Fours a crowd

2009–Present: Tiffanie Anderson's departure and a new direction

Since early June, 2009, rumors have spread regarding Tiffanie Anderson’s place in Girlicious, and whether she was still currently a part of the group or not. Speculations of Anderson’s departure were sparked primarily by their MySpace account, when all photos of Anderson were completely removed from the site, along with the heading title of their MySpace page (which previously read "Nic, Nat, Tiff and Chrys, that's who the hell we are"), changed to “Nic, Nat, and Chrys, that's who the hell we are", removing Tiffanie’s alias from the quote altogether.[5] Furthermore sparking rumors of Anderson's displacement from Girlicious was a Twitter update from Robin Antin, which read: "Girlicious fans! Nic, Nat & Chrys r getting ready to record a new single, new video, & tour the world! We LOVE YOU 4 LOVING GIRLICIOUS!"

It was officially confirmed on June 11, 2009, via a YouTube video upload from Anderson’s official YouTube channel, that she is no longer a member of Girlicious.[7][8] In the video, Anderson cites changes with their new record label and sound, stating: "Robin Antin and the label were looking for a new direction for the group" ... "they were looking for the group to not be [urban] any longer". She also speaks of personal differences between some of the girls, saying the group wasn't seeing eye-to-eye on a lot of things: "a couple of the girls and I didn't have the same values or the same morals - causing a huge conflict in the end of it all."

Despite Anderson's announcement on YouTube regarding the issue, Robin Antin, nor their record label, have yet to officially announce Tiffanie's departure from the band, or comment on the situation. However, Antin has announced on several occasions via her Twitter account that the group is in the studio recording material for a brand new single, set to be released in the near future.

On Sunday, June 21, 2009 Girlicious (minus Anderson) appeared live at the 2009 MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto, Canada as nominees and presenters. The girls won the award for the "Most Watched Video" for Like Me beating other artist such as Lady Gaga and Lil Wayne. Their video for Stupid Shit came in at second place. Robin Antin officially confirmed during a press conference for the MuchMusic Video Awards that Anderson was no longer part of the group.

Crowd, part 5

Joe,

Welcome back from vacation. It seems that you took a physical vacation which coincided with a mental vacation on my end. My day job has been all consuming lately, so thank you for promting me back into the discussion.

I think we both agree that HR should be a place of innovation where ideas like crowdsourcing are explored and cultivated. However, I'm not sure that the problem is a process versus solution orientation. I would say that HR needs a results orientation. From my experience, a big reason that HR doesn't innovate is that they wouldn't be taken seriously if they did. At the foundatin of this lack of credibility for HR is the inability to consistently produce results on their most basic expectations (pay people, provide affordable benefits, recruit talent, etc.). Crowdsourcing and similar innovation are approaches to take your game to a new level. If you are stuggling with the basics, it's generally not even a possiblitiy to get to the really creative solutions.

So, how to do this? There are a number of approaches, but the most fundamental thing we must do in Human Resources is change our mindset. We need to start by getting out into the business and talking with the business leaders about what they need to be successful. This should become the result that HR then works to accomplish. All too often, HR forgets that they exist to drive people results that propel the business forward. If we don't know what the business needs to move forward, we can't be successful.

To HR's defense, this isn't just an HR problem or challenge. Even the most innovative HR departments sometimes work within conservative organizations where an approach like crowdsourcing may be political suicide. However, once HR understands the results the organization wants to achieve, their obligation is to bring creative approaches to achieving those results. This requires hiring courageous, creative people and allowing them the freedom to take risks.

As for RAGBRAI, I am going to be riding the first day (Sunday). As you know, I bought a nice Trek bike a few years ago thinking that the act of purchasing a bike would make me a bike rider. However, until this year, I think I'd ridden it three times. But this year, I decided to commit to riding a day of RAGBRAI (53 miles and LOTS of BIG hills) so I'd be compelled to ride my bike to get in shape. So, I have been riding my bike trying desperately to get into shape. Along the way, a funny thing happened. I've been on a slow descent into bike dork-dom. I used to make fun of the guys in the biking shorts and bright jerseys . . . sadly now I have become one of them. Help me . . .

