Bill Simmons Accidently Breaks Moss News via Twitter

By Stefen Lovelace

The latest NFL news is that mercurial wide receiver Randy Moss will be traded from the New England Patriots to the Minnesota Vikings for a third round draft pick.

Every major outlet is reporting this is a done deal. News of the deal was announced late last night, when outlets were reporting that Foxsports.com had broken the story.

The story may have actually been broken by ESPN.com columnist Bill Simmons by accident. Last night Simmons tweeted “Moss vikings”. The tweet didn’t make a lot of sense, and Simmons clarified a couple of minutes later that he meant to send the tweet as a direct message, as he had heard a rumor that a Moss trade to the Vikings might be in the works. He had no intention of sending the tweet to his one million-plus followers. He deleted the tweet a few minutes later, but was too late.

Moments later, ProFootballTalk tweeted “Unintended tweet sparks rumors of Moss to Minnesota” in reference to Simmons‘ mistake. Then Foxsports.com’s Jay Glazer tweeted “Yes, vikes and pats have been working on trade that sends randy moss to vikes and r very clode (sic) but can't be done ...” Once that was tweeted, every major outlet started reporting it and credited Foxsports.com on the story. To Glazer’s credit, he later acknowledged via tweet that Simmons beat him to the story, but he had been following it all day.

Simmons has always maintained that he’s not a reporter, but rather a columnist. He hails from Boston, and part of his persona is that he writes from the perspective of a fan and just comments on what he sees. But through Simmons writing, expertise, and platform, he’s managed to make some pretty major contacts in sports. If Simmons says something about the NBA or a Boston sports team, there’s a good chance there’s some truth to it.

This is probably the first actual story Simmons has broken since working for ESPN. I’m pretty sure he never thought it would be like this though.

Stefen Lovelace is an Associate Account Executive. Contact him at stefen@maroonpr.com.

Evan Williams Steps Down as Twitter's CEO

By Abby Draper

It’s been a newsworthy couple of weeks in the rapidly paced world of Social Media.

As some of you read last week, Mark Zuckerberg founder of Facebook.com donated $100 million to the Newark School systems; “Social Network” was released and hugely successful in its debut weekend; and today Twitter co-founder Evan Williams announced that he is turning his CEO title over to “focus on product strategy.”

In an unexpected announcement on the Twitter blog, Williams revealed that he has stepped down and asked Twitter COO Dick Costolo to take over as the company’s CEO.

In his blog, Williams writes:

“The challenges of growing an organization so quickly are numerous. Growing big is not success, in itself. Success to us means meeting our potential as a profitable company that can retain its culture and user focus while having a positive impact on the world. This is no small task. I frequently reflect on the type of focus that is required from everyone at Twitter to get us there.

This led to a realization as we launched the new Twitter. I am most satisfied while pushing product direction. Building things is my passion, and I’ve never been more excited or optimistic about what we have to build.

This is why I have decided to ask our COO, Dick Costolo, to become Twitter’s CEO. Starting today, I’ll be completely focused on product strategy.”

With the recent roll out of New Twitter, now seems like the perfect timing for Costolo to take over. I look forward to seeing where Twitter is headed.

Abby Draper is the Manager of Social Media. Contact her at abby@maroonpr.com.

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

By Mitchell Schmale

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) as the organization celebrates its 26 year history of promoting greater awareness of breast cancer issues and encouraging everyone to have annual exams. NBCAM has become a resource for patients, survivors, caregivers and the general public over the years as it works with numerous national public service organizations, medical associations and government agencies to promote breast cancer awareness and education.

As the brother of a breast cancer survivor, I appreciate NBCAM’s work and am grateful for the support and resources they provide organizations, as well as individuals, to help reach out to women to encourage early detection of the disease.

According to the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 191,000 women were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 and more than 40,800 women succumbed to the disease in the same year. But, the good news is that we are winning the fight. The overall mortality rate has decreased in the past 35 years and more cases of breast cancer are being found in earlier stages and being successfully treated thanks to greater education and screening programs.

