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…
Lend Me Your Brand…
A few years ago, the concept of personal branding became all the rage. In the age of social media, people no longer build their reputations -solely- based on location and between real friends and business associates, but can have a reputation that exists beyond your...
Twitter Retrospective -Rethinking Twitter
I've been on Twitter since October 24, 2006. My "twitter user number" is 10,233, meaning I'm the 10,233rd person to sign up for Twitter. Chris Brogan got me to join (his twitter number is 10,202) when he emailed a bunch of us about it a little over a month after the...
Why The SuperBowl Half Time is the World’s Toughest Gig
The SuperBowl half-time show is the world's toughest gig. It's a huge audience to play to, but because of the size and diversity, it has to meet the following metrics: 1. Visually engaging, both to those in the stadium and to the world-wide TV audience 2. Energy...
Some Thoughts on Branding
This past weekend, I spent some time visiting social spaces where I haven't "hung out" in some time. I poked around to see what I had been missing in groups and forums I used to be a regular participant in, to see what was still worth while, and what I could safely...
Demystifying Search and the Google-Bing Debacle
The most entertaining item to geeks in this morning's news has to be Google's accusation that Microsoft's Bing search engine competitor is hijacking Google search results. (The BBC has a good article about it here). Explaining how search works to most layman can...
Partnership for the Delaware Estuary Science & Environmental Summit
On Monday, January 31,2011, I'll be doing two presentations for the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, discussing social media for scientists and organizations, and producing audio and video content for the web. As part of this presentation, I've prepared this...
What Education Can Learn from eCommerce and Business
There's tons of folks who think education should be run like a business from the financial end. I disagree with this, mainly because education is essentially long term research and development of new citizens, and doesn't have an easily qualifiable Return on...
What’s Off The Table?
Yesterday, I was leaving an event at a local community college. On my way out, two students were also heading out, presumably after class. One was older, clearly a continuing education student, the other younger. I heard the older student say "It sounds good, but...
Having Faith
Faith is often seen as a religious concept, but I see faith being as much about trust and hope. Whenever we create something- a business, a relationship, a child, an object- whatever it is- we are pursuing an act of faith, that what we bring into this world will have...
Experimentation
In order to really make strides, we have to be willing to experiment. We have to be willing to take risks, and we have to be willing to be wrong and fail. I know I had tons of this as a kid, but keeping this sense of willingness to make mistakes, knowing things...
Whitney Hoffman
Hi There! I’m Whitney Hoffman. I currently work for Mingl Marketing and Comfort Media Group in Philadelphia, PA
