I generally don’t discuss my political beliefs with strangers, or even close friends, because the conversation typically devolves to the point where one person utters a variation on one of the two following declarations:

“Those Socialists in Washington won’t rest until we’re all dependant on Big Government for the very air we breathe…”

OR

“If it weren’t for those crazy wing-nuts on the Right, our country wouldn’t have wasted billions of dollars in Iraq and Afghanistan…”

I recently advocated in the Kansas City Business Journal and in this blog that listening and responding to customers, prospects and critics in an open forum (such as a blog or corporate message board) is the best way to demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction, and will ultimately lead to long-term customer loyalty and advocacy for your products and services.

But getting flamed on your Web site (or other public forum) is an emotional experience and one that affects the fight-of-flight chemicals in our brain.

It’s difficult to NOT lash out at those who would say nasty things about you. (And face it, your critics won’t always fight fair, nor will they necessarily treat you with respect or kindness.)

Godin reminds us all to take a deep breath before responding. Keep it positive. Be responsive. And remember that everyone is watching.

Fast Flip allows you to view the actual home pages of leading news Websites by recency, most viewed, recommended, or see the headlines.

You can also sort by topic: politics, business, U.S. news, world news, sports, science and technology, entertainment, health, opinion or travel.

Using your mouse, you can scan through difference Websites or scan through the pages of an individual Website in a flash.

Cool tool when you need to know a lot but don’t have much time.

Her “Seven Harsh Realities…” point out what you’ve probably already learned through bitter experience:

1. No one reads your blog (and if it weren’t for my Mom, no one would read this one).
2. You’ve got to give some of your best [ideas] away.
3. You can waste a lot of time using Social Media (which is one reason I recently deactivated my Facebook account.)
4. Don’t use social media to sell.
5. It’s about what people say about you, not what you say about yourself, that matters.
6. A blog is not a marketing plan.
7. Social media is not the CB radio of the 21st Century. It’s here to stay.

To summarize,

listen-engage-respond.

And wait 20 minutes after eating before you use social media Websites.

In his commentary, he laments the lack of creativity we’re seeing in advertising these days and reminds us all that, no matter how much we want to apply analytics and measurement to ensure we’re maximizing our return on marketing investment, having a compelling story to tell is what really sets your brand and your company apart from your competitors in the long run.

For me, it was a breath of fresh air on a day when I:

a) spilled coffee on my laptop and fried the monitor;

b) ventured out in the rain to the police station to pick up a copy of a police report for a client (who had her car window smashed and items stolen while meeting at the palatial offices of Nation Ranch a few weeks back), only to be told that they wouldn’t give me a copy of the report unless I had a notarized letter of authorization; and

c) spent a lot of time trying to remember the impossible password to our wireless internet server so that I could use my clunky old back-up laptop to maybe get some work done.

Linton’s words remind me why I started Nation Ranch in the first place, and why I enjoy helping clients tell compelling stories that set them apart and sell.

So while you’re slicing and dicing your Google Analytics report and fine-tuning your SEO strategies tonight, don’t forget that it’s your own unique story that really makes the difference.

My “favorite” part of the story, as reported by Brandweek, is a quote from Scott Frotman, spokesman for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, whose group is protesting outside Whole Foods stores in Ohio:

“Whole Foods has attempted to wrap itself in a progressive image, but when you peel back the layers you see that it is run by an executive who repeatedly pushes extreme positions.”

Yeah, what an extremist whacko Mr. Mackey is for claiming that health care is not a right guaranteed by the Constitution (sarcasm intended).

The past few weeks have been all sorts of fun for Whole Foods, which has since issued a letter of apology to its cusotmers and done some serious backtracking to separate the opinions of its CEO from its own corporate opinion on the issue (although I’d be surprised if the two were not one and the same), and established a message board on its Website to allow its customers to discuss the issue.

This episode ranks up there with the backlash that hit the Dixie Chicks after band member Natalie Maines made remarks critical of President George W. Bush.

The bottom line is that there truly is no such thing as “free” speech anymore.

For 20 years clients have asked me how we measure the success of a public relations campaign. And for 20 years, I’ve provided answers that includes pre- and post-campaign consumer opinion research, advertising equivalency, gross impressions, etc.

But I’ve never really “known” for sure. It’s incredibly difficult (if not impossible) to connect the dots between sustained positive publicity and sales and customer loyalty.

Close, but no Grail.

