Raise your hand if you: a. are over 50. b. are happily single; c. weren't born a female; d. aren't a mother; e. aren't heterosexual; f. some combo of a-e. Oops! You're invisible (right along with me and most of my friends.)

By Guest Blogger, Mary Schmidt, Marketing Troubleshooter

I've designed and conducted quite a bit of market research and analysis over the past three decades.  And, here's an inherent problem with any kind of research: no matter how objective you want to be - you tend to skew research to fit your world view and interpret any findings via that same view. (Eating a lot of butter has to be bad for you, right? I mean, it's so fat...;-) 

That's why The Shriver Report, A Woman's Nation Changes Everything ended up being more about Mommies than women...and telling us things that many have known for years (However, I was taken aback to find out the battle of the sexes is over. ?! Really? Does Lilly Ledbetter agree?)  

Granted, I've not read the whole thing, but overall, it's way skewed toward women with children.  As Melanie Notkin noted, (listen to her podcast with Yvonne here),

...it might as well be called A Mother's Nation Changes Everything....

Nearly 50% of American women are actually not mothers. Which does not mean they never will be. But today, 45.1% of American women through the age 44 do not have children. This US Census data does not account for the women 45 and over, so we estimate that nearly 50% of women are not moms.

Then there's this from the report's executive summary, "Shriver connects this overarching social shift to the most consistent roles of her life and of most women’s lives—the roles of daughter and mother." 

See? We're back at the traditional roles of women.  And while most of us are daughters (some of us started out as sons...to throw another spanner in the research work), about 50% of us aren't mothers.  (Many never wanted to be.  I'm like the New Yorker cartoon showing a couple admiring another couple's child, with the caption, "It's so cute! What do you do with it?" Or, as an older friend once admitted, "If I had it to do over, I wouldn't have children, but that's what we did back then.")

And, while I'm all for celebrities stepping up to help other women - they are also viewing "our shared challenges" through a prism of privilege (See above about the battle of the sexes being over.  Sure, if you're already a CEO or mega-star married to a mega-millionaire, you're probably not doing much battling for status or money...)

Lots of (real and virtual) group hugging and Kumbaya singing ensues...real change not so much. After the klieg lights are turned off and the conference floor is emptied...the stars go back to their mansions and personal assistants and the rest of us go back to real life.  Further, the women who could really use some help right now can't afford to go to conferences and don't have time to read feel-good texts. The "working Mom" may be digging in the sofa cushions for school lunch money, so she's probably not going to buy anything from Shriver's Women's Conference online store.   And even if she did - she probably can't wear the "empowered' t-shirt to her minimum wage job. (Oh, sure - startling revelation from the report - we've got more women in the workforce [whoopee? progress?]...still working for far less than men in many cases.) 

Now, don't get me wrong - I'm all for anything that raises people's awareness of existing conditions. However, sadly, many of the people who most need to be woken up avoid it at all costs. So, to a certain extent, we're all singing Kumbaya to the choir when we talk about "women's issues."  And, in fact, many turn off completely when they hear the words.  Personally, I'm sick of of the victim speak that pervades so much of the discussion of "women's issues."  

However, I didn't glean any startling new info from the report (But then as another women blogger noted, "we live it.") And, I wouldn't base any "marketing to women" strategy on it, either.

Read More: 

Linda Lowen: The Shriver Report - A "Woman's Nation" Still Has Far To Go

Rochester was home to a new conference yesterday. The Social Media Club hosted a group of business professionals at the Memorial Art Gallery for "Social Media Today...and Harvest Tomorrow."

I had the distinct pleasure of being on a panel with Jenny Cisney, Chief Blogger for Kodak (the pics on their blog are outstanding - you'll spend an entire day there, just clicking around); Donna DeClemente, one of our own here at Lip-sticking (she's an online promotions professional, and moderated the panel); and John Marianetti from Martino-Flynn. Our topic was "Corporate Blogging."

I can't really report on the panel - Jenny was fabulous and obviously knows her social media - Kodak is lucky to have her; and John clearly showed that Martino Flynn is ahead of the curve with their blog, blip. I was honored to be on the panel with them, as my experiences with corporations mostly involves my Scratchings and Sniffings blog, sponsored by Purina (as well as contributing to their pet health insurance blog), and my work with the Simon Graduate School of Business, if we can call them a "corporation." 

