Brad Marley

Based on the majority of the content featured in this week’s Grab Bag, the subtitle for this edition could be, “How To Do Things Wrong On the Internet.” (And don’t think I didn’t consider it.)

Included below is a post on social media doubling as a popularity contest, why updating your media lists is crucial, and why using Twitter to bitch and moan can be an exercise in futility.

Please. Read on.

101 Ways To Live Your Life To The Fullest (Personal Excellence Blog) – We will start with the good stuff. Quite often, a list of ’101 Things…’ loses momentum around number 75. Not this one. There are seriously some great ideas in here for getting the most out of your life. #24 is one that I’m particularly fond of.

How The Seattle Times Is Using Mobile Video, Twitter To Report News Fast (Poynter Online) – This is where journalism is headed, frankly. We’re seeing the Journal Register Company experiment with digital means as a way to deliver the news, and now the Seattle Times is bringing it to the mainstream. Won’t be too long until this is the standard news delivery model, methinks (I hate that word.)

The Internet Has Become A Big Popularity Contest (SimplyZesty) – One of the best things I read this week, and I thought about devoting an entire entry to it. Basically, it operates under the premise that numbers (Twitter followers, “likes”, etc.) make social media too numbers-heavy when it comes to identifying valuable content. Read the whole thing for gist. I think you’ll dig it.

Why I’m Tired of #Fail (Brass Tack Thinking) – Amber Naslund is one of those people who writes exactly what I’m thinking, and I admire the shit out of that. I’m also extremely jealous of her abilities. This post captures something that bugs me about Twitter: a rush to complain. If you’re going to read two articles in this week’s grab bag, make it this one and the one above.

Magnalight.com’s Rob Bresnahan and the Dim Bulb Pitch (Bad Pitch Blog) – The key takeaway, if you will, of this post is that you need to keep your media lists updated, especially in today’s day and age of high turnover rates. The reporter who was covering technology last week might be this week’s food & beverage correspondent. So, if you send them a pitch for a new Web browser, for instance, they’re going to think you are stupid, and we don’t want that. This post takes a PR professional to task for this very sin.

That’s all for this week.

What captured  your interest?

The sign in the picture above is on the front of a restaurant that is opening soon near my house.

Whomever is opening this restaurant is taking a gamble that their investment will pay off in the long run in the form of a successful, well-respected community hamburger joint. I’m also assuming that this person thinks they have an eye for detail that one must have to open a successful franchise.

But if you look at the bottom, left-hand corner of the sign, you’ll notice one glaring spelling error.

Now, I’m not perfect when it comes to grammar and spelling, but as a public relations professional, I’m paid to be. So when I see spelling mistakes, they jump out at me. Usually, however, they’re found in first drafts and are easily remedied.

But this one…those who are making the “big decisions” don’t have access to a dictionary? My knowledge of sign-making is sketchy, but I’d guess that this sign had to go through at least three sets of eyeballs before it was printed: the person who created the sign, somebody to review it, and the printer. (And nobody caught this?)

If you were sinking a large chunk of your bank account into a new business venture, wouldn’t you want to make sure everything was perfect before the opening?

I know it’s just a misspelled word but, to me, it says a lot about the people who own this business, and it’s a terrible first impression.

I give them six months.

(Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get down from my soapbox and take my daughter to the zoo.)

If Twitter is supposed to be a two-way conversation (like everybody says it is), then how come you aren’t following me?

More specifically, how come, according to FriendorFollow, I am following 268 people who aren’t returning the favor?

Celebrities and busy journalists aside, I try to only follow people who (a) might benefit from what I have to say and (b) would probably follow me back. I want there to be some interaction, not me talking at nobody.

Yet, some of the people I’ve targeted in my given field are apparently too busy to join me in conversation, even if I’ve taken the first step.

So I wonder: am I really that boring? Do I provide so little value that you absolutely can’t add me? Is your time so valuable that you cannot possibly click ‘Follow @bradmarley’ in the drop-down menu? We all know you’re notifed by e-mail when somebody new follows us, so what’s the deal?

This is Twitter we’re talking about; I’m not asking you to opt-in to a direct mail campaign, or provide a monetary donation to your alma mater.

At the end of the day, this is merely just another way to communicate on the Web, so let’s communicate.

Are you kidding me, Brad?

You’re saying we need to slow down? If anything, we’re not moving fast enough.

I mean, look at everything that has been made available to us in the past decade because of advances in technology:

- We can stream movies instantly, directly to our personal computers.

- We can be alerted each morning about amazing deals in our hometown.

- Our fantasy football scores are automatically tabulated IN REAL TIME.

- I can bring my entire CD collection with me to the gym.

- If I had an Xbox 360, I could play a game of Madden against my friend, who lives an hour away, from the comfort of my basement.

- We can buy our groceries online.

- Robot slaves do our bidding.

If I tried hard enough, I could live, work and play without ever leaving my living room. ‘Course, that doesn’t indicate a need for speed, but it shows that’s I’m willing to embrace the technology, thus, freeing up time for other things, allowing me to do more.

So to say that we need to slow down is absurd. Look around you. Everybody is moving faster than they were the day before. Those who stop to smell the roses are going to get clipped by the hordes of people cruising down the information superhighway, like an elderly woman standing in front of Target on Black Friday.

And all of that talk about technology re-altering or brains, or something? That’s bunk.

If anything, technology is…is…wait, what was I saying?  Actually, forget it. I have to check my e-mail.

For any new readers, let me break down how the Weekly Grab Bag works.

Every Friday, I share links to stories, blog posts, etc. that have captured my interest throughout the week. While there is no set-in-stone subject matter, I try to keep it in the technology/PR/media realm. Occasionally, like the last link in today’s edition, I’ll stray outside of those topics, just to keep you on your toes.

Make sense? Good. Check out the links.

Studying the Brain Off the Grid, Professors Find Clarity (New York Times) - This is actually one part of the New York Times’ series on how technology affects our brains, and it’s fascinating with a capital “F”. I’ve always had an inkling that the 24/7 influx of information affected the way I operate, but this confirms it. I find that staying focused is a skill I need to sharpen.

Take Control Of Your Stream (Becky Johns) – This is a great post for those who are overwhelmed with the amount of information they glean from their social media network on a daily basis. The best piece of advice is that it’s your stream. Don’t be afraid to limit what you’re taking in.

How Positive Thinking Re-Wires Your Brain (Steve Aitchison) – Another brainy link, and this might be the best thing I’ve read all week. What daily trips to the gym are for our muscles, daily positive affirmation can be used to “exercise” our brains. Feeling anxious? Depressed? Sometimes, just thinking positively can help. Yay, science.

Mount Puckmore: The Four Faces Of The Detroit Red Wings (Puck Daddy) – The Puck Daddy blog has been posting the four faces of each NHL franchise while waiting for the season to start. Earlier this week, it was the Red Wings turn. Gordie How, Ted Lindsay, Steve Yzerman and Nicklas Lidstrom got their faces on Detroit’s Mount Puckmore. Can’t say that I disagree.

That’s all for this week. Let me know what captured your interest in the comments.