BusinessWeek Editorial Layoffs; Just…Sad
Let’s pretend that Bloomberg has a master plan for a leaner, stronger, BusinessWeek after buying the troubled magazine recently. They probably do, right? It still boggled the mind to see the parade of high-profile pink slips given out this week: Stephen Baker, Heather Green, Jon Fine, Robert Hof, etc. (the RaceTalk* blog from RacePoint live-blogged the carnage for our…pleasure). What struck me was that PR people felt genuinely bad. not that we shouldn’t, but one friend asked how we felt about the demise of the Industry Standard. I don’t remember PR people feeling so bad about those layoffs. Why? The Standard was notoriously hostile to PR people. businessWeek, besides being more practical, cuts stafff in a time where both flack and hacks alike share more conversations via social media. We know them a little better, and they are people to us, more so than in the past.
I wish every last one of them the best and have no doubt we will see big and interesting things soon.
Twitter to Users: Tell Everyone Where You Are: Yes, You in the Starbucks on Centre Street: You Too
Twitter has enabled geotagging. It’s interesting in that, in addition to other tools like FourSquare (of which I have become a big fan), showing the world where you are is really coming into style. Cool? yes, for those activities whee you want it. Scary, too, though. Stalking should be a real concern, and I wonder if, as Don Tapscott wonders in his book “Grown Up Digital,” Generation Y-ers in particular don’t take enough care in protecting privacy. I’m curious to see how these tools will be used.
I’m Using Posterous
I have finally broken down and started using Posterous. No, I won’t use it for “Lifestreaming.” I have Twitter, Facebook, Blog, Friendfeed, etc, all making up a lifestream (except I still hate using that word). I will use it to post via mobile though, and from there distribute the content to the blog, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, etc. Stay tuned, I hope make it an effective use of content channels, though I don’t expect it to be a standalone blog in itself.
Yes Terry, you do slay you.
On the Internet, If You Are a Dog, Someone Will find Out
Wowee wow-wow stupid: person makes anonymous offensive remark on a newspaper newspaper Web site. Web site person tracks IP address and lets employer know (privacy violation? Maybe). IP address is at a school, and an employee posted the offending comment- from the school! Incredible. The employee resigned; with any luck there was a lesson learned.
Let’s Get Rid of the Term “Social Media D*****bag”
Ok, the term is “douchebag” but I try to keep this blog as PG-rated is I can. On the other hand, I’m not normally such a prude, and have even uttered the term myself, but it strikes me as misogynist, offensive, and pretty nauseating if you think about it. I even hear women proudly saying it. Maybe I am just a prude.
What would you think if we changed it to “social media colostomy bag?” I thought so. Some friends have offered alternatives- a personal favorite is “social media blackguard” from David Jones. Call me old-fashioned.
Going old school, huh? Here are some other suggestions: social media rapscallion. Or social media scallywag. That’s got a nice ring to it.
Scott, you’re on to something (or on something).
I think if you hyphenate them (“rap-scallion”) you can emphasize the antiquity further.
I’ve been calling my daughters rapscallions for years! As a term of endearment, of course. Great word.
[…] long ago, I called for people to stop using the term “douchebag” so readily in social media circles. When I noticed even female friends of mine using the term over […]