I hope some of my experiences helped the audience understand why blogs and social media should not be ignored, and that yes, they are manageable... but, the real content, the real power, the real benefit of this conference came in three ways: one was from Jeff Hazelett (Kodak), Chris Brogan (really, do I need to tell you who he is?) and...someone else. Someone who made the day the best day of the entire year, for me.

First, let me share just a tidbit of what Jeff said: basically, he told the audience, "If you're not doing social media now...you won't be in business next year." He advises open, honest, authentic conversation. He doesn't tolerate people who spam (especially on twitter - and oh my goodness, twitter has lately become a gigantic spambot, if you ask me!), and he did something else that I'm not sure was planned. He showed everyone that Kodak is NOT dead, and that Kodak is a people-person-public-facing company.

When you hear Jeff Hazelett speak, you hear a real person, talking in every day language, and sharing some stories about his job, his work, his company that are grounded in the people-approach of social media. It creates expectation that Kodak gets it. They get "us."

Besides, he's really funny. I'd drive hours cross country to hear Jeff speak.

After Jeff, Chris Brogan spoke. Here's something others might not note but that really struck me...Chris spoke from notes held in his hand. No powerpoint. No projector behind him. No video. No anything but Chris. OMG! How can anyone get up in front of a crowd at a conference and not use PP???????

Here's how: you know your subject matter well enough, and you scout out the audience ahead of time, so you can speak to them about the topics that matter, relative to the conference you're at. Chris was outstanding. He discussed his background (not in marketing or social media), he mentioned his daughter (who recently attended a Miley Cyrus concert), and he just basically shared some truths about social media that I'm sure the audience was not aware of. Truths like, "you have to do it because it's about the customer, not about the brand." He said, and all of this is paraphrasing as Tom was tweeting it so I did not take notes (my bad), "...I've learned that planning doesn't work. Instead of using a plan, use what I call the OODA loop."

What's that? It's from Alan Webber's book, Rules of Thumb, and it means, "Observe, Orient, Decide, and then Act." I like to use this quote, "Do what you can, where you are, with what you have." Do it now.

I did get one of Chris' books (already had one at home and forgot to bring it for him to sign!), Trust Agents, and Tom and I stood in line at lunch to have it signed, and Chris was so friendly, so personable, he made me feel so important after Tom took our picture together, I . HE made ME feel important because I was asking him to sign his book. He lives and breathes his own advice. "Work on content," he says on his blog, "but focus on relationships."

I like him so much because he echoes much of what I tell you here. It's not about the tool. It's not about you. It's about the customer and it's about the people and if you don't allow the people to rub shoulders with you and your executive team, your employees, your other customers - they will opt for rubbing shoulders with your competitor.

Now...to the VERY BEST PART of being at this conference. One always saves the best for last, right? As I sat on stage answering questions, one woman's hand rose and she looked at me and said, "Yvonne, I'm Mary Baby Steps."

OMG!!!! If you do not know who @Marybabysteps is...get to know her now! She is one of my bestest twitter friends, she is a fantastic writer, and she is a delightful result of my use of social media. Because I was at that conference, I got to meet one of the best twitter folk online. Not someone famous (though I talked with Jeff and Chris and I guess they're pretty famous) but someone precious. Someone who took time to drive in from her hometown (not Rochester) to attend the conference where we could meet F2F! Mary, I have not been so delighted in many weeks!

Truly, she made the year better yesterday. Mary Davis, freelance writer and blogger, proved that social media really is all about being social. Chris said it. Jeff said it. Other speakers said it. But, Mary lived it. Wow! It doesn't get better than that. @marybabysteps you are my heroine. Thank you so much for being there. And, please, let's talk soon. I was devastated that I could not stay...

What else is there to say? Social media is about doing things now, meeting people now, remembering that people are the highest common denominator and if you choose NOT to connect with the people who want to connect with you, they are welcome to write to me...I'll write back. And, I might drive 200 miles to meet them, too.

It's the way business is done today. Socially.

