Ways of Making Money

Fundraising is a key component for most social good campaigns and projects. Thanks to the the Internet and the social web, raising money for a non-profit, community project or charitable organization or relief effort is easier than ever before.

The web makes it possible to get your message across and collect money from people all over the world and to include your social graph in the process.

If you have an idea or a cause that you want to bring awareness to and raise funds around, there are lots of great online tools to help get you started. Whether you want to raise money for a local community center or help fundraise as part of a broader social good campaign, these tools make it easy to get the word out and collect the funds you need./> id="more-380180">

1. FirstGiving

The U.S. subsidiary of JustGiving.com, FirstGiving lets users raise money for any non-profit in the GuideStar database.

It’s free to create a basic account, but if you pay $300 you can fully customize your donations page and link them back to your own website. FirstGiving lets you create fundraising around upcoming events, marathons and walk-a-thons too, which is a nice touch. The processing fee for donation is 5% plus another 2% for credit card transactions.

2. Crowdrise

We mentioned Crowdrise in a recent post about alternatives to Facebook Causes and it is a great tool for both charities and general purpose fundraisers.

Once you start a project, you can share your project’s link via Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook, Twitterclass="blippr-nobr">Twitter and e-mail. You can also earn points from the community based on your project and your overall campaign. Crowdrise also has an ongoing series of promotions and sweepstakes that you can add to your project to sweeten the incentive to give.

3. Kickstarter

Kickstarter is most often used by aspiring creatives to fund projects but it can also be used for great effect for local social good community efforts.

Kickstarter is unique in that if your goal amount isn’t reached, none of the money is collected. This “all-or-nothing” approach often leads to Kickstarter campaigns being more active and more involved than a traditional “donate widget.”

A great part of Kickstarter for the social fund creator is the ability to reward donors at certain levels. Much like PBS and NPR offer trinkets if you give a certain amount, Kickstarter lets its project creators do the same thing. You can get really creative with your different donor levels to drive people to give more.

4. WhatGives

WhatGives offers a great widget you can use on Facebook or on your personal webpage to collect donations for your non-profit. WhatGives is nice because aside from integrating well with Facebook, all donations are handled through PayPal.

You need to be a registered non-profit with an approved PayPal account, and all donations are channeled directly into that account. You can customize the platform and embed it as a Facebook app or on your blog or website.

5. Change.org

Change.org lets users create programs to generate actions from others. This can be as simple as signing a petition or writing a letter, or as generous as donating money. For non-profits in the GuideStar database, you can create your own donation pages to collect funds and also draw attention to other action items.

Change.org is very focused on making it easy to virally spread a message, and the site itself also acts as a portal to different organizations and awareness campaigns.

6. Chipin

Chipin is one of the most popular donation widget tools on the web and it’s a great way to collect money for a good cause. We love the Chipin widget because you can see instant progress on donations, and it accepts many forms of payment.

Unlike many of the services on this list, Chipin isn’t just for non-profits or community organizations. You can use it for any project you want.

7. Razoo

Razoo has options for individuals, non-profits, foundations and corporations to raise money for their causes. Individuals can choose to create a fundraising page for any registered non-profit that Razoo recognizes (they have a database of about a million) and non-profits can create custom pages for their organizations and connect with supporters and encourage them to create their own fundraising pages.

What we love about Razoo, in addition to its simple interface and great UI, is that it also offers donation matching for corporations or foundations looking for an easy way to raise money.

8. Convio

Convio offers software for online fundraising and membership, and while its target audience is probably bigger groups or organizations, it’s still worth a look.

For example, Convio’s TeamRaiser lets organizations make it easy for volunteers to create their own websites for tracking and attracting donations.

If you’re organizing a social good fund for a big charity walk or event where volunteers go door-to-door to get donations, check out Convio because it makes managing that process much easier.

9. Facebook Causes

Causes is an increasingly common way for individuals to raise money and start their own funds that are tied to a non-profit. Because Causes is so well-integrated into Facebook, it makes getting the word out and raising awareness and funds for your cause that much simpler.

10. StayClassy

A newer player in the arena of online giving, San Diego’s StayClassy is focused not just on helping non-profits collect donations online, but also manage events and campaigns, track their fundraising results and plug-in.

The world of online fundraising is vast and diverse. What tools have you used when starting your own social good funds? Let us know in the comments.

Brought to you by the class='blippr-nobr'>Mashableclass="blippr-nobr">Mashable & 92Y Social Good Summit

This post was brought to you by the groundbreaking Social Good Summit. On September 20, as global leaders head to New York for United Nations Week — including a historic summit on global issues known as the “Millennium Development Goals” (MDGs) and the annual General Assembly — Mashable, 92nd Street Y and the UN Foundation will bring together leaders from the digital industry, policy and media worlds to focus on how technology and social networks can play a leading role in addressing the world’s most intractable problems.

Date: Monday, September 20, 2010/> Time: 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. ET/> Location: 92nd Street Y, New York City/> Tickets: On sale through Eventbrite

/>

Image courtesy of iStockphotoclass="blippr-nobr">iStockphoto, PinkTag

For more Social Good coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Social Goodclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Social Good channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

Documentary about the residents of the Duplex Nursing Home

Mark Frauenfelder at 3:16 PM Tuesday, Sep 14, 2010

One of my favorite zines in the late 1980s and early 1990s was Duplex Planet. It was founded in 1979 by David Greenberger, the activities director of the Duplex Nursing Home in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. In each issue, David would ask the residents questions and run their answers without editing them. (Greenberg still publishes Duplex Planet!)

Here's a sample question, with answers by residents:

WOULD YOU SPEND A MONTH MAKING A HANDLE FOR A YARD TOOL OR SPEND SEVEN
DOLLARS TO BUY A NEW ONE INSTEAD?

FRANK KANSLASKY: I don't need it, so what the hell do I want to buy it for?


BILL LAGASSE: They ain't reliable if you make 'em yourself.

ANDY LEGRICE: Buy one, it's already made. Why spend three or four weeks on
it when you can buy one?

FRANCIS MCELROY: I'd spend seven dollars to buy a new one, then I'd know I
had it -- when you buy it, you know you got your product.


LEO GERMINO: It depends on if you really need it -- you need that money
for your room rent and for your ways of living. The only people that can
buy them things is the very rich people.

GEORGE STINGEL: I'd buy one, they're already made.

ERNIE BROOKINGS: I'd make it. It could be if I had seven dollars I'd buy
it, but I don't have the seven dollars right now.


FRANK: What's he say, that he'd make it?


DBG: Yes.


