1st Amendment protects ALL Speech!

Everyone hates BP, right? Well, at least that is what we're being told on a daily basis from every media outlet and social network on the planet.

BP is the DEVIL! (Oh, wait, we can't say the devil, because that involves religion and well, all religions are bad, except for Islam, because well, we're afraid they will attack us).

BP is an EVIL Corporation (same as devil today)!

For months, we were bombarded with images of gushing oil from the BP oil well and how they were destroying the Gulf of Mexico FOREVER! (Disregard all of the news about how the gulf is just fine.) Our fabulous Congressional representatives called the executives to Capital Hill to reprimand on live TV to "punish" them and to make the reps look so powerful. (Also disregard current scandals on reps and our $200 trillion debt).

And now, that they can't show us images of the EVIL spilling oil, Congress is calling the BP Executives back to Capital Hill to chastise them on how they are SPENDING THEIR AD DOLLARS! (http://bit.ly/bmwJJs)

This is absolutely ridiculous! Since when, do politicians have the right to tell any business how they run their business, much less what type of advertising they use or the message they run??

HELLO!!! Rep. Castor!!! Do me a favor go read the Constitution, PLEASE!

YOU DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT to question a businesses advertising, AS LONG AS it's not deceptive or false!

The 1st Amendment protects all speech, not just the speech that you like, Rep. Castor! Please get back to real work and actually try and help get our country back on track!

The Medium is NOT the Message!

The medium is the message is a phrase coined by Marshall McLuhan meaning that the form of a medium embeds itself in the message, creating a symbiotic relationship by which the medium influences how the message is perceived. The phrase was introduced in his most widely known book, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, published in 1964.^[1] McLuhan proposes that a medium itself, not the content it carries, should be the focus of study. He said that a medium affects the society in which it plays a role not only by the content delivered over the medium, but also by the characteristics of the medium itself. [Source: Wikipedia]

Marshall is just plain WRONG!

The Medium is, in fact, NOT the Message! At least, it's not the message in 2010.

I believe that the "Message transcends the Medium".

In a world that is obsessed with connectivity and new technology, the message must be 100% portable to ANY Medium.

Does PR really work?

Ok...all for truth in blogging?

First, I was a radio guy. Then, I become an ad guy.

Nowhere, was I ever a PR Guy. Oh sure, my firm did PR, but I kept my distance from the PR people. I never really "believed" in PR.

I kinda always thought PR was the biggest waste of time. Actually, that's not entirely true. What I really thought, was for most businesses, PR was a total waste of time. It's not that I didn't believe that free publicity was great...no...I thought that your average car dealership, carpet store, electronics retailer etc. had absolutely NO CHANCE of having a story worth telling.

I mean seriously...what life-interest story can you really do about carpet or TV's. And NO ONE wants to read a story in the paper or magazine about your latest store or state-of-the-art toaster!

However, I have to admit that for certain businesses with an interesting story, PR is fantastic!

One of my side businesses is that I'm a partner in a barbeque restaurant in La Grange, IL. It's called Q BBQ and it's just great authentic bbq from all of the great BBQ centers of America

(Texas, Memphis and the Carolina's). One of my roles in the business is the marketing of Q.

We started with a soft-opening to make sure the kinks were all worked out. Well, our soft-open wasn't very soft. We hit the ground running and never looked back. Therefore, we never had the opportunity to implement our marketing plan as designed. However, we did have the opportunity to tell our story via some wonderful public relations.

Over a 3-4 month period, Q BBQ has been featured on several TV shows, newspapers, magazines and of course blogs. And the results have been incredible! I couldn't have "paid" for this kind of exposure. :-)

So, I guess the moral of my little story is this...

If you have an interesting story then PR can be wonderful, if you have an experienced PR team that has stellar connections within the media.

If you are a basic, run-of-the-mill business...well...then you should probably spend more time with your marketing/advertising guy. They'll help you create a narrative that you can sell!

The Good, the bad and the Ugly of a Blog

Yes, It has been 19 months since I updated my blog. Yes, that is ridiculous.

So, I thought that I would blog about the downside of "blogging". :-)

There are like a million posts on why blogs are great for your business and/or your personal "brand". (Which on a sidenote, I hate that phrase "personal brand". It sounds like such a marketing buzzword created by bored marketing consultants.)

However, there are fewer blogs about the ugly downside of the blogosphere.

So, here are my top 3 reasons not to blog:

1. If you don't write regularly, you look like a fool. (i.e my blog) You go from being an "expert" in your field to an uninterested schmuck. -- If you blog, do it at least once a week.

2. People will call you very, very ugly and mean names -- granted some of the comments might be technically correct, they still hurt. Of course, if you're not making people mad or making them think, then you're probably not speaking the truth.

3. You have to think. Yes, that may seem easy, but it takes time...a lot of time. Don't just spout off comments without thinking about the ramifications. Also, you need to bring value to your readers. Don't just repeat what others are saying...come up with new and innovative ideas.

OK, now that I have restarted my blog...I promise to keep it up. And of course, if I don't, I expect you to take me to task.