By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo Talk

Last week I wrote this post about my upcoming visit to Chicago to attend PMA's Annual Promotional Marketing Law Conference which is a highly anticipated event in the industry. Since then I wrote this post about day one of the conference which was pretty jam-packed with information. Most notably was the presentation from Facebook's Corporate Counsel, Suzie White, in which reviewed with us Facebook's new policy for running promotions on their platform that I defined as "hot off the press" since it was just posted on their website the night before. Here they are: www.facebook.com/promotions_guidelines.php.

On day two of the conference we were treated to a morning session that was titled "The Eyes Have It: A Regulatory Regatta". This panel included James Kohm, Director, Div. of Enforcement for the FTC. He was the first one that really addressed the issue of the recently updated disclosure guidelines which were just touched upon in prior sessions. Mr. Kohm started out saying "We have no intention of shutting down the blogosphere. The idea that we'll go after every little blogger is not the driving factor behind these new endorsement guidelines." Well that was very reassuring to hear.

James Kohm went on to say that what the FTC really was focused on was affiliate marketers. "Those affiliate marketers who make exaggerated claims just to drive web traffic and make money can't resolve themselves of responsibility." Can't agree with him more here!

This session was soon followed by lunch in which the keynote speaker was Charles Harwood, Deputy Director, Bureau of Consumer Protection for the FTC. Mr. Hardwood echoed James' comments by stating that the FTC's goal is NOT to shut down the Internet but instead apply the same principals that the guidelines have always had to today's new media.This update was the first time they revised the 40 year-old endorsement guidelines since 1980 so they needed to apply them to new media. Their objective now is to assist advertisers with integrating new media into their policies so the FTC decided to use blogs as examples. 

One area that Mr. Hardwood focused on was the "Results Not Typical" disclaimer that has been misused repeatability in advertising especially in the weight loss industry. The new guidelines don't disbar these disclaimers, but direct advertisers to look at the ad in whole and make sure the message is clear and also have substantiation for any claims that are made.

Mr. Harwood did admit that these guidelines are confusing. So I approached him after the presentation and introduced myself as a blogger who knows many other bloggers who are concerned that yes, these are very confusing. Not all bloggers and marketers will have the opportunity to hear directly from the top leaders of the FTC like I did, but instead have to make due themselves in understanding the 81 page document. He really didn't have an answer for this other to agree with me, but he did offer up his assistance in sitting on any conference panels coming up in which he can help communicate and clear up any misconceptions. I have his card, so let me know if you're interested in taking him up on his offer.

Now moving on, the PMA is planning their next event which will be the Digital Marketing Summit taking place in NYC on December 3. They've asked for my assistance in getting input from bloggers on how the new disclosure guidelines are affecting them or will be affecting them. They would like to share this info via a panel on the subject. I hope to be speaking on this panel that includes some top leaders in the industry such as Linda Goldstein from Manatt, Phelps & Phillips and Randall Rothenberg, President of the Interactive Advertising Bureau. So I would love to hear from any of our blogger readers on this issue. Please feel free to contact me of leave a comment and I'll get in touch. I will definitely be reporting back on what we learn.

If I had a dollar...well, you know where that's going. If I had a dollar for...this or that...I'd be rich. Truth is, if I had a dollar for every time I had to answer the Twitter questions here, I would be pretty well off. Certainly, I could cover holiday shopping this year.

So...here are my answers to the most common questions I get relative to Twitter (please share your questions and answers in the comments section; I am up on the social media landscape but am always eager to learn from others - and I know many of my readers are quite knowledgable):

1. What should I call myself?
In the early Twitter days, people created funny, interesting, or creative names for themselves. But, if you’re using Twitter for business, you should use your business name, and include the poster’s name in the profile. If you’re a solopreneur, use your own name. This is a relationship building tool – let the world know who you are upfront. Ask yourself: who or what am I branding? I recommended a friend recently start a Twitter account in his company name, but make sure to put HIS name in his bio, and add HIS picture.

2. Who should I follow?
Before you start following anyone, think carefully about why you’re tackling this new tool. Is it to brand your company? Is it to brand yourself? Is it to do sales and marketing? Once you have a clear idea of WHY you’re Twittering, you’ll want to follow industry experts and people you meet who are in need of your particular expertise. Don’t follow the whole world. Even if they try to follow you.