FRANK: He's a Yankee, that's why.

JOHN FAY: I wouldn't spend no seven dollars for one. There's all kinds of
tools right here. Eddie Meade's got all kinds of tools here.

CHARLES SHEA: Seven dollars to buy a new one, it's easier.

ABE SURGECOFF: A second one, right? A new one is too much, an old one is
practical. If it's new tools you have to put this and that and linseed oil
on them. If it's old you can keep it long.

ED POINDEXTER: I would buy one, it's cheaper.

Above, part one of a 1993 documentary by Paul Athanas and Jay Rooney about the residents of the the Duplex Nursing Home, called Your Own True Self.

Part 1 |



Part 2 |



Part 3 |



Part 4 |



Part 5 |

Wednesday <b>News</b> « The Confluence

In news related to Michelle raising more money, the GOP seems to be short of it. Gosh, other than 8 years of a failed presidency, and then attacking the popular candidates and their supporters just as the Dems are doing, I can't imagine ...

Phil Pruitt Joins Yahoo! <b>News</b> As Politics Editor

USA Today Deputy Managing Editor/News Phil Pruitt has left the newspaper to join Yahoo! News as its new Politics editor.

Scripting <b>News</b>: What kind of <b>news</b> system...?

And it's not okay that they're making a bid for exclusivity on the role of News System of the Future, and they can't even keep their servers running properly. Either you deliver the benefit of being the sole provider, or sorry (to ...

robert shumake

Wednesday <b>News</b> « The Confluence

In news related to Michelle raising more money, the GOP seems to be short of it. Gosh, other than 8 years of a failed presidency, and then attacking the popular candidates and their supporters just as the Dems are doing, I can't imagine ...

Phil Pruitt Joins Yahoo! <b>News</b> As Politics Editor

USA Today Deputy Managing Editor/News Phil Pruitt has left the newspaper to join Yahoo! News as its new Politics editor.

Scripting <b>News</b>: What kind of <b>news</b> system...?

And it's not okay that they're making a bid for exclusivity on the role of News System of the Future, and they can't even keep their servers running properly. Either you deliver the benefit of being the sole provider, or sorry (to ...

Fundraising is a key component for most social good campaigns and projects. Thanks to the the Internet and the social web, raising money for a non-profit, community project or charitable organization or relief effort is easier than ever before.

The web makes it possible to get your message across and collect money from people all over the world and to include your social graph in the process.

If you have an idea or a cause that you want to bring awareness to and raise funds around, there are lots of great online tools to help get you started. Whether you want to raise money for a local community center or help fundraise as part of a broader social good campaign, these tools make it easy to get the word out and collect the funds you need./> id="more-380180">

1. FirstGiving

The U.S. subsidiary of JustGiving.com, FirstGiving lets users raise money for any non-profit in the GuideStar database.

It’s free to create a basic account, but if you pay $300 you can fully customize your donations page and link them back to your own website. FirstGiving lets you create fundraising around upcoming events, marathons and walk-a-thons too, which is a nice touch. The processing fee for donation is 5% plus another 2% for credit card transactions.

2. Crowdrise

We mentioned Crowdrise in a recent post about alternatives to Facebook Causes and it is a great tool for both charities and general purpose fundraisers.

Once you start a project, you can share your project’s link via Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook, Twitterclass="blippr-nobr">Twitter and e-mail. You can also earn points from the community based on your project and your overall campaign. Crowdrise also has an ongoing series of promotions and sweepstakes that you can add to your project to sweeten the incentive to give.

3. Kickstarter

Kickstarter is most often used by aspiring creatives to fund projects but it can also be used for great effect for local social good community efforts.

Kickstarter is unique in that if your goal amount isn’t reached, none of the money is collected. This “all-or-nothing” approach often leads to Kickstarter campaigns being more active and more involved than a traditional “donate widget.”

A great part of Kickstarter for the social fund creator is the ability to reward donors at certain levels. Much like PBS and NPR offer trinkets if you give a certain amount, Kickstarter lets its project creators do the same thing. You can get really creative with your different donor levels to drive people to give more.

4. WhatGives

WhatGives offers a great widget you can use on Facebook or on your personal webpage to collect donations for your non-profit. WhatGives is nice because aside from integrating well with Facebook, all donations are handled through PayPal.

You need to be a registered non-profit with an approved PayPal account, and all donations are channeled directly into that account. You can customize the platform and embed it as a Facebook app or on your blog or website.

5. Change.org

Change.org lets users create programs to generate actions from others. This can be as simple as signing a petition or writing a letter, or as generous as donating money. For non-profits in the GuideStar database, you can create your own donation pages to collect funds and also draw attention to other action items.

Change.org is very focused on making it easy to virally spread a message, and the site itself also acts as a portal to different organizations and awareness campaigns.

6. Chipin

Chipin is one of the most popular donation widget tools on the web and it’s a great way to collect money for a good cause. We love the Chipin widget because you can see instant progress on donations, and it accepts many forms of payment.

Unlike many of the services on this list, Chipin isn’t just for non-profits or community organizations. You can use it for any project you want.

7. Razoo

Razoo has options for individuals, non-profits, foundations and corporations to raise money for their causes. Individuals can choose to create a fundraising page for any registered non-profit that Razoo recognizes (they have a database of about a million) and non-profits can create custom pages for their organizations and connect with supporters and encourage them to create their own fundraising pages.

What we love about Razoo, in addition to its simple interface and great UI, is that it also offers donation matching for corporations or foundations looking for an easy way to raise money.

8. Convio

Convio offers software for online fundraising and membership, and while its target audience is probably bigger groups or organizations, it’s still worth a look.

For example, Convio’s TeamRaiser lets organizations make it easy for volunteers to create their own websites for tracking and attracting donations.

If you’re organizing a social good fund for a big charity walk or event where volunteers go door-to-door to get donations, check out Convio because it makes managing that process much easier.

9. Facebook Causes

Causes is an increasingly common way for individuals to raise money and start their own funds that are tied to a non-profit. Because Causes is so well-integrated into Facebook, it makes getting the word out and raising awareness and funds for your cause that much simpler.

10. StayClassy

A newer player in the arena of online giving, San Diego’s StayClassy is focused not just on helping non-profits collect donations online, but also manage events and campaigns, track their fundraising results and plug-in.

The world of online fundraising is vast and diverse. What tools have you used when starting your own social good funds? Let us know in the comments.

