The Howell Report

GPN Awards Breakfast

Christopher — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:10:03 +0000

On December 2, 2009 the members and friends of the Grant Professionals Network gathered at the Galloway Room at Rollins College to recognize the significant contributions of the grant writers of Central Florida.

Joe’s Birthday Party

Christopher — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:33:17 +0000

Birthday at the Beach 2009

Christopher — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:40:05 +0000

Here’s a look at our annual celebration for all the guys who have birthdays in October. It’s me, Jake, Rich and Nat. Charlotte and Natalie were there. Barbara made a wonderful cake!

Republicans Hate You

Christopher — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:02:02 +0000

Here’s an interesting twist in the healthcare debate. Last week Brian Williams was reporting from Afghanistan for NBC’s Nightly News program. They did a report called “Offering Healthcare in Hopes of Earning Loyalty” that showed how American troops were making attempts at “winning hearts and minds”. I would link to the story, possibly driving viewers and new revenue to their website, but NBC does not allow linking. NBC says “no thanks” to more viewers! So in Afghanistan apparently we have a population of citizens who are distrustful or even hostile to American leaders –citizens who need to be “won over”. What were American leaders doing to win hearts and minds? Providing them with free health care (!) The report showed videos of clinics where people were getting treatment. How ironic that some of the same Congress members who voted to provide free healthcare to Afghans to win their hearts and minds are fighting tooth and nail to keep their own people from receiving healthcare of any kind. WTF!

I guess you can muddle around here and maybe you will find the story.

Best Commercial Ever

Christopher — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:31:57 +0000

This is how all commercials should be made. I love it!

Jensen Button World Champion

Christopher — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 17:56:02 +0000

Jensen Button has just won the 2009 Formula One World Championship. The Brawn Grand Prix team has won the constructor’s championship. Here is a photo of me and Jensen Button at the 2000 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis.

Best Of YouTube

Christopher — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:57:26 +0000

Did you just get back from a ten year journey of self discovery to a Tibetan guru? Been out of touch for a while? Not sure what all the fuss is about this thing called YouTube? Here is a clip collection that will get you up to speed.

Sabatoge

Christopher — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:20:57 +0000

It’s Friday and high time I posted to the Howell Report. Since I’m too lazy to research, compose and edit a new story, I thought I’d just post this video. Which is funny and appropriate for a Friday.

Racing’s Holy Place

Christopher — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:32:25 +0000

There is a place in France that has all the prestige and history of Indianapolis. Each year a contest of man and machine is held for 24 hours. It is LeMans.

7 Questions Regarding Nonprofit “Social Media” Presence

Christopher — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:47:48 +0000

Many nonprofit organizations are beginning to participate in social media. There’s some anecdotal evidence that it’s a good way to communicate with large groups of people but an organization has to expend considerable resources to make connections. There’s no real evidence that there’s a benefit to participation in social media. It’s simply another way to communicate. Before your organization takes the plunge into the social media pool I would ask these seven questions.

1. Exactly how does this presence benefit the organization? Explain how participation in social media enhances the mission or benefits the people you serve. Will participation address a problem? What are the goals of this effort? Is this the best use (or even a good use) of resources? Is there another, better way to achieve these same goals?

2. Is your organization fully aware of the terms of service of these sites? How secure is private data on these sites? Do you give up some (or all) of the control of the information you post? Does the data posted to these sites become the property of the sites?

3. Are you prepared to defend these sites? In light of the recent economic downturn, many non-profits are tightening their belts. Other organizations or individuals may want to know how you can afford to pay someone to update your Facebook page. Does it pass the “front page of the newspaper” test? There are a lot of myths surrounding social media. For example, some people think Facebook and MySpace are the same, filled with pedophiles. Remember the first lesson of good public relations: An organization has to not only be pure but also has to appear pure.

4. Are safeguards in place, like a reviewer or editor, to ensure that messages posted/sent are the proper ones, consider all stakeholders and always reflect positively on your organization?

5. Is there a social media plan? Has your management/board approved (either verbally or in writing) of this social media presence campaign? Who is responsible for the execution of the plan/presence?

6. What are the most effective social media vehicles? If social media is free, do you get what you pay for?

7. Is social media a trend or a fad? Fads tend to be short acting events while trends are longer lasting with more society-wide impact. Two years ago MySpace was the hot thing and today it’s a social media ghetto. Eight years ago blogs were the hot thing. Is your organization hitching its wagon to a star or a train wreck?

Currently communications companies like Newsweek, CNN and MSNBC are experimenting with social media to see if it works. Communications companies need to be on the cutting edge to stay ahead of the competition. Otherwise, smaller organizations, particularly those with limited resources should wait to see how the social media landscape plays out. Just because “everyone is doing it” is not a well thought out reason. It’s too early to objectively assess the benefits of this new form of communication and it’s easy to forget that most people don’t read Twitter, Facebook or 20 blogs a day. Social media may be the hot thing right now but what is the real benefit compared to the costs?