President Obama’s healthcare reform speech was a huge hit, according to Nielsen TV Audience Measurement. In his second address to a joint session of Congress, across ten broadcast and cable networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, BET, CNBC, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, Univision and Telemundo) last Wednesday night speech aired to over 31 million viewers, adding up to a combined household rating of 20.4 and a share of 35. The TV show “Friends” airing on NBC from 1994 to 2004, had a 9.2 rating at its height and last seasons “American Idol” finale, FOX Network reality show had 28.8 million viewers.

With all the drama that took place at town hall meetings across America this past August you would not have believed that so many people would tune in to watch the President. So the question I have to ask is, why would so many viewers spend time watching a politician, who according to recent polling data, the majority of Americans do not trust, talk about an issue they don’t agree with him on?

Could it be that Americans across all political parties, ethnic and age groups are truly interested in healthcare reform? Maybe the President is right, healthcare reform is tied to our economy’s recovery and Americans understand the connection. Didn’t the polls and the “talking heads” predict early on last year that Mayor Rudy (Winning Florida will win me the election) Giuliani was going to be the GOP nominee for president?

Could it be that they are wrong … again!

http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/erickson/2009/04/did_i_really_need_to_hear_that.html

Great article on when to keep your mouth shut, so let’s take this article one step further and add the social media perspective.   In a recent round table discussion of my peers, the conversation was not who you were connecting with on FB or Twitter, however who people were hiding or disconnecting because of boring banter.  If we follow Dr. Albert Morabian’s graph, on the impact of a message;  7% are words, 38% are voice tones and 55 % are facial expressions and body language then those words need to be pretty concise when using social media.   The consensus at the end of the discussion was that people need to learn to EDIT themselves before they ruin their credibility.  Some people share too much information and forget that this is a vast audience that may impact them professionally and personally.  This all goes back to branding yourself, if your posting random thoughts just because you can… then be prepared to enjoy the positive feedback as well as the negative that are now associated with your name.    Facebook  and Twitter are suppose to be fun, however never loose sight of when sharing too much inforamtion  may cause disconnects or hides that may come your way.

Lately you may have seen news story about the fast growth of Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc… these are a few of the new Social Media networks that are changing who we all interact on the internet.

Many can tackle social media marketing, but few approach it like onlineLINK Marketing, a new business unit of carreñogroup.

onlineLINK Marketing can help you climb the social media mountain by first developing a SMO (Social Media Optimization) strategy. Next, we work with you to identify desired outcomes traffic/page views, sales, reputation, social responsibility, influence, credibility, and brand awareness.

Once we understand the desired objective, we choose tactics wisely, while cognizant of what actions will influence the desired outcome with the most impact.

Social Media Marketing is characterized by communities that allow users to do many or all of the following:

· Create profiles/accounts

· Grow a network of colleagues/friends

· Collaborate with other community members

· Submit content

· Vote on content

· Tag content

· Comment on content

With the overabundance of social media options, onlineLINK Marketing ensures that you embark upon the right channels with the right content!

Stop the Madness People!  If you have heard my presentations, TIME is a precious commodity not just in business, but in life.  When I facilitated the Franklin Covey Time Management course, the top three detractors were email, voicemail and managing the daily interruptions.  Today lets add LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter,YouTube along with blue-tooth technology to keep you connected.

Second point in my presentation is understand your Behaviors and recognize your Patterns above all else in a decision making process.  When deciding to add technology to help you become more efficient, there is no need to incorporate every available gadget and software into your life at the same time.  Assess what tools you really need and be conscious of your daily work patterns and behaviors.  It’s about you and your needs versus what everyone in the world is using, without this approach technology will only become one more thing for you to manage.  

Case in point in a recent face to face meeting with a client (which she arranged) who was constantly checking her Blackberry every time it vibrated, it occurred to me is this self proclaimed efficiency or just plain rudeness on her part?  The reason my client called for a consultation was to discuss her inability to close the deal with clients.  After much discussion and constant interruptions, I pointed out the only deals getting attention were on her blackberry and we may have accomplished more had we just texted each other.  My client did not realize she had picked up her Blackberry 16 times in 30 minutes until I showed her the tally I was using to keep count.  She said she did not realize how much she was using her phone and was worried she might miss a call from a potential client.   Like her client, my time is also valuable and my face time deserves some respect, courtesy goes a long way, and undivided time and attention to a client goes even further.

Based on discussions and observations her behaviors reflected a lack of focus and social etiquette as well as an immediate need to respond to technology creating patterns that were jeopardizing building relationship with potential clients.  She had made technology the priority instead of the tool to prioritize what is important to her business and her life.   Technology is always changing, your behaviors can be modified, however time does not stand still for anyone and that potential client may not either.