Brought to you by the class='blippr-nobr'>Mashableclass="blippr-nobr">Mashable & 92Y Social Good Summit

This post was brought to you by the groundbreaking Social Good Summit. On September 20, as global leaders head to New York for United Nations Week — including a historic summit on global issues known as the “Millennium Development Goals” (MDGs) and the annual General Assembly — Mashable, 92nd Street Y and the UN Foundation will bring together leaders from the digital industry, policy and media worlds to focus on how technology and social networks can play a leading role in addressing the world’s most intractable problems.

Date: Monday, September 20, 2010/> Time: 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. ET/> Location: 92nd Street Y, New York City/> Tickets: On sale through Eventbrite

/>

Image courtesy of iStockphotoclass="blippr-nobr">iStockphoto, PinkTag

For more Social Good coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Social Goodclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Social Good channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

Documentary about the residents of the Duplex Nursing Home

Mark Frauenfelder at 3:16 PM Tuesday, Sep 14, 2010

One of my favorite zines in the late 1980s and early 1990s was Duplex Planet. It was founded in 1979 by David Greenberger, the activities director of the Duplex Nursing Home in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. In each issue, David would ask the residents questions and run their answers without editing them. (Greenberg still publishes Duplex Planet!)

Here's a sample question, with answers by residents:

WOULD YOU SPEND A MONTH MAKING A HANDLE FOR A YARD TOOL OR SPEND SEVEN
DOLLARS TO BUY A NEW ONE INSTEAD?

FRANK KANSLASKY: I don't need it, so what the hell do I want to buy it for?


BILL LAGASSE: They ain't reliable if you make 'em yourself.

ANDY LEGRICE: Buy one, it's already made. Why spend three or four weeks on
it when you can buy one?

FRANCIS MCELROY: I'd spend seven dollars to buy a new one, then I'd know I
had it -- when you buy it, you know you got your product.


LEO GERMINO: It depends on if you really need it -- you need that money
for your room rent and for your ways of living. The only people that can
buy them things is the very rich people.

GEORGE STINGEL: I'd buy one, they're already made.

ERNIE BROOKINGS: I'd make it. It could be if I had seven dollars I'd buy
it, but I don't have the seven dollars right now.


FRANK: What's he say, that he'd make it?


DBG: Yes.


FRANK: He's a Yankee, that's why.

JOHN FAY: I wouldn't spend no seven dollars for one. There's all kinds of
tools right here. Eddie Meade's got all kinds of tools here.

CHARLES SHEA: Seven dollars to buy a new one, it's easier.

ABE SURGECOFF: A second one, right? A new one is too much, an old one is
practical. If it's new tools you have to put this and that and linseed oil
on them. If it's old you can keep it long.

ED POINDEXTER: I would buy one, it's cheaper.

Above, part one of a 1993 documentary by Paul Athanas and Jay Rooney about the residents of the the Duplex Nursing Home, called Your Own True Self.

Part 1 |



Part 2 |



Part 3 |



Part 4 |



Part 5 |

robert shumake

Wednesday <b>News</b> « The Confluence

In news related to Michelle raising more money, the GOP seems to be short of it. Gosh, other than 8 years of a failed presidency, and then attacking the popular candidates and their supporters just as the Dems are doing, I can't imagine ...

Phil Pruitt Joins Yahoo! <b>News</b> As Politics Editor

USA Today Deputy Managing Editor/News Phil Pruitt has left the newspaper to join Yahoo! News as its new Politics editor.

Scripting <b>News</b>: What kind of <b>news</b> system...?

And it's not okay that they're making a bid for exclusivity on the role of News System of the Future, and they can't even keep their servers running properly. Either you deliver the benefit of being the sole provider, or sorry (to ...

robert shumake

Wednesday <b>News</b> « The Confluence

In news related to Michelle raising more money, the GOP seems to be short of it. Gosh, other than 8 years of a failed presidency, and then attacking the popular candidates and their supporters just as the Dems are doing, I can't imagine ...

Phil Pruitt Joins Yahoo! <b>News</b> As Politics Editor

USA Today Deputy Managing Editor/News Phil Pruitt has left the newspaper to join Yahoo! News as its new Politics editor.

Scripting <b>News</b>: What kind of <b>news</b> system...?

And it's not okay that they're making a bid for exclusivity on the role of News System of the Future, and they can't even keep their servers running properly. Either you deliver the benefit of being the sole provider, or sorry (to ...

personal finances help

Well, it's nice of Jim Geraghty at Rich Lowry's NRO to try and tell us what a wonderful, somewhat conservative Republican Mike Castle is. Think about it, folks. In the video Jim posts, one I also posted, Castle basically claims we are now in the era of bi-partisan national health care, whether we like it, or not. And that doesn't bother NRO, they actually think it's a good thing.

It's time to admit what a dismal failure Rich Lowry is. It isn't as if it's a big secret in conservative circles. National health care? Obviously, that's no problem, according to Lowry's NRO. The truth is, NRO isn't capable of leading anything when it comes to a movement, not a conservative one, any way. I don't even want  to think of the kind of movement a conservative should associate with Lowry's NRO today.

As for what they don't want you to know about Mike Castle, how's this from Redstate, for starters, with more below. Castle has forty years in, allegedly, as a public servant. How many honest people who work hard for a living every day are able to accumulate personal wealth in excess of 8 million dollars on what is little more than an honest pay check? Why isn't NRO interested in whatever corruption could lead to Castle accumulating that kind of wealth as a member of the House?

He is a forty year career politician who happens to call himself a Republican, as once did Charlie Crist, Arlen Specter and Jim Jeffords. Mr. Castle is a habitual tax raiser. He is unwaveringly pro abortion and he has earned an F- rating from The NRA. He voted for TARP, Porkulus, the auto and banking industry takeovers, Cash for Clunkers as well as Cap and Trade. Most recently, he co-sponsored the disclose act which is nothing more than an assault on the first amendment designed to muzzle his political opposition.

While on the topic of opposition; Mr. Castle has made it clear that were he elected senator, regardless of his political affiliation, he has no intention of opposing current Democrat policies. This is entirely consistent with Mike Castle’s long liberal record of growing government.

In his forty years as a “public servant” Mike Castle has managed to accumulate for himself an estimated $8 million dollar personal net worth. Now he has decided to make an issue of his conservative primary challenger’s finances.

NRO doesn't, as Buckley intoned, stand athwart history and yell stop, any more. They stand outside corporate and donor offices saying, how much? That, when they're not standing outside establishment Republican's Hill offices saying, can I please come in? Look how nice we were, endorsing John McCain! Look at how we embarrassed ourselves to help elect your pick, liberal Mike Castle in Delaware.