Question is: are you going to join me for this RAGBRAI quest?

Crowd, Part 4

Jason-

Well, I am back from a bit of a vacation and thought that I would throw out a couple more questions regarding applying the principles of crowdsourcing to the large and complex body of work we refer to as Human Resources.

1.) It seems to me that implementing crowdsourcing (and other tools, including Web 2.0 stuff) requires HR to move to more of a solution orientation than a process orientation. Do you agree with that and if so, how does that move happen?

2.) Should we be concerned that things like crowdsourcing (and open systems, and appreciative inquiry) are not being born out of HR work? Shouldn't the people charged with tapping into our "human resources" be doing more experimenting and producing more innovation in how we do that?

3.) The word on the street is that you are riding part of RAGBRAI this year. Is that true and are you ready?

Roch Kubatko Stops By & Talks About it All

Today it's all about my conversation
with Roch Kubatko of MASN, and it's
easy to see that we cover many subjects
both on and off the baseball diamond.
Enjoy !

Farrah Fawcett (February 2, 1947[1] – June 25, 2009[2]) was an American actress. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the TV series Charlie's Angels in 1976. Fawcett later appeared off-Broadway to the approval of critics and in highly rated television movies in roles often challenging (The Burning Bed, Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story, Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story, Margaret Bourke-White) and sometimes unsympathetic (Small Sacrifices). Fawcett was also a pop culture figure whose hairstyle was emulated by millions of young women and whose poster sales broke records, making her an international sex symbol in the 1970s and 1980s.

A Legend Dead :(

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer and businessman. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene at the age of 11 as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1969, and began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group. Referred to as the "King of Pop"[2] in subsequent years, his 1982 Thriller is the world's best-selling record of all time[3] and four other solo studio albums are also among the world's best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995).

In the early 1980s, he became a dominant figure in popular music and the first African-American entertainer to amass a strong crossover following on MTV. The popularity of his music videos airing on MTV, such as "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and Thriller—widely credited with transforming the music video from a promotional tool into an art form—helped bring the relatively new channel to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made Jackson an enduring staple on MTV in the 1990s. With stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of physically complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced many hip hop, pop and contemporary R&B artists.

Jackson donated and raised millions of dollars for beneficial causes through his foundation, charity singles and support of 39 charities. Other aspects of his personal life, including his changing appearance and behavior, generated significant controversy, damaging his public image. Though he was accused of child sexual abuse in 1993, the criminal investigation was closed due to lack of evidence and Jackson was not charged. The singer had experienced health concerns since the early 1990s and conflicting reports regarding the state of his finances since the late 1990s. Jackson married twice and fathered three children, all of which caused further controversy. In 2005, Jackson was tried and acquitted of further sexual abuse allegations and several other charges.

One of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records—including one for "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time"—13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era and the sale of 750 million records worldwide.[4] Jackson's highly publicized personal life, coupled with his successful career, made him a part of popular culture for almost four decades. Jackson died on June 25, 2009, aged 50.[5] The specific cause of death has yet to be determined.[2] Before his death, Jackson had announced a 50 date sell-out This Is It comeback tour, in London, England.

OUR THOUGHTS ARE WITH THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

Jam of the week

Jam of the week goes to no other than VALERIA THIS JAM HAS BEEN EVERY LATELY AT THE GYM, BAR AND ON TV.Granted its a little last year but its a jam!

Valeria - Girl I Told Ya
Uploaded by hiqutipie. - See the latest featured music videos.

PAU POWER

Paulina Rubio is back with latest cd called Gran City Pop.Hers are some scans from the album and her spread in mens magazine.The album is great!

U-S-A....U-S-A.....U-S-A

Iranian soccer players get shut out.

NHL Hall Of Fame Inductees

Florida Gators SPEND

Sex in Soccer ? ? ?

