Tag Archives: Facebook

Our Talking Points Society

BY RICH GALEN
Reprinted from Mullings.com

An essay in the San Francisco Chronicle yesterday pointed out that as the oral arguments on same-sex marriage proceeded in the Supreme Court the use of the term “unfollow” jumped to ten times its normal frequency.

Blogger Caleb Garling wrote, the context of the word “unfollow” was generally: “If you do/n’t like gay marriage, unfollow me” or telling someone with a particular stance on gay marriage, that they were now unfollowing them because of that view.

For those who may be unfamiliar with the Twitter-verse “followers” are loosely analogous to “friends” on Facebook. A major difference is: Anyone can “follow” Continue reading →

Why Do Brands Think We Want to Talk?

BY GARY JOHNSON
Reprinted from Loose Change (TCBMag.com)

The head of strategy for a Fortune 25 corporation said recently: “Engagement is a two-way dialogue. Without a conversation, there is no engagement.” Corporate engagement seekers salivate over the iconic one-on-one relationships, grounded in conversation, likes, views, shares, and comments. Why are major talents at corporations so wrapped up in bright shinies and impossible goals?

It’s B.S. that without dialogue there is no engagement. Frankly, I would argue the opposite. True engagement between brands and consumers is mostly silent, happening in the quietude of interest, attention, information gathering, Continue reading →

The Need To Be Angry

BY GARY JOHNSON
Reprinted from Loose Change (TCBMag.com)

A businessman came up to me the other day to tell me he was an avid reader of my blog. I implored him not to toy with my affections, but he persisted. “No, really, I read your blog every week so that I know what I’m supposed to be pissed about.”

As Goldie Wilson, the future mayor of Hill Valley, exclaimed while sweeping the floors of Lou’s Malt Shop, “I like the sound of that!”

Kind of. Continue reading →

Facebook

BY RICH GALEN
Reprinted from Mullings.com

The investing community is agog at the prospect of the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Facebook on Friday.

If you’re under 103, you probably have a Facebook page. You and about 901 million others. I have a Facebook page. I started it about four years ago when the younger people in the office teased me about being 103 years old.

I opened my Facebook page and immediately started the “friend” chase. I decided that having more friends than people I knew was a good thing so I started trolling for friends. I now have the maximum number of friends an individual can have. 5,000. I actually know about 27 of them. The rest, as I have mentioned before are a combination of “Friends” trollers, people who have seen me on TV but wouldn’t know me at the Safeway, and Ukrainian hookers.

Although, according to CNBC.com, a final decision won’t be made until Thursday evening, analysts expect Facebook shares to cost between $34 and $38 a share which would value its “upcoming offering at as much as $18.5 billion” and the entire company of something in the area of $100 billion. Continue reading →

Evangelists and the Almighty…Dollar

BY GARY JOHNSON
Reprinted from Loose Change (TCBMag.com)

For decades TV evangelists have effectively used Jesus to make millions. Thankfully, many have been busted for the petty criminals they are. I remember watching Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker testify to the Lord while simultaneously fleecing their flocks to support Tammy’s growing collection of expensive shoes and their fun-filled “house of worship,” the Heritage USA amusement park. The Reverend Jimmy Swaggart preached the bennies of salvation while separating little old ladies and Southern dullards from their savings accounts in order to fund a steady stream of prostitutes. “Jimmy likes the girls.”

Televangelist Robert Tilton, my favorite sleaze, dressed to the nines in silk suits and gold bling, and employed a convincing camera spiel imploring sick and vulnerable people to write checks for which he would deliver his healing powers of faith through the phone lines.

These good ol’ boys knew how to use a belief system to sell some shit, didn’t they?! Continue reading →

Letter: One Generation to Another

BY GARY JOHNSON
Reprinted from Loose Change at TCBMag.com

Talking last week with a client about social media, she commented, “Facebook posts really provide me with a lot of thought-provoking information I otherwise would never find myself.” I mostly agree. It’s like having 500 peers on the lookout for interesting perspectives and thoughtful insights from the collective conscious. I have found that Twitter provides very much the same kind of access, though it’s mostly up to me to find it. I rarely find re-tweets of much value. Somehow FB is more substantive. I particularly am a fan of apps like Flipboard that aggregate information.

That said, there are volumes of crap on FB. From privacy-invading ads to schmaltzy Stuart Smalley bromides and games like Dr. Zoo Little to inane updates on trivial daily activities, it’s astonishing how some people burn up their precious time.

Then there are times when a post is important and enlightening.

One such post was of a column in the Washington Post’s Guest Voices section, written by Thomas Day, an Iraq War veteran, Penn State graduate, Catholic, product of Jerry Sandusky’s infamous Second Mile foundation, and a current graduate student at the University of Chicago.

The line in his column that really jolted me was: “I have fully lost faith in the leadership of my parents’ generation.” Given that he was referring to me, I decided to respond. Continue reading →

The Rich are Different

BY JOHN FEEHERY
Reprinted from theFeeheryTheory.com

The rich are different than you and me. And it isn’t only that they have more money. The rich have come under attack recently, so I decided to take a look at who is really, really rich.

What I found was a group of people who have changed our world profoundly. Think of the Walton family, responsible for Walmart. The Mars family, responsible for all of that Halloween candy. Bill Gates and the dearly departed Steve Jobs, who revolutionized how we work, how we interact, how we live. Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook, and the Google guys are at the top too.

There is Warren Buffett, a role-model for all the savvy investors. And at both ends of the political spectrum, you have controversial figures like George Soros and the Koch brothers who made their money because they worked hard and were smarter than their competitors.

These folks have collectively revolutionized modern society. They had vision, creativity, persistence, and an innate toughness to get where they got.

So why should we begrudge them their wealth? Why should we talk them down and try to take their hard-earned money away from them? Continue reading →