There may well be questions about which social media tools will have long lives and which will die because they are too faddish or because they do not evolve as quickly as they will need if they are to become integral to the future of communications. But one thing is not at issue: the age of social media is here. People are communicating differently, expecting to receive information differently, and given more options to interact with other people (those they know and those they don’t). Read more…

Basic Theme Of Death Of Time

Significant attention has been focused on the decline of marketing communications budgets, and how that will impact the public ad agencies. Read more…

Basic Theme Of Death Of Time

During the past few days, basically taking an extended weekend with Martin Luther King’s Birthday and the Presidential Inauguration, I spent some time thinking about “new media.”  Read more…

Doug's Thoughts On New Media

The New York Times published an editorial yesterday with the title “Undermining Justice.”  Without holding back, The Times rightfully criticized the Bush Administration for forcing career attorneys out of the Department of Justice so that they could be replaced with “real Americans,” who would support a right-wing political agenda.

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Basic Theme Of Death Of Time

A while ago I wrote an article entitled “The Death of the Internet,” in which I argued that when something becomes truly ubiquitous it no longer exists.  I cited transistors as a perfect example:  they were hyped in the 1950s as much as the Internet is now, predicted to be “everywhere” and likely to change lives.  And the predictions came true.  Today, transistors are everywhere and have changed our lives.  They are so “everywhere” that, for all practical purposes, their presence is no longer noticed, and they no longer exist.  I think that is beginning to happen with the Internet.

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Basic Theme Of Death Of Time

It’s hard not to be impressed by President-elect Obama.  The mere fact of his election as the first Black president is impressive by itself.  But it goes well beyond that:  his appearance, his oratorical skills, the quality of his campaign, and his ability to maintain a consistent message are also formidable. Read more…

Basic Theme Of Death Of Time

The priorities and expectations an enterprise articulates to its investors ultimately are translated into the corporate culture.  And the corporate culture drives employee morale, product and service quality, customer relationships, and the company’s place in their community. Read more…

Basic Theme Of Death Of Time

I rarely see a movie more than once.  The truth is, I rarely see a movie once, because a movie doesn’t usually hold my attention and I either fall asleep or move on to something else.  But there is one movie I have seen more times than I can count:  “When We Were Kings,” a documentary directed by Leon Gast, subtitled “The untold story of the Rumble in the Jungle.”   It won the 1996 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.  It’s worth seeing numerous times because of the quality of the production and direction; but mostly it is also worth seeing because of the story.  Read more…

Basic Theme Of Death Of Time

I’ve been involved with several corporate turnaround efforts.  And I’ve learned an important lesson from that experience that President-elect Obama should consider:  you start a turnaround effort from the inside.  That requires a focused and dedicated effort; it shouldn’t be a side issue.  Obama should create a Chief Internal Communications Officer. Read more…

The Economy, Political & Cultural Environment

I’m a capitalist philosophically, an entrepreneur by disposition, and a communicator by experience.  I’m co-founder of a communications firm, Qorvis, which seeks to achieve ongoing success by achieving a very high level of quality in everything we do.  If you are in similar shoes, “new media” has been a major issue of yours for several years with increasing intensity.  Read more…

Doug's Thoughts On New Media