Tag Archives: opinion

Bring on the money! Working for free…

Thinkstock Single Image SetOk, so I’ll admit it . . . I wrote this post a while back called “Give it Away . . . For Free!” sharing how free advice will ultimately pay off and bring good karma. And yes, I still stand by everything I wrote. But perhaps I’m seeing business bottom line with more of an ice cold eye than I once did.

On an episode of Kell on Earth, Kelly Cutrone struggles with people constantly asking for free advice, actually taking a cell phone call from the uncle of her daughter’s school friend. He inquired about his own business (whatever it was) and asked what he should be doing. But, Cutrone owns her own business (People’s Revolution) and she has to worry about paying her employees and getting food on the table for her seven year old daughter (oh, and paying for her country house in France…technicality). Constantly dolling out free advice sets her back in her day taking away valuable time from her paying clients. Continue reading

Gosh, no! It’s not about the numbers!

Close-up of a rolled up Indian one hundred rupee banknote on a chessboard with chess piecesI’m talking about Twitter here, people. Your follower count does matter. Admit it – it’s addicting and you want more.

In a recent post by Mack Collier titled “The fast food approach to social media,” he stated:

Getting 5,000 fans on a Facebook fan page is NOT a social media strategy. Getting 200 followers on Twitter is NOT a social media strategy. Facebook and Twitter are tactics used to execute a social media strategy, getting on Facebook and Twitter is not a social media strategy.

Mack worries that a shady agency or consultant will take any willing candidate who just wants a lot of followers and wants them now and that many assume follower and friend counts on Twitter and Facebook are the metrics to determine a successful social media strategy. Continue reading

How dare you denounce the gods!?

Clouds with crespuscular raysA recent tweet by a friend of mine struck me. She said something along the lines of “just because I don’t agree with So-And-So (big name social media guru) doesn’t mean I need to get privately burned via direct message.”

I approached her via DM explaining how every once in a while, I’d like to respectfully disagree with some of these PR and social media professionals we have collectively dubbed “gods.” Respectfully disagree as I would do with anyone else. But why haven’t I? Why can’t I?

Because: I would literally be stoned to death via 140 characters at a time by an overwhelmingly loyal band of lemmings. Yeah, I said it. Continue reading

Cats and dogs? Can PR pros and journalists be friends?

My pretty kitty UniI began my college career as a broadcast journalism major. For some reason, my parents (bless them) thought I was going to be the next Katie Couric . . .

I digress. I had a hardcore journalism professor my sophomore year whom I respect like you wouldn’t believe. She discussed her days as a TV reporter often, and mentioned how many journalists only ever hang out with other journalists. Continue reading