Time to get on my PR/social media soup box and proclaim from on high: IF YOU ARE A BRAND, COMPANY OR ORGANIZATION AND NOT MAKING IT EASY FOR FOLKS TO SHOW YOUR "COLORS" THROUGH THEIR TIMELINE COVER THEN SHAME ON YOU! So what do I mean when I say "show your colors?" My current example (below) comes from my own timeline which is now sporting art work supplied by my fellow Springsteen fans promoting his new album coming out in March. Think of the "cover"…
Read MoreGreat time yesterday presenting for our client, Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, at two marketing/communications seminars about the current state of social media. These sessions, which the FCEDA provides to anyone, are a great way for businesses and organizations large and small to learn the latest about advertising, PR, social media, etc. Because of the wide range of businesses and groups represented it's hard to cover all the bases on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogging, etc. but our main focus for this group was Facebook. Mainly…
Read MoreEditor's note: This post is a guest post from THP's "Employee Number One" Stacey Brucia, who mans New York PR and social media outpost. I’ve been watching CNN today and now have NY local news on in the background. And a top story of the day is Anthony Bourdain’s tweet that’s a hit against Paula Deen. It’s follow-up story to Deen’s announcement yesterday that she is a spokesperson for a diabetes drug company. I’d name then, but then I’m giving them more PR. And that’s…
Read MoreI've been looking for a reason to fire up the blog and for a way to wrap up the self-proclaimed "Year of Me." Yes, I did catch a lot of crap for announcing that the year in which I'd be celebrating my 50th birthday would have a selfish theme. Yes, I did have a great year personally thanks to my wife, my kids, my business partner and fellow Hodgers. Yes, the year was challenging in other ways that I won't bore you with but I…
Read MoreWhere do you look for inspiration? For example, I've been trying to inspire myself to get into a more regular blogging rhythm. I've also tried to be a source of inspiration for others as we've had lots of "churn" recently at THP with clients coming and going and assignments and roles changing with that churn. It's not always easy and I sometimes I find myself in sort of an inspiration rut. Let's face it, even those he's The Boss and all there's only so many…
Read MoreThose who know me, even those who have just met me once or twice, know I bleed Scarlet. It seems I was born a Rutgers Scarlet Knight with most of my family members having attended the State University of New Jersey. My first memory of attending a sporting event is as a five-year-old jamming into my dad's green Chrysler New Yorker (the world's largest car) and riding to West Point to see the Knights face off against Army. He must have had to stop at…
Read MoreOkay…so it's been a while. Shoot me. Rather than start things with a great PR or social media proclamation, let's ease back into the swing of things with some random thoughts on things that have popped into my brain over the course of the last few weeks. There will never be a plan for Shockoe Bottom. Google+ is interesting but I'm still waiting to see the business applications for it. You can only stave off your wife and kids wanting a new dog for so…
Read MoreIt’s summer, it’s a Friday, it’s time for random thoughts… Sat down with a long-time client and friends this week and as a result I’m pledging to become more of a “partner” with my clients moving forward. It is something we have to remind ourselves about from time to time but at the end of the day their success is our success. I’m hoping that Richmond’s wildly successful Social Media Club is not becoming just another group that just enjoys hearing more about each other…
Read MoreInteresting story on Mashable about a study in the UK that says 20 percent or so of grandparents use social networks. Click here to read. If the Newman household is a case study I would say that's pretty true. My daughter is spending the week with her grandparents and I've be FaceTime-ing with her and in the background I can see my mother-in-law playing on her iPad. She hasn't graduated to Facebook or Twitter yet but some of our aunt and uncles who are also…
Read MoreOther than the post I wrote after my father's death, this is perhaps the most difficult post I've had to write. For those of you who are not fans of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, I can sort of understand why you think those of us who are, are indeed a bit crazy. I was a later bloomer myself especially for a kid from Jersey who went to Rutgers in the late 70's. I didn't "find religion" so to speak until that fateful…
Read MoreToo emotional for a full post right now. I will write volumes on Monday. For now, the greatest sax solo in the best rock and roll poem of all time.
Read MoreWhile this cautionary tale (click below) seems to end well, it is interesting how some feel they can and should try to control access to products or news to gain favor of journalists or in this case to avoid negative commentary. Blacklisting in various forms has been used as a marketing tool for years, rarely to this extent though. Click here for story from arstechnica.com UPDATE: Within the hour, this tweet was released by 2K Games, The Rednar Group's client… 2K Games does not endorse…
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