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…
Idealism
At Educon this past weekend, I had many amazing conversations with educators, people interested in education reform, wild-eyed evangelists and more. But one of the most telling moments was when Gary Stager asked, "When did idealism become a negative adjective? I...
All Your Expensive TV Advertising Does Not Help You When…
the website you are sending people to does not work. This morning, while getting the kids ready fro school, a toothpaste commercial came on the TV, advertising free samples if you just went to their website. This sounded interesting, so I went to the website in...
Enormity of Problems and Digging In
edited and updated on 1/21/10 The earthquake in Haiti makes anyone who has ever dealt with logistics pause and contemplate the enormity of the task ahead. Here's some thoughts about what's going on: *Haiti is on an island. The main port is wrecked, limiting the...
Seth Godin’s Linchpin Review- Part 2
I've spent most of my free moments over the weekend reading and contemplating Seth Godin's new book, Linchpin. I'm about half way through, and it's becoming clear that one of Seth's main themes is that the real way to get ahead is to make an emotional investment in...
First Impressions of Linchpin by Seth Godin
I was one of the lucky early few that signed up by making a donation to the Acumen Fund, to get an advanced copy of Linchpin by Seth Godin. Seth has asked people to read it, think about it and give a thoughtful review. I couldn't wait to tell you about it until I...
Updating Education
I sit on the Technology Committee for our local School District. We are so very lucky to have a set of tech guys who understand that the world is changing rapidly, and their job is not only to keep the computers and tech infrastructure running, but their job is to...
Too Much Information
When is sharing your life online with others crossing over into TMI (Too Much Information) territory? Like it or not, we make judgments about people based on the integral of all we know about them. The baseball player who bets on sports in Vegas is assumed to have...
Searching Walled Gardens…
I'm still getting caught up on podcasts that got the better of me recently, but the one that caught my attention was one of NPR's Planet Money podcast about Microsoft's search engine, Bing, and an effort to make certain media content "exclusive" and free to that...
Listening as a Business Skill
Sometimes when I am talking to a client, I ask questions they make think are irrelevant to the topic at hand. Part of the reason for these question is that for me, I use the information about how a client feels about a project as part of the overall design of what...
How Social Media Works
I heard about Max Brenner, Chocolate by the Bald Man, through Seth Godin. I read about Max in Seth's Meatball Sundae book, and this was reinforced by the blog post/interview with Seth on Hugh McLeod's (@gapingvoid) website. Ever since, I've been intrigued by the...
Whitney Hoffman
Hi There! I’m Whitney Hoffman. I currently work for Mingl Marketing and Comfort Media Group in Philadelphia, PA