3. How do I find the right followers?
You can start your followership by following people you either already know, or by looking for “celebrities” – those industry experts in your profession who are always ahead of the curve. Chances are they are on Twitter. Do a Google search on “person’s name + Twitter.” Google will find them. But the best way to find followers is by watching your peers. Follow the people they follow. There are tools that will help you find followers, but I do not have one to recommend. I believe in organic results, not manufactured results. But, that's just me.

4. What if someone I don’t like follows me? What do I do?
Twitter gives you the option to block anyone you do not care to be associated with. This will prevent that person from accessing your tweets. Block obvious spam, but be selective about blocking others. Sometimes it’s a good idea to follow and be followed by folks you might identify as competitors. Chances abound for partnerships, and for finding out, via tweets, exactly what your competitor is up to.

5. Should I keep my updates protected?
No. If you protect your updates, you discourage people from following you. Keep your updates open and free and you will attract more followers. Use the ability to block people to police your account. It seems that somewhere on Twitter they recommend this, but...they are wrong. You cannot create followers and be social if you don't allow me to connect with you. And, if you connect to me and I discover I have to ask permission to connect to you...I'm not going to do it. One less follower for you.

6. How much time does all of this take?
It can be a time goblin, for sure! However, create a schedule for yourself – 15 minutes first thing in the morning, and 25 minutes at the end of the day. That way, people will know when to expect to hear from you. Of course, there are many tools that help with the time issue, also. Tweetlater is one. It also has a professional (paid) version that helps you manage more than one Twitter account. Another tool is Hootsuite which Tom likes a lot. 

7. Do I need to be on Twitter if I’m on Facebook?
That depends – do you read more than one industry magazine? Do you belong to more than one networking group? Twitter expands your networking reach. It makes sense to choose the top 5 social media tools you feel will be most effective for you, and use them wisely. I think Twitter should be one. Be selective, however. My advising you to use Twitter is not useful if your audience is not likely to be on Twitter. Only you can ultimately decide which tools are effective for you.

8. Can I use Twitter in place of a blog, since it’s a micro-blogging tool?
You can, but what will it accomplish? People want to know more about you than you can tell them in 140 characters. A blog helps define not only who you are, but what you do. You can put some of that on Facebook and LinkedIn, but, a blog gives you the best platform to promote yourself and your business.  

9. What’s a hashtag? What’s a RT [retweet]?
The hashtag [#] is used to track conversations on Twitter. When you see something such as #meowmonday, it means the people participating in that conversation want to be able to find all the tweets about that topic, all in one place: Twitter search. When you are creating something long-lasting or controversial and you want to see who said what, and when – use a hashtag. Request everyone else joining the conversation use it, also. A RT is when you pass along a tweet someone else has written. Great word-of-mouth and if you can get people to RT YOU,  you're golden!

10. How do I fit useful content in only 140 characters?
You use abbreviations. It’s amazing how much information you actually can fit into 140 characters, but when you’ve typed too much – go back and remove some vowels. People can still read your messages without vowels. It’s a common way of shortening a tweet in order to RT messages—use UR for ‘your,’ and C for ‘see’ and U for ‘you’ – you get the drift. All in all, you will need to be creative, and sometimes you will use two tweets to get your full message across. You will also want to use a URL shortening tool, to add links to your messages; a popular one is tinyURL.

Now, any other questions? Ask'em now...if I don't have the answer, I'll send you to someone who does.

by Guest Blogger, Lena West, Chief of Social Media Strategy at xynoMedia

We're working on a big, multi-year project with a client. I can't say much about it, but we're helping them build a social network, but, as I always say, before we started to "invite company" through the new social network, we had to "clean up the house"; which, for them, meant a new website.

Now, we're not website designers, but we did this as part of the larger picture of getting this company ready to build this new social network. So, we built them a nifty new WordPress site. They're happy, we're happy and we can move on to the meat of the project.

But, not so fast. What about all the OLD website pages that are currently index in the search engines? Where will people go when they click on the links to the old website pages that come up in search engine results? What happens then?

Well, if you haven't set up proper 301 redirects then they are taken to a page that doesn't exist anymore! No bueno!