Donald Fehr retires. Good Riddance !
Adam Eaves Story

Egyptians celebrate soccer victory over
World Cup Champs Italy like it's 1999BC

Sad news for golfer Chris Smith

UNJUSTICE

By ANTHONY McCARTNEY, AP Entertainment Writer Anthony Mccartney, Ap Entertainment Writer – Tue Jun 23, 6:22 am ET

LOS ANGELES – Chris Brown pleaded guilty Monday to assaulting Rihanna and the two were ordered to stay away from each other, in a deal that keeps the singer out of prison but requires him to clean up graffiti or roadside trash.

Brown's plea to a felony charge will subject him to substantial scrutiny by probation officials, and the judge's order puts the kibosh on any short-term prospects for reconciliation with his pop diva girlfriend as well.

The guilty plea came before a preliminary hearing was scheduled to start. The hearing had been billed for weeks as a public face-off between the pair, with Rihanna set to testify against her one-time boyfriend.

Instead, Brown averted the potentially damaging meeting by entering a plea that will subject him to probation for the next five years as well as force him to perform six months of community service.

Mark Geragos, Brown's lawyer, said the plea represented the singer taking responsibility for his actions — which included beating, choking and biting Rihanna during a fight early Feb. 8, according to police.

Welcome Back !

Jose Canseco plans to sue MLB and
others for being ostracized. I'm not sure
he's wrong about this one.

Toronto Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston is
caught complaining that one of his pitchers
got hurt while running the bases during
interleague play. Well, who's fault is that Cito?
Just SHUT UP and manage the game !

Ryan Leaf arrested on drug and burglary
charges???? He blew threw all that money
already????

LeBron visits Obama at the White House.
See you don't have to win the Championship
after all James Harrison.

CLOWN ALLEY

IN case u have not seen seen New York goes to Work on VH1.In this episode America picks New york to become a clown.Not only does she man handle a kid at the party she destroys the set as well. its safe to say she did not get her check.We thought this would be an easy one for her.cHECK OUT THIS FUNNY OUTAKE.

VH1 TV Shows | Music Videos | Celebrity Photos | News & Gossip

ACESS DENIED

Clubbing fail! Holly Madison, getting turned away from the door while attempting to get into Body English at Las Vegas's Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. The Girls Next Door star showed up with a group of Playmate pals, but since one of her friends was under 21, they weren't let in.

It's About the Crowd, Stupid - part 3

Jason-

So, I think we are doing quite a lot of agreeing and maybe a bit of disagreeing on this topic. We clearly both believe that there are some ways in which HR needs to evolve and we both believe that crowdsourcing could potentially be a powerful part of that. But of course, I will try to examine the disagreement...

You mentioned the importance of process, software and compliance as being critical to HR. I think that, paradoxically, these tools are what is killing HR right now. A process is a tool, not a body of work and I think that HR has lost sight of that. A hammer can be used to build a home or it can be used to inflict great physical violence on another human being. It is of little real value to spend a great deal of time, energy and attention making sure that you have the absolute best hammer if you have not gotten clear on what you are using it for and what your role is. This to me is one of the disconnects facing HR and it is one of the things standing in the way of truly utilizing an approach like crowdsourcing.

The employee referral programs you mention is a perfect example. I think that nearly every one of the 19,284 companies I have been employed by in my lifetime have had an employee referral program. I cannot think of a single one that was actually very serious about it. Despite the fact that hires generated by employee referrals have a greater ROI than those that come from other sources, most companies do not appear to make a serious commitment to referral programs. To me this is just one example of a profession that prioritizes process over people. I think that many HR professionals and leaders in their heart of hearts believe that they can find better applicants through their tools, than "the crowd" can. I think that HR has come to worship their own processes, policies, language, paradigms and especially their software to the extent that it is not easy for them to have a lot of real faith in "the crowd."

Too much of the conversation is about using HR tools to keep "the crowd" in line and content. You cannot ever make a real effort to employ crowdsourcing if you do not believe in the raw ability of the crowd to deliver answers and create value. I think that many in HR have come to believe that the crowd is the source of problems, not the source of solutions.

