Welcome, Mr. President January 20, 2009

Today, we ushered in a new president.  Unfortunately, I had to work and missed the Inauguration, but I fully intend to watch the hours of replay footage tonight on any news channel I can manage to find.  I am excited about the future, hopeful for our nation and encouraged by the fact that we elected our first black president. 

 

I spent the election season listening to opponents of Obama prattle on about how he only won because of his masterful PR, his ability to push his message through social media challenges.  His appearances on the covers of several national celebrity magazines added even more fuel to that fire.  It doesn’t hurt that he has a beautiful, classy wife and adorable children by his side.  To all of you who are of this opinion, I challenge you to give him a chance.  Give him time to undo 8 years of poor decisions.  And don’t knock the man for using social media.  That move was brilliant.

 

Yes, I’m tired of receiving all of the emails that I signed up for by attending an Obama rally.  I rarely read them anymore, but I’m sure there are people who do.  Requiring people to register their contact info on his site ensured that Obama had a chance to reach out to everyone who expressed interest in his campaign.  Besides, he can email me any day.  That’s a small price to pay for the opportunity to listen to the future president of the United States . 

 

For those who thought these tactics were a campaign strategy, only to be neglected as soon as he was declared a winner—think again.  He has already debuted a spankin’ new Web site, as well as a blog.  Obama represents change, a message that he preached all through his election campaign.  These updates to a stuffy, traditional government site may seem flashy, contrived or spun, and to some, they may seem like a waste of time.  Trust me, they’re not.  Obama is a figure that younger generations can relate to because of actions like these.  He’s gotten previously uninterested voters involved because it actually feels like someone is listening and responding with something in which they can identify.  These moves don’t indicate celebrity status or a slick PR mastermind; they represent the leadership of the future.  A future that I can’t wait to see.   

My Water is Better Than Your Water January 14, 2009

I stumbled upon the most mind-blowing website this morning.  I don’t even remember how I found it, but as I explore it I find myself wavering between pure awe of the marketers who actually make it sound good and amazement that there are people out there who actually buy this stuff.

What is it that has me in such a state?  Bottled water.  That’s right, boring ol’ bottled water.  Or so I thought…

Do you bling?

Take a look at the Bottled Water of the World website.  I never knew such a market existed.  Don’t get me wrong; my tap water grosses me out, but I slapped a Brita filter on the tap and called it a day.  Easy, quick, cheap.  Little did I know I could have replaced my mediocre tap water with an assortment of gourmet water!

Some of my favorites from the site include Bling, a US bottled water with, no joke, Swarovski crystals on the bottle; 420, a New Zealand brand “that’s easy on the eye, feels good in the hand and perfectly fits the clientele of elite hotels, bars, restaurants and cafes”; and Penguin Ice, a Canadian water “for the well-dressed table.”

Once you’ve picked your water of choice, don’t forget your water etiquette!  There are food pairing rules, which incorporate bottled water and food only, bottled water and wine and water temperature.  When you’ve got those down, it’s time to move on to stemware.  A little excerpt:

“The sorry state of the “glass culture” surrounding bottled water is a sure sign that the best of the bottled water trend is yet to come. Many fine restaurants overlook the emerging trend and fail to provide proper water glasses water, it quickly becomes clear, is usually an afterthought. I don’t mind paying eight dollars for a bottle of water, but I want it served in an appropriate glass. Instead, I’ve been served water in all possible vessels, from a heavy whiskey tumbler to a long highball glass and the dreaded lemonade glass.”

After you’ve chosen your stemware, you will be prepared for a water tasting!

In all seriousness, this is ridiculous.  I just can’t believe that there are water connoisseurs out there who actually convince people that they need to drink this.  Water is water is water.  You can hype all of the nutrients, vitamins, bling that you want to make it sell, but nobody will ever convince me that their product outshines the free, Brita-filtered goodness that flows from my tap.  I can throw a few ice cubes in there, squeeze some lemon or lime juice and have a grand time.  If I feel like getting crazy, I’ll switch to Safeway’s Club Soda for $ .99.  In this economy, are people really going to spend money on water in order to project a certain image??

Free speech or defamation? January 8, 2009

The Internet has become the go-to place when we want to share our opinions.  And why not?  There are so many tools that we can utilize to broadcast ourselves to the world.  Write a blog entry, then post a tweet on Twitter discussing it.  You can link your Twitter updates to Facebook, and voila—it’s out there for the taking.  We’ve all used the power of social media to rant and rave about something or someone; but when does that cross the line between free speech and defamation?

 

Case in point:  San Franciscan chiropractor, Steven Biegel, is suing a former patient for comments made on Yelp that he considers inappropriate.  Yelp is a place for people to post reviews of anything in their area.  There are many sites that mirror this philosophy, including Angie’s List, Epinions.com and TripAdvisor.  If you take a look at any of these sites, you will see positive and negative reviews of businesses, products, contractors and more.  In this particular case, a patient had a billing conflict with said chiropractor.  The original Yelp post has been taken down, but the gist of it can be seen here.

 

I’ve reviewed the comments that were made on the site.  If you ask me, this is classified as free speech.  The implications of a ruling against Christopher Norberg, the defendant, are scary.  As consumers, we should have a right to voice our opinions of the products or services we receive.  I understand that some people are just out looking for a way to find fault with anything, but that’s the beauty of discussion and debate.  If a person’s review is not accurate, then hopefully, it will shine through in reviews by other customers. 

 

I think the most interesting point in this case is that the number of people recommending the chiropractor did not decline with the original negative post, but they did when the chiropractor filed a lawsuit.  I think that says something about our society.  Support for a bully who wants to shut down free speech is probably not very strong, especially when there are so many other ways to combat negative perception.  Companies are using blogs more often to shape public opinion.  Others participate in Twitter and Facebook with the intention of communicating with their customer base.  Any business (or person, for that matter) can use the Internet to sway attitudes.  Businesses should be watching these social media outlets to see what others are saying and responding in kind.  Issuing an order to remove a negative opinion, then filing a lawsuit even after the blogger complies with your original request is ludicrous.  It will be even worse if this guy is found guilty.  Dr. Biegel, you put your business up on Yelp as a featured advertiser.  You have to be ready for what customers will fling at you.  Like the old (clichéd) saying goes, if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.