We're NRO. We're the conservative voice of American politics (wink wink). Okay, really, we're just Republican whores and we have absolutely no shame about it. Just keep the cash and the access coming, we'll be good little boys and girls.

As if John McCain wasn't enough and perhaps arguably excusable - now it's liberal Mike Castle, too? They're smart enough to know Castle plays the usual games with his voting, providing just enough cover to remain a Republican, while selling us out on everything that truly counts. An F rating from the NRA. He voted for the Disclose Act, Cap and Trade, S-CHIP, against the surge. He's fully in bed with the SEIU. Read it at link.

And that's who Buckley's NRO is schilling for today? What a disgrace as an allegedly conservative magazine. Bill Buckley wouldn't line his bird cage with the establishment rag Lowry has made NRO into today. While we're throwing out corrupt politicians, we might do well to throw out Lowry and some of the GOP flacks and hack writers at NRO so willing and quick to sell out conservatism today, as well.

Events of the last week have made the Deficit Commission an embarrassment. Co-Chair Alan Simpson is a one-man disaster movie, compulsively offending one key voting bloc after another. Commission member Paul Ryan faced an angry crowd over his anti-Social Security stance, while another Commissioner locked experienced workers out of a nuclear facility rather than provide retirement benefits.

That's right: He's cutting retirement benefits.

But if the political blowback is obvious, here's what isn't: The Commissioners who are determined to cut your Social Security benefits are going to enjoy their own retirements in comfort. Their own pension plans insulate them from the fears that many other Americans face, and they don't have the professional expertise that would help them understand those concerns. In fact, the Commission's only expert on retirement is Rep. Jan Schakowsky, and she apparently opposes benefit cuts. The rest of the Commission is dominated by people who've expressed their desire to cut Social Security, despite their own secure futures. Millions of working Americans who have contributed to Social Security all their lives will lose out if these Commissioners have their way.

Happy Labor Day.

Normally I consider it off-limits to discuss people's personal finances when discussing their political opinions. But these Commissioners' lack of subject matter expertise, along with their lack of empathy, is important. If you don't know much about the topic and are protected from the problem, what makes you credible? Their pre-established prejudices makes the situation even worse, and their own situations underscore the irony of their self-professed willingness to make "brave choices" - choices whose consequences will mean little or nothing to them.

The Commission's Social Security obsession is odd anyway, since the projected Social Security shortfall comes out to only 0.7% of GDP. Nevertheless, these Commissioners have made their benefit-cutting intentions plain, presumably because they want to offer up America's seniors as a sacrifice to the bond markets. So how will these would-be income-slashers for the elderly make out in their own golden years? They'll be golden.

Consider Commissioner Alice Rivlin. Rivlin co-authored a paper that called for raising the retirement age and other benefit cuts, and recently released a specious paper about "Saving Social Security." As a former HEW Undersecretary, CBO Director, White House Budget Director, and Federal Reserve Vice Chair, she will presumably enjoy a comfortable retirement supported by multiple public pensions. Says Rivlin: ""We can't get out of this problem without doing both spending cuts, especially slowing the growth of entitlement, and tax increases."

Experts on Social Security finance (including the long-time Chief Actuary for the program) flatly disagree with Rivlin, pointing out that an adjustment to the payroll tax cap would unquestionably be enough to get the job done. They have the numbers to prove it. So why does Rivlin, who does not have their expertise in this area, disagree? Go ask Alice.

Co-Chair Erskine Bowles brokered a deal with Newt Gingrich to cut Social Security in the 1990s, when he served as Bill Clinton's Chief of Staff. Before that he headed the Small Business Administration, so his government tenure presumably qualifies him for a Federal pension. If not, don't worry: He receives $425,000 per year in his current job running the public universities of North Carolina, and the people of North Carolina are presumably also funding a pension on his behalf. To his credit, Bowles pledged to donate $125,000 of his salary for need-based student funds - but then, he can afford it. As the son of a US Congressman, Bowles had the education and connections needed to make millions as an investment banker. The added income he earns today as a Board member for General Motors and Morgan Stanley will help, too - and his government experience undoubtedly helped him win those positions, too.

Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, an aggressive advocate of Social Security cuts and privatization, will also enjoy his sunset years in comfort, thanks to a publicly-funded pension from his tenure as a Congressman. (He'll presumably earn even more as a result of his employment as an aide to two United States Senators.) Rep. Jeb Hensaerling has served as both a Representative and as an aide to Sen. Phil Gramm, so he should be safe from financial insecurity in his old age too .

The average annual pension payments for former members of Congress ranged from $41,000 to $55,000 in 2002, considerably more than the average $13,836 that Social Security recipients received in 2009. Yet neither Ryan nor Hensaerling have proposed cutting Congressional retirement benefits - nor should they. Sound pension plans like theirs were once available to most working Americans, and more effort should be made to restore them.

Former SEIU President Andrew Stern, who once might have been counted on to defend Social Security, recently sneered at Commission critics as "assassins of change" while saying that "all entitlements should be on the table." Mr. Stern's annual pension is $152,000 - and he retired at the age of 59, not 70. Nevertheless, Stern now publicly muses about "whether defined benefit pensions can really exist in the long run in a globalized economy."

Judd Gregg, who wants to raise the retirement age to 70, will receive a Federal pension for his Senate position. Gregg, like Alan Simpson, is the son of a Governor (self-made men, you might say), which means that public pensions also ensured that neither of them had to worry about supporting their aged parents. Tom Coburn, another would-be Social Security cutter, will receive a Congressional and Senatorial pension too.

David Cote, the CEO of Honeywell, provides some "private enterprise" perspective to the Commission's work. But Cote's wealth comes in part from Honeywell's government contracts, which exceed $4 billion annually. What's more, Cote's "free enterprise" ethic didn't stop him from making sure that Honeywell grabbed a few million in stimulus money from the taxpayers, too. A few billion from the Pentagon here, a few million more from Uncle Sam there - that'll plump up the nest egg a little for Mr. Cote's sunset years.

Cote made the headlines this week when Honeywell locked out the union workers at a nuclear power plant over a labor dispute - even though the workers agreed to stay on the job to protect public safety. Instead, Cote hired replacements and put them through a pared-down training process. The image of Homer Simpson comes to mind, pushing the wrong buttons and spilling beer on the reactor console - which would presumably make Cote Mr. Burns.

But it's no joking matter. Apparently there's real danger, which is why the Nuclear Regulatory Commission reportedly stepped in to block Honeywell from distilling uranium with its crew of replacement workers And what are the union and Honeywell arguing about? Honeywell's raising health care costs - and eliminating retiree pension plans for new workers.

