I was alerted to, and alarmed by, this interesting article from the New York Times regarding Twitter users being paid to promote products and services by allowing commercial messages to be sent to their personal contacts.

According to the article, “the idea, according to the entrepreneurs who are developing such services for Twitter and other Web networks, is that people trust recommendations from those they know and respect, while they increasingly ignore nearly ever other kind of ad message in print, on television and online.”

What is mind-boggling is these entrepreneurs simultaneously get the point, and completely miss it.  The two very key terms they gloss over are trust and recommendations. How can you recommend a product or service that in all likelihood you have no experience with?  And how quickly will trust be eroded when it either comes to light that you’re getting paid for these promotions, or a follower has a bad experience with something you “recommended?”

If recent communications history has taught us anything, it’s that the fastest way to damage your reputation is to intentionally blur the lines trust and transparency.  Paying bloggers to promote your product, paying people to post positive reviews, or using web programs to post promotional messages to a website’s Contact Us form are all examples of tactics that leave me scratching my head.

Thankfully, many of these “recommendations” have signifiers like “#ad” or “#sponsor” to will indicate it’s a sponsored message.  However, in my opinion this is simply an evolution of Spam that will do more harm than good to both the individual and the social media service. 

If you’re a celebrity or otherwise famous person looking for a few extra bucks, with no real regard for your social network, this might make sense.  But if you represent a business using social media to strengthen relationships with your customers and prospects, my advice would be to stay far away from anything that blurs the line of transparency.

But maybe I’m wrong.  Would you like to receive unsolicited recommendations from people in your social network?

-Jeron Udean

Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year.

Jaw-dropping deals and door-buster give-aways draw thousands of shoppers on Black Friday, but the crowds and amount spent by shoppers don’t compare to the Saturday before Christmas.

Thanksgiving is upon us! It’s time to pile our plates high with turkey, yams and pumpkin pie.  But before we do, we asked ourselves, “What are you thankful for this year?”  Here’s how we replied…

Steph is thankful for her clarity and sanity.

Whitney is thankful for her family. “They can always make me laugh and have given me such unwavering support throughout this year.”

Trevor is most thankful for “my beautiful, healthy baby girl Luella. I am also thankful for how stinkin’ happy she is all the time!”

Joy is thankful that, “even though my family lives in three different states, we will all be together for Thanksgiving!”

Patricia is thankful for the trust our clients have placed in us during this challenging 2009.

Patrick is thankful that our agency was able to withstand the economic downturn and that our clients have generally weathered the storm very well.

Carol is so thankful for Makarei, her little granddaughter. “We get up at 4:30 in the morning to get ready for work and school.  On Saturdays she has piano lessons and choir practice.  She goes with me to Lay Organization and Missionary Society meetings and stays in a separate room dancing and singing.  Makarei is the joy of my life and I am so happy to have her in my life.”

Chad is thankful for his family.

Randy is thankful that his cousin Trent returned safely from Djibouti, Africa, after spending a 7-month tour of duty in the Marines.

Jenny is thankful for the small group she joined recently through her church. “We meet each Sunday night for a time of faith, fun and fellowship. It has already been such a gift and a wonderful way to start a new week. And our host is truly Rachael Ray Jr. so I leave each week with lunch for Monday!”

Jeron is thankful the economy has reminded him (and certainly many others) how much more valuable family, health and friendships are than material items.

Jane is very thankful to have a wonderful, big family that surrounds her with love and support. “I am also thankful that both Dan and I are employed and that our family is healthy and happy. And I am thankful to have been fortunate to have adopted such an amazing, loving dog to add to our family…we are so blessed to be able to share every moment of Lily’s life.”

What are you most thankful for this year?

We hope you enjoy your holiday with family, friends and those closest to you. Happy Thanksgiving from all of your friends at SCG!

Photo courtesy of KSFY News

My favorite sports column is Patrick Reusse’s annual “Turkey of the Year Award” that he writes every Thanksgiving. In 1992 he appropriately awarded the Turkey to the Golden Gopher Football team for 25 years of futility. In the ensuing 17 seasons since this quarter century milestone, the Gophers are essentially in the exact same spot. Mediocre. On second thought maybe I am being too kind to use the word mediocre, after all this is a team that finished 11th in the Big Ten as recently as 2007.

It wasn’t always so. The Golden Gophers won 18 conference Championships and 6 national titles in their first 85 years. The past 42 seasons (or about one third of the Gopher football team’s history) have represented a remarkable period of consistency. They have been mediocre or worse every single season since. They have not won a Big Ten title since their three-way tie in 1967.

The Minnesota Gophers football team just wrapped up their regular season on Saturday with a 12–0 loss to Iowa. This is a significant improvement from their 55-0 loss at home to Iowa the prior year. But looking at the combined score of 67–0 for the two games is a good lesson in Gopher Football prognostication. Unless the cycle is finally broken, history says they will be every bit as mediocre next year and here is why.

