Before my critique of just a few things, I want to emphasize that I am a huge fan of their efforts and their continued use on online media to reach out to massive amounts of people. I applaud them. A few quick thoughts on the presentation:

• Obama continues to be on screen, talking directly to the people who elected him. Here was his opening clip to the Gov. Kaine video. A little fluffy, but at least he’s trying.
• I loved going to the webpage where the video was posted on BarackObama.com and reading: “Share Your Story About the Economic Crisis.” Not because it’s cheesy. Because it’s an inherently interactive, web 2.0 thing to say and it’s coming from our government. Because the administration is trying. Because it’s a hell of a long way from where we were in politics just a year ago.
• Over 30,000 questions were submitted from folks all over the country.
• I’m not much a fan of the elementary type graphics with yellow legal paper and large typewriter font–we’re not children and it could have looked a little cleaner and less cheesy.
• I do think it was a lot of “guy talking into camera.” They could have easily accepted questions on video or sent out volunteers to gather videos to liven it up and add more of a human touch.

Also, here were the KEY POINTS they hammered home on the economic recovery plan and the ones that actually stuck with me:

• The economic plan will provide unemployment insurance enhancements to people who lost their job and are in desperate need of help, as well as provide health insurance. Specifically in answer to a question from an Oakland woman, Gov. Kaine explained that it will provide an additional $100 a month in unemployment insurance benefits to almost 2.4 million Californians, and additional extension of current benefits to 506,000 laid off workers in California.
• The plan includes a $1,000 tax break for 95% of working families and an “American Opportunity” tax credit to help families pay for college.
• The plan is supposed to create or save 3 million jobs by investing in improving our schools, buidlings and roads.
• THE COOLEST part about all of this from a STET perspective is this announcement about another interactive web space called www.recovery.gov. It’s another follow through on Obama’s part about increasing transparency on Capitol Hill: “In fact, the best  transparency and accountability is that which you, the American public can give. The plan details and how the money is being spent will be posted on a website—www.recovery.gov—that will go live as soon as the Senate passed this bill.”

Pres. Obama and Gov. Kaine are encouraging people to learn about, understand, debate and, hopefully, advocate the recovery plan. “We have to have people in neighborhoods and communities who go to bat for this plan,” Gov. Kaine says.

I say, good effort. Now, go get the plan passed.

BONUS NOTE & SHAMELESS BRASS PLUG: For a more pointed and direct take on this economic downturn, check out this editorial by my former boss (and current friend), Bryan Sims—25-year-old CEO of brass|MEDIA–and what he had to say about how the economic crisis will affect young adults in particular. This just ran in the latest issue of brass|MAGAZINE (an interactive, young adult money magazine).

P.S. The new brass website is sweet!

Opening Scene: Woman in park despairs that she’s moved to NYC, just lost her job,  and is now stuck with “becoming a nobody.” This is especially disheartening when you hear that she moved to the city to be somebody–”to make a name for herself.” Turns out, she’ll just have to go back home, work in the shoe factory, marry the first guy who asks, and that’ll be the end of it, she says.

Enter Good Looking, Nice Guy: An incredibly young Jack Lemmon (one half of Grumpy Old Men duo)  in his first film debut (think George-Clooney handsome with the same feisty and funny way), is a young documentary filmmaker who listens and provides encouragement. You’ll get where you’re going if you want it bad enough, he says.

The Marketing Stunt: As he walks away, the distraught Gladys Glover gazes up at a giant billboard that says “for rent.” Gladys imagines her name on the board, and then decides, well, why not? So she takes her life savings of $1,000 and has her name put on the billboard and quickly becomes obsessed with it. “GLADYS GLOVER” the sign shouts. As the lovely, funny, quick-paced version of what a romantic comedy SHOULD be unravels, Jack Lemmon’s character vents his frustration with her insatiable desire for fame for fame’s sake. His warning–it’s better to be respected on one block than known for nothing all around the world–falls on deaf ears. There are a few great scenes of business meetings where the suits with cigarettes underestimate the success-hungry girl that date the film quite a bit with their comical chauvinism.

Columbia Circle - It Should Happen to You

Careful-What-You-Wish-For Moment: When her clever marketing plan pays off, we see the young and hungry Gladys finds fame to be a cheap replacement for real life. Big-time CEO Peter Lawford tries to take advantage of our girl just as Gladys reaches her breaking point saying, there’s two kinds of people in this world: people who do anything to make a name for themselves, and people who do almost anything. She, inevitably, decides on the latter. In what is an endearing denouement, the budding filmmaker Lemmon creates a documentary just for Gladys proclaiming he’s in love with her, but that it’s too little, too late. You’ll have to watch the film for the conclusion (not hard to guess), but the entire flick is great.