The hard work of NBCAM and other leading organizations, such as the American Cancer Society, will continue around the clock – not just in October. Numerous organizations all across the country will have fun and creative local events this October to help raise funds and fight back against the disease. Find one that works for you and join the fight against cancer.

Mitchell Schmale is the Vice President of Business. Contact him at mitchell@maroonpr.com.

100 Million Reasons to Like Mark Zuckerberg

By Pete Deluca

Last week, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of the social networking site Facebook.com, sat down with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Newark Mayor Cory Booker on the Oprah Winfrey Show to announce his plans to donate $100 million dollars to the Newark Public School System.

The grant is welcome news to residents of Newark, who saw control of their failing school system turned over to the state of New Jersey a decade ago. Still, under the new regime, nearly 46 percent of the district’s 40,000 students failed to graduate from high school and less than half of elementary school students read and write at the appropriate grade level.

News of Zuckerberg’s donation spread quickly. In researching this topic, I expected to see thousands of articles praising this recording-breaking donation. Instead, I found story after story criticizing the move as a publicity stunt on the heels of the release of The Social Network – a film due out Friday that portrays Zuckerberg as a self-centered egomaniac who rips off his friends to create Facebook.

Either way you look at this situation, a donation of this size has the potential to dramatically change one of America’s most notoriously dangerous cities. One million dollars would have been more than enough to help teachers city-wide simply buy supplies. Five million dollars would be enough to provide new computers, after school programs, or safer transportation. Fifty million dollars would be ground breaking – allowing the city to build dozens of new schools. But a $100 million-dollar donation is unheard of. Publicity stunt or not, Zuckerberg’s grant is an amount that will change the lives of individuals for generations.

In addition to The Social Network, there is another movie in theatres on Friday entitled Waiting for Superman This documentary describes the hardships of the American public school system - the struggles teachers face every day, the poor level of education children are receiving, and how the system, which was once the best in the world, is now failing our students. The title hints to the overall plot of the film – the school system needs something, or someone, to save it.

Regardless of Zuckerberg’s motivation, Newark, New Jersey found their Superman.

Pete Deluca is an Associate Account Executive. Contact him at pete@maroonpr.com.

Great Things Come Out of Difficult Times

By Carolyn Maroon

A wonderful trend in recent years that was born out of tough economic times and the public’s lack of faith in big business, has been the dramatic increase of cause marketing efforts.

So many companies have effectively used cause marketing to build their brands while, at the same time, do good work … the Pepsi Refresh Project, Yoplait Save Lids to Save Lives, Box Tops for Education, Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, McDonald's and Ronald McDonald House Charities, Target and Take Charge of Education, and many more. We have come to associate strong brands with charitable giving.

These are just a few examples of how businesses and nonprofits team up in a “cause marketing campaign” where both sides benefit. The nonprofits gain national attention by associating themselves to a company that is already a big brand. Using this association in advertising creates a memorable impression by the consumers for both the charity and the business. Another advantage is that corporations have bigger budgets to invest in quality advertising, which will inevitably result in the channeling of more funds.

Additionally, embracing a cause makes good business sense. Statistics show that 83% of Americans and 94% of moms want to see more cause related marketing. Companies that commit to a worthy cause build brand loyalty with consumers. The majority of consumers prefer to do business with a company that stands for more than making a profit.

If the teaming up of businesses and charities is good for capitalism and raising awareness for worthwhile causes, I’m all for it. Statistics show that I am not alone in my view.

Carolyn Maroon is the Maroon PR Office Manager. Contact her at carolyn@maroonpr.com.

Lost: The Importance of Customer Service

By Tim Richardson

For the majority of us, our jobs involve interacting with people. My occupation actually states that fact in the name of the industry in which I work…public relations. However, not everyone seems to understand the importance of interpersonal communications and I have directly experienced customer service trending downward in recent years.