Clearly the defense was better this year, but the offense completely collapsed and the only touchdown the Gophers scored in their last eight quarters was by the defense. Next year the Gopher’s graduate 9 of their 11 starters on defense and also lose the best player on the team: wide receiver Eric Decker (recruited by Mason). This year’s team was 3–5 in the Big Ten. The current Gophers are coached by Tim Brewster who is the 7th coach since the Gophers last won a Big Ten title. His three-year record with the Gophers is 14–23 with a Big Ten record of 6–18. Personally, I like Brewster, and think he is a good (but over-rated) recruiter. I also think he might have the potential to be a good head coach, but clearly is not one yet. Losing key assistants has been disastrous for the program’s continuity and progress and is a major red flag of continuing deep, underlying problems. The transition this turnover caused lead the team to a pro-style offense this year which also turned our quarterback, Adam Weber, from a good performing QB to at best a mediocre one. Despite the ongoing and now likely issues with the coaching, I don’t see that as the core problem. I believe the problem we have with the Gopher football program is much bigger than just the coach. This is demonstrated by the University’s 0-7 record with coaching changes to try and fix this team.

Here’s the question I keep coming back to. How could a storied football program like Minnesota’s suffer such a long and unique drought of success? There are two theories that are worth considering. The first is that the arrival of the Minnesota Vikings eventually lead to the Vikes becoming the star attraction to the great detriment of the media coverage and focused excitement surrounding the college program. In 1967 the Vikings attendance exceeded that of the Gophers for the first time, coinciding with the last year of success the Gophers had. The other theory is that the pre-1968 Gophers were successful because they were big and strong and played a good power game. When the game shifted to speed in the late 60’s, the Gophers were unable to recruit the types of elite athletes that a speed game required. These theories are rational and would be plausible if Wisconsin, Iowa, Northwestern, Purdue, Penn State, Michigan State and even Illinois (in addition to the domination by Ohio State and Michigan) had not experienced Big Ten title success during the same period of time. Indiana is the only Big Ten team that hasn’t won a title since we tied with them and Purdue in 1967.

I believe the problem with the Gopher Football program is systemic. The previous administrations have not been committed to the program and the faculty largely ignored it as an unimportant distraction. The students have taken the queue from the culture and are seemingly apathetic about football. Even with a brand new, world-class, on-campus outdoor stadium the student section was barely half full the last couple of home games.

Despite the seeming hopelessness of the situation, President Bruininks has taken the vital first step necessary to restore the program. He invested massive amounts of political capital to get a new stadium located in Stadium Village on the campus. The new stadium serves as a symbol of the University and state’s renewed commitment to excellence in the marquee sport of college football. I believe this institutional systemic support for the program means much more than the interim success of this coach. It will take time for athletes to believe that Minnesota is a place they can come to and win a Big Ten title or play in a meaningful Bowl game. In the meantime, the stadium will at least get many of them to give the U of M a second look.

My belief is that we should let Brewster complete his contract despite a deteriorating, inept offense and a team that mainly disappointed from the Wisconsin loss on.  His recruits will begin to define the flavor of the program next year. A coach probably really needs seven full years to turn a program this stale around, but I believe we will know next year if he is the right coach or not. If he can deliver a credible, winning team with many of Mason’s seniors graduating, it will demonstrate the direction of both his coaching and recruiting aptitude. The burden of failure he inherited with the Golden Gopher’s program was deeply entrenched and unbroken for more than four decades. (Mason did not turn the program around, he restored it to mediocrity by adding cream puff games to the schedule to inflate his won loss record and get in meaningless third tier bowl games. His Big Ten record was a very average 32-48, never placing higher than a tie for 4^th in the Big Ten.)

So despite Coach Brewster’s very limited success he needs a reasonable chance with a full recruiting class to fix it. More importantly, I believe the beginning of a real turnaround is in place with President Bruinink’s leadership in orchestrating the new stadium and his commitment to the program. Next year will tell the tale for Coach Brewster, and I hope it means Reusse won’t have to award the Gophers another Turkey in 8 years for 50 years of futility. It will save a lot of time if Brewster wins next year and he’s the guy, but there is finally some hope even if he doesn’t. The stadium will be too painful a reminder of failure for the University not to finally find a way to succeed– no matter what it takes. 

-Patrick Strother

All the work building the brand. Countless hours perfecting products, designing stores and selecting colors to create just the right ambiance. Navigating the harsh 2009 economy. And if you are a coffee shop (as this blog will spotlight), there is McDonald’s in a stare down trying to lap up your latte sales.

After years of running the high hurdles to create a connection with customers, it is mind numbing to think that a lone employee can sabotage the whole efforts with an offhand comment. Could it really happen?

Well it can. And it did.

Photo courtesy of DisplayFakeFoods.com

It was 3:00 pm.  I plunked down $4 for a Chai Tea Skim Latte to treat myself for a week of valiant efforts. The barista was complaining to her co-worker, “Are we always this busy on Friday afternoon?” Standing next to the pick-up counter, I asked what’s bad about being busy. (Isn’t it a feat of enormous success to be busy with customers?) Without looking at me, she answered that when she was busy, she couldn’t clean up as she went which meant she had to stay later. Her co-worker just walked away.  Embarrassed? Bored? Who knows. And, from my perspective, who cares (anymore.)

