On Message

High school 'bouncer' reacts violently to cake crumbs on the floor

2007-10-02T11:23:00.000-05:00

I'm always a bit skeptical when people toss around accusations of brutality ... like a lot of Americans, I've always believed that if you walked the straight and narrow, you didn't have anything to worry about.

However ...

It may just be a coincidence, but it seems we are hearing more and more stories about security guards, police officers and other law enforcement personnel abusing their power, especially in situations where it seems completely unnecessary.

This story here -- about a high school girl in Palmdale, Calif., who was basically assaulted by a huge school security guard for not properly cleaning up cake that she had spilled when someone bumped into her -- seems especially grievous. The picture above tells the story.

The girl wound up with a broken wrist and an arrest for battery. Her mom was arrested, too, for supposedly pushing the guard and an assistant principal when she went to protest her daughter's treatment. As was the guy who videotaped the whole scene, which you can view here from the Fox television station in LA.

In other words, what started out as crumbs on the floor has turned into a giant mess of accusations and counter-claims, with a young girl injured and lots of lives tossed upside down. One thing is clear, however ... the guy above needs to find a new line of work, and the school needs to do a better job of protecting its students from the people hired to keep the peace.

More than one pundit has connected this apparent surge in brutality with the government's obsession with the war on terror and a general decay of individual rights. I don't know if that's the case ... it could just be that we are seeing more of these stories because cameras are so prevalent.

What do you think?

Skip the public tantrums and solve this stuff the old-fashioned way

2007-10-01T11:31:00.001-05:00

Two recent incidents from the sports world remind us how convoluted and confused we are as a society.

In the first example, Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy went off at a post-game news conference on a local sports columnist who had questioned the toughness and commitment of one of his players.

The column was over the top, but Gundy's tirade was just as bad, accusing the columnist -- a woman -- of not understanding what it was like to have a child who might have his feelings hurt by such prose.

Gundy's reaction was filled with references about how these "kids" aren't "professional athletes" who can handle criticism. Of course, he didn't mention how even programs such as Oklahoma State have football budgets in the millions of dollars and give "kids" like the player in question scholarships and benefits that are no doubt worth six figures in today's over-inflated tuition grab.

Bizarro world of college sports

The sight of Gundy stalking back and forth behind the podium and waving around a newspaper was -- as you might expect -- perfect YouTube fodder. The 3 1/2-minute video is bizarre, filled with non-sequiters and confusing sentence structure as he shouts, stomps, calls the editor "garbage" and says he hopes the columnist has a child someday who is "downgraded" and "belittled."

Gundy -- like everyone involved in big-time college athletics these days -- is living a lie. When it's convenient, they act like their charges are Pop Warner players who need to be protected from the big bad world.

The rest of the time, they are managing major operations that rival the set-ups of professional teams with players who are far more "athlete" than "student"-- all the while raking in huge dollars in salary and perks to ensure they win more than they lose for ol' State U.

Here's a thought for Gundy and other major college coaches ... you want your "kids" to be treated as such? Then how about you play on Friday nights in front of a couple of hundred people rather than on Saturday in front of hundreds of thousands in the stands and on TV?

With the money and the spotlight comes criticism, and if a player is man enough to sign a letter of intent with a major university, well ...

The other situation involves someone who isn't a man at all. Hope Solo (pictured in an AP photo) made headlines this past week when she gave a 30-second interview that completely unraveled her years of work to make the U.S. women's national soccer team as the starting goalkeeper.

Pulled from the starting lineup in the pivotal World Cup semi-final elimination match against Brazil -- for the back-up who had a history of success against the Brazilians -- Solo watched in anguish as her team went down in flames.

On the way to the bus after the loss, Solo was approached by a Canadian TV reporter who asked if she wanted to talk. When a PR person for the U.S. team tried to stop the interview, Solo cut him off and then launched into a brief -- but damaging -- riff on her coach and made some comments that appeared to denigrate her fellow keeper.

If only the team had been as decisive on the field

The response was swift and harsh. Solo was basically banished from the team for the third-place match against Norway and wasn't allowed to take part in any final activities -- even though she apologized personally to her teammates. And she also lost the support of many fans back home in the U.S., who originally had sympathized with her for being placed in such an awkward position by her coach.

Teammates had apparently warned Solo not to share her feelings with the media but perhaps the intrusion of the PR person trying to stop her from commenting pushed her over the edge. We may never know. But her career as the U.S. women's keeper is probably over, as long as Greg Ryan remains the coach.

