Author: Doug Haslam

  • My Top 5: Gone-gle+, I’m on a List, and Astroweeding

    My Top 5: Gone-gle+, I’m on a List, and Astroweeding

    Google+, We Hardly Knew (What To Do With) Ye That disturbance in the Force you felt last week was the sound of thousands (millions?) of dormant Google+ accounts crying out, then falling forever silent. Google+, as of April 2, is no more. Yes, some of us mocked Google+ on its launch, but we tried it […]

  • My Top 5: Yes, MySpace Still Exists (oh, wait…)

    My Top 5: Yes, MySpace Still Exists (oh, wait…)

    Whoops MySpace For how many years have I and several other industry colleagues stressed the importance of owning your content, and that storing them on someone else’s platform isn’t good enough?  Now we hear the MySpace has accidentally deleted all content prior to 2016. I’ll wait while you go make jokes about how MySpace is irrelevant […]

  • My Top 5: Time for Tiktok, Dark Mode, and…Influencers?

    My Top 5: Time for Tiktok, Dark Mode, and…Influencers?

    Time for TikTok? I don’t typically get over-excited about new social platforms, but I do check them out when I can. Thanks to a prod from Shel Holtz of the “For Immediate Release” podcast, I took a closer look at TikTok then I might have this early on? Below I expand on some thoughts I […]

  • Seven Fundamentals for Professional Communicators: A Series

    Seven Fundamentals for Professional Communicators: A Series

    I have decided, with encouragement by Very Smart People, to lay down my fundamentals for professional communicators. After <redacted> years in the industry, I find it helpful to myself- and I hope others will find it helpful also- to create a summary of my vision of a career in the field. The first part of […]

  • My Top 5: Pandora Stories Can Reward Creativity, and Thoughts on Ending Loyalty

    My Top 5: Pandora Stories Can Reward Creativity, and Thoughts on Ending Loyalty

    I am back with my marketing and PR Top 5, which this time around is 3 (sorry, no refunds): Another “Stories” Feature? But Wait, I Have Thoughts About Pandora Stories Whenever a social media app launches a “Stories” app, I make a nasty face and, while checking them out, wonder why generally these features can’t […]

  • Pan-Mass Challenge Fundraising Update – 2018

    Pan-Mass Challenge Fundraising Update – 2018

    This past summer, I rode in my 11th Pan-Mass Challenge, an annual 2-day ride to fight cancer for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Every year, I take a look at my individual fundraising effort (you can always donate to support the ride at http://profile.pmc.org/DH0159) to evaluate how things went. First off, my total fundraising last year […]

  • My Top 5: Tumblr Clamps Down on (Sex) Fun, How Dare LinkedIn Try to Be Interesting, and Quitting Social Media

    My Top 5: Tumblr Clamps Down on (Sex) Fun, How Dare LinkedIn Try to Be Interesting, and Quitting Social Media

    My weekly thoughts on communications, marketing and social media, published weakly. Why You No Blog? Nobody actually asks me this, but it’s time for me to exercise my blogging muscles again. Aside from focusing on learning and serving clients rather than trying to spend time writing about my industry, I have indulged my online addiction […]

  • My Top 5: How to Prepare for April Fool’s Day, Blockchain Spam, Snapchat Never Learns

    My Top 5: How to Prepare for April Fool’s Day, Blockchain Spam, Snapchat Never Learns

    April Fool’s Is Just Around the Co… Wait, No. Some brands and marketers just can’t wait to do some sort of gee-whiz fun prank online on April Fool’s Day. Too many do it without regard to whether it fits their brand image or not (ahem, GOP). Others just do something that is not funny and […]

  • The Real Solution for the Oxford Comma (and Revisiting Owning Your Stuff)

    The Real Solution for the Oxford Comma (and Revisiting Owning Your Stuff)

    Oxford Commas Are Rarely Necessary There is no argument more fun on the Internet than a  grammar argument. People dig in their heels, refuse to budge, and in the end none of it matters. As if to compound the meaninglessness, most professional writers, at any given moment, are one client or new job away from […]

  • My Top 5: Nothing to Worry About

    My Top 5: Nothing to Worry About

    This past week has brought some news from around social media and digital marketing, but I don’t think we need to wrry (too much)… Embedding Tweets is Copyright Infringement!!!! Don’t Worry… A recent court ruling said that embedding Tweets (or even some links) can be considered copyright infringement. That sounds frightening- can I be sued […]