That's right. A member of the Commission that's pretending to judge our retirement security with impartiality would rather have hastily-trained amateurs handle nuclear materials than bargain openly with his workers - about their retirement. D'oh!

As for Simpson (Alan, not Bart), to say that he suffers from "political Tourette's syndrome" would be a disservice to Tourette's sufferers. Most of them don't really say socially objectionable things, and those who do (it's called "coprolalia") don't mean what they say. But Simpson does. By attacking senior citizens as "greedy geezers," then offending women with his "milk cow with 100 million tits" comment, and now offending veterans' groups, Simpson has now hit the voting bloc trifecta.

And Cote's outraged labor, a fourth group. But the problem isn't Simpson anymore, or Cote for that matter. It's the Commission itself. The coprolalic curmudgeon Simpson has done a service to the nation. He's drawn attention to the Commission, and to the anti-Social Security biases held by so many of its members - all of whom will retire in comfort, thanks to those whose benefits they would cut. It's the comfortable afflicting the afflicted.

If these Deficit Commission members want their recommendations to have any credibility, they should pledge to live on the same Social Security benefits that they would impose for other Americans. Better yet, they should dedicate themselves to helping provide every American with the kind of retirement security they enjoy. That was part of the social contract this nation embraced during its years of greatest economic growth, the fulfillment of a promise that a lifetime of work should never end with years of deprivation. They should be working to restore that contract, not erode it even further.

One thing is clear: This Commission has no business making recommendations about Social Security.

(Sign a petition asking Congress and the President to protect Social Security from the Deficit Commission. Roger Hickey has more here.)

Additional links:

* Sam Seder and I discussed Social Security this week while co-hosting The Young Turks.

* For further reference on the Commission's members and their biases, see Firedoglake and Talking Points Memo.

* House Democrats are vowing to protect Social Security from any cuts. The polls show why that's a very wise idea.

Ricoh releases A12 28mm equiv. GXR module: Digital Photography Review

Ricoh releases A12 28mm equiv. GXR module: Photokina 2010: Ricoh has announced the GR Lens A12 28 mm F2.5 prime lens module for its GXR system. According to the company, the addition of 'GR Lens' in the module's name indicates that it ...

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The largest misconception about Generation Y is that technology is a replacement for interpersonal dialogue. Technology is becoming more ever-present, and Gen Y is still managing to talk to one another.

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Ricoh releases A12 28mm equiv. GXR module: Digital Photography Review

Ricoh releases A12 28mm equiv. GXR module: Photokina 2010: Ricoh has announced the GR Lens A12 28 mm F2.5 prime lens module for its GXR system. According to the company, the addition of 'GR Lens' in the module's name indicates that it ...

Fujifilm unveils FinePix X100 large-sensor compact: Digital <b>...</b>

Fujifilm unveils FinePix X100 large-sensor compact: Fujifilm has announced the X100, a large-sensor compact camera aimed at professional and enthusiast photographers. Based around a 12Mp APS-C CMOS sensor, Fuji EXR processor and 23mm F2 ...

David Helfenbein: The Facebook <b>News</b> Feed and Twitter Generation

The largest misconception about Generation Y is that technology is a replacement for interpersonal dialogue. Technology is becoming more ever-present, and Gen Y is still managing to talk to one another.

Well, it's nice of Jim Geraghty at Rich Lowry's NRO to try and tell us what a wonderful, somewhat conservative Republican Mike Castle is. Think about it, folks. In the video Jim posts, one I also posted, Castle basically claims we are now in the era of bi-partisan national health care, whether we like it, or not. And that doesn't bother NRO, they actually think it's a good thing.

It's time to admit what a dismal failure Rich Lowry is. It isn't as if it's a big secret in conservative circles. National health care? Obviously, that's no problem, according to Lowry's NRO. The truth is, NRO isn't capable of leading anything when it comes to a movement, not a conservative one, any way. I don't even want  to think of the kind of movement a conservative should associate with Lowry's NRO today.

As for what they don't want you to know about Mike Castle, how's this from Redstate, for starters, with more below. Castle has forty years in, allegedly, as a public servant. How many honest people who work hard for a living every day are able to accumulate personal wealth in excess of 8 million dollars on what is little more than an honest pay check? Why isn't NRO interested in whatever corruption could lead to Castle accumulating that kind of wealth as a member of the House?

He is a forty year career politician who happens to call himself a Republican, as once did Charlie Crist, Arlen Specter and Jim Jeffords. Mr. Castle is a habitual tax raiser. He is unwaveringly pro abortion and he has earned an F- rating from The NRA. He voted for TARP, Porkulus, the auto and banking industry takeovers, Cash for Clunkers as well as Cap and Trade. Most recently, he co-sponsored the disclose act which is nothing more than an assault on the first amendment designed to muzzle his political opposition.

While on the topic of opposition; Mr. Castle has made it clear that were he elected senator, regardless of his political affiliation, he has no intention of opposing current Democrat policies. This is entirely consistent with Mike Castle’s long liberal record of growing government.

In his forty years as a “public servant” Mike Castle has managed to accumulate for himself an estimated $8 million dollar personal net worth. Now he has decided to make an issue of his conservative primary challenger’s finances.

NRO doesn't, as Buckley intoned, stand athwart history and yell stop, any more. They stand outside corporate and donor offices saying, how much? That, when they're not standing outside establishment Republican's Hill offices saying, can I please come in? Look how nice we were, endorsing John McCain! Look at how we embarrassed ourselves to help elect your pick, liberal Mike Castle in Delaware.

We're NRO. We're the conservative voice of American politics (wink wink). Okay, really, we're just Republican whores and we have absolutely no shame about it. Just keep the cash and the access coming, we'll be good little boys and girls.

As if John McCain wasn't enough and perhaps arguably excusable - now it's liberal Mike Castle, too? They're smart enough to know Castle plays the usual games with his voting, providing just enough cover to remain a Republican, while selling us out on everything that truly counts. An F rating from the NRA. He voted for the Disclose Act, Cap and Trade, S-CHIP, against the surge. He's fully in bed with the SEIU. Read it at link.

And that's who Buckley's NRO is schilling for today? What a disgrace as an allegedly conservative magazine. Bill Buckley wouldn't line his bird cage with the establishment rag Lowry has made NRO into today. While we're throwing out corrupt politicians, we might do well to throw out Lowry and some of the GOP flacks and hack writers at NRO so willing and quick to sell out conservatism today, as well.