Harvard Business Publishing

I am just beginning to take Twitter seriously a few weeks ago, I find it very user friendly and I think it adds more overall value for branding and communicating  than other social media website. However, here’s an interesting article by Gyutae Park     (Winning the Web) on using Twitter -  http://www.winningtheweb.com/twitter-seo-optimize-search.php

 

This past week I was reading Network Week and saw a story on using Skype on cell phones. This is a great story and I think we should all read it.

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/033009-mobile-skype-the-end-of.html?page=1

When VOIP comes to our cell phones it will be one more opportunity to communicate in a cost effective manner.

If you are not using Skype yet at home or at the office you need to start now!  Free Calls To Skype Users, Free Video Calls, Download For Free.

www.Skype.com

 

This article and others published in USA TODAY this week are based on 355,334 telephone interviews conducted throughout 2008 by the Gallup Poll and Healthways, a Tennessee-based health management company.

 

The surveys of about 1,000 people a day for 351 days measured Americans’ physical, emotional and economic well-being.

 

Go to well-beingindex.com for more analysis and to ahiphiwire.org/wellbeing/ for data from your state and congressional district.

 

               

 WHO WORRIES ABOUT MONEY

Americans 30-49 years old were most likely to say they worried about money the day before.

 

18-29                                     41%

30-49                                     43%

50-64                                     35%

65 and older                         19%

 

Source: Gallup/Healthways Well-Being Index

 

 

By Charisse Jones, USA TODAY

NEW YORK — Allison Busch says her anxiety about the economy began to rise in September: The stock market careened, and she watched the collapse of Lehman Bros., a financial giant.

 

By November, she says, her hopes lifted when Barack Obama was elected president. But they dimmed as Christmas approached. In January, her worrying rose again.

 

 

So although her husband has a good-paying job as a real estate developer, Busch is planning for the day he does not.

 

“I told my husband, when he calls me to say he was fired, I’ll probably cry and fall apart for 24 hours,” says Busch, 39, a lawyer who lives in South Orange, N.J. “Then I’ll calm down, and we’ll figure it out.”

FIND MORE STORIES IN: Barack Obama | New Jersey | Tennessee | Christmas | St. Louis | Social Security | Medicare | Disney | Brookings Institution | University of Southern California | Airlines | Latinos | Gallup | Anheuser-Busch | Jennifer | William Frey | Holy | South Orange | Belgium-based InBev | Healthways | Jim Harter | Society for Consumer Psychology

 

The year 2008 gave Americans an unending supply of dizzying and jaw-dropping events that affected jobs, businesses, personal fortunes and nearly every facet of our lives.

 

A year-long poll conducted by Gallup and Tennessee-based health management company Healthways, taking the daily pulse of Americans’ physical, emotional and economic well-being, found that worries about money grew sharply as 2008 progressed: 14 million more people worried about money at the end of the year than at the beginning, says Jim Harter, a chief scientist for Gallup who oversaw the research on workplace and well-being.

 

“It’s moved from about 3 in 10 to about 4 in 10 over the course of the year, so … it’s a pretty significant finding,” Harter says.

 

Worries grew steadily in 2008 before a sharp drop in December, likely due to the holiday season, he says: “I imagine people did worry less because they were with family and friends… They probably took some time off from their worry.”

 

The poll shows those ages 30-49 — often raising young children while assisting aging parents — were the most likely to worry. Those 18-29, just starting to build their financial futures, followed.

 

Americans 65 and older worried the least, their senior years cushioned by traditional pensions and government benefits such as Social Security and Medicare, says William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution.

 

Among ethnic groups, Latinos were the most anxious, just ahead of blacks.

 

Excessive worry can affect not only individuals, and families, but the entire economy, analysts say.

 

“Life stressors such as losing a job can really lead to emotional states such as depression,” says Joseph Priester, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Southern California and former president of the Society for Consumer Psychology.

 

“But then there’s a second aspect where being indirectly affected or just hearing about it in the news a lot can shift you into a defensive stance.

 

“That, in turn, influences how we consume, which, in effect, reinforces the recession.”

 

Anxiety and second jobs

 

Joe Cuker, 33, a father of three in St. Louis, became his family’s sole breadwinner when his wife, Jennifer, was laid off by Anheuser-Busch in December.

 

A bank manager, he works seven days a week, selling furniture on weekends to supplement his income.

 

“There’s definitely anxiety,” says Cuker, whose employer is cutting his salary by 5% this year.

 

His worrying began last summer, when economic tremors had begun to ripple across the country.