Think of 301 redirects as a way for you to give Google (and all the other search engines) a "we've moved, here's our new address" announcement. It really isn't much more than that.

There should be a redirect done for EACH page of your website that no longer exists anymore or has moved to a different location on your hosting server. Here's how to do it if your website is hosted on a Unix-based server:

1. Find or create an .htaccess file on your hosting server. This is the file that will serve as your "mail fowarding postcard" for the search engines.
2. If you don't have an .htaccess file on your hosting server, open up a text editor like Notepad and save the blank/empty file as .htaccess (remove the default .txt extension, you literally want the file name to be .htaccess - that's it)
3. If there is already an .htaccess file on your hosting server, scroll down past the code that is already there and add your new redirect instructions.
4. Add your redirect information, like this: redirect 301 /directory/oldfile.html http://www.yourdomainame.com/directory/newfile.html
5. Upload the .htaccess file to your server.
6. Let Google work its magic!

If tackling this yourself makes you nervous or you're on a Windows server, or you just don't want to deal with this "tech stuff", shoot me an email or comment below and we'll get someone on our team to help you quick, fast and in a hurry. Depending on how many pages you need to redirect, this should take about an hour or so. And, isn't an hour worth your piece of mind?

Bottomline: When potential clients are looking for you, they need to be able to find you right away. Don't let a lack of 301 redirects do you in.

It's official - the net has gone social. Oh, you already knew that? You're already doing the 'social' thing? What? You were doing it before it was the "in" thing to do? And, you weren't even online?

Interesting.

Social media pundits, gurus, consultants, whatever you want to call them, seem to think Twitter and Facebook invented being social. But, I'm here to tell them that mingling isn't anything new. And, it works very well offline, as well as online. Actually, I think if you're not mingling socially offline as much as you mingle socially online, you're missing out on a lot. That F2F (face-to-face) connection is far more powerful than any tidbit typed in 140 characters.

That said, I thought I'd share a report from One Up Web on how consumers are using the "social" in social media this year, for shopping. We're all about the marketing to women thing, so it behooves me to share this information, and...expect you to take it offline, socially, to your next networking event. Maybe even grab the report from the One Up Web site and read the whole thing, then report back on your opinion of it.

This 2009 Study of "the Social Life of Retail," looked "beyond the numbers and yo-yo market fluctuations of the past couple of years," so it says. Their goal was to figure out how people use social media to shop. For instance, do you check with Facebook friends before buying? Do you see a tweet and hop over to the link, to see if the sale mentioned is worth opening your wallet?

The report shows Facebook as the #3 trafficked site on the web with 95 million unique visitors per month. Twitter is #27. You know who's #1 (Google). This means...Facebook has 95 million unique visitors per month. <shrug>

Then, we learn that "...the integration of social media and online search fosters consumers' reliance on the ability to quickly search for information, reviews, and price comparisons." Ah, so if I'm on Facebook (and I am), I can use it to ask my followers their opinion about a product or service...and do a little personal research. (Do you do that? I don't. And I haven't actually seen anyone else do it, either... but I have a very small group of Friends, so...I can't be an authoritative voice here)

I do have personal experience related to shopping online (outside of the social media world, although I did tweet my displeasure with my experience): Yesterday I spent the better part of an hour trying to buy a fancy coffee maker online. I failed at Amazon (even after entering my username and password, Amazon did not know who I was). I failed at Overstock - they didn't carry the model I wanted; what's up with that? It was a Hamilton Beach, and attempts to buy it at their site failed, also!

The only thing that worked, yesterday, was... Google, which connected me to the many places that I visited to research price and reviews before choosing. And then, this is key, here's how I finally bought it...I used...

My phone. That's right. I finally called a local store, Lowes, let's give them credit, and asked if the pot was in stock (their website said it was), got a postive response within 2 minutes, and sent Tom out to buy said machine which was waiting at the desk for him.

Is my experience representative of other women? Of other shoppers, regardless of gender? You tell me. The report says, "Consumer behavior has changed in the last year due to the recession. But that doesn't mean that people aren't shopping or have stopped gift giving altogether - they have just become more creative." Indeed. Creative enough to visit places like their local antique shop, the local Target, the half-price bookstore three miles down the road - bricks and mortar stores that offer immediate gratification: AFTER they have researched online and are confident of finding what they want in the store they want. BTW, ordering online and picking up offline is the way to go, today.