The bottom line in both of these cases is that there was a better way of handling the frustration and hurt that resulted from others' actions. In our "always on" world, any outburst or extreme reaction is going to get lots of play and it will create an even deeper rift between individuals as people hunker down to defend their position and their actions.

So the question is, if Gundy doesn't like what a columnist writes, why not address those concerns with the journalist directly? Why do it publicly? A phone call to the editor might work, too ... rather than calling him "garbage" in front of the world.

The reality is that his outburst created far more awareness of the article and its criticism. He basically told the world, "hey, everybody, read this column that slams my player!"

At the same time, why didn't Solo take her friends' advice and just say nothing? And why didn't Ryan seek out Solo that next day and make peace in private rather than scapegoating her for the team's fall from grace? In trying to sidestep his own culpability for a poor coaching decision, he hung Solo out to dry twice in a two-day span.

Perhaps what we all need to remember is that being thin-skinned is particularly unbecoming these days. It would be nice to see someone in the public eye manuever these potential pitfalls with aplomb and realize that not every negative comment requires a thermo-nuclear response.

After all, it may be new technology, but we've seen enough to know that diplomacy by YouTube doesn't work too well.

The biggest problem in education today? Parents

2007-09-25T08:55:00.000-05:00

I write about education a lot here ... for a number of reasons.

No. 1, it's a topic I'm interested in. No. 2, I think our country's economic competitiveness is being severely damaged by a growing underclass of uneducated citizens living in a generational, seemingly unbreakable cycle of poverty.

Think I'm exaggerating? Check out the drop-out rates in cities like Los Angeles, Houston, etc.

And No. 3, I don't think most people care -- or care enough about the right things. Too many people misplace the blame for our vast educational shortcomings on money or buildings or teachers.

Truth is, most schools have enough resources -- including good teachers -- to ensure that students learn. The real key to educational success resides in the home, and it starts with the parents. If the parents make education a priority, the student can be successful.

Of course, who in America today makes education a priority? Well, it's primarily educated people ... those who are well-off financially. The New York Times reported yesterday that of all students nationwide who score more than 1300 on the SAT, two-thirds come from the top socioeconomic quartile -- just 3 percent come from the bottom quartile.

In another recent story, on the New Orleans Recovery School District, the Times reported that by the end of last year, nearly half of all registered students were missing each day. On the first day of school this year, nearly a third failed to show up.

And people talk about "fixing" New Orleans' broken schools? It's not the schools that are broken -- 90 percent of the students live in abject poverty, most in single-parent homes, many raised by someone other than their biological parents.

And today, on the 50th anniversary of the famous desegregation of Little Rock's Central High School (pictured above) by nine brave African-American students, HBO is airing a documentary (8 p.m. eastern) that shows the modern CHS and its re-segregated reality -- white students in honors classes, earning high marks, moving on to college; black students struggling just to get by.

As the filmmaker, Craig Renaud, says:

"One of the repeated issues that we heard from a lot of people in Little Rock is that they feel Central High School is still segregated, and that it is really two schools in one.

"One school having mostly white students in advanced placement classes that sends its graduates to the best colleges in America, and the other school with regular and remedial classes with mostly African American students, which many people claim suffers the same ills as any inner city school in America. And that despite 50 years since school integration, the achievement gap between white and black students doesn't seem to be closing, and for young black males it is actually getting worse."

Of course, not everyone agrees on the reasons why the above is true at Central High School, and so many other schools across this country. Like all socio-economic ills, it's a complex issue that can't be solved by a hour-long documentary or a blog post like this one.

But I know one thing. If there is to be a change -- if we are to sever the linkage between race, class and educational success -- it has to start in the home. It is the parents who make the difference, as painful a truth as that may be.

On a lighter, related note ... someone sent me the following answering machine message designed specifically for today's problem parents:

"Hello! You have reached the automated answering service of your school. In order to assist you in connecting to the right staff member, please listen to all the options before making a selection:

"To lie about why your child is absent - Press 1

"To make excuses for why your child did not do his work- Press 2

"To complain about what we do - Press 3

"To swear at staff members - Press 4

"To ask why you didn't get information that was already enclosed in your newsletter and several flyers mailed to you - Press 5

"If you want us to raise your child - Press 6

"If you want to reach out and touch, slap or hit someone - Press 7

"To request another teacher, for the third time this year - Press 8

"To complain about bus transportation - Press 9

"To complain about school lunches - Press 0

"If you realize this is the real world and your child must be accountable and responsible for his/her own behavior, class work, homework and that it's not the teachers' fault for your child's lack of effort: Hang up and have a nice day!"

