You know it’s a slow news week when top stories include the president’s annual pardon of the Thanksgiving turkey and Facebook’s exclusion of “is” in status updates. Not that I’m complaining, I’ve caught up quite a bit this week! And Black Friday? How about the new trend, Cyber Monday? It is the rush of online shoppers the Monday AFTER Thanksgiving. It’s hard for the consumers to keep up if you ask me…

And while there may be 353 articles on Google News about G.W. Bush and his turkey, one piece of news seems to have (for the most part) quietly slipped by: Karl Rove has joined Newsweek as a commentator on the 2008 election. Rove’s debut column is called “How to Beat Hilary (Next) November” but if you want to read it you will have to search for it yourself because I don’t pass out link love for free!

Enjoy the holiday!

Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Effective Communication, facebook, Karl Rove, Newsweek, Public Relations, Thanksgiving, turkey

Does Facebook breed questionable decisions? Or are questionable decisions just more visible due to Facebook? In a recent post on Valleywag, Kevin, an intern at Anglo Irish Bank called in sick to work (when in actuality he was partying in upstate NY) and was outed due to a picture from Facebook. Is Facebook the new Candid Camera? Big brother? Or just plain fun? Michael Arrington recently posted about a college student who couldn’t live without Facebook and wrote him for help. I personally use Facebook to keep in touch with my friends, as a networking tool, and just for fun. But with that said, I am hyper aware of what I post and what my friends post of me. For me, Facebook started as a college necessity (all my friends were on it, so I HAD to join) and has since turned into a serious networking tool. My friends may not get it, but in PR and Tech, Facebook is king.

I guess the moral of the story is watch what you put on Facebook because it can come back to haunt you (particularly when you lie to your boss to go party!)

candid camera, facebook, networking, Public Relations, Silicon Valley, Technology, valleywag

My colleague Kimberly sent this around a few days ago and I finally got a chance to check it out yesterday afternoon. Like any true Facebook addict, I found it hilarious and entertained the entire SF office with my giggles. Please feel free to take a look and have a wonderful weekend!

facebook, Friday Fun, PR, Technology

Last night I attended the SF New Tech Meetup at Mighty. This month, the focus was on mobile technology, which is a field that I personally don’t have a lot of experience with (minus that my cell phone is always attached to my hip!) There were 5 companies that spoke, along with a drawing for an ipod touch, drinks, and 60 second pitching opportunities for employers, soon to be employees or VCs. I enjoy these types of events not only because they are wonderful for networking but you get to see exciting new technologies in action.

There was Veeker 2.0, a one stop inbox for sharing, sending, and updating mobile content that has recently partnered with Universal and NBC. Mosio, a social mobile search network, allows users to ask a question and have it answered in real time by real people. Pazap.com is a walking book store, allowing you to buy, sell, and check local prices for books all via your phone. Waterfall Mobile is a software development platform for delievering mobile content (ranging from wall papers to music) and used recent client Dashboard Confessional as an example. And last but not least, there was Devicescape which manages all your wifi passwords and logins on your mobile device in one easy location.

I highly recommend these events to anyone who is interested in tech. Any takers?

Devicescape, Meetup, Mobile Technology, Mosio, networking, Pazap.com, SF New Tech, Technology, Veeker, Waterfall Mobile