Sunday
14Mar2010

Noble Wise launches voter awareness campaign with 8-month horseback ride across America, beginning March 22

Frustrated with state of America, man to spread message to “Vote Out Career Politicians” while visiting with as many people as possible before the polls close in November 2010

 

03.14.2010 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: DALLAS, GA. – After spending the past several years watching a decline in the American political system, Noble Wise has decided it’s his duty to stand up and help put the course back on track. 
  
“I have a simple mission,” states Noble Wise. “To ride horseback across this great nation and speak with and encourage other American Patriots to answer a call for action. The American people have never been as angered by career politicians as they are today, and rightfully so. My goal is to suggest to other American Patriots that now is the time to unite as one non-partisan people in order to show our disgust at the polls in November of 2010. Vote against all incumbent politicians regardless of party.” 
  
With the belief that inaction of the American people has allowed corruption and ineffectiveness to become the norm in American politics, Noble believes that voting out all incumbents is the most direct way to fix the system. 
  
“The pros and cons of this answer to the problem are clear,” adds Noble. “The worst negative would be that some good politicians would have to fall to the wayside. We should, however, remember that they have been just as ineffective as the bad ones. Secondly, one could argue that having a Congress full of freshmen would be worse than what we have today, yet I reason the freshmen would not know how to take advantage of us as easily as our current representatives already do.” 
  
“The first positive would be that the power of the majority party would shift to a more conservative legislature, giving the American people a break from this spending spree our Congress has been on. Secondly, the lobbyist and special interest groups would have to start their bribery and such all over, at great expense I hope! Another positive is our representatives would know the people's power at the polls and would be reminded just exactly whom they work for. But, most importantly, the American people’s faith in the electoral system would be restored and they could see that there is power in unity.” 
  
As Noble makes his way across America, he hopes to spur discussion by talking with as many media outlets and other Americans as he can. With a slow pace of about 20 miles per day, he’ll have plenty of time. He also hopes that other horseback riders, motorcyclists, walkers, and anyone else who can will join him along the way to the streets of D.C. in November. 
  
Noble’s journey begins at noon on March 22 at ThreadMill Mall in Austell, Georgia. More information and a detailed itinerary is available at www.voteoutcareerpoliticians.com or by calling 865-384-8564.
Wednesday
03Mar2010

Harassment, it's not just for the telephone in 2010

In the past week, I've had four salespeople contact me through Twitter to ask how they can get more business out of me. No warm-up, no wait to see if I'd start following them, just Tweeting with @zanehagy or @z11comm in the message, and trying to assist me with clients.

For those of you using Twitter, do you remember when it was cool? Talking about the things you liked, disliked, promoted....I tried to keep 80% of it personal, and sprinkle in a few pieces of data that I thought people would find worthwhile.

Now, it seems that most of the folks online have one  of two goals. To move product, or to sell you on the idea of how to get more followers. I have no idea why I'd want to buy more followers that'll try to sell me things, but I guess it could make me feel loved.

Harassment from the sales call used to be restricted to the phone, but those days are gone. I'm just waiting for the FCC to put forth a DO NOT TWEET list, so that people can't talk about me if they only want to push something on me.

Saturday
27Feb2010

Retweeting, the sincerest form of gossip

Not long ago, I remember reading a reference that a 'retweet' had become the newest form of flattery. The statement has some truth to it. I'll admit, I get warm fuzzies when I see others reference things I've said. Going beyond flattery, however, the retweet is also one of the fastest way to spread rumors and gossip. 

In the past week, I've seen two highly-skilled communications professionals retweet posts that simply weren't accurate, essentially spreading false data. I'm not implying that anyone posted false data purposefully, just pointing out how things can spread. 

If you're going to retweet someone, make sure you at least verify that they know what they're talking about. Don't just strive to be the first person to repeat the information. And, once you verify the data, consider posting your own comment and helping the conversation grow, rather than just pushing the same peanut forward.

Saturday
20Feb2010

It’s not a fad, it’s communication

Social media. I’m tired of the topic, but it’s not going away anytime soon. 
Every few seconds, someone like myself is publishing a blog article about social media usage. Then they’ll Tweet about it, post it to Facebook, make a vlog, Buzz it, and do one of several other things to it. This will build to the ever-increasing stockpile of proof that social media is a fad or revolution of sorts.
I hate to jump on an overloaded bandwagon, but in a sense, there is a revolution underway. Once upon a time, people such as myself crafted messages and then spent fortunes trying to take these messages to the public. Those days are gone. Now, the public is easily accessible, and they’re already talking about every message that we can conceive. The new goal is to catch these waves of communication, and ride them to shore. 
Ignoring social media channels would be similar to not installing a telephone because you consider it a fad. However, it’s simply one tiny component in your communications strategy. You still have to reach out properly and manage your brand. Social media will not replace other necessary tasks.
If you’re one of the folks that haven’t moved into the social media realm yet, it’s very likely that you’ll have to. However, you don’t have to do it today. Develop a strategy first, identify goals that you can measure, and hire a professional to assist you if needed. 
Social media isn’t going away. The phone didn’t. Television hasn’t. But social media isn’t a magic bullet either. Make it a part of your overall strategy. Think first, then act.
Friday
05Feb2010

UT Federal Credit Union, orange is in your corner

We don't usually use the blog to show individual pieces of work, but we're simply loving the new UT Federal Credit Union "I Love Orange" campaign. 

Throughout the year, watch for variations on this theme, and see all the ways that UT Federal Credit Union is on your side.