Events of the last week have made the Deficit Commission an embarrassment. Co-Chair Alan Simpson is a one-man disaster movie, compulsively offending one key voting bloc after another. Commission member Paul Ryan faced an angry crowd over his anti-Social Security stance, while another Commissioner locked experienced workers out of a nuclear facility rather than provide retirement benefits.

That's right: He's cutting retirement benefits.

But if the political blowback is obvious, here's what isn't: The Commissioners who are determined to cut your Social Security benefits are going to enjoy their own retirements in comfort. Their own pension plans insulate them from the fears that many other Americans face, and they don't have the professional expertise that would help them understand those concerns. In fact, the Commission's only expert on retirement is Rep. Jan Schakowsky, and she apparently opposes benefit cuts. The rest of the Commission is dominated by people who've expressed their desire to cut Social Security, despite their own secure futures. Millions of working Americans who have contributed to Social Security all their lives will lose out if these Commissioners have their way.

Happy Labor Day.

Normally I consider it off-limits to discuss people's personal finances when discussing their political opinions. But these Commissioners' lack of subject matter expertise, along with their lack of empathy, is important. If you don't know much about the topic and are protected from the problem, what makes you credible? Their pre-established prejudices makes the situation even worse, and their own situations underscore the irony of their self-professed willingness to make "brave choices" - choices whose consequences will mean little or nothing to them.

The Commission's Social Security obsession is odd anyway, since the projected Social Security shortfall comes out to only 0.7% of GDP. Nevertheless, these Commissioners have made their benefit-cutting intentions plain, presumably because they want to offer up America's seniors as a sacrifice to the bond markets. So how will these would-be income-slashers for the elderly make out in their own golden years? They'll be golden.

Consider Commissioner Alice Rivlin. Rivlin co-authored a paper that called for raising the retirement age and other benefit cuts, and recently released a specious paper about "Saving Social Security." As a former HEW Undersecretary, CBO Director, White House Budget Director, and Federal Reserve Vice Chair, she will presumably enjoy a comfortable retirement supported by multiple public pensions. Says Rivlin: ""We can't get out of this problem without doing both spending cuts, especially slowing the growth of entitlement, and tax increases."

Experts on Social Security finance (including the long-time Chief Actuary for the program) flatly disagree with Rivlin, pointing out that an adjustment to the payroll tax cap would unquestionably be enough to get the job done. They have the numbers to prove it. So why does Rivlin, who does not have their expertise in this area, disagree? Go ask Alice.

Co-Chair Erskine Bowles brokered a deal with Newt Gingrich to cut Social Security in the 1990s, when he served as Bill Clinton's Chief of Staff. Before that he headed the Small Business Administration, so his government tenure presumably qualifies him for a Federal pension. If not, don't worry: He receives $425,000 per year in his current job running the public universities of North Carolina, and the people of North Carolina are presumably also funding a pension on his behalf. To his credit, Bowles pledged to donate $125,000 of his salary for need-based student funds - but then, he can afford it. As the son of a US Congressman, Bowles had the education and connections needed to make millions as an investment banker. The added income he earns today as a Board member for General Motors and Morgan Stanley will help, too - and his government experience undoubtedly helped him win those positions, too.

Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, an aggressive advocate of Social Security cuts and privatization, will also enjoy his sunset years in comfort, thanks to a publicly-funded pension from his tenure as a Congressman. (He'll presumably earn even more as a result of his employment as an aide to two United States Senators.) Rep. Jeb Hensaerling has served as both a Representative and as an aide to Sen. Phil Gramm, so he should be safe from financial insecurity in his old age too .

The average annual pension payments for former members of Congress ranged from $41,000 to $55,000 in 2002, considerably more than the average $13,836 that Social Security recipients received in 2009. Yet neither Ryan nor Hensaerling have proposed cutting Congressional retirement benefits - nor should they. Sound pension plans like theirs were once available to most working Americans, and more effort should be made to restore them.

Former SEIU President Andrew Stern, who once might have been counted on to defend Social Security, recently sneered at Commission critics as "assassins of change" while saying that "all entitlements should be on the table." Mr. Stern's annual pension is $152,000 - and he retired at the age of 59, not 70. Nevertheless, Stern now publicly muses about "whether defined benefit pensions can really exist in the long run in a globalized economy."

Judd Gregg, who wants to raise the retirement age to 70, will receive a Federal pension for his Senate position. Gregg, like Alan Simpson, is the son of a Governor (self-made men, you might say), which means that public pensions also ensured that neither of them had to worry about supporting their aged parents. Tom Coburn, another would-be Social Security cutter, will receive a Congressional and Senatorial pension too.

David Cote, the CEO of Honeywell, provides some "private enterprise" perspective to the Commission's work. But Cote's wealth comes in part from Honeywell's government contracts, which exceed $4 billion annually. What's more, Cote's "free enterprise" ethic didn't stop him from making sure that Honeywell grabbed a few million in stimulus money from the taxpayers, too. A few billion from the Pentagon here, a few million more from Uncle Sam there - that'll plump up the nest egg a little for Mr. Cote's sunset years.

Cote made the headlines this week when Honeywell locked out the union workers at a nuclear power plant over a labor dispute - even though the workers agreed to stay on the job to protect public safety. Instead, Cote hired replacements and put them through a pared-down training process. The image of Homer Simpson comes to mind, pushing the wrong buttons and spilling beer on the reactor console - which would presumably make Cote Mr. Burns.

But it's no joking matter. Apparently there's real danger, which is why the Nuclear Regulatory Commission reportedly stepped in to block Honeywell from distilling uranium with its crew of replacement workers And what are the union and Honeywell arguing about? Honeywell's raising health care costs - and eliminating retiree pension plans for new workers.

That's right. A member of the Commission that's pretending to judge our retirement security with impartiality would rather have hastily-trained amateurs handle nuclear materials than bargain openly with his workers - about their retirement. D'oh!

As for Simpson (Alan, not Bart), to say that he suffers from "political Tourette's syndrome" would be a disservice to Tourette's sufferers. Most of them don't really say socially objectionable things, and those who do (it's called "coprolalia") don't mean what they say. But Simpson does. By attacking senior citizens as "greedy geezers," then offending women with his "milk cow with 100 million tits" comment, and now offending veterans' groups, Simpson has now hit the voting bloc trifecta.

And Cote's outraged labor, a fourth group. But the problem isn't Simpson anymore, or Cote for that matter. It's the Commission itself. The coprolalic curmudgeon Simpson has done a service to the nation. He's drawn attention to the Commission, and to the anti-Social Security biases held by so many of its members - all of whom will retire in comfort, thanks to those whose benefits they would cut. It's the comfortable afflicting the afflicted.

