The Missouri Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony last night on a bill that would ban demonstrations at funerals from an hour before to an hour after the service. The bill was introduced after Topeka, Kansas minister Fred Phelps and his followers demonstrated at the funeral of a St. Joseph soldier killed in Iraq. Phelps claims the death of American soldiers in Iraq is God’s vengeance on this nation because it tolerates homosexuals. Some emotional testimony (about 10 minutes into the audio) by the wife of a soldiar who was killed in Iraq. The good reverend and his posse were committed enough to demonstrate at some funerals but didn’t have the balls to show up at the hearing. [via Missourinet.com]
Author Archives: Steve Mays
Is your company ready to blog?
In an interview for the Bacon’s Navigator, Sally Falkow writes that Jonathan Schwartz, President and COO of Sun Microsystems said that blogging had played a major role in the revitalization of Sun’s reputation. Sun has gone from the 99th to the 6th most popular server company, largely because it has embraced authenticity and transparency in its communication initiatives, according to the piece.
Among the benefits of corporate blogging (according to the Falkow piece):
- Increases search engine visibility and thus brand awareness
- Offers a direct communication channel to the public
- Builds credibility and trust
- Allows you to tell your story, uncensored by the media
- Makes your organization more “real” to the public
Is your company ready to blog? Check the culture of your organization:
- Can you let go of the controlled ‘messaging’?
- Are you willing to be authentic and transparent?
- Do you have the resources – writers, time, budget – to create the content for a blog that others will find compelling?
I remember (many years ago) pleading with our CEO to get computers for the newsroom. And lots of heated meetings on why we did (or did not) need to network our computers. The idea of email seemed silly at one time. I remember all of this like it was yesterday. I get the same blank, puzzled looks from some of our top folks when the subject of blogs comes up. What possible value could a corporate blog have?
Can we let go of controlled ‘messaging?’ Not entirely.
Are we willing to be transparent? Up to a point.
Will our company ever have a corporate blog? I expect we will, and it will probably happen like this:
Somebody in senior management will be at a meeting or conference and someone they know and trust will talk about their experience with blogging and ask if we are using this tool. Fortunately, when they return to the Mother Ship, they’ll find a cadre of experienced bloggers ready to help.
Postscript: (24 hours later) Not every company is ready to blog. I happen to think most companies should not attempt this. This only works if everybody (top to bottom) is jumping in with great enthusiasm. If there’s any doubt about whether this is a good thing for your organization… don’t do it.
High speed Internet access
A co-worker recently announced that he could finally get high-speed Internet access (Sprint ADSL) at his appartment. The speed/price package was much better than mine, so I called the Sprint folks. Now, I’m probably jinxing myself with this post but I can’t resist.
I’m currently paying $60 per month for 1.5M download/256k upload. Beginning tomorrow, that goes up to 3M down/??? upload, for the same price (thanks to some kind of rebate). Still not up there with cable speeds but a long way from the 2400 baud dial-ups of yesteryear. I’ll let you know if access seems twice as fast.
Secret Scrooge
A coworker came by my office today, held up a little cup, and told me to draw a name. When I asked why, she explained it was for my Secret Santa. I said I’d be glad to contribute some money but didn’t think I wanted to have a Secret Santa. Too late, she explained.
“I sent an email around yesterday and it clearly said to contact me by 5 p.m. (yesterday) if you didn’t want to take part in Secret Santa.”
Seems the Secret Santa program is opt-out only.
“I got a couple of hundred emails yesterday,” I explaind. “If one of them had ‘Secret Santa’ for the subject line, I probably didn’t open it. Can’t I just give you some money?”
“No. Someone already has your name and if you don’t participate, I’ll have to go back to them and have them pick another name,” she explained.
“Uh, what’s involved in being a Secret Santa?” I asked.
“You buy a small ($5.00 limit) gift for your Secret Santa pal each week for the next four weeks,” she replied.
Right. I gave my wife a check for our 28th wedding anniversary. I won’t be searching the mall for a clever gift for a coworker. I came off sounding like an asshole that didn’t want to join in the holiday fun and my coworker huffed out.
While it’s too late to be Jimmy Stewart, maybe I can offer some alternatives to Secret Santa. You could buy a card for the person in the next cube. Or bring in some fudge to share. Remember, it dosn’t matter if they get you a card or some fudge, it’s the giving that counts. But that’s no fun and there’s no…mystery. So how about this: Secret Scrooge.
The SS is chosen by lot. Nobody knows his or her identity. Early in the morning (before anyone else is at the office) on the last work day before Christmas, the Secret Scrooge leaves a sealed note on the desk of coworker, informing him or her that they have to work Christmas Eve AND Christmas Day. They don’t have to do anything, they just have to be at their desk. And — here’s the fun part– they spend that time trying to guess the identity of the Secret Scrooge. Can we count you in? It’ll be fun.
A Woman from Cairo
Val Landi’s new novel, of A Woman from Cairo, sounds like a page-turner:
“A young Egyptian documentary film maker is recruited by the highest ranks of al Qaeda to create a documentary in Afghanistan about the leadership of the Holy War. The prologue of the book describes the accidental filming of the assassination of The Sheik, a fictionalized Osama bin Laden, and the film maker’s escape with the film footage to Pakistan and eventually back to temporary, fleeting safety in Cairo.”
The novel is in pre-production but there’s a website and the author has a blog.