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Mitch Joel posted a thoughtful blog this week about the role of conversation in social media. You can read it here. I suggest you do. I’ll wait for you right here.  more

Please indulge me as I divert from my usual content stream this week.  But I sense a disturbance in The Force… more

I saw a commercial on TV the other day, and it got me to thinking.  In and of itself, that’s pretty amazing in the age of the information blizzard.  The majority of 30-second spots these days tend to induce a coma, rather than provoking thought or action. more

Back by popular demand (Six people can’t be wrong!) I’ve got a new list for you this week.  Bear in mind that this is not high-brow reading for top social media GuruChampionEvangilisticExperts.  This is the basics.  But I hear routinely from folks I know that they’re intimidated about getting started, or that they’ve joined LinkedIn or Twitter and are getting nothing from it.  So this one’s for y’all!    more

Just a slight departure this week from the world of social media strategy, key messaging and media relations.  And no, it will not involve my least favorite ex-Cavalier…

I’ve had multiple occasions recently (whether through some cosmic force greater than I can comprehend or perhaps just random happenstance) to be reminded of a career change I made about ten years ago.  As I mention from time to time, I was once an attorney.  I was privileged to work for a great firm managed by ethical, generous and capable people.  I was given adequate responsibility, compensated reasonably, presented regularly with good challenges and treated fairly and with respect.  Should be the end of a happy story, right?

But it wasn’t.  In spite of all the traditional variables required to make a job into a career and a career into a calling lining up in what should have been a rewarding fashion, I found myself trudging through the day, each day.  Each new accomplishment or win felt more like a completed task on a household checklist of chores.  Favorable ruling on motion for summary judgment?  Check.  Settlement well below plaintiff’s demand?  Check.  Garbage out on Tuesday?  Check.

I was most certainly challenged, but didn’t feel rewarded (and I don’t mean in terms of compensation).  And this was as a litigator.  There was definitely excitement.  Slowly, I came to the conclusion that, although I liked some of what I did, I didn’t—and wouldn’t ever—love it.

Jump cut to 2010.  On several occasions, I’ve spoken to old friends or relatives who don’t seem to be feeling it in their vocations or jobs.  One was even given the sage advice “Do what you do well, and you will love it.”

I categorically disagree.  Although there may be some overlap, doing something well and loving it aren’t causally related.  I know plenty of athletic people who hate sports.  Some people do their own taxes, and do them well, but I’m guessing many of them have no desire to prepare the taxes of others professionally.  I know plenty of people who go to work to pay the bills, without ever exercising, or even considering, their passions or interests.

When I was considering my new career, I met many wonderful people in the marketing and public relations field.  I also met some absolute idiots.  Such is the world.  But I would always, always marvel when an experienced professional would engage me in dialogue that, inevitably, came off this way:

Experienced PR Guru:     “So you were a lawyer?”

Inexperienced me:     “I was.”

Experienced PR Guru:     “And you want to get into PR?”

Inexperienced me:     “Absolutely.”

Experienced PR Guru:     (Incredulously) “Why?!!”

Inexperienced me:     “I think it’s something I could really love.”

Experienced PR Guru:     “But….you don’t make any money in this…”

…and so on.

Ten years later, I’ve come to prove them wrong.  There is money in ANYTHING one loves to do and does well, with persistence.  It is ok to take the path less understood by others to find and pursue your passion.  Doing what one loves isn’t just a path to better compensation (in some cases), it’s about something bigger.  It adds to one’s quality of life.  It amounts to an employee (or employer) who is more engaged, more excited, more creative…happier.  That’s contagious.  It leads to innovation.  It leads to happier clients, bosses, peers, and so on.

It’s not about doing what you do well.  It’s about doing what you love.  For me, it couldn’t have worked out better.

By now, you know I’m a fan of social media.  I believe it has enormous potential, and is enormously underused in the title and mortgage industry. In fact, I think there are a lot of communications and marketing tools out there that we’re not taking advantage of. But you know what?  In some cases, that’s for the best.  more

Let’s be honest.  The settlement services and even the mortgage industry are what we would politely call “traditional.”  On good days, that means old-fashioned values like loyalty and honesty.  But on the not-so-good days, shall we say it means, ahem, conservative? more

I’d be remiss, as a loyal Clevelander, not to derive some lesson from the mangled PR train-wreck that is the LeBronaclypse.  So please bear with me! more

I recently read a great blog post about social media strategy.  Or, I should say, about the lack thereof.  According to Mr. Bedell’s post, only 51% of businesses surveyed which are using social media for business purposes have a plan for doing so, even though 88% agreed it was, in theory, at least, a worthwhile endeavor.

Wow. more

By now, you’ve figured out I’m a big baseball fan.  I’m not sure why.  I guess its allure has to be bigger than my hometown favorite Cleveland Indians, since it has been at least a decade since they’ve given me much to cheer about, and about 62 years since their last World Series championship…but who’s counting? more