I knew I was in trouble even before I began reading a very thought-provoking post on social media by Mitch Joel, Confessions of a Narcissist brought to my attention by Mike Hyatt.  The title alone was convicting. In his post, Joel unplugs from the Matrix long enough to see what we have often feared would happen: a feeding frenzy of the cult of ME. Social media has empowered narcissism to a new level and given it legs to run amuck. He poignantly writes: The true destination for most of our online endeavors really are the new media equivalent of the biblical statues that were presented as deities. These digital shrines that we create to ourselves. The post hit  a nerve with me. Intellectually I know that social or any type of media is inherently neutral. Unlike some who believe Facebook, and Twitter and whatever new social network a 19 year-old…

Since we started The A Group 9 years ago, we have been giving Christmas gifts to our clients: expensive cookies, designer pen, leather notebooks, engraved pad-folios to name a few. However none has elicit the volume of feedback through notes, calls and lots of social media mentions as this past year’s gift: The A Group branded Snuggie. We sent them to clients in the cold North as well as in sunny Florida along with our Christmas card also featuring our entire team wearing Snuggies. None of us could’ve predicted such a warm reception (pun intended) nor some of the coldest weather in recent history. Here’s a few lessons from this year’s Christmas gift: This was not the most expensive gift we have ever sent, but it was the most original We are a professional but fun company and the branded Snuggie said it all In a sea of cookies, pop…

So art is subjective and it’s supposed to evoke feelings, thoughts, or just a simple “hey, this is not the ordinary, so look at me” type of reaction. This slide show is of some of the most unusual sculptures from around the world. I haven’t decided on a favorite, but I’m pretty sure it’s not the big thumb from Paris. Ah, the French should stick with food.

Lately I have gotten a lot of “feedback” from friends, family, associates and even complete strangers on my obsession with technology, as some have labeled it, specially my ongoing usage of Twitter. Since I syndicate my tweets (what we call a twitter post) on my blog, my Facebook page, and Plaxo, I can see how, for a non web-savvy person, it seems that I’m spending most of my days updating these sites with seemingly trivial information. Even, Gwen, my lovely wife, emailed me the other day with the indicting words, “if you have time to twitter, than you have time to . . .” and so it began my “honey-do” list. The truth is that it only takes a few seconds per post. I estimate that I might spend a total of 5 minutes–on a busy tweet day–on my social network posts. First of all, I’m in the communications business.…