Process is important. Software is important. Tools are important. But they are only valuable to the overall business if they are being applied within the appropriate philosophical context. I would say that context is part of what needs to change and I would say that changing that is a much bigger job than implementing some new process or changing software.

-joe

Talking It Out

Rick Reilly Story on Making $100 the sleazy
way one man wants his stadium freebies, and
he doesn't care who he has to sue to get them.

Outside The Lines Story on Raul Ibanez

Cristian Ronaldo Mega Contract Story

Adult video company pitches Texans for
ads on practice jerseys story.

CHAMPAGNE-swilling RONALDO celebrates his
£80million transfer by sharing a raunchy
night with PARIS HILTON

USA story: Skin game: 'ESPN' takes on 'SI'
by posing athletes in the nude

Your Next St. Louis Rams Owner:
Rush Limbaugh ? ? ? ? ?

It's about the Crowd, Stupid - part 2.

Joe,

You are right, human resources needs a revolution. As a member of the corporate HR community, it's a daily battle to fight for the future of my discipline. The ingredients that are missing is courage and vision. HR has fallen into a rut where we work primarily on problems that have already happened. We spend our time focusing on exit interviews, talking about the employees that got away when we should be talking about the future. Our focus must not just be the future of HR, but the future of our companies and how HR needs to evolve to support the journey to that future.

I understand your comments about process, software and compliance. However, these are all tools that are critical to HR. The problem is that we aren't applying these tools to the right issues or pursuits. Crowdsourcing is a process that may require both technology and compliance components within it--but you won't get that far of it you don't have the vision and courage to try it or explore it.

Crowdsourcing at it's most basic form operates on the assumption that the wisdom and resources of many is better than the wisdom and resources of one. In fairness to HR, we all have at least some very basic understanding of the concept because employee referral programs are a rudimentary form of crowdsourcing.

For HR to make crowdsourcing work internally, they need to understand that their role is to create the mechanism to unlock the potential of employees and customers, but that the best applications of this power may not be only towards HR problems. Here's a couple of ideas:

• Create a contest open to all employees to submit proposals for new products or services the company could develop or offer to their customers. If one of the ideas is selected, that employee or team of employees gets bonus money or a percentage of the products first couple years of profits.
• Launch a website where employees could post and discuss new benefit offerings that they think would be positive for employees. The organization could choose one each quarter to actually launch to employees.
• Create a youtube coorporate page where employees can film their own amateur 30 second commercials for the company. One of those could be selected to be a part of the companies advertising campaign, either on TV or a web promotion.

HR should be the group that brings the "idea" and "execution" of this concept to the table. They should be able to outline a process to make this happen. The company has no lack of problems where this could be a solution.

Jason

Things That Make You Go Hmmmm

Why the Mets CAN'T Win with this team!

Why the Orlando Magic Can't be NBA Champions

A Public Apolgy from me to the
Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins

BRING STORIES I MISS TO MY ATTENTION
Email me at: MadStorkSports@Yahoo.com

Montag's Hills

A few months ago, it had been rumored that "Hills" star Heidi Montag had posed for Playboy. And now comes official word that the former "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!" contestant will appear in the September issue of Playboy, according to People.

"There is nudity," a source told People. "It's tasteful -- she had a lot of fun with it." When contacted by MTV News, a rep for Montag did not have a comment regarding the news at press time, however, on Friday afternoon (June 12), TMZ reported that "there will be no real nudity" in the photos.

Perhaps a Playboy spread will improve Heidi's ranking on Maxim's Hot 100 List, which had dropped from #36 in 2008 to #81 this year. "I'm gonna go to this Maxim party and have a serious conversation," Spencer Pratt told MTV News after learning of his wife's ranking. "I'm still horrified she's not even at #2."

Montag is the latest MTV star to find herself in the pages of Playboy. Earlier this year, "Making the Band" star and former Danity Kane member Aubrey O'Day posed for the magazine, saying that if felt empowering for her to do it.