Jena newspaper provides timeline, context

2007-09-21T07:14:00.000-05:00

The local Jena, La., newspaper has an interesting timeline of events related to the "Jena 6 case."

It provides a great deal of context that is missing in so many reports of the incidents that took place there.

You can read it here.

Are Jena 6 protestors really interested in justice?

2007-09-20T14:23:00.001-05:00

The Jena 6 protest today is a perfect example of sound and fury but little substance.

I've been hearing and reading about this case for months now, with increasingly strident tones. Thousands converged on the small Louisiana town today to march and protest for "justice."

But no one ever says what they mean by that.

Does justice mean these six black teen-agers -- who brutally sucker-punched a white teen as he left a gymnasium, rendering him unconscious, then followed up by kicking and striking him as he lay on the ground -- deserve to be set free?

Remember that four of the six were adults under Louisiana law at the time of the attack and one of the juveniles, Mychal Bell, the main defendant, had an extensive violent criminal record already. That's why he was tried as an adult, not a juvenile (and his conviction was overturned because of that technicality).

They knew exactly what they were doing, and what they wanted to accomplish. This wasn't a simple schoolyard fight that broke out -- a flash of anger between two teen-agers. This was a six-on-one gang attack.

Does justice mean reducing their charges? That's already happened. From attempted murder to aggravated battery, even though the six very easily could have killed the unconscious victim.

Does justice mean arresting the white teens who hung nooses over a tree on the high school campus? As despicable as that is -- and it was as low-class and hateful a move as one can imagine -- it is not a crime. Nor did the white teens put anyone's life at jeopardy through violence.

I saw a news clip featuring an interview with celebrity Tyler Perry, who was there today to lend support to the Jena 6. The interviewer asked him several times what he was seeking, and he kept saying he just wanted the boys to receive a "fair shake." When asked what would constitute a "fair shake," he couldn't really answer.

Exactly. I understand why Perry was caught off guard by the question -- these six aren't really the kind of "victims" that most reasonably thinking people can excuse. They did the crime ... now they want others to look the other way and let them off the hook for their "schoolyard tussle."

Some bloggers and activists are going so far as calling the Jena 6 "heroes."

Please.

Unfortunately, you don't have to look very far to find examples of racial disparity and unfair treatment toward blacks in the American legal system, which begs the question -- why this case?

Surely Tyler Perry and the thousands of others marching today would be seeking a different kind of "fair shake" if it were their son brutally attacked by a gang of six toughs outside school.

Is it that the protesters in Jena, La., today are more interested in riding the wave of publicity than they are in actual justice? You tell me.

Right to free speech, or right to be disruptive?

2007-09-19T11:53:00.000-05:00

Following up on my post here ...

Below is an interesting discussion from "Hardball with Chris Matthews" about free speech in America and the apparent efforts by politicians and candidates to restrict it.

Before you watch the video, let me just say this ... no one should be denied their right to free speech, and any member of Congress or candidate for president who regularly suppresses alternate viewpoints should be called on the carpet publicly.

But there is a big difference between wearing a shirt that says "Bring home the troops" or holding up a sign at a rally, and being vocally disruptive or using profanity.

In that regard, Sally Fields played right into Fox's hands at the Emmy Awards by using a profanity in her anti-war remark. Had she spoken plainly but without offensive language, her message would not have been so easy to delete.

And the young man at the University of Florida? He wasn't Tasered because of his views. He was Tasered because he refused to leave quietly after being asked to by event organizers, and he continued to fight back against the campus police who were escorting him.

Was that an overreaction? Perhaps. But he got what he came to get ...

And now, the "Hardball" discussion.

Don't Taze me, bro ... I'm just looking for a little Internet celebrity

2007-09-19T10:26:00.000-05:00

The curious case of Andrew Meyer -- Tasered by cops when he refused to leave a question and answer session with Sen. John Kerry at the University of Florida this week -- should give all of us pause.

Meyer has become yet another unworthy YouTube celebrity for his now-famous shouts of "Don't Taze me, bro"... yet the whole sordid affair just reeks of publicity seeking.

Hijacking the event with an obvious diatribe designed to get attention, Meyer actually tells security personnel who suggest he ask his question and sit down that "he's (Kerry) been talking for two hours; I can have two minutes."

Except that the folks in attendance didn't come to see Meyer, did they?

Of course, this story IS a story only because Meyer wanted it to be one. He pushed the cops until there was a confrontation, and made sure there was an explosive videotape to seal the deal. Now you have all sorts of Internet wiseacres calling America a "police state" and students at UF marching for "justice."