My Point: It’s cool to see a movie from 1954 (the year my mom was born!) still resonate so much: a story about two young people living in small apartments  trying to make a name for themselves and not lose themselves in the process. It’s got one incredibly clever marketing stunt, so simple-minded that today we consider similar efforts chic and brilliant. But really, the reason I’m posting this is that I’ve just had the most entertaining Saturday morning in a while. It beat catching up on Top Chef (go team Europe!). (Steve slept through the whole thing in preparation for the Super Bowl later, which leads me to believe that this is the perfect movie for those, who like me, were looking for an alternative to the butt-slapping NFL mania.)

Closing Scene: This bit of dialogue  (watch the actual clip here) takes place one evening in a bar and pretty much sums it all up…

Gladys: “Three days more and I’m nobody again.”

Pete Shepherd (Jack Lemmon): “Yeah, well, I’ll show you how to enjoy that.”

Gladys: “If I only had the money…”

Pete Shepherd: “It isn’t a question of money, believe me, kid.”

Gladys: “…I could have been on the covers of matchboxes, pencils, anything you can think of…”

Epilogue: It’s a nice reminder, as we’re fiendishly seeking out just what we KNOW we want, not to ignore what we find along the way that might be even better.

The End.

Closing shot for "It Should Happen To You"

Over the last two weeks random shop windows have continued to catch my eye with strategically placed costumes from the SF Ballet in promotion of the open of their season. It’s cool rogue marketing and I applaud the team behind it. It’s discreet yet flamboyant, just like ballet. I thought this was a really sweet way to tap into their market–the displays were in the high-end shops that surround my office building where, undoubtedly, the clientle that’s apt to buy season tickets to the ballet pop in for a cashmere wrap, pearl stud earrings, or new leather boots for their generally well-shod feet. It’s a strikingly tasteful and simplistic idea.

Ever since  dressing up in my mom’s Sugar Plum Fairy tutu that she saved from her high school Nutcracker days and my own kiddie dance recitals, I’ve had a soft spot for the balletic arts. Combined with a chic and collaborative promotional effort, the ballet couldn’t look better. This marketing effort was both theatrical and practical.

Here are the sneaky surprise windows that I noticed over the last few weeks…I’ll admit some of the effect of these windows is lost when taken out of the context of the surrounding jeans, trendy trench coats and magenta stilettos in neighboring windows. Perhaps part of the joy came from discovering each unexpectedly. And yes, I’m aware this makes me a nerdy, girly, ballet fan. I’m okay with it. At least I know a good marketing campaign when I see one. On with the show…

Brooks Brothers’ window:

SF Ballet - Brooks Brothers

SF Ballet - Brooks Brothers

“Giorgio Armani salutes San Francisco Ballet”:

Giorgio Armani

Shreve’s donates (I’m assuming donates, but not sure) its Mikimoto displays:

SF Ballet - Shreve

SF Ballet - Shreve

Ralph Lauren’s windows feature SF Ballet “Russian Treasures” (caught this one at night on the way home):

Ralph Lauren - "Russian Treasures"

Ralph Lauren - "Russian Treasures"

But hold the applause, because there’s even more–SF Ballet’s got a blog, and Facebook page, and YouTube account. Someone at the SF company knows what they’re doing with social media and strategic marketing. For the skeptics out there, here’s a quick clip to catch your eye if you’re not close enough to Union Square to catch a window display:

Turns out upon further research, Portland’s Street Roots is a maverick (forgive the word choice) in the field of street papers–check out this article from Utne magazine. Now working again in a big city and living in Berkeley, I’ve come across two different street papers: Street Sheet and Street Spirit. In the Utne article, the vice chair of the North American Street Newspaper Association (NASNA) pointed out that being known as “homeless papers” isn’t exactly the most effective marketing technique. NASNA works to provide these papers with networking and tech assistance. Also mentioned is the International Network of Street Papers (INSP) that joined forces with NASNA creating the Street News Service so papers can “swap the sort of content that can bring attention to issues facing the economically vulnerable around the globe.”

Three nights ago I was  at the gas station and a man named Rick rolled up in a wheelchair to talk with me. I’ve never met him before but we talked for a few minutes about why the paper (in this case, Street Spirit) hadn’t put out a new edition for a while because the guy that runs it got sick. We talked about how it was a shame that the paper was so dependent on one person.  I didn’t have cash, but Rick insisted I take a paper with me. I couldn’t bring myself to take it for nothing, but I asked Rick where he normally sold his papers and that I’d look for him. The next day on a bike ride, I stopped next to the curb and I saw Rick. Luckily, I happened to have a dollar bill and I was able to give Rick a dollar. He didn’t have any papers but I figured I’d see him again.