"We constantly feel the need to not say this or not wear this or do that, and taking it all off and being nude is the most natural state that you can be in," O'Day told MTV News about the pictorial. "Being able to feel comfortable with that and show that sex can be a beautiful, comfortable — your sexuality can be a beautiful, comfortable thing — is going to be empowering for people.

[This story was originally published at 11:06 am E.T. on 06.12.2009

Exposure Models Barry Eisenhardt and Tim McGrath are currently featured in 435 Magazine editorial

It's about the crowd, stupid.

Jason-

I personally cannot participate in another conversation regarding "a seat at the table" without putting a fork in my eye, but I do want to say this...

I think that the work of Human Resources needs to change...a lot. Not because other people at home in their pajamas, typing on their computers say so, but because how value is created has changed and how we do work and organize resources needs to change.

I apparently know very little about Human Resources because everyone else it seems is talking about processes and software and compliance and I care very little about any of that. I care about our ability to fully realize the potential of the "human resources" we bring into our organizations. If there is software that does that, kick ass, everyone should go buy some immediately.

If not...those of us that work in and around the discipline of Human Resources should be relentlessly rubbing our brains together to do a better job of setting talent free...of getting more value out of the intellectual, aspirational, experiential and relational capital that exists in our workforce. I truly believe that we are literally drowning in un-utilized and under-utilized "human resources."

Crowdsourcing may very well be part of the solution. Crowdsourcing (much like Web 2.0) is being talked about by a lot of, lot of, lot of, lot of people right now, and we do not want to confuse popularity for value, but (also like Web 2.) crowdsourcing appears to be potentially very valuable to Human Resource work...because it is about people.

Crowdsourcing (like Web 2.0) means slightly different things to different people and is still being defined and framed. Wikipedia says this:

Crowdsourcing is a distributed problem-solving and production model. Problems are broadcast to an unknown group of solvers in the form of an open call for solutions. Users--also known as the crowd--typically form into online communities, and the crowd submits solutions. The crowd also sorts through the solutions, finding the best ones. These best solutions are then owned by the entity that broadcast the problem in the first place--the crowdsourcer--and the winning individuals in the crowd are sometimes rewarded. In some cases, this labor is well compensated, either monetarily, with prizes, or with recognition.

Procter and Gamble, Threadless and Innocentive are often pointed to as examples of how and why crowdsourcing works...but these and most other examples out there are using crowdsourcing in marketing, and research and development.

I believe that Human Resource professionals can champion crowdsourcing within their organization to be used in marketing and R&D efforts for starters. But the pressing issue for us is, this... is crowdsourcing something that we can and will apply to Human Resources work. Can we use it for:

• identifying and attracting talent
• increasing innovation
• increasing employee engagement
• improving organizational culture
  
• reducing bad turnover
• professional and career development
• employee wellness and balance
• feedback and evaluation
• strategic planning
• development of compensation and benefit plans
• change management
• policy review
  

I think it offers a great deal of potential for many of these areas, but there is some conversation to be had about the "how." I think this is an issue that we can spend some time exploring, and I am interested to hear what you (and others) might have to say.

-joe

Winners and Losers, Like Whiners and Boozers

Phil Jackson says goaltending should
have been called at the end of game 2

Stupid Tom Brady News.

NBA finals NOT like NCAA days
for JJ Redick, and Adam Morrison

Oriloes ? ? ?

Here we go again?

Jason-

Interesting post, I have to admit I see a lot of parallels between the world that we came up in as Gen Xers, and today. I think there might also be a second issue at hand, and this one regarding Gen Y...because the world has in some very significant ways changed in the past ten years (even in the past 2-3 years) and I wonder how that will impact them early in their careers.

But, getting back to the crew coming up after Y, I do think that is likely we will see another cohort big on cynicism. I for one, think that is a good thing. In addition to the apparent correlation between cynicism and good looks, I think that our organizations and institutions continue to get away with a lot of bullshit. Despite all of the collective cynicism of the good looking Gen Xers, we still live in a world driven by spin.

