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…
Cultural Currency
Watching my kids navigate the waters of high school, and now watching the first one acclimate to college, I realize how much of our lives trades not only in monetary currency, but how much of it depends on the cultural currency you carry. For kids, we easily lump this...
My 23 and Me Experience
My husband recently decided to order a genetic screening kit from 23 and Me. He's a physician and does a lot of medical research, looking for ways to prevent preterm birth and other illness in women. Since they do more and more genetic screening on patients, he...
Fear of Success and 5 Steps to Help
Everyone talks about the fear of failure, and how to look it in the eye. (See this post by Seth Godin.) Not as many people talk about the equally real fear of success that undermines and self-sabotages just as many. Here are just a few examples of fear of success:...
Those Transitional Moments
Today I sent my first son off to college. Everyone talks about how hard this is. Michael Gerson summed it up well in his recent column in the Washington Post when he said: This was the general drift of my thoughts as my wife and I dropped off my eldest son as a...
Fixing Traditional Retail
Over the course of my lifetime, I've seen traditional retail transform. In Rochester NY, where I grew up, there were several local department stores, started by local businessmen who became legends in the community. Over time, these stores struggled as their...
Seeking Perfection
Seth Godin had an interesting post today talking about delight and mentioning six sigma. It caught my attention, because some folks I know have been taking six sigma classes who work in health care. Health care, and all of the caretakers in the system- doctors,...
Declaring Independence
As it does on every July 4th, NPR does a segment where the Declaration of Independence is read out loud, this year by visitors to the National Mall, of all ages and ethnicities. This year, especially with the current political unrest in Egypt, the Declaration is even...
Looking at Markets and the Pain of Change
I'm intrigued by marketplaces of all sorts- ranging from Farmer's Markets, to Malls, to Online Niche markets. Each has a culture associated with it, a sense of rules and norms, often unspoken. Each also has speculators, spectators and active participants. Whether...
Implications for Business of the Revised Marshmallow Test
Daniel Goleman, an organizational psychologist, just posted an article on LinkedIn about the famous "marshmallow" psychological test given to kids. In a nutshell, the test seems to show that if very young children are able to delay gratification and exercise self...
Dreams
It is so important to keep dreaming. Dreams are about possibilities and motivation. Even if they seem very far out of reach, or only glimmers of possibility, they are glimpses of possibility in the world. As we get older, dreams often seem impractical. After many of...
Whitney Hoffman
Hi There! I’m Whitney Hoffman. I currently work for Mingl Marketing and Comfort Media Group in Philadelphia, PA