I’m a big fan of street papers. Maybe it’s because I went to journalism school and have a soft spot for rogue rags. Or maybe it’s because I think creating economic opportunities for our poorest communities while also drawing attention to homeless issues through citizen journalism is just plain awesome.

Well, I’ve been absent from STET for almost one month to the day–and these thirty days have held three job interviews, one amazing town-hall meeting volunteering for Barack Obama, one incredible shout out from Sen. Obama himself, one quick plane trip to SF to meet my new employer in a lovely office in downtown SF, a tearful and hard-to-say goodbye to brass|MEDIA and all the folks there, 12 boxes I begrudgingly carried into FEDEX hoping not to look too pathetic and weak, a week of sleeping on a floor with no furniture, a million trips to Goodwill drop-off (I finally got the grumpy guy at drop-off to wave and smile at me) and one loooooooooong 9-hour drive with a COMPLETELY stuffed car, a bike on the roof, one new amazing CD mix from Kaz, and one cat. Word to the wise: Do not iPhone while driving at high speeds with a grouchy cat and 5 hours of sleep.

Here’s the shout out from the man himself at the town-hall rally in Albany, Oregon where Sen. Obama thanked Amy and I for our organizing efforts locally. (Listen for him to drop the “Higginbotham” name…apparently my journalism-school buddy turned-news-producer was sitting in his production room listening to the audio from the rally and almost fell out of his chair when he heard the quick shout out…thanks to him for the video clip.) It’s a pretty incredible campaign that can enable you to sign up online, organize with other supporters, train you in multiple capacities and provide a personal thank you. Awesome.

Amy is an incredible woman, mom, and advocate. I will miss working with everyone from Corvallis for Obama, including volunteers like Amy, Jeff (in pic below), Barbara, Jan, Gail and John, Quinn, and of course, the campaign staffers (meet Eric and Sam).

Now, time to find how to get involved here, not to mention find an IKEA–or better yet, find some IKEA on craigslist or freecycle. More on the new job, new city, and new adventures soon…

(July 9th, 2008)

Sara Bareilles – MySpace; Website; Facebook

Heard her on the radio with her hit song, Love Song, but didn’t pay attention until I heard her other songs via a few of my Pandora stations. Rich and witty songwriter. Seriously keeps it real. Not only do I love this song, but I love this live version best.

After reviving the “Sunday Email” group with my seven best friends from high school and noticing as the emails pour in that many of us are jumping into or already swimming in big life changes, I am dedicating this one to them. You guys seriously rock, on top of being my rock (a busomy comfortable virtual rock, but a steadfast fixture nevertheless). You have always given me the confidence to continue dancing my way into the life I most want–either with words of encouragement, a perfectly timed tequila shot, or by your inspiring example. (BY THE WAY, the pics I just linked to are from 2004. We seriously need to do that reunion in June.) Here’s to you friends.

NOTE: Please listen and smile. Then hit repeat and take a moment to dance foolishly and sing like the incredibly sexy diva you are. (Yeah that’s right Clarkie. I’m talking to you.)

“Vegas”

Gonna sell my car and go to Vegas
‘Cause somebody told me
That’s where dreams would be
Gonna sell my car and go to Vegas
Finally see my name upon the Palace marquis

Gonna quit my job and move to New York
‘Cause somebody told me that’s where
Dreamers should go
Gonna quit my job and move to New York
And tattoo my body with every Broadway show.

Listen up now honey, you’re gonna be sorry
Can’t get out from under a sky that is falling
And you say
No fame, no money, I’m nobody
The way I’m running has sure got me down
On my knees.
But next stop, Vegas please.

Gonna sell my house and cross the border
‘Cause somebody told me dreams live in Mexico
Gonna sell my house, I got to lose ten pounds
And cross the border
And make sweet love upon the white sandy shore.

Listen up now honey, you’re gonna be sorry
Can’t get out from under a sky that is falling
And you say
No fame, no money, I’m nobody
The way I’m running has sure got me down
On my knees.
But next stop, Vegas please.

