Mike's blog

Yesterday Google replaced its logo with an interactive Google-fied version of Pac-Man to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the game.

And the web went wild.

It trended on Twitter. It was in the news. In the news for goodness sakes.

I’m surprised about how many articles tout the supremacy of social media while ignoring the importance of email.  I get it.  Email isn’t sexy. 

Last week I went to San Francisco for a conference, and I left a few days early to enjoy some California weather, food, and wine.  I spent my first day in Los Gatos and, as luck would have it, I had time to watch the Cat’s Hill Classic.  This is an exciting cycling criterium that repeatedly takes racers up a 23% grade climb in its mile-long neighborhood loop. Tough road. Tough climb. Tougher cyclists.

I promised myself when I got home tonight, I was going to work on some coding and a presentation I have due tomorrow… and then I saw this sign. Yes, I pulled over and took a picture of it, just so you'd believe me.

The recent announcement by Facebook can be likened to electricity in the late 1800s, and Mark Zuckerberg is Thomas Edison.  Unfortunately, Edison was a loser when it came to electricity.

I couldn’t believe it. I think Pete Cashmore of Mashable (a website I enjoy) took a massive payoff of Farmville cash to write a Facebook puff piece.

I’m sorry Pete, but I’m not buying it. In fact, your first paragraph was so weak I couldn’t believe my eyes:

The recent volcano eruption in Iceland and its subsequent ash-spewing raises a pretty good question concerning social networking. The scale of this crisis was huge -- $1.7 billion in lost revenues; 1.2 million passengers affected… EVERY DAY; 100,000 flights canceled (source portfolio.com). As usual, I have to ask the question (if even just to myself):

What Is My Point? (beware of circular logic)

The Story

A few years ago I was driving along the Appalachians in North Carolina and pulled off at a rest stop.  There was a group of old, retired Marines giving out free coffee to weary travelers.  OK, it wasn’t a precondition that you be weary… it was just free coffee.  So I grabbed a cup, made some small talk, left a donation in their jar, and went on my way.

Is social networking really the new king? Will immersing yourself in the social web cure you of your marketing and communications ills?