And the social media revolution has only clouded the picture, as now marketers are expected to connect a wider array of dots to demonstrate that a post on a well-read Mommy blog somehow generated greater impact on your bottom line than a 90-second feature on your local television news station. (In reality, it would be great if you got both “hits.”)

The traditional clipping service has been replaced by all manner of technology companies, who promise to fire up their Web engines and show you who’s saying what about your products and services, which bloggers, tweeters and news sites wield the greatest influence, and how all of this Internet chatter is woven together.

One of my favorite terms to come out of this revolution is “share of influence,” which is about as Emperor’s New Clothes as it gets.

As Asi Sharabi recently pointed out in his No Man’s Blog, you can spend a lot of time separating the wheat from the chaff and still not know much more about your brand’s standing in the public consciousness than you would by Googling yourself.

From what I’ve seen, he’s right. Most of the companies cites (no need for me to name names) offer up a garbage in-garbage out accounting of who-said-what-to-whom.

One exception, in my opinion, is an Overland Park, Kan.-based group called Spiral 16.

I’ve been using their Spark software off and on for the past six months, and I’ve found it useful in helping me work more efficiently for my clients by sniffing out opportunities and threats that we otherwise wouldn’t know about and then prioritizing our activities using this knowledge.

It helps prevent us from falling into the “mistaking activity with achievement” trap that befalls so many in the public relations profession. We are no longer forced to do the “dump and chase” routine of issuing news releases and then making a million follow-up calls—we can actually engage our customers, prospects and influencers where they live and via the information they consume.

The truth is, we cannot accurately measure social media yet. But we can use these monitoring devices to keep our fees down and generate greater bang for the buck.

Something that all clients can (and do) appreciate these days.

Not the Holy Grail….but not bad.

Essentially, what I’ve always believed about the “small town” approach to marketing is now being embraced as the new gospel of marketing.

It seems that listening, doing what you’re say you’re going to do and responding to the needs of the market are now “the next big thing.”

Funny, I didn’t realize that any of those traits had ever gone out of style.

Have we as marketers been that callous, or has all of our mass market bullshit finally caught up with us once and for all?

In his post yesterday, he correctly points out that The New York Times and other mainstream media (MSM) still matter because “everyone reads it.”

And even though Comedy Central and the social media disciples bag on The Times as purveyors of “aged news,” the fact is that daily national newspapers such as The Times, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal still attract millions of eyeballs each every morning, and provide a common reference point for society at large.

Completely ignoring the MSM is akin to Dirty Harry leaving that last (and possibly most important) bullet in the chamber.

Sure, you’ve got to have a great Website and you’ve got to interact with prospects and customers online, but when it comes to getting folks into the sales funnel in the first place, it’s still a numbers game and no one delivers the numbers like the MSM.

As the parent of a 2-1/2-year-old, I’m doing my best to reinforce the please-and-thank-you routine, and I’m pleased to report that Elie is showing progress in the basics of etiquette.

But this morning, I found myself caught in traffic and learned that many grown-ups have forgotten the things that they learned in kindergarten, and it bothers me.

It’s real simple:

When you’re in a lane of traffic that is being merged into another lane of traffic and you want to get in line ahead of another car, make eye contact with the operator of said vehicle, point to the spot where you want to go and await their acknowledgement.

It’s then appropriate to mouth the word “thank you” before you move your vehicle into position. A “thank you” wave in the review mirrior is also a nice gesture after you’ve completed the maneuver.

On the flip side, if you see that another car is trying to merge into your line of traffic, my personal rule of thumb is to allow one car to merge, allowing for a smoother flow of traffic and also because it’s the nice thing to do. Once you’ve allowed one car into your lane, you have fulfilled your karmic duty for the day.

This is pretty simple stuff, people. And this used to be such a friendly country.

Why does no one even wave anymore?

WTF happened?

And while I’m at it, when did “Uh-huh” become the proper response to “Thank you”?

But in the age of messge boards, blogs and Twitter, your detractors can post pretty much anything they want, ANONYMOUSLY and then disappear in the night faster than the Varmint Cong.

Whack A Molemore flash games..

Recently, we’ve begun incorporating a new technology to help us help our clients not only find out who’s saying what about them, but also to separate the lovers from the haters and prioritize our actions by engaging online commentators holding the greatest influence first.

It’s proved to be a tremendous listening tool, and eliminates the old PR trap of mistaking activity for achievement.