If these Deficit Commission members want their recommendations to have any credibility, they should pledge to live on the same Social Security benefits that they would impose for other Americans. Better yet, they should dedicate themselves to helping provide every American with the kind of retirement security they enjoy. That was part of the social contract this nation embraced during its years of greatest economic growth, the fulfillment of a promise that a lifetime of work should never end with years of deprivation. They should be working to restore that contract, not erode it even further.

One thing is clear: This Commission has no business making recommendations about Social Security.

(Sign a petition asking Congress and the President to protect Social Security from the Deficit Commission. Roger Hickey has more here.)

Additional links:

* Sam Seder and I discussed Social Security this week while co-hosting The Young Turks.

* For further reference on the Commission's members and their biases, see Firedoglake and Talking Points Memo.

* House Democrats are vowing to protect Social Security from any cuts. The polls show why that's a very wise idea.

robert shumake

Ricoh releases A12 28mm equiv. GXR module: Digital Photography Review

Ricoh releases A12 28mm equiv. GXR module: Photokina 2010: Ricoh has announced the GR Lens A12 28 mm F2.5 prime lens module for its GXR system. According to the company, the addition of 'GR Lens' in the module's name indicates that it ...

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David Helfenbein: The Facebook <b>News</b> Feed and Twitter Generation

The largest misconception about Generation Y is that technology is a replacement for interpersonal dialogue. Technology is becoming more ever-present, and Gen Y is still managing to talk to one another.

robert shumake

Ricoh releases A12 28mm equiv. GXR module: Digital Photography Review

Ricoh releases A12 28mm equiv. GXR module: Photokina 2010: Ricoh has announced the GR Lens A12 28 mm F2.5 prime lens module for its GXR system. According to the company, the addition of 'GR Lens' in the module's name indicates that it ...

Fujifilm unveils FinePix X100 large-sensor compact: Digital <b>...</b>

Fujifilm unveils FinePix X100 large-sensor compact: Fujifilm has announced the X100, a large-sensor compact camera aimed at professional and enthusiast photographers. Based around a 12Mp APS-C CMOS sensor, Fuji EXR processor and 23mm F2 ...

David Helfenbein: The Facebook <b>News</b> Feed and Twitter Generation

The largest misconception about Generation Y is that technology is a replacement for interpersonal dialogue. Technology is becoming more ever-present, and Gen Y is still managing to talk to one another.

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Are you a fan of the GTD personal productivity system? Well if you like "Getting Things Done," here's GFD, Getting Finances Done, which shows you how to map David Allen's same principals to managing your personal finance and achieving your financial goals.

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Fox News and anchor Chris Wallace have jointly filed a lawsuit against Missouri Democratic Senate candidate Robin Carnahan in response to her latest ad, which features a 2006 interview between Wallace and her opponent, Rep. Roy Blunt.

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About Those Fox <b>News</b> Polls

The new set of Fox News surveys that we highlighted earlier were actually conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, which is a new venture from pollster Scott Rasmussen which "will allow anyone willing to pay $600 to go to the website, ...

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About Those Fox <b>News</b> Polls

The new set of Fox News surveys that we highlighted earlier were actually conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, which is a new venture from pollster Scott Rasmussen which "will allow anyone willing to pay $600 to go to the website, ...

Pew Research: More People Got Their <b>News</b> Online Yesterday Than <b>...</b>

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Recently I went to visit an acquaintance who was trashing out his own condo. There were hinges to be pried out of doorways and appliances to take for eBay. The house had become inert, a non-house: trapped somewhere between the building's association who wanted the fees owed to pay for the building's roof and walls and the like, the people who wanted the property taxes to pay for things like schools and street lights and roads and the people who were in charge of collecting (or more likely not collecting) the mortgage for whomever actually owned the mortgage debt (at the end of that chain, quite possibly you and me). These various claimants made the house largely worthless—more worthless than the latest assessment, which was… well, a comparable apartment nearby had recently sold for $120,000. It had been listed at $325,000 in May, 2009. That $120,000 sale price was not much higher than that apartment's last sale—twenty years ago.

Anyway, it was somewhat likely that, after the investment of some work on this apartment that was being trashed out, such as providing it with new door hinges and appliances, the association would find a renter unafraid of a possibly surprising ending to his rental agreement term in exchange for a below-market rent. That would be a best outcome.

The others would most likely find no purchase for their attempts to collect (the owner was protected by bankruptcy), and certainly the bank had little incentive to collect the mortgage, although their claims on the title would likely make finding a purchaser difficult.

One of the few chairs remaining in the near-vacant condo was occupied by someone on the other side, as it were. Someone not in bankruptcy, for one thing. This person had recently made a $200,000 offer on two-bedroom apartment in a nice part of town. (Needless to say, this town was not New York City.)

But when he had gone to get a mortgage, the bank had balked, because that apartment now assessed at half that value, and so now his current offer for the two-bedroom was at something like $78,000, having come up from something like $65,000 or $72,000. That offer number was jiggling and that title too was somewhat not entirely not cloudy, because that condo association was trying to get a bit of the sale money for past unpaid maintenance under the old owner, which seems, if logical, a bit short-sighted of the association's best interests. They ran the risk of receiving zero dollars instead of some dollars, by dragging the potential new owner into someone else's debt.

But then, we're pretty much all subject to someone else's debt these days, even those of us who rent. Renters are shielded from what is happening with a property, except when they receive a stray envelope addressed to their landlords, or the records pop up online—and the record-keeping systems, when I look up mortgages and sales online, seem to me to be bogged down and very tardy. I imagine the one or two municipal employees in each town in America with the responsibility of making these things public crouched in some little cave, with a stack of depressing white and red and yellow paper towering over their little desks. (Really, it's probably all done by computers. With near- or off-shored labor—somewhere in Utah or Israel.)

In any event, there it was: the magical $78,000 two-bedroom apartment. The steal of a lifetime. The great American get-ahead.

I bring this up in part because this Sunday, at the Brooklyn Book Festival, there is a panel at noon which includes Naomi Klein and Kurt Andersen and Jordan Flaherty and also Paul Reyes. His new book, Exiles in Eden—some of which is in the August issue of Harper's—is an account of going to work for his father, who has for some time now been a trasher-outer of abandoned and foreclosed homes. In the book, Reyes follows the trail of breadcrumbs of the people who've abandoned or been evicted from their houses to the foreclosure auctions, and along the way meets people like the housing advocates who've installed squatters in vacant properties.