There is today a great deal of noise being made about things like transparency and authenticity, and much of it is being made by the princes and princesses of the Web 2.0 world, but little of it has become reality yet. Few and far between are the leaders and decision makers in business, education, media, government, and religion that truly understand and live transparency and authenticity. Those things tend to be the mantra of those wanting to be leaders more so than those that are leaders.

More cynicism? Bring it on, I say...we need reinforcements.

-joe

Watch Shoshana Bennett's PPD videos on EmpowHer

This is a must-see ... Dr. Shoshana Bennett, past president of Postpartum Support International and a past president of California's state organization Postpartum Health Alliance, speaks out on PPD in a video series on EmpowHer.  

One of the videos that I believe is a powerful topic to explore is whether or not PPD can go away by itself.  One study that Dr. Shosh quotes showed that 25% of women who had PPD were still deeply depressed one year out.  

I'm wondering if this statistic might be low.  Or if there are a lot more women (besides the 25% who are deeply depressed), who are just ever so slightly or even mildly depressed and remain so for a long, long time.  And then become a lot more depressed over time until chronic depression sets in.

All I know is that I've known plenty of mothers who are obviously depressed, even many years after their kids are born.  They might overeat or chain smoke or drink a little too much from time to time, or do other things to take the edge off.  But deep down they're depressed.  And their depression could have very well started as PPD and then left untreated to fester over time.  I wonder how many women who end up being prescribed anti-depressants in their mid-life, when their kids are well into elementary school and beyond, are actually suffering from PPD.....

Fighting The Fight Within Divisions

Kaka joins Real Madrid story

Rounding Up The Weekends Events

Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster's infant daughter fights rare disease

Tim Kurkjian story on Ross Ohlendorf

Gen X Redux?

Good Morning Joe,

Lately, I've been wondering how the current times are going to shape the generation of children growing up today. According to the Tammy Erickson's model of the generations, it is the events that occur during you formative teen years that shape the lasting values and perceptions of a generation. So, that makes me curious as to how this current generation of kids are making sense of what's happening around them and how that might shape their world view.

Generation Y has been thought of as the confident, gregarious generation which stems from the fact that this generation grew up in mostly unprecendented positive times. Gen X on the other hand is know to be skeptical and even cynical, based on the fact that the world was seemingly coming unraveled as they grew up (government scandal, corporate downsizings, soaring divorce rates, etc.). So, what about this next group?

What I have been wondering lately is if we aren't creating a second wave of kids who may share some Gen X characteristics. I present to you this evidence:

• Our current economic recession and hardships are directly related to the greed and arrogance of corporate giants.
• After a number of years of a job market where there were good jobs if you wanted one, things have turned. We've been reminded of what layoffs and downsizings feel like. Everyone knows someone who has been impacted.
• We see reports each day soldiers coming home dead from Iraq from a war that was started based on inaccurate intelligence and a President who lied to the American people about it in order to justify going to war in teh first place.

These data points among others lead to an environment that sounds and feels much like the world that our Gen X brothers and sisters grew up in. Could it be that another "trust no one" generation is in the making?

Jason

Tidbits For You

Chris Carpenter threw a complete game and
continues to roll for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Randy Johnson wins his 300th, and even though
I've been giving him a hard time about the fact
that he's probably tarnishing his rep and
should have hung it up a year or two ago, he's
still one of the great pitchers of our time.
Mets lose Jose Reyes after he re-injures his
leg in a Florida rehab game, they get swept by
the Pirates, and they are scaring absolutely no
one but their fans.
Pittsburgh Pirates players are PISSED that the
team traded Nate McClouth, and I don't blame them
one bit. That's no way to show you want to win
KC Royals have lost 7 Straight and 18 of 24,
if Zach Greinke 8-1 1.10 ERA can't win tonight
this season will get worse in a hurry,
especially since they had a chance to turn it
around yesterday and they blew a Gil Meche lead,
after he went 6 innings and allowed only one run.
Texas Rangers failed part one of the road trip
when they lost 2 of 3 to the Yankees, next up are
the Bosox, let's see if they do better in part two.
The Cleveland Indians are 23-33,
and one of the few bright spots is, Carl Pavano???
Well he's 5-4 with a 5.29 Era What's wrong with
that picture you might ask?? Well last years AL
Cy Young Winner Cliff Lee has an Era that is half
as much and is only 3-6. Go Figure
The LA Dodgers have done well with Eric Milton,
they basically got him for nothing after he
missed all of 2008 but is 2-0 with a 3.14 ERA
this year for them and a proven starter with a
career record of 89-84