It’s always just around the corner or you’re
On your way to somewhere
That is bigger and better…
If you could only get there
It’s never your fault you can’t start your
Own winning streak
But I’d hate to lose you to the fortune you seek

I’m gonna lose my mind and sail the ocean.
‘Cause somebody told me there were
Cherry blue skies
I’m gonna fix my mind with a final destination
And have a deep sleep upon a sweet dream
I’ll never realize…no

Listen up now honey, you’re gonna be sorry
Can’t get out from under a sky that is falling
And you say
No fame, no money, I’m nobody
The way I’m running has sure got me down
On my knees.
Next stop, Vegas please.
Can you take me to Vegas?

Also be sure to check out Many the Miles and Gravity.

****

Sarah Says:
April 30th, 2008 at 7:27 pm

Hi new Twitter buddy! Here’s another use for your Twitter account…it just led me to your blog! And yes, I have shared many jokes with friends about how lame Twitter lingo is. Overheard in the office: “Why won’t this fit in my Twitter?!!” Hilarious. (Actually, the jokes are only with my friends/coworkers who are social media nerds–my actual friends outside the media industry haven’t bought into Twitter yet, noting that they can just use FB status updates).

Seriously though, good post. Twitter noise is something I wrestle with every time I open up my TwitBin (notice the use of Twitter lingo). My thoughts? Unlike other services meant to help you find the most relevant and most pertinent bits of info, I have found the best tidbits via Twitter to be random. As long as you build a community on Twitter of people engaged in activities that interest you, the discussion should be relevant. I never worry about back tracking (okay, occasionally I’ll go crazy and back track to see if some well-known Twitter/blogger extraordinaire (Paul Bradshaw, Anastasia of YPulse, etc.) or if a friend or coworker has replied to me, but MOST of the time, I count my losses. I don’t RELY on Twitter for info. I count on it to sporadically enhance the information I get with links I might not have found and info I might not have gotten otherwise. And I have to note, there is an element of community–a feel-good feeling (redundant, I know)–that comes with Twitter. It’s there if I need to vent. It’s there if I get stuck with a problem and I need to ask for help, and it’s there to provide me with the random treasures of info when I’m sick of all my highly-focused and targeted vehicles.

Of course, all of that is not to say one couldn’t set up a Twitter for a specific community of people with the goal of keeping it relevant–a group of coworkers for example, who use it as a project management tool; or a business/organizational entity who might, as you said, see fit to hitting the sweet spots for their audiences.

Glad to have you join my subconscious stream of randomness that is my Twitter feed.

***

That’s the story and I’m sticking to it. If you’re interested in Twitter, you can find my feed here. Love to have you join the fun.

Goodnight. Tweet tight.

Ha.

PeaceKeeper Cause-Metics. (I love punny names. Just love ‘em.) There are plenty of companies out there that claim to be good for you and the world, but this lip gloss (and other assorted cosmetics) seriously puts it’s money where it’s pretty mouth is.

Spotted in a feature in BeE Woman magazine, this cosmetics company is incredible. (Teen Vogue, O The Oprah Magazine, Elle, Cosmo Girl, Bazaar, and more have also taken note.) When founder Jody Weiss saw a disturbing image in Time about FMG (female genital mutilation), the sports agent decided to focus her energies on pressing humanitarian issues.

She’s built a company she calls “enterprise philanthropy.” More challenging than the usual formula? Yep. More rewarding? Definitely. Slavery-free, fair wage, animal loving, ethical makeup never looked so good. Especially not when she’s giving ALL of its after-tax distributable profits to support women’s health advocacy and urgent human rights issues–over $55,000 so far. In their words:

“PeaceKeeper builds a bridge between extraordinary women in the land-of-plenty with extraordinary women who just by chance of birth don’t have our resources or opportunities.”

My favorite is probably the Eternal Equity Gloss with a dollar of every purchase going to women and girls who live on less than a dollar a day. Proceeds from the sale of the UNIFEM Gloss go to the United Nations Development Fund for Women to help end violence against women around the world. In a company blog post this past January, they shared UNIFEM’s latest campaign and this video from Nicole Kidman.

Visit the online Kiss Museum for their Kiss Campaign, featuring both celebrities and activists as well as everyday folk. It’s a whole lot of UGC (user-generated content) love: submit your kiss on paper (literally) and who you’re sending it to, donate a $1.00, and perhaps win a prize. Form below.

Pucker up.

I paused on this program a few nights ago as I watched Olivia Newton John’s daughter (her mom was the woman who played Sandy in Grease and sang Let’s Get Physical) get reamed by some judges. I wasn’t impressed and headed back to the travel network to watch that bald guy eat something weird in Guatemala (Top Model wasn’t on).