Meyer's act played right into the seemingly growing number of people who worship rule-breakers and celebrate anarchy. In their eyes, the individual is always right regardless of his/her actions; societal mores and authority figures are always wrong .. and especially so if they attempt to keep the peace.

These are the same folks who are quick to jump on the "save so-and-so" bandwagon that's become so popular, because it's easier than actually making an intelligent, well reasoned decision about guilt or innocence.

How did we get so mixed up?

Another culture clash -- the growing popularity of old-time backyard clotheslines

2007-09-18T10:33:00.000-05:00

The Wall Street Journal reports today on a hot topic that' s bound to get people's knickers in a bunch ... the resurgence of backyard clotheslines.

Back in the day, everyone had a clothesline where they hung wet clothes to dry. Dryers were for rich folk.

Today, the opposite is true. Everyone has a clothes dryer, except for poor people, right?

Except that some environmentally conscious families have begun eschewing energy-intensive dryers in favor of nature's sunlight and gentle breezes.

That, of course, has created problems since many homeowners' communities have specific rules against "letting it all hang out." I mean, who wants to see their neighbors' drawers flapping in the breeze?

The federal Energy Information Administration says that dryers consume as much as 6 percent of total U.S. electricity usage. But there are at least 60 million Americans who live in communities that ban outdoor clotheslines.

Talk about your culture clash. Free-spirited environmentalists versus rules-oriented, property-valued homeowners associations. Both sides can make fundamentally sound arguments that their position is best.

Who do you think will win?

Mos Def: Neil Armstrong lied, Bigfoot is real and O.J. is just misunderstood

2007-09-14T07:59:00.000-05:00

Suppose you were at work one day, minding your own business, when a stranger stopped by your office, muttering almost incoherently that Osama bin Laden was not a real person, that the U.S. did not put a man on the moon, that O.J. didn't kill his wife and that Bigfoot is real.

Would you call security? Or maybe the nice men in white coats?

Not Bill Maher. He gives guys like that a spot on live television.

By now you may have seen -- or read about -- the rambling, profanity-laced appearance of so-called black "activist" Mos Def (pictured) on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher." If you haven't, here's a snippet of the discussion with the bad language removed:

DEF: I don't believe it was bin Laden today, I don't believe it was never him. I think it's some dude just standing, I don't even, I can't even believe. I don't even, I'm sorry, I'm from the projects, I know danger. I don't feel no danger from that (expletive), those (expletives).

BILL MAHER: But you don't think bin Laden knocked down the Word Trade Center?

DEF: Absolutely not.

MAHER: Come on.

DEF: I don't. I don't. You know what, I don't.

MAHER: That's where you lose me, my friend, and I'm so on your side, but you know what.

DEF: In any barbershop I am so not alone, I'm so not alone.

MAHER: That doesn't mean you're right.

DEF: That don't mean it is not valid neither. Highly-educated people in all areas of science have spoken on the fishiness around the whole 9/11 theory. It's like the magic-bullet and all that (expletive).

MAHER: Then what happened?

DEF: I don't believe these (expletives) have been to the moon either, but that's just me.

You can find plenty more of Def's garbage on You Tube, if you're so inclined. But the interesting thing is that Def, whose real name is Dante Smith, has quite an audience for his views.

Around the blogosphere, you can find plenty of folks who flat-out agree with the actor/rapper and his bizarre ramblings. To them, Smith is "speaking truth to power" ... bringing to light the realities that the "white establishment" doesn't want you to know. Including:

The U.S. government is responsible for 9/11 and invented Osama bin Laden to cover it up.

There is no such thing as al-Qaeda.

George Washington was a terrorist.

The Catholic Church is a terrorist organization.

People around the world want to be "America's friend."

And yes, he clearly told Bill Maher he believes Bigfoot is real.

What people like about Def is his insistence that because of the history of race in this country, you can't trust anyone who is white and in power. I disagree, but I understand he has a different set of experiences that have framed his opinion.

But here's my beef.

I am all for skepticism and common sense when dealing with current events. We need more people who can question the thinking that passes for mainstream wisdom in this country, especially when it comes to our dealings with other nations.

But it must be done with intelligence and an awareness of the importance of nuance. If you really want to be an activist, speak with passion but back up your words with knowledge and insight. Spreading wild conspiracy theories about "the man"while defending groups like al-Qaeda is unconscionable.

While Maher did challenge Def on some of his claims, he basically gave him a forum to rally the ignorant and the biased. Not to mention unleash one of the most wicked triple-negative sentences ever heard on television -- "that don't mean it is not valid neither."