Hence, the jingle, jingle...how we mingle headline of this post. We mingle online - using social media tools, then we visit comparison sites or Amazon, and then - we buy stuff at the store of our choosing when they not only offer it as an online item, but one we can pick up in the store. No shipping: yay!

This model is quick and satisfying because we can hold the item in our hands the same day we order it!

According to the One Up Web report, e-commerce is the answer to this year's holiday blues and social media is at the core. E-commerce has been strong and growing stronger for several years now. This year is no different. Online is competing with offline and the small business that caters to their local customers by enticing them online to come into the store - are the winners.

I ask you, does Facebook, Twitter or whatever social site you favor, influence your holiday shopping? If so, how? Where will you be shopping this year? Tell us where e-commerce fits in your holiday shopping plans. The women of Lip-sticking want to know.

This Lip-sticking podcast is with Melanie Notkin of Savvy Auntie, a smart, talented, and well-connected women who happens to be a PANK: Professional Aunt, No Kids. We were both on the Maria Shriver blogger call a couple of weeks ago, and we both came away shaking our heads.

For me, the Shriver Report was more about how the celebrities of the world could help the poor Moms of the world, and less about the "women's nation" Maria touted. For Melanie, the Shriver Report left out a large faction of women - the PANKs, who make up almost 50% of the female population in this country.

I hope you'll take a few minutes to listen to our discussion - because it's not about me or Melanie, or even Maria Shriver. It's about women, all women, and how we need to combine our voices to make things happen. It's about non-Moms, Moms, and even GrandMoms. It's about lifting women's voices beyond the stats in any report and showing the world that we understand the need for "labels" but we would prefer marketers and politicians and brands approach us openly, with questions that take the time to understand us.

This podcast conversation is about including - you, me, Melanie, our sisters, Aunts, brothers, Dads, Uncles, daughters - you name it. It's a conversation we hope you'll continue on your blogs and on Twitter.

For example, one of my Facebook friend’s friends has what she describes as “Social Media Tourette Syndrome” (”He’s really a great guy in person. Really.”) He’ll say anything to anybody on FB and delights in upsetting people. He thinks he's being "fun" and edgy; I think he's a pathetic, misogynistic attention whore.  And I'm pretty easy-going; I even enjoy (most) dumb blonde jokes.

Nothing is too out there, particularly when discussing anything remotely related to women. As a result, I ignore all of his comments, on FB or on blogs, even when he’s apparently being serious and talking about business. I see his name and immediately move on. He could be making excellent points, but I'm not interested. Would I refer business to him? Of course not. (I shudder to think what he might say to one of my clients.) Would I tell people (especially women) to run, run, the other way? You betcha.

Remember - whatever you put out there...STAYS out there these days. And, the line between business and personal has become so blurred, you never know who's out there.  Technologies rise and fall, but common decency and courtesy should always be in fashion. 

(And, no, I'm not saying who the guy is.  It's my FB friend's decision to keep him as a friend - and I respect that.  I just ignore him.)

Read More:

Yvonne's recent post, Facebook Can Be Fun (and you can still be professional, really.)

Facebook Etiquette - 5 Do's and Don't's (PC World)

  True story: Recently I received an email from someone I did not know, about a topic I am quite familiar... the subject line was: How to Create & Monitor Your Social Media. I, along with dozens of others - whose emails were displayed in the CC column NOT the BCC, were invited.

Turns out I likely met the sender at a conference. It seems to be common practice to add conference attendees to your email marketing list, with or without permission, which is why I received this invitation.

We can discuss the inaccuracies around doing that (really, just because we met over coffee at a conference, does not give you the right to automatically add me to your email list - that's called spam and I don't like it; it leaves a bad impression)... but today let's talk about this invitation to their social media seminar.

Let's discuss the fact that this invitation came from a complete unknown to me with no introduction allowing me to understand who the sender was, and why I might be interested. Social media in the subjectline was a good "come on" but it sets the stage for further information on that topic, which, in this case, was delivered in the description of the seminar, but did not tell me why the sender was qualified to present and left me wondering about why I had received this email (clearly the sender did not know me - else, why invite me to a social media seminar, when I give them myself?).