NBA Playoffs: Here's what I saw, did you see the same?
Orlando had horrible shot selection, the Lakers showed
much more energy, and Stan Van Gundy looked almost
lost. Before I say anymore let's see what game 2 brings.

NHL Playoffs: Yup, I was DEAD wrong, the Pens are
still alive, BUT the Wings will win this series!
I think.

NY Newsday reported that former NY Giants head coach
and current Las Vegas/Los Angeles UFL) franchise
head coach Jim Fassel said he'd sign Michael Vick.
"People make mistakes," Fassel said. "Everybody
gets a chance to re-prove themselves. The UFL may
be very good for him. Maybe he just needs to go
to a league and just start playing rather than
joining a team and be a backup."

OUR INVITATION TO THE UFL TO COME ON WITH US HAS
BEEN ONCE AGAIN EXTENDED. IT'S NOW UP TO THEM

Indianapolis Colts like the Houston Texans plan
to take advantage of a new and add an ad to
practice jerseys. I knew that was coming.

Yahoo sues NFL Players Association, and I don't
blame them one bit. Here's the story.

BRING STORIES I MISS TO MY ATTENTION !

Selena Roberts Stops By To Chat

SELENA ROBERTS INTERVIEW BELOW

Kansas City Royals, LA Lakers, Orlando Magic,
Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins,
New York Jets, New York Giants, Environmental
Protection Agency, New Jersey Meadowlands,
New York Times, Phoenix Mercury, Houston Texans,
New York Yankees, SELENA ROBERTS

BRING STORIES I MISS TO MY ATTENTION
REMEMBER TO DOWNLOAD, THIS IS A PODCAST !

Gelf Magazine Events &
Selena Roberts Appearance

Selena Roberts Link to Deadspin
Interview Rated R

It is "social" networking....

Jason-

I do agree, with one exception. I do think it is important to post a picture, but I do not think that it needs to be a picture of yourself. There are a handful of people that I follow on Twitter that use other images and they happen to be images that "fit" with that persons persona. I do use pictures of myself, but I believe you can go the other route and still have a credible presence. In a society that places far too much emphasis on appearance, I think that there is actually something to be said for not using your picture.

Having said that, I think your fifth suggestion is maybe the most important. If you are going to get any real value of social networking, you have to be all about the social aspect of it. LinkedIn is a really good example. I have been on LI longer than I have been on any other community and there have been times when I have not felt like it was a very valuable place to be. That was primarily because I was not proactive in engaging others there. I do that a lot more now, and LI has made it a lot easier to be interactive with updates, groups, questions, applications, etc.

One of the biggest differences between the 1.0 world and the 2.0 world is the transition from monological communication to dialogical communication. There is a lot of value to be found on LinkedIn, the Ning networks, Facebook, Twitter and other places but you have got to take a dialogical approach...you have to be reaching out to engage people and you have got to listening to them. The people (and companies) that do a good job of this are getting a return on their investment.

-joe

Guest News and Notes

DONT MISS SELENA ROBERTS TOMORROW !



