The Golden Age of Op-Eds

Chas Edwards, publisher and chief revenue officer at Digg, believes “we are living in the golden age of op-eds, thanks to Twitter, Word Press and Facebook.” I agree with Chas that social media gives everyone a platform to share a point view, but what about traditional op-ed articles in newspapers? Are they dead or alive? […]

Thoughts on Corporate Social Responsibility

Recently Ellen Petry Leanse, head of enterprise marking communications with Google, sent me an article entitled “Leadership in the Age of Transparency,” published by Harvard Business Review (HBR). Ellen was on a panel I chaired at Enterprise Social 2.0 in Amsterdam and the article supported many of the remarks made in January by Ellen and […]

Reaching the Historically Underserved

Many companies and organizations struggle with how to best reach historically underserved communities. However, many organizations need to reach the communities if they are going to initiate change, drive new behaviors and educate people. Consider the work of our first lady, Mrs. Obama. She has a strong commitment to curbing childhood obesity and recently has […]

Digital Reporting Continues to Change the Face of Journalism

On Monday, the New York Times ran an interesting article on a recent presentation at SXSW called, “Process Journalism: Getting it First While Getting it Right.” The panel included reporters Robert Mackey from the New York Times, Monica Guzman of SeattlePI.com, blogger Jesus Diaz with Gizmodo.com, Will Sullivan from Journerdism.com and Moka Pantages of the […]

PR+MKTG Camp Seattle

Earlier this month, I participated in the PR+MKTG Camp Seattle organized by Dan Greenfield. The event was well attended with a wonderful mix of marketing and PR leaders from the Seattle area, including Rob Brooks, PEMCO; Brad Nelson, Starbucks; Amy Bohutinsky, Zillow; and Greg Shaw, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as many others. […]

Breakfast with Pete Carroll

For those of you who know me, I am sure you can appreciate my excitement when I learned there was an opportunity to attend a breakfast talk with the new Seattle Seahawks Coach, Pete Carroll. As a college football fan I have long been enamored with the strength of the USC football program, as well […]

Encouraging Readers to Comment on Your Blog

Blogs touch tens of millions of people in the U.S. and this number continues to grow daily. In fact, according to an eMarketer report from 2009, approximately 96.6 million U.S. Internet users read a blog at least once a month, representing 48.5 percent of the Internet population. The same report predicts by 2013, this number […]

Connectivity at 35,000 Feet: Alaska Airlines Selects Gogo Inflight Internet

I admit it – I can’t stand the thought of not being connected. Whether it’s e-mail, the Internet or checking social networking platforms, such as Facebook or Twitter, I find it hard to be unplugged. The growing popularity of smartphone devices coupled with Wi-Fi hotspots and mobile WiMAX is only proliferating our “always-connected” culture. So […]

“We’re a Lot Like You” PEMCO’s Campaign

If you live in the Northwest, you probably have seen PEMCO Insurance’s innovative marketing “We’re a Lot Like You” campaign. Maybe you even have a favorite profile, such as socks and sandals guy, the recumbent bike computer, relentless recycler or the Marymoor off-leash dog lady. Have you ever wondered about the history of this campaign? […]

Should Your School Be Using Social Media?

I serve on the Board of Trustees for Villa Academy, a private independent school in Seattle educating children in kindergarten through the eighth grade. In the past several months, I have been thinking about how Facebook could be used by Villa and other elementary and middle schools to help them achieve their top objectives. I […]