I often post articles on LinkedIn with a lead in: “If you only have time to read one thing today, this is it.” I started to post this article, “How knitters got knotted in a purity spiral: A process of moral outbidding is corroding small communities from within” this morning, but realize I have more to say on this topic.

The article was posted by one of my most trusted friends, and former bridesmaids, on her private Facebook feed, along with her concerns and fears. She has her own company, which is growing and exposing her to bigger and bigger communities. Sharing, liking the wrong thing could, in an instant, destroy her and all she has worked for in her life, not to mention the people who have invested their money in her company and her employees.

This post is about the current “purity spiral” that has taken hold not just in the U.S., but around the world.

So take a deep breath and come along with me. You’re going to have to connect the dots between a knitting community and the legal industry. But look around you, we’re seeing this purity test phenomenon, along with the inability to dissent, all around us.Continue Reading Can you pass a purity test?

Dale Carnegie wrote the famous book How to Win Friends and Influence People that was the bible for business people going back to 1936. Today he might write, “How to win friends and influence content.”

I have a great legal marketing friend Roy Sexton out of the Detroit market. If you’re not aware, I’m in Los Angeles.

Whatever content I write and share, whether through my blog, Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook accounts, Roy shares it with his network. He usually adds a personal note showing me that he really read the content, and explaining to his network why they need to read it.

What happens from there is what I call the Roy Sexton Effect. My content goes viral, as you can see from this picture of a recent LinkedIn post of mine:

As you can see, the majority of the views of my post are coming from outside my direct network, and the majority of those people are in the Greater Detroit Area. Home to, you guessed it, Roy Sexton.

By way of comparison, posts not shared by Roy get a couple hundred views.

Be a Roy Sexton

Continue Reading The Roy Sexton Effect or How to win friends and influence content?

When conducting a social media training I always ask the audience to Google their name and if they don’t like the results we can do something about it. It’s always an eye-opener.

Gina Rubel posted this week about online impersonation via your headshot. Apparently, disreputable companies will grab your image online and utilize it when

Farewell Joan, from this "Joan Ranger"
Farewell Joan, from this “Joan Ranger”

I was so sad yesterday at the passing of Joan Rivers. I remember listening to her comedy albums (yeah, I’m that old) in high school and laughing at jokes that I could relate to — “slide down please” — because they were directed at me, a girl.

I’ve written before about the worst advice I ever got — “Do a good job, Heather, and they will notice you” — which resulted in me being overlooked for a promotion. Needless to say, this lead me to becoming very proactive marketing me in my career.

I read this essay by Ms. Rivers today, Joan Rivers: Why Johnny Carson “Never Ever Spoke to Me Again,” and I got it:
Continue Reading The best business advice I ever got, I got from Joan Rivers

We all have our bad days. But when your bad day ends up in the social media viral loop, or on CNN’s website, your day just went from bad to f***ed-up.

Over in my Legal Marketers Extraordinaire group on Facebook* we’re discussing the LinkedIn rejection letter that has gone viral, as well as the founder of the latest pay-to-play on-line network for lawyers. She’s a peach. I’d link to a story about her, but, if you do your own Googling, you’ll understand why I won’t.

* message me via The Legal Watercooler page the email you use for Facebook for an invite

I suppose time will answer a new age-old question to rival the chicken and the egg:

Which came first, the a**h*** or social media?

Right now I have to go with a**h***s.Continue Reading Social media once again reveals the a**h***s