Is Mos Def just a loudmouth? Or does he represent -- along with those who believe him -- another low point in America's race to the bottom? Let's hear from you.

If you can read this ... consider yourself in the minority

2007-09-07T14:13:00.000-05:00

Saturday is International Literacy Day.

The group Literacy Advance of Houston says that approximately 52 percent of adults in Harris County are functionally illiterate in English.

That is a stunning figure. Almost unbelievable.

More than half? I'm sure that the key phrase there is "in English," but still ... in keeping with our recent theme, what kind of society can we expect when -- despite taxpayer funded, neighborhood schools -- so many people grow up without being able to read?

I'm not knocking Literacy Advance -- I'm sure they do a great job, like so many other non-profits out there trying to turn back the rising tide of ignorance. But the odds are overwhelming.

An American 'Idiocracy' -- dumbed down and vulgar

2007-09-06T08:28:00.000-05:00

Can you imagine a future America where the masses are ignorant, where profanity is rampant – even in advertising – and commercialism and crassness rule the day?

No, I’m not talking about 2008.

Over the weekend I finally caught Mike Judge’s 2006 film “Idiocracy,” which was basically cut off at the knees by its studio, 20th Century Fox, for reasons that are still unclear. If you believe in what Judge is trying to say, the country is headed for hell in a handbasket because we are growing stupider by the day.

Judge is the creator of the widely successful “Beavis & Butthead” cartoon that aired on MTV, as well as the long-running sitcom “King of the Hill.” He was also responsible for the cult classic “Office Space,” which lampooned the ridiculousness of life in the cube farms.

His work has long explored the theme of intelligence – or lack of it. Beavis and Butthead, for example, were morons raised on television, with no parental oversight whatsoever. Hank Hill is a Texas everyman, a guy who gets by on hard work, plain values and the lessons of his own life experiences. He’s not smart by conventional means, but he’s often more wise than those around him.

Judge’s track record in creating smart, pointed commentary made a lot of folks eager to see “Idiocracy.” Unfortunately, Fox had other plans and the movie was basically leaked out with no fanfare to a limited number of theaters, where it quietly died.

You can't say that

For Fox, the major themes of the movie may have just been too controversial.

“Idiocracy” is a dystopian tale of two Americans who are put to sleep for one year in an Army experiment. The plan goes awry, however, and the duo wake up 500 years in the future, in an America that is, well, basically stupid.

What our heroes find is that over the centuries, careful family planning by high IQ Americans has been offset by rampant breeding among the not-so-bright set, leading to a future world in which pretty much everyone is a vulgar doofus.

That makes our dynamic duo the smartest folks on the planet, even though back in the day they were nothing more than a regular Army joe and a prostitute.

Not what we believe, right?

That idea, of course, goes against everything we like to believe in modern-day, politically correct America – where everyone is “above average” and capable of becoming a nuclear physicist, if only we spent more money on public education. So it’s no wonder that Judge’s film caused a few raised eyebrows at Fox. Studio execs were no doubt worried about the backlash that might follow given the movie’s themes of class and intelligence and the impact of dysgenics on society.

Add to that the unspoken but obviously related topics of unchecked immigration, high inner-city drop-out rates and the creation of a permanent underclass and you have a PC nightmare.

Not to mention that “Idiocracy” savagely punctures society’s obsession with consumer brands and the power that corporations have over everyday life, themes that might not have resonated well with Fox’s television executives.

Unfortunately, those interesting points of view killed a movie that has an underlying message we probably all ought to see.

Before we’re all too stupid to understand it.

Yesterday wasn't such a good day for news

2007-08-29T08:57:00.001-05:00

Yesterday we learned that:

The number of uninsured Americans continues to rise.
High-school SAT scores continue to fall.
And we're all fatter than ever.

Other than that, things are going great here in the land of the free.

Truth gets lost in high-profile stories such as Vick's

2007-08-28T09:12:00.000-05:00

And so Michael Vick has found Jesus.

Just in time. Interesting how these guys discover religion AFTER they are arrested, isn't it?

What has amazed me throughout the Vick news cycle is the number of people who defend him and his actions.

Just when you thought today's "everyone's opinion counts" society couldn't get any more ridiculous, we're treated to lots of commentary that includes red herrings such as:

"I didn't see the same level of media coverage when ... " and then they cite some story that received all kinds of media coverage.