BRING STORIES I MISS TO MY ATTENTION
-------DOWNLOAD THIS PODCAST--------

Major League Baseball,Texas Rangers,
Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees,
Detroit Tigers, Rich Hill, Matt Wieters.
Newcastle United, National League, Chicago
Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds,
St. Louis Cardinals, NBA Playoffs, LA Lakers,
Orlando Magic, Tyrese Gibson, Cleveland
Cavaliers, Le Bron James, NHL Playoffs,
Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins,
Chris Chelios, Montreal Canadiens, New York
Jets, Kerry Rhodes, Jonathan Vilma, Marylou
Whitney, John Hendrickson, Eliot Spitzer,
The Luv Guv, NY Post, The Ninth Client, FBI,
Client Number Nine, Belmont Stakes, David
Paterson

National Anthem Story

The Rules (for Social Networking Online)

Joe,

I read a short post recently about the importance of "personal brand" online when you are searching for a job. I think that managing your personal brand online is important all of the time, not just when you are looking for a job. Since there aren't any formal "rules" written for social networking sites and how to use them, I thought I'd propose a few.

1. If there's a place to put a picture, put a picture in it (subject to rule 2).
2. Use a picture of yourself that you like. Social networking is about connecting with other people who want to connect with you. Using pictures of your kids, your dog, or no picture at all is insulting. If you don't have a picture of yourself that you like, you may have bigger problems than how to use social networking correctly. See your shrink.
3. Take the time to complete the profile and put in some information about yourself. The more information you put on a social networking site, the more likely you will find the people you wan to connect with.
4. Invest some time up front building your starter network. Seek out the people in your outlook address book and review the people the site recommends. Make it a goal to have at least 50 connections on each site.
5. Spend time interacting with the site and others on it. Social networking will only feel like its valuable if you use it. Twitter doesn't work magically. If you open an account but don't tweet or follow anyone, it won't do anything for you. Post some pictures or comments on occasion on Facebook. The reason people link/friend/follow you is that they are interested in what you are up to.

Do you agree? Any rules you'd like to add to the list?

Jason

Progam Alert & More ! SELENA ROBERTS

Selena Roberts stops by THIS WEEK and
gives Mad Stork Sports the A-Rod book scoop.

Tune in, hear it all right hear ! Many things
you are sure to not have heard before !

Now Back to our regularly scheduled SPORTS

-----BRING STORIES I MISS TO MY ATTENTION-----

Blue Jays took 2 of 3 from the Red Sox to exact at
least a mild bit of revenge on Boston for setting
Toronto into a tailspin and the beginning of a
nine game losing streak. Cincinnati was swept by
Milwaukee in what was supposed to be a bit of a battle
for 1st, guess it wasn't too evenly matched after all.
Brian Bannister 4-2 3.64 has allowed 5 or more earned
runs in 6 or less inning in 2 of his last 3 starts,
repeating his cycle of 2008 with a very good start
followed by a dramatic downward spin.

Zach Grienke Loses, Oh My

Here is an example of "BASEBALLS NEW AGE"
On Yahoo's INJURIES & TRANSACTIONS Report:
5/28 Khalil Greene STL SS Social anxiety disorder
5/30 Joey Votto CIN 1B Stress-related issues
My how times have changed.

NBA Playoffs: Well I guess I no game 7 in LA, MY BAD.
Orlando, Cleveland May have been a surprising result
for some, but why all this Le Bron hating???? So he
didn't want to talk after the game, SO WHAT !
I wouldn't wanna talk either, GET OVER IT !

NHL Stanley Cup Finals: Won't last long, not at all.

The AP reported that Brett Hull and Les Jackson are
out as co-general managers of the Dallas Stars, and
in their place is Joe Nieuwendyk another former star
player. Who thought Co-GM's was a good Idea ???
Stupid, Just Stupid

Great story today by Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports
On the NHL useing only rules that are convenient
check it out

Shes back!

Although The Hills‘ new leading lady, Kristin Cavallari, has been all sortsa noisy about her strategy to stir up trouble next fall, we had no idea that all holy hell would break loose in the first couple of episodes. Watch the trailer below, in which K-Cav swiftly befriends the controversial Stacie the Bartender, more-than-befriends Justin Bobby and then ignites World War III with Audrina, all while looking incredibly pleased with herself.

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