 

In May, Disney said it would close nearly 100 stores. American Airlines became the first airline to charge passengers for checking a single piece of luggage on trips. In June, the average price of a gallon of gas topped $4 for the first time in U.S. history.

 

And in St. Louis, rumors began to swirl that Anheuser-Busch might be taken over by another company.

 

Cuker grew more concerned in the fall, as financial institutions such as Lehman Bros.filed for bankruptcy or were taken over by federal regulators or other banks.

 

“I remember sitting there and … thinking to myself, ‘Holy cow. This isn’t good,’ ” he says.

 

In October, Cuker got the second job that brings in an extra $5,000 a year. It came just in time. In November, Belgium-based InBev completed its takeover of Anheuser-Busch. By Christmas, Jennifer’s job was gone.

 

The family’s income dropped from about $93,000 to $47,000 a year. After paying their $1,700 mortgage and some of their roughly $50,000 in credit card debt each month, Cuker says, there’s barely $200 left.

 

So they tap their savings, and weigh every expenditure — from an ice cream cone to a haircut.

 

“Sometimes you can’t afford to get food,” he says. “We just scrape whatever’s in (the pantry).”

 

Jennifer remains unemployed, but is searching for a job.

 

In February, Joe tried to get food stamps and make payment arrangements with his credit card companies. But he was turned down for both — because he earned too much money to qualify for food aid, and he already had the lowest interest rates offered on his cards.

 

“What’s most stressful is trying to be proactive and responsible,” he says, “and that doesn’t get you anywhere.”

 

Joe Cuker is part of the age group that worried about money the most. About 43% of people 30-49 who were surveyed throughout last year said they had worried about money the day before, according to the poll.

 

“They’re planning for their families’ futures,” says Frey. “They’re going to be the mainstay of people older and younger than them. And they’re just scared.”

 

Latinos feel the strain

 

Among ethnic groups, Latinos were the most likely to be concerned, with 42% saying they worried about money the day before. Blacks were close behind, at 41%, while 35% of whites and 35% of Asians said the same.

 

“Latinos are probably the most aspirational of all the groups in the U.S.,” Frey says.

 

During the last decade, “They got a foothold into the suburbs. They got a foothold into the housing market, and now it’s all crashing down around them.”

 

From 2000 through 2006, the unemployment gap between Latinos and non-Latinos virtually disappeared, says Mark Hugo Lopez, associate director at the Pew Hispanic Center in Washington, D.C.

 

As the recession has deepened, however, the gulf has returned.

 

In February, the unemployment rate among Latinos was 10.9%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Only the rate among black workers was higher, at 13.4%.

 

“A lot of the job losses have come in construction and … among foreign-born Hispanics,” Lopez says. “I think this uncertainty about jobs is partly what’s driving this uncertainty about finances.”

 

In July, as Starbucks said it would close 600 of its shops and Congress began steps to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Marta and Alberto Torres of St. Louis began to have troubles of their own.

 

At the factory where Alberto Torres worked, bosses started cutting overtime that added at least $400 a month to the family’s income. By October, workers were being laid off.

 

Marta Torres was relieved when her husband was spared. But she cannot keep her worries at bay.

 

“Of course, whenever he tells me someone got laid off, we feel fear,” says Torres, 39, who works as a program coordinator for Catholic Charities. “What if the next one is him?”

 

Together, the couple bring home roughly $50,000 annually. They have bought groceries for friends who have lost their jobs. And they are helping struggling relatives in Mexico, including her father, who was diagnosed with cancer in December.

 

“When things are bad here in the United States,” Torres says, “they are worse there.”

 

Black workers losing ground

 

For more than a generation, black workers have struggled to gain financial parity. Now, the economic downturn threatens to erode what gains have been made.

 

“African Americans make on average only about two-thirds as much as non-Hispanic whites,” says David Bositis, senior political analyst for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that focuses on policy issues of particular concern to blacks.

 

“Now you have real fears of losing jobs, so under those circumstances, it’s not at all surprising that the feeling right now is of great economic anxiety.”

 

Less than two years ago, Verna Weeks, 41, and her husband, Abdullah, 37, of Wilmington, Del., earned more than $160,000 a year.

 

He was a church administrator. And her real estate appraisal business was doing so well, she eventually cut back her hours at State Farm Insurance, where she’d worked for 17 years.

 

Then, at the end of 2007, Abdullah lost his job. He found work in late February 2008 as a repair specialist for Apple, but Verna says her anxiety has lingered.

 

“There were times when you went to sleep thinking about it,” Weeks says of their money woes, “and I would wake up, and that would be the first thing on my mind.”