"Why do folks care more about dogs than people? Lots of athletes assault women and they're allowed to play again." Isn't that one special? But it's not an either-or situation. Prosecuting Vick doesn't mean assault is okay. The attention Vick is receiving is due to the fact that unfortunately, domestic violence is a fairly common occurence in this country, especially among athletes, while dog fighting is still somewhat exotic.

"This wouldn't be as big a deal if Vick were white." Ever heard of Qyntel Woods or LeShon Johnson? Didn't think so. This is about celebrity and visibility, not race.

"Lots of people hunt and they don't get arrested." Yes, and hunting is legal, highly regulated and self-policed by groups with a vested interest in protecting species and habitats. Dogfighting is barbaric and illegal, and gambling on it is even worse, especially when a professional football player in involved.

I could go on and on, but you get the point. These types of stories give everyone a platform for advancing their own agendas, but in the midst of all the finger-pointing, excuse making and backtracking, the reality gets lost.

That is, Michael Vick -- a powerful, well-trained athlete in the prime of his career -- broke the law by killing defenseless animals who had the misfortune of losing in brutal, winner-takes-all combat. Electrocuting them. Slamming them to the ground.

That's how he proved his manhood and toughness to his "boyz."

Will he ever play football again? Who cares.

'Mad Men' is swell television

2007-08-24T08:50:00.000-05:00

It took me a couple of weeks to catch my first episode, but only a minute or two to be hooked on AMC's fantastic new show "Mad Men."

Set in 1960 at one of Madison Avenue's top advertising agencies, the show is a perfect visual representation of the time period -- smooth and proper on the surface, dark and brooding underneath.

And fueled by cigarettes and booze. Lots of booze. If you thought Larry Tate drank a lot ...

"Mad Men" airs Thursdays at 10 ET, 9 central. Give it a try.

I'm back, baby ... for what that's worth

2007-08-22T08:09:00.000-05:00

Sorry for being gone so long.

*shame*

I honestly didn't intend to stop blogging. It just happened. And you know what? It felt so ... I don't know ... good? Great?

Freeing might be the right word.

Not only did I not write here, but I stopped reading blogs, too, except for a couple that touch on current events and issues.

No echo chamber. No struggling to invent or find a topic. No finger-pointing at companies or people who made human mistakes. No pretending to care about some new gadget or software that won't be around in a six months.

No PR BS.

Blogging and its time-consuming requirements became like a job, and I already have one of those. Which , by the way, became a lot easier when I wasn't trying to impress readers I've never met by writing about stuff no one really cares about.

Ahhh, I know. I'm being a little harsh.

So what prompted me to write again? One reason is that I received quite a few inquiries asking when I was going to reappear. I appreciate that more than you'll ever know. Thanks for the kind words and for not forgetting.

Another is that I still have things to say, and blogging is the best way to I know to communicate quickly and easily to a large group of folks. I may not be as prolific as I used to be -- and I may focus more on cultural and social issues rather than PR -- but I am back.

For what that's worth. :)

American Express connects with customers through unique cardholder program

2007-05-17T10:17:00.000-05:00

What if you could mobilize your customers or clients on a project designed to build community and improve the world around us, at the same time?

Interesting, huh?

That's what American Express is doing with The Members Project, a unique "give-back" program that will donate up to $5 million to fund the charitable project recommended by -- and voted on -- by cardholders.

Unlike some of the silly "create your own video" type of projects, this interactive effort has some real benefit while connecting the American Express customer base to the brand in a deeper way.

Great idea. I'll be watching.

Want to learn more? Click here.

Text messaging is gaining traction as a marketing tool

2007-05-15T17:12:00.000-05:00

I remember talking to an advertising colleague of mine a couple of years ago about using text messaging as part of a campaign his firm was planning.

His response? Something along the lines of "huh?"

Today, we're seeing increased acceptance of text messaging as an outreach tool -- and a way to build community. That same advertising firm now routinely recommends text messaging components to its clients, and some are quick to see the value.

It's no different than any other new technology ... it simply takes awhile for early adoption to morph into widespread use.

Along the way, pioneering SMS firms -- like my client, qtags -- have developed new products and new uses that are finding ready markets.

For example, qtags now offers a "virtual jukebox" system that allows viewers to choose the next song or video to play simply by texting a number.

Sitting in a doctor's office? You can choose the health video you want by texting its number to 7-8-2-4-7 (q-t-a-g-s).

Taking a break at work? Queue up the CEO's most recent chat on the flat-panel monitor in the break room with your mobile phone.

Entertaining guests with music during a party or reception? Build a virtual playlist and let your friends/clients choose which song comes next.