(The panel is slotted against "Me… In The World," which stars Sam Lipsyte, and a panel called "Pop Life: Music, Memory, and America’s Coming of Age," with Ta-Nehisi Coates, which may be more appealing and relaxing and better-attended, but then we all have to make difficult choices in these times.)

Reyes did the first reading from his book the other week and something odd happened. He did not get author-friendly questions about the precious process of writing his book. Instead, a long discussion ensued among the audience members about the financial system and the housing market. In the audience were brokers and bankers and homeowners and renters. A mass of anecdotage and experience and theory was shared. It was something like an impromptu consciousness-raising session, very thorough, and when the audience left, everyone had had time to sift through his and her experiences with the state of our financial system and to incorporate some fresh input.

"The audience reaction was exactly what I'd hoped for," Reyes wrote to me the other day. "I'm certainly happy to stand up there and blather for twenty minutes, but I'd much rather have an intense discussion about this issue and hear what people have been through and what their ideas are."

Although he'll be taking this conversation to the Times' Opinionator blog's Living Rooms section soon, he does not have at this time many in-person readings scheduled; author reading tours are not booked by publishers much these days.

"I'm trying to work the promotion of the book into a split personality tour of sorts–between the narrative journalist and housing wonk," Reyes wrote. "If all goes well, I'll drop in on university classes in the daytime, then hit the bookstores at night. I'll wear a different pair of glasses for each role, of course."

Next week, on the 14th, Reyes will be reading as well at the Enoch Pratt Library in Baltimore. Perhaps you'd like him to visit your fine local bookstore, classroom or community center. His email address is on his website.

Pay particular attention to this post if you’re a small business owner and want to use Twitter to make more money.  Dell has been claiming that they made over $6 million using Twitter, but does that statistic validate Twitter’s marketing power to the world outside of billion dollar corporations?  I contest that it isn’t the case by looking at the numbers below.

There have been numerous claims of Dell making 2-6 million dollars using Twitter.

This is where the story ends for most ‘social media gurus’. They started claiming: “Dell is making money off Twitter!” So, if Dell can do it, anyone can!” Mainstream magazines started suggesting that small businesses consider using Twitter to make more money. I’ve even heard claims from some Dell representatives recommending Twitter as a marketing tool for all other small and medium sized companies in order to “increase revenues”.

These recommendations would be sweet if they stood the test against reality.

Dell Made $6.5m using Twitter for the past 2 YEARS

That would be roughly around $3.2m per year. Okay, so let’s suppose Dell made $3.2m using Twitter in 2009. Dell’s revenue in 2009 was 61 billion dollars. Conclusion: Revenue from Twitter was 0.01% from their total revenue ($3.2m is around 0.01% from $61 billion). “Hey small businesses, Dell made 0.01% of their revenue from Twitter. You can do the same!”

Another big problem with the revenue claims is the way they measured it. They seem to have measured:

• The referrals that came from Twitter.com and bought something on Dell.com


• The people who bought products using the exclusive coupons Dell posted on Twitter

There are many problems here if you want to take the Dell case study and advise small and medium businesses to use Twitter:

1. They didn’t tell whether the people who bought products from Dell were already existing customers i.e. whether they bought some products from Dell in the past. Let’s say if 80% of those who bought via the exclusive coupons or came from Twitter.com as a referral were existing customers. What happens then? You can’t really recommend for small businesses to use Twitter then if a decent portion of their existing consumers aren’t already on Twitter.

2. Twitter is a communication medium. Thus, it’s very misleading to claim (many mainstream newspapers said this) that Dell made money from Twitter. The best way would be to say they made money using or through Twitter. For the coupons, I have no idea whether they measured whether people have taken those coupons on other sites (online forums etc.) This was probably the case. So what? If you recommend small and medium businesses to go on Twitter and make $$$ then you should take this variable into account. Small businesses usually don’t have a lot of people that will take the exclusive coupons they post on Twitter and get them on other sites.

Here is the main thing most people get wrong:

A SMALL BUSINESS IS NOT A LITTLE BIG BUSINESS

Marketing usually differs a lot for a small and a big business. Compare Nike which runs brand commercials all the time with some small shoe shop. What is the small shoe shop decides to do the same? They’ll probably waste their money. They are much better off using something where they can see measurable benefits instead of going with branding.

The same thing applies online. As a small or a medium-sized business, focus on measurable activities first (and as we’ve seen, using Twitter is not really a measurable activity because there are so many variables associated with the Dell case study). If you don’t know how to measure online, this blog might help.

Why did the media create such a big buzz around Dell story?

For several reasons.

- Twitter was a hot topic around that time. The media published almost everything that had to do with them. There was a buzz that you can make money with Twitter but no example of a small or a big company doing that quite successfully. So when Dell published this story on their blog, almost all media outlets picked it up without critically analyzing it.

The second reason:

- I’m noticing one very interesting pattern. Everything that involves ‘relationships’ (social media, communicating with customers) tends to be examined with a very uncritical eye. Maybe that’s because ‘friendship’ and ‘relationships’ are some of our basic needs? Maybe people do that just because it sounds good and feels good? (but doesn’t necessarily works for everyone).

After all, going on Twitter and ‘building relationships with your customers’ sounds much better than ‘build a product and market it to a potential audience’? It’s an interesting thought.

Theodore Levitt and his Marketing Myopia principle says to me clearly that people go on Twitter to socialize not to look for products.

Action points:

If you’re a small or medium-sized business, go on Twitter and try it out for 7 days. See if you find it useful for communicating with potential customers, maybe working on projects and so on. I recommend you don’t consider it as a major part of your business strategy because there isn’t still any significant proof that Twitter has a big ROI compared to other mediums like PPC or SEO.

About the author: I’m currently writing for FinderMind magazine, a people search website.

eric seiger

CBS <b>News</b> correspondent Jan Crawford to speak at AHF luncheon | al.com

Crawford, a 1987 graduate of the University of Alabama, is a specialist on the Supreme Court.

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Their existence means that other news outlets are likely to become more marginalized, as the Conservatives are likely to only take questions from, or talk to, their friends at Sun TV. I've long wondered whether the goal of the ...

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Sunday <b>News</b> Roundup « The Confluence

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Weekly News Roundup: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Monday 6 September. The 'Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Revolution' continued: 1 million Ping users in 48 hours. Although Ping, the music centric social network, is not available in many ...

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SPRINGFIELD, Tenn. -- Two men burned copies of the Quran Saturday afternoon while families of local soldiers protested nearby. Sunday, September 12, 2010.

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