It’s Gonna be one of those posts…..
As many of you know, I’ve been involved in local politics seriously since 2014. I became a local democratic zone leader in 2022. It’s been a big job, but it’s largely akin to running the PTO, but with more far-ranging consequences. You’ve got planning for events, wrangling volunteers, and keeping…
Guide to Gift Giving
It’s close to Christmas, and as we finish up our shopping, it’s worth reflecting on the purpose of gifts in the first place. I read an article this am about how millenial parents are frustrated that their Boomer parents are showering their kids with useless stuff that just ends up…
FFS
We’re living in interesting times. The lead candidate for the republican nomination for presidency just wants everyone to give up and anoint him their candidate now, despite finally starting to face the consequences of years of fraud and treating the legal system as a cudgel to use against anyone he…
AI is Going to Change Everything
Working in digital marketing, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and what it can and should be used for is all the rage right now. If you want to understand AI better, the best source is really Chris Penn– who has an excellent set of videos and regularly explains what’s happening in AI…
Podcamp 2023
A small group of us, die hards from Podcamp Philly and Podcamp East, came together this past weekend for Podcamp 2023 in Philadelphia. There were amazing sessions talking about how AI and Chat GPT will pose challenges to those of us who are involved in digital marketing, or looking to…
Glad to Leave Office? I get it.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney is getting into trouble because he spoke his truth, saying he’s looking forward to a time when he’s not mayor. As someone who was a Township Supervisor for 6 years, I understand this sentiment perhaps as much as anyone. Being a local elected official may look…
Almost 80 Best Movies of the 80’s
Rolling Stone just put out a post of the 100 best movies of the 1980’s- and there are a lot of obscure movies that as a teenager/college student during the 80’s I never heard of. As a child of divorced parents, I spent a ridiculous amount of time at the…
Losing but not Lost
I lost my bid for re-election as a Township Supervisor. Elections are like the world’s longest job interview. I knocked 946 doors, speaking with friends and neighbors; sending mail out to people about what I stood for, and what I believed. I chose not to attack my opponent, even though…
Running for Office
I am a local Township Supervisor in Pennsylvania, running for re-election this year. Supervisor is a part-time position, and comes with a statutory stipend of $2,500.00 a year. that equates to about $5.20 or less an hour of meeting time, and other work we put in to help guide the…
Dementia
My mother-in-law has dementia. She had been pretty good at hiding her slow cognitive decline for a long time, but gradually, not even those of us who would have preferred to be in denial could avoid the truth. We needed to move Nancy out of her home and into a…
140 Seconds
The other night, I attended a presentation with a group of friends. I wasn't sure what to expect, but a friend had recommended we go see this person present, so I was game for it. However, shortly into the presentation, the speaker's story began to drone. She...
Shifting Frames of Reference
My friend, Chris Brogan, has a couple of interesting blog posts discussing Selling and Buying that caught my attention today. They resonated particularly because I think we understand any social or financial transaction better if we understand the person standing on...
When to Believe the Hype- The Hop Movie
Every once in a while, I participate in a blogger outreach promotion. Usually, it's got to be something of interest to me or something I think you might be interested in, and something that seems authentic. So when an offer came my way through Social Moms to preview a...
Trying to Understand Standards
A couple of times a day, I spend a few minutes catching up on the news. Today, two articles appeared that may seem totally unrelated, but bring up larger questions. The first is one from Salon.Com, discussing Journalistic Irony- In a nutshell, it discusses how the...
Nickel and Dimed to Death
Or- The Doctrine of Unintended Consequences The World seems to be in chaos on both global and local scales. Food and fuel prices are going up. Banks are raising ATM fees. Baggage fees are going up on airlines, meaning folks will cram more and more into those overheads...
Enchantment
I've been reading Guy Kawasaki's Enchantment for the past few days. Reading it in iBooks gives me the chance to highlight my favorite sections to remember, and there have been many so far. As with all of Guy's books, it's a good read, and helps flesh out viewpoints I...
Incoming! How to Avoid Accidentally Damaging Your Relationships
The Subtitle of this post should be "How to make sure your brain's natural story-telling and defense mechanisms don't screw up your relationships." I've been feeling incredibly overloaded this past week, and have been carrying around this weird sense of impending...
On the Eve of Another iPad
In a few short days, the next version of Apple's iPad will hit the shelves. We own two of the original versions, and one son has asked for the new one as his sole birthday present, so i know at least one version of the iPad 2 will be joining the family. I use my iPad...
Understanding “We Won’t Defend the Law”
NPR had a great "Talk of the Nation" show today, discussing the uncertain future of the Defense of Marriage Act, and the recent announcement by the Administration that it "won't defend" the law. This is confusing to many people, and has been taken by some to mean the...
Don’t Make All The Decisions For Me
My friend, Chris Brogan, wrote an interesting post about the future of geo-location apps and mobile. Chris is flooded with information every day, and I understand why he wants Yelp to automatically narrow selections to his favorites or preferred categories- it makes...
Whitney Hoffman
Hi There! I’m Whitney Hoffman. I currently work for Mingl Marketing and Comfort Media Group in Philadelphia, PA