BusinessDictionary.com defines customer service as “all interactions between a customer and a product provider at the time of sale, and thereafter. Customer service adds value to a product and builds enduring relationship.”

“Adds value to a product and builds an enduring relationship”…in my opinion, that portion of the definition is the key piece that many people have forgotten. Considering the poor state of the economy, you would think that those competing for our discretionary income or purchases of necessity would strive to provide a level of service that makes them positively stand out amongst the competition.

Retail is a major business in our country. It’s estimated that billions of transactions take place each day in the nation's 1.4 million stores. From restaurants to contractors, technology service provides to manufacturers, high-quality customer service has become a forgotten principle of business.

When I started thinking about this topic for my blog, the examples of poor customer service that I’ve experienced in the last six months alone easily came to mind. Since it was hard to narrow it down to one, here are a few of my “favorites”…without naming the companies directly:

• Grocery store cashier who never said a word to me as she was texting on the phone and eating fast food while ringing up my order in the checkout line.
  
  
• A contractor who kept “forgetting” to schedule the crew to fix my roof after a snow storm gave me a “natural” skylight that was leaking throughout my house; the company then used the wrong product and slapped on paint so shabbily that it looked like a two-year old with their first coloring book; after receiving the run-around for about two weeks, the owner finally made an appointment with us on a Saturday to come by and address the situation…only he never showed up or called with an explanation.

• A ticket broker who told me “sorry about your luck” when a concert I bought tickets for was rescheduled and half of our group couldn’t go on the new date. When I asked to speak to his manager, he said “nope” and hung up on me.

Of course, not every company has disregarded the value of customer service. Chick-fil-A is the quintessential example on how to do things right. Think about the last time you went to Chick-fil-A, where you are not considered a customer, but rather a “guest.” After you placed your order, the person on the other side didn’t slap your change on the counter or ignore you after the transaction…they also didn’t say “you’re welcome.” They said “my pleasure.” Their pleasure? Two simple words that make you feel valued.

This mentality comes from the top as President and COO Dan Cathy stresses the importance of attentive and courteous customer service. That philosophy and commitment to “guests” even play a huge role in the decision process for opening new restaurants.

In 2008, Chick-fil-A received over 22,000 applications from aspiring store operators…they selected only 100 who they believed were in tune with Chick-fil-A’s mission.

Tim Richardson is Maroon PR's Executive Vice President. Contact him at tim@maroonpr.com.

Companies Implementing "Napping" Policies

By Andrea Kunicky

Every employee in the workforce, whether you are a teacher or a top executive, has been tired and not able to focus on work at one time or another. People usually fight it with a caffeine fix, taking a walk outside or even just browsing on the Internet.

Yet, while watching Good Morning America this morning, they brought up an unusual alternative that many companies are starting to use…taking a nap on the job with the approval from the boss. They went on to say that top companies such as Ben & Jerry's and Google have their own dedicated napping rooms. These quiet spaces provide their employees with peace and privacy to take a short snooze during the day.



According to a survey by the National Sleep Foundation, nearly 30 percent of workers fell asleep or became very sleepy at work during a month. And 65 percent of respondents admitted to experiencing performance issues, such as trouble organizing work and had difficulty concentrating.

Some employers though stand firm to their belief of a no nap policy, responding that their workers should get enough sleep at night and should be well-rested enough to work the full day. Napping in the workplace might sound like a strange concept to some, and even to me, but with the growing emphasis on health and wellness I can see why this issue has come up.

I can certainly see how this could help productivity in the workplace and balance the day out. At a company like Maroon PR, where there are new things going on each day, I don’t think a nap policy would be a good thing. It does seem like it is working for some other companies though and will be interesting to see if more companies institute a similar policy.

Andrea Kunicky is an Account Executive. Contact her at andrea@maroonpr.com.