Best Of YouTube
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
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
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
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?
Jump Into The Fire
Sometimes a person just has to buck authority and play with fire. If you are a real professional, you won’t get burned.
Sarah Palin Deconstructed
Sarah Palin resigning as Alaska’s governor is going to be the worst thing that ever happened to the Republican party.
The reason is that she has become a raving lunatic and it’s not good to have a lunatic as the head of your party. She’s like a spunky little girl acting all adult. Everyone is too embarrassed to point out to her that she’s a royal pain. We don’t want to hurt little Sarah’s feelings so we’ll just smile and nod. A nutcase? Here’s the analysis to prove it:
Sarah Palin’s Gradual Descent Into Incoherency
Referring to her second “resignation” speech – here’s the money quote:
It’s like Peggy Noonan, Jack London, and William Faulkner wandered into the woods with three buttons of peyote and one typewriter, and only this speech emerged.