Here’s the thing that had my jaw dropping. I went to high school with Crosby Loggins–son of Kenny Loggins (think Footloose and the Top Gun soundtrack). We didn’t know each other directly–different circles, he was older–but he dated a closer acquaintance of mine for a long time, and was good friends with a number of my artsy, musically inclined, folk-singer type friends (all incredibly talented people who I now know, thanks to Facebook, are currently singing opera, attending Juilliard, teaching music, etc.). I do remember him playing his guitar at school outside on the lawn. His younger brother played volleyball like me and his dad was at a lot of games. I wasn’t native Santa Barbara and the star-sightings always got me excited…my friends would tell me that, no, I couldn’t go ask him to sing Danger Zone. That would have been uncool.

I “friended” Crosby’s music page on MySpace a few years ago–his band is very good. Anyway, thought I’d share my weird, hey-I-sorta-know-that-guy moment. That’s Santa Barbara. One minute you’re sitting next to a famous person’s kid at Santa Barbara High, the next, he’s famous himself. Much to his credit, and as he attests to in the video below, he never tried to rest on his dad’s laurels. And personally I think doing the MTV show, and managing very well at not looking as ridiculous as some of the other contestants do, is a very clever way to get some serious exposure.

Seriously though. Very cool guy. Very talented musician.

1. Here’s a campaign I’m loving, run by a great NGO in Palo Alto, The Alliance for Climate Change (thanks Al Gore for getting this going). Great social marketing and beautiful synergy between the theme of the campaign–”we”–and the combination of politically polar opposite icons liberal lefty Rev. Al Sharpton along with conservative Rev. Pat Robertson in the same TV spot. …

2. And from the same campaign, a less witty, but well-scripted and moving montage piece…

3. And now folks, I have five incredible words dripping in eco-goodness to share with you: The Birdbath, Neighborhood Green Bakery. I found this gem while researching things that cost $2.50 or less in NYC and in the words of Meredith Grey, seriously? I may just quit my job right now to start my own. Did we really need to combine multi-dimensional green, organic, local efforts with delicious baked goods? Absolutely. I’m drooling already just imagining holding my biodegradable cup made of corn that’s filled with one of these mouthwatering (and water efficient, I might add) treats. What’s so bomb-diggity about these NYC bakeries? (STET SIDENOTE: Spell check just notified me that “bomb-diggity” isn’t a word. Eat that Grammar Gods.) Here’s what’s on the menu:

• Walls made of wheat and counter top/displays made of 100% recyclable paper
• Powered by wind
• Paper bags with no wax lining, which of course comes from petroleum (yuck)
• Floors made of reclaimed lumber from Pennsylvania (no going Paul Bunyan on trees and minimal gas in transporting the lumber)
• Stains for the floor are water-based and the paint non-toxic from a green powered factory
• “Vintage” door, ceiling, and lighting (with energy efficient bulbs, of course)
• MY FAVORITE is that their goods are delivered by “bicycle-driven cargo rickshaw” (you’ve got to wait for the photo of these rickshaws on the website’s photo stream)
• Obviously all of the ingredients are organic AND pretty darn near local. You better believe those coffee grounds get composted every night.
• Bike or skateboard to grab your delicious organic cranberry walnut scone? Great. 25% discount.
• THE BEST THOUGH, has got to be the custom linen or hemp jackets, along with the vintage womens’ dresses from the ’50s. (Wait you’re telling me I could work in a sweet eco-friendly building, eat and serve treats all day to skateboarders and wear vintage Chanel? Seriously sweet. Pun definitely intended.)

The Birdbath has a really simple, but aesthetically pleasing one-page website. (They’ll be posting notes about their energy consumption soon.) But I was even more impressed by the website of the mother ship that launched The Birdbath–The City Bakery. The main site is for the L.A. location (pretty normal site), but click on over to The City Bakery in NYC’s website. It’s startlingly not interactive and yet such an experience. With flashing menu items that alone are entertaining enough for even the most amateur of foodies, it’s the soundtrack that gets me. It’s completely “cafe,” complete with cell phone rings, chatter, and whistling kettles. I could go on about their Hot Chocolate Festival (Chili Pepper Hot Chocolate anyone?) or the fact that success of simplicity in the kitchen apparently works just as beautifully in some web design, but I’ll stop here. Seriously go check out the links yourself.

That’s the eco-update from me. I’m about to do a blogging marathon over the next week, so get ready. Much more to come (that is if I don’t get distracted by work; the predicted snow in April!; canvassing, tabling, and paper-free phone banking for Obama; or attempting to start running…yet again.) Go now. Be green. And dream of organic pop tarts.