The same technology can power a questionnaire at conferences, trade shows or retail establishments. Put the question up on a screen, and let viewers cast a vote with their cell phones. The results show up in real time.

qtags can also gather constantly updated data from a third-party website and deliver it via text message. Think weather. Or prices. Or any kind of information that people might want or need quickly or while away from a PC.

There are also more "traditional" uses that incorporate other media ... for example, restaurant/hotel rating company Zagat recently distributed packets of tissues at the NYC Revlon Walk/Run promoting its new Zagat to Go mobile service (see picture above).

The packets encouraged participants/spectators to text ZTG to 78247 for a free, 14-day trial (go ahead ... give it a try).

qtags can deliver a .mobi website link directly to consumers, and even connect people with your podcast on iTunes.

By far, however, qtags' biggest success stories involve "opt-in" campaigns where consumers text a keyword to sign up for news and information on a regular basis about a product, service or brand. These community-building programs enable marketers to build direct relationships with people who desire to have more interaction ... a win-win.

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A powerful perspective on recent events

2007-04-20T11:54:00.000-05:00

Gary Goldhammer puts a couple of recent events into the proper perspective with this insightful, powerful paragraph:

It took five syllables and about a week for Don Imus to lose his talk radio job. Cho Seung-Hui gives us more than two years of warnings via teachers and students, spends time in a mental facility where he’s deemed a menace to society, and we don’t hear a damn thing.

Read his full post here.

A horrible example of PR gone awry

2007-04-19T11:25:00.000-05:00

Speaking of assigning blame after a tragedy, this news release just about takes the cake.

All I can say is, well ... wow.

US Netcom ought to be ashamed of itself.

Hat tip: Peter Shankman and Kevin Dugan.

Engineering a better car ain't as easy as it looks

2007-04-19T10:49:00.000-05:00

Carter Wood at Shopfloor.org points us to a pretty interesting showdown between environmentalists and the auto industry.

The Union of Concerned Scientists swears that it's possible for automakers to build a minivan with a 40 percent reduction in tailpipe emissions, using affordable, off-the-shelf technology.

So General Motors said "come on down" and show us what you've got. After the meeting, the car guys were less than impressed with the Union's engineering.

You know, corporate people always get beat up for not speaking plainly. But you can't get any more straight-forward than these two quotes from yesteday's Detroit News:

"The challenge with the environmentalists is that there is a complete lack of business and technical experience from which they can draw conclusions."

That was from a GM spokesperson.

GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz is apparently just as blunt. The paper quoted this passage from the well-known corporate blogger:

There is no technological bag of tricks that enables much better fuel economy than we have today. Despite what alarmists may think, we don't have any magic 100-mpg carburetor that we're holding back because we're in bed with the oil companies.

Corporate-speak? I don't think so.

Quick hit: Environmentalists would be far more effective if they stopped trying to embarrass corporations by painting them as evil and started listening and learning about the competitive marketplace.

Expert says rush to blame obscures the true villain

2007-04-19T10:37:00.000-05:00

From Tom Kirkendall comes this link to an op-ed in The Chronicle of Higher Education, by Gary Lavergne, the director of admissions research at the University of Texas at Austin.

Lavergne is an expert on the Charles Whitman shooting at UT back in 1966, and an author of a book on the subject. He sees similarities between what happened years ago and the recent shooting at Virginia Tech:

It is vitally important for all to remember that there is only one person responsible for what happened in Blacksburg, and that is the man who pulled the trigger ...

No one died for lack of text messages or an alarm system. They died of gunshot wounds. While we painfully learn our lessons, we must not treat each other as if we are responsible for the deaths that occurred... This is not a time for us to torture ourselves or to seek comfort by finding someone to blame.

As I wrote here, sometimes bad things happen. Our rush to point fingers -- quickened now in the 24-hour news cycle -- doesn't benefit anyone.

Looking for someone to blame in the aftermath of tragedy

2007-04-17T14:05:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's shooting rampage at Virginia Tech was a horrible tragedy.

Yet surprisingly -- or perhaps, not -- it didn't take long for the finger-pointing and blame-assigning to begin. The campus police and university officials were criticized for not locking down the campus following the first shootings.

Before the day was out, family members were calling for the resignation of the university president. One student said the administration had "blood on its hands."

Obviously, emotions were at a fever pitch in the aftermath. And it's difficult to fathom that a single person can do something so twisted, so ... evil. We struggle to make sense of something we can never understand.

But you know what? Sometimes, bad things happen. And sometimes, even the best and smartest people around can't prevent them.