 

The fallout from the faltering economy was all around her throughout 2008. She received fewer requests for appraisals, and her dream of becoming a full-time entrepreneur began to evaporate.

 

In August, with their household income cut nearly in half, the Weekses chose not to buy their children new school uniforms.

 

By October, Verna Weeks was asking to again work full time for State Farm, but “because of the economy,” she was told no.

 

Her worries go beyond her front door: Her sister is facing foreclosure.

 

Yet it was in December, when Weeks’ in-laws said they no longer could give an allowance to her children, that Weeks became outright fearful about the future as well as the present.

 

“To see them. .. start saying no to even their grandkids … it’s frightening,” she says. “When I’m 60, am I … going to be able to do anything for my grandkids?. .. Will we even be able to retire when we want to?”

 

Rakia Clark, 30, of Manhattan stands on the cusp of the two generations most likely to be nervous about the economy.

 

She remembers a moment in September that seemed especially ominous, when Republican presidential nominee John McCain suspended his campaign to focus on the financial crisis.

 

“It just seemed more urgent,” says Clark, who was then an editor at Kensington Publishing, earning more than $50,000 a year.

 

When some of her friends began to get pink slips in October, “I made it a point to pay off all the remaining debts I had,” she says. “I knew if necessary, I could live off of Ramen noodles and Pop-Tarts, but I didn’t want … to owe anybody money.”

 

Her angst eased around Christmas, when instead of layoffs, her company handed out yearly bonuses. But a month later, she and three others were let go.

 

Her spirits sagged during those first days, but soon she began to pursue freelance editing. The work has flowed in since.

 

“If it continues to be this steady,” says Clark, “I will be better off financially than I was as a full-time employee.”

 

So, for now, she is not worried.

 

“In one way it was a bad thing to lose my job,” she says.

 

“But it’s created room for all these other things that so far have proven very fruitful and fulfilling.”

 

Seniors not as stressed

 

The worry gap between those younger than 65 and those entering their senior years was stark. Only 19% of those 65 and older were stressed about money the day before.

 

“In retrospect, (it) makes sense,” Harter says of the relative calm among seniors. “They may have been less invested in the markets … and that group may be less susceptible to all of the things that happened in the last year with the economy.”

 

Frey added that the oldest Americans have lived through many national crises and may be more stoic.

 

“They’ve seen the ups and the downs,” he says.

 

Floyd Schultz, 75, of Coral Springs, Fla., was a child of the Depression. Born in 1933, he faintly recalls his parents receiving aid so they could buy food.

 

That experience shaped him, making Schultz a conservative investor. A pharmacist, he still works part time, and his 67-year-old wife, Marcia, works full time as a psychologist.

 

Having a job has helped keep his worry in check.

 

“We’re basically living off current income, plus Social Security,” says Schultz, noting that they have been able to leave their retirement funds untouched. “If we had to dip in, we’d be in trouble.”

 

Perhaps more than worry, he feels anger.

 

“Frankly, I would like to see some people in jail,” says Schultz, of the government officials and bankers whose actions, he believes, helped precipitate the current crisis. “It’s unconscionable.”

 

With at least 25% of their retirement savings gone in the slumping market, Schultz says his wife probably will have to postpone her plans to retire this year. Still, he remains an optimist.

 

“You have to believe our country … will come back,” he says.

 

“If it doesn’t, none of this is going to matter.”

Historic numbers of Latino voters delivered for President Barack Obama and share in the victory we all honor today.

 

Indeed Latinos contribute to the rich fabric of this country, whether on the front lines in Iraq, in the farms of California, or at the voting booths in Florida.

 

As we celebrate the diversity that is America, let us move forward from a nation of black and white to fully embrace the many shades of color: Latinos - whose phenomenal growth and $1 trillion buying power fuels our nation’s economy.

 

But in watching the news coverage today I never once saw a Latino anchor or commentator, never once saw a Latina being interviewed on the Mall, never once felt that we too are celebrating the great new beginning. We all wanted change when we voted for President Obama, let us hope that the national news media gets that the change that commences today is for all America, not just for Black or young America.

An interesting article on how Mayor Bill White might have to adapt his speaking style in his bid for the US Senate.  Enjoyed the way the article discusses fundamentals of speech communication.  Most politicians forget that you cannot deliver the same words in the same way to every crowd.  You have to adapt to your audience.  Great orators and politicians understand this technique and use it to their advantage.  Audience adaptation - a lesson all politicians should learn.

Read an amazing book and got really practical ideas from it.  Here is the authors website.  Joan Detz is a great writer and an easy read.  The following link takes you to her 10 tips for giving a good speech.  Some generic group communication ideas that will really help the first time speaker.

http://www.joandetz.com/tips.html