitable magazine. But People achieves its profitability by giving away more content to more readers than any other magazine. Yes, I mean People is giving away print readership. How can they make money when they give away so much free? What can we learn from this about making money in online publishing?

Vilify. Then verify. That has become the raison d'etre for the media, with cheap, easy journalism that is downright formulaic: Step 1: Pray for a notable celebrity to have an allegation lobbed against them. The tawdrier, the better....

Question from a salesperson: I sell a fairly complex product in the "demand side" business -- and even though I think I know the space well, sometime even I get confused with all of my competitors' products. Some companies seem like they have only a business idea and vaporware with no real value proposition, but it seems like agencies are biting. So I've got two questions: How can I make sure my complex product is understood and believed amidst the chaos -- and how do agencies decide who has something real, when there doesn't seem to be any proof?

Who benefits when publishers that charge for print media, give it away for free online? Before you scream "consumers," consider this: paying for the privilege to read high quality content was often a competitive advantage for consumers. If you paid to read the New York Times and Wall Street Journal every day, you were more informed than the person who didn't -- and didn't that advantage feel both nice and well-earned?

Technology is now doing more damage than good. Left unchecked, our children will live longer but lower-quality lives than our own.

I have worked in the media business, funded primarily by advertisers, for more than 30 years. Not once have I had a client say to me, "Last year you worked really hard to get my attention and made a really well-thought-out proposal for my business. We were wrong last year to not buy you, so we're doing it this year." What clients and agencies have said, after I worked my butt off to win their business, is: "Things have changed, so we're adding you to the schedule."

My agency just sent out the annual summer Friday schedule. But who are they kidding? I still barely keep up with what I'm working on Monday through Thursday. And the economy is still pretty bad. I'm afraid not to be seen at my desk working. Are summer Fridays still a part of the advertising business? Should I be worried if I'm actually taking them?

Your time to shine has arrived, again. So before you check out for the holiday weekend, check out why you and your organization need to come back from this long weekend with more pace and purpose, or this window will close on you as it has before.