I really like LinkedIn, but as a person concerned about privacy and social networks, I believe that I have to point out a change to you.

Without attracting too much publicity, LinkedIn has updated their privacy conditions and has now granted itself permission to use YOUR NAME AND PICTURE in any of their advertisements. Yes: Your name + your picture = A LinkedIn ad.

Some simple actions to be considered by you:

1. Place the cursor on your name at the top right corner of the screen. From the small
pull down menu that appears, select “Settings”

2. Then click “Account” on the left side of the bottom of the screen

3. In the column next to Account, select the option “Manage Social Advertising”

4. Finally uncheck the box “LinkedIn may use my name and photo in social advertising” and hit “Save.”

5. Then select the option “Manage Partner Advertising,” uncheck that box as well and hit “Save.”

Looking for a way to inform your connections? Simple: Via Inbox>Compose message in Linkedin, you can send a message to 50 connections at once.

I took a look, and I was opted in:

I dig LinkedIn, but LinkedIn should communicate with its users and let them know they can opt-out. It’s the responsible thing to do.

Oh, if you want to opt out of Facebook’s social advertising, click here.

That’s my take. What’s yours?

Now, a 10 second trailer featuring Matthew Broderick has the internets abuzz wondering if a Ferris Bueller’s Day Off sequel in the works.

With over four million views in three days, the video has gone viral. Rumor has it there’s no sequel, but instead it’s teasing an ad for the new Honda CR-V. Some enraged Ferris fans are dropping f-bombs, threatening to key Hondas, and shouting “SAVE FERRIS” with all caps on.

This is a small vocal minority. I loved the movie. Saw it at least three times and can quote as many FBDO lines as anyone.

This is a tempest in a teakettle. And for all the Honda haters out there–this ad will help a whole new generation of fans will learn to appreciate “one man’s struggle to take it easy.”

That’s my take. What’s yours?

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Update: The rumors are true. Here’s the new ad:

Check out a great conversation we’re having about Denny’s Maple Bacon Sundae, and feel free to join us as we discuss where commerce and conscience collide and/or come together.

A  few highlights:

• Most active day for sharing: Wednesdays
• Most active time of day: 9:30 A.M. EST
• Most users click within the first two minutes
• 75% of clicks happen within the first day

Interestingly, most shares are happening via good ol’ cut and paste. Who’d a thunk it?

via Mashable

Inappropriately suggestive is funny when it makes sense, and is relevant to the product.

But this is Tums antacid they’re selling, not condoms or 4-hour-erection Cialis. The production values for the spots are top notch, so Grey (Worldwide) obviously spent some bucks making them. But what does phallic food and orally fixated grandmas have to do with heartburn?

Eew.

In my opinion, these spots are not funny, but creepy — and not in a good way.

What the heck was Grey thinking in creating these spots? And more importantly, how could their client, Tums/GlaxoSmithKline, have approved them? What went wrong in the process for ads like these to get made? Or could the client possibly be that naïve and blind?

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Thanks to Tan Le for this guest post. Find Tan on Facebook.

This year, Euronews has listed a dozen more examples in Marketing and the exploitation of 9/11 that are every bit as disturbing.  Here are the images:

The exploitation of 9/11 by marketers is disrespectful, irresponsible on every level. So, how do these images make you feel about the advertisers?

Ben and Jerry’s has announced a new limited edition batch of ice cream, “Schweddy Balls.” For the uninitiated, here’s the SNL skit it’s based upon:

It’s funny. Really, really funny.

Surely some people will be offended, right? Of course. Some people will are offended when you say “darn,” too.

I’d argue “Schweddy Balls” is responsible. The product packaging isn’t lewd or crude, and neither is the product. Boring marketing is irresponsible, and this ain’t boring.

And while Ben & Jerry’s is known for their controversial ice cream flavors, they are perhaps better known for their obsession with social and economic responsibility.

So what do you think of Ben & Jerry’s new “Schweddy Balls?”

You’ve received them before—an unsolicited package that has something in that you just have to open. Because of it’s lumpy nature, this form of direct marketing is called “lumpy mail.” Sometimes there’s something interesting but usually it’s just trash and trinkets. Still, it grabbed your attention and you opened the package, right?

Response rates for lumpy mail are often significantly better than those for other forms of direct mail, offsetting additional costs.

But what’s the perception of the recipient? Here’s recent Outsource Marketing intern Jillian Raney‘s take:

Yesterday was a learning experience for me at the office. I was introduced to “lumpy mail.” Gathering the mail, I discovered a white “lumpy” package addressed to us. Exciting right?! Unfortunately, I learned that not only was there nothing exciting about what was actually in the package, it was an incredibly irresponsible way to do direct marketing.

What I took away from this was the waste from the packaging, only to send us a cheap pen that butchered our brand. Perhaps if they gave us an option to opt out, and maybe used recycled materials, we would have been more excited to see this particular piece of mail. I consider “lumpy mail” irresponsible marketing.

With its extra packaging and typical throwaway inserts, lumpy mail is clearly more wasteful.

So what do you think of direct mail that works better but wastes more? Do you love it or hate it?

Comment below to weigh in.

We’re proud to receive recognition as a King County’s Best Workplace for Recycling and Waste Reduction once again this year.

We are honored to join five other Issaquah businesses that were recognized for their sustainable efforts including  The City of Issaquah, The Issaquah School District, Timber Ridge at Talus, Rowley Properties, and Pogacha.

This marks the fifth year we have been honored with the award, making us one of nine other companies in King County on the “Honor Roll.”

That’s right, buy a jug of high fructose corn syrup-powered soda pop—one of the primary causes of diabetes and childhood obesity—and we’ll donate a dollar to juvenile diabetes research.

Our take: absolutely shameful and completely irresponsible. What’s yours?

. . .

Correction: A commentor below has pointed out that the correlation made above is incorrect — that “TYPE 1 and is an autoimmune disease.  TYPE 2 is a metabolic disorder from too much crappy foods.”

So, to be more factually correct, the promotion helps fund research to stop one form of diabetes by having you engage in an activity that causes another.

Subscribe to this feed.

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Read Joe Water’s Selfish Giving’s original post on this topic to learn more.