Employees helped drive decision-making surrounding Imus controversy

2007-04-16T09:36:00.000-05:00

Coming off a busy week in which I didn't have a chance to blog, so I missed an opportunity to comment on the Don Imus controversy while it was raging.

But in retrospect, that's okay ... because I think the most important lesson was one that surfaced after he was already fired from his radio and television shows.

That is, the employees of NBC, CBS and the shows' various sponsors apparently had a tremendous impact on the decisions to pull advertising and ultimately, fire Imus.

That companies would take the time to seek out and/or listen to employees -- in this case, women and African-Americans who were offended by Imus' comments -- is groundbreaking. That they would then act on that input is astonishing.

Here's a snippet from the Baltimore Sun:

"What's different about this firing compared to that of other insult jocks is that people internal to the organizations - women and African-Americans at NBC and CBS - came forward and said, 'I am in this organization, and I do not want to be associated with this kind of man,'" said Sheri Parks, a University of Maryland professor who teaches courses on race and gender.

In fact, the same kinds of discussions were taking place at companies that paid to sponsor Imus, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Many pundits who called for Imus' firing early in the week were less than satisfied when it actually took place, saying it was "just about money."

But I think there was a deeper motive at work here, and it involved the relationship between employer/employee at the various organizations entangled in the controversy. Anyone who's ever worked for a big company has to be surprised at the power and influence that these employees brought to bear on an issue that was important to them.

In my humble opinion, the balance of power between the rank and file and the executive suite might have shifted forever on this issue, at least in terms of dealing with very public issues.

What do you think?

Thermostat battle is really a gender issue

2007-04-09T12:28:00.000-05:00

Stephen Baker at Business Week points us to this post at Cognitive Daily that sheds some light on the "thermostat battle" that takes place in office buildings.

In my experience, the women are always cold, and the men don't mind the 300 days a year of air conditioned blast that make Houston a liveable city.

Cognitive Daily's study revealed that my anecdotal experience was not unusual -- young women, in particular, were most likely to be cold on a regular basis; overweight men more likely to be hot.

D'uh, right?

In my office days, I frequently had to remind young female staffers not to act like they'd been separated from their Arctic exploration team during client meetings. Of course, it would have helped some of them to:

Dress more appropriately.
Ingest more than 600 calories a day.

Of course, we could have turned up the thermostat, but then I would have been burning up (see study data, above).

City tells non-profit to pay up or move out -- proper asset management, or cheap land grab?

2007-04-05T08:10:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend, the Chronicle reported that the City of Houston wants to terminate its lease with the Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation and sell the land to developers.

Talk about a crass move.

The center -- which permanently houses and provides health and care services, workshops and employment opportunities for mentally retarded adults -- has the misfortune of being located on a prime piece of real estate that developers covet.

It wasn't always so. Back in 1963 -- when the center signed a 99-year lease with the city for $1 a year -- the five-acre property was home to an abandoned tuburculosis hospital that nobody wanted. The center agreed to take over the land, build a complete complex and provide ongoing care for this oft-forgotten population. They've been doing so ever since, with the support and assistance from a wide range of charities, foundations and corporate partners.

Now, with high-rise living gaining in popularity here, the land is very valuable, and the city wants to cash in. Calling the 99-year lease illegal due to city charter, officials say the facility must either increase its rent payments to market rates (around $200,000 a year) or find a new location.

This is a one of those moves that makes you shake your head.

Yes, the land is valuable. Yes, no doubt it would sell in a heartbeat and developers could build towers for rich folks. But evicting the a long-standing Houston institution is just flat-out cold and wrong.

This is more than a PR disaster. It's a reminder of what we truly value in our society.

The quick-term gains from the sale of that land would be spent and forgotten in a few short months. The center -- left to function as it has for 40-plus years -- can provide for the city's most vulnerable residents for decades to come.

Surely there's someone at the city who calculate what that is worth.

The good news is that the center is fighting back. blogHouston points us to this new website, Save the Center.org, which is designed to muster support for the facility's plight. And if you read some of the comments on the blogHouston post, you'll see that the city's move isn't a popular one.

Of course, there are always two sides to every story. Mayor Bill White told the Chronicle that a number of non-profits have sub-market leases on prime, close-in real estate. He believes the city has a responsibility to better manage its assets and tax base, and that proceeds from a sale of the land could be used to fund grants to non-profits.

What do you think?

Disclosure: My former employer, Tenneco Energy, was a strong supporter of the Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation. The band I played in at the time -- composed of Tenneco employees -- performed several times at the center for holiday parties and events. We saw first-hand the value of the center ... and the dignity and human spirit of the residents there.