Facebook is really starting to feel like that nosey relative who stays too long at family get-togethers and asks way too many personal questions. At first, the bombs dropped about how the social media giant was giving away your private information to whomever logged on — including the FBI and other federal agencies — appeared to be a cross over into scary Big Brother type territory. This publicized panic didn’t really discourage anybody from using Facebook, however. Facebook masterminds in suits claimed that the site wasn’t in the business of handing out the more…

It is always intriguing in this new age of marketing who “gets it” and who doesn’t it.

There are brands that you are sure would utilize the latest and greatest in social media marketing, blogging, online PR, intelligent brand marketing but they seem to miss the boat entirely. And there are those who smartly play the whole game and are willing to change along with latest techniques while still remaining uniquely themselves.  So I would like to salute more…

The 2010 version of South X Southwest Interactive, or as I like to affectionately call it “Nerdchella”, won’t even get started until the weekend but the stampede of press releases, teasers, and critiques have been hurled out of Texas like empty  shot glasses at Jenna Bush’s wedding.  SXSWi, unlike it’s uber-cool music counter part, which starts on March 17th, is an unabashedly dorky affair celebrating all more…

The Patient: MTV, the little cable network that changed television and music forever.

The Ailment: MTV suffers from Brand-nesia, a condition in which a well loved brand forgets what and who made them famous to begin with. MTV also suffers from a social media overdose, chronic pointless video abuse, and multiple marketing personalities.

Prognosis: Not so hot. Jersey Shore notwithstanding, MTV’s buzz making machine has nearly run out of steam. If a newer, fresher look and hipper demographic isn’t targeted soon, the network will continue to be a joke.

Recommended Treatment: Once upon a time, MTV set the bar for coolness and told us which artists to love and what music to buy. Even shows like Beavis and Butthead told us when to laugh. Today, however,  more…

The Patient: Merriam–Webster, America’s go-to guy for dictionaries and thesauruses since 1828.

The Ailment: Merriam Webster suffers from a jumbled online presence and a scattered social media strategy that undercuts their fantastic line of products.

Prognosis: Hopeful. With a strict streamlining of the website, an aggressive public relations plan, and clear vision for social media, Merriam-Webster should remain the country’s premiere reference guru for another century or two.

Recommended Treatment: The worn out red Webster’s dictionary has long lived on the shelves of students. Everybody knows the brand and it’s omnipresence is so ingrained that it would be safe to assume that the brand is fine and not going anywhere anytime soon, right? Wrong. If the recent  shake ups at long standing publishers like  Rand McNally has taught more…