Further on in the email, I was offered a number of links. One link was to the seminar description which was ... well written, but not well-designed. Understand that this was an invitation to learn social media, an online, visual, interactive activity - and the page describing it was mainly text, no pictures, and poorly constructed. It appeared to be a bulleted word doc that was added to the website. No supporting information on why this person was qualified to offer the content, and no picture to remind me who it was.

Out of curiosity, I clicked the blog link (offered along with their twitter link, facebook page, and linkedin link in the left-hand sidebar) and was rewarded with a page of ... links to archives and other content. No real blog. Yet, in their services section, they offer to write MY blog for me. Hmm.....

At this point, as a social media professional, I am appalled. I am saddened that this otherwise good person has spammed me in my email box and then invited me to a seminar I'm not at all sure is supported by experience and expertise.

If you are planning to offer seminars, please make sure you don't spam the people you invite, please use the BCC if you have no real email marketing program, and please - make sure there are pictures on the website (of you, especially) and supporting content to show me that you are an expert in the topic you are asking me to pay money for. (the sender's pic was included in the bio section of the website, but that's not enough - I need to see it on the seminar page - along with some testimonials).

IF the sender who sent me this invitation is reading: yes, I saw the opt-out in the email, at the very bottom, but that's not enough. Politeness alone dictates that you (a) identify yourself and tell me how I know you, in the opening of your email, and (b) offer me the opt-out there, immediately, instead of forcing me to read to the bottom to find it.

The last couple of days I've spent in Myrtle Beach, SC visiting my parents who moved down here about three years ago from New York. My mom's been battling breast cancer which spread to her lungs, so it's been rough on her and my dad, especially the last couple of months. She seems to be improving from an infection she caught a month ago. That's the thing with cancer, it doesn't always kill you. But once you have it any little thing your body catches can.

Anyhow, I've been trying to talk them into hooking up the old computer that all us kids bought them years ago so that we can stay connected online. Last time they hooked it up they used the old telephone modem, so I explained to them how times have changed and they don't need to tie-up their phone line anymore.

We called the local Time Warner Cable company to try and get some prices and info for them and it was so confusing. After waiting on hold for a very long time we finally spoke to someone who gave us way too many options. Do you want the combination package with Internet and cable, or how about adding the phone to the package? For just Internet, what speed to you want? They offered us 5 different prices for different speeds. It shouldn't be so difficult!

I was also trying to explain to my mom what I do for a living now. She still doesn't quite understand since I don't go to an office and work for someone else. We had a discussion about social media, but she has a hard time grasping it. Hard to explain to someone who doesn't even use email I guess. She's listens to my sister and I talk about "I posted it on Facebook", so I showed her a few pages, but she really wasn't very interested.

So, I'm heading out soon and flying to Chicago from here to attend a two-day conference that starts tomorrow. It's PMA's annual Promotion Marketing Law Conference  which this year's theme is "Staying Connected @ The Speed of Change which is taking place at the Fairmont Hotel. The PMA, Association for Integrated Marketing has again invited me back as a guest blogger, or member of the press as it is also referred to. I thought I'd better disclose that right up front.

The timing could not be more perfect for this conference this year because of all the headlines the FTC has recently been making regarding the new impending social media endorsement guidelines which focus on bloggers. David Vladeck, the FTC Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, will be giving a keynote session which hopefully he'll help guide us through all these new regulations. Rosemary Harold, Legal Advisor to FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell will join Bob Corn-Revere, a former in house attorney for and expert on the FCC who will also address the audience.

Overall there will be 100 speakers and 40 plus main sessions that include professionals from major brands such as AT&T, Coca-Cola, Comcast, Facebook, Google, GE, General Mills, Hanes, McDonald's, Microsoft, P&G, Tommy Hilfiger, T-Mobile, VISA and more. I'm also looking forward to the invaluable networking opportunities and catching up with many people that I've know for years in this business and of course meeting some new ones.

So anyone that is planning on being there, please look me up. I'll be writing more about the conference on my blog, Donna's Promo Talk as well as updates on Twitter. So stay tuned, it should be very interesting.