Her slacker attitude not only dampened my enthusiasm for my Chai tea, but it made me think differently about my skyway coffee shop. Now, I might be inclined to go elsewhere for my afternoon pick-me-ups, if only to help this barista be a little happier.

Investing in an employee culture is critical for long-term success. Culture counts, and in a big way. Creating the right culture with shared values and investing in ongoing employee communications is far from a luxury—it’s an insurance policy to protect the significant investment in your brand. Will it keep all employees from alienating a customer sometime? No, probably not all, but it will help. And your customers will say thanks a latte.

- Patricia Henning

Thanksgiving has been celebrated every year since 1621, when the Pilgrims held the first Thanksgiving feast.

Thanksgiving was not made a national holiday until 1863 when President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a day of national Thanksgiving.

A U.K. based design firm, Design Q, has proposed reconfiguring airline seating to allow for increased occupancy, lower seat costs and more fuel efficient travel.  It almost sounds too good to be true – and it is.  The seating configuration is based on how soldiers are seated when traveling overseas, facing each other along the sides of the aircraft. In this set up, forward-facing seats would be a luxury, and the ticket cost would reflect this. With fuel costs continuing to rise and with fewer daily flights taking off, economy airlines like RyanAir are interested in this seating configuration with the hopes of attracting more travelers with lower ticket costs.  RyanAir has even proposed having standing room only areas in the back of planes for a lower ticket price. 

Photo courtesy of Wired.com

Aside from the obvious safety hazards, I question whether flyers – even cash-strapped twenty-somethings backpacking across the continent – would go for this idea when there are already so many inconveniences of flying today.   While the new design is intended only for flights lasting 30 to 80 minutes and is currently only in discussion for European airlines, I hope the American airline industry does not catch onto this trend and recognizes that cutting costs is not always beneficial for the customer. Fliers are already paying for checked luggage, to have a snack and drink during the flight, and in some cases even to pick their own seat. Travelers should at least be able to keep comfortable, forward-facing seats where they can relax, recline and enjoy the ride.

-Whitney McIntosh

I’ve been extremely impressed with our most recent two interns who came to SCG soon after graduating from college. Intelligent, curious, tenacious and armed with marketing communications internships under their belts, they came well trained in the basics, eager to learn and willing to contribute from Day 1 to our strategic integrated communications work. We’re lucky and likely, so are they.

With a tight job market and many experienced people out there looking for work, it’s tough for recent college grads today to get their start. This got me thinking about my own start as a journalist after graduating from Loyola University of Chicago 20 years ago. Man, was I green.  Not quite sure what I was going to do with my liberal arts education (a degree in History and English, no less) and having failed miserably at a brief stint trying to sell disability insurance door-to-door in Illinois (after literally being chased off a doorstep by an elderly woman with a broom), I fell back into my pre-graduation comfort zone and took a temporary job in retail for the holiday season.

While folding sweaters and policing the dressing rooms one day, in walks our newest seasonal retail employee: the city editor of a local county-wide daily newspaper near my home town. With writing as my only clearly defined strength at that point, she offered me the chance to write a few articles about charitable happenings in the community. It was a test. Pleased enough with the result, she next gave me a shot at a reporter’s job covering the paper’s largest city beat, but only on a three-month trial. She made no bones that I didn’t deserve the job and if I didn’t prove myself in that short time, I’d be “out the door.”

The pressure was on. With no journalism degree and a pedantic (precise term used by the chief editor) writing style more suited to history research papers, I was clearly beyond my depth. And treated as such by the seasoned reporters in the newsroom.  On several occasions, the chief editor pulled a bulging manila folder from his file drawer to show me “all the more qualified people who wanted my job.”

Six weeks in, my city editor unapologetically informed me she didn’t think I was going to make it. A painful and brutal assessment, but extremely necessary. So what did I do? I delved into what knowledge I had acquired in college and found a way to make myself useful to my employer. I pitched a feature story idea about the personal stories and ongoing struggles of Vietnam veterans in the area to mark the approaching 20^th anniversary of the first deployment of U.S. troops to Vietnam. With a skeptical nod from the editors, the paper’s seasoned feature writer and I teamed up to find a local support group run by a psychologist and Vietnam vet who agreed to be interviewed and helped put me in touch with other veterans in his group. What developed surpassed even my initial vision and certainly stunned my editors. We soon had a compelling, two-part Sunday piece that went on to win a national feature writing award.

The result? I kept my job (by the skin of my very unsharpened teeth), worked hard to cultivate my knowledge and journalistic writing style for several more years for very low pay, and went on to earn the respect of most of my fellow reporters. So, chin up college grads. It might be harder to get a foot in the door these days but once you do, your future is all yours to make.

-Steph Haugan

There are national parks in every state.

There is just one state in the Union without a national park, monument or historic site. Can you guess which one it is?

Do you ever notice that when the leaves change in Minnesota, so does the mood of many of its inhabitants?  It seems the onset of winter turns some of the happiest people into grumps.  A few of my closest friends get a shiver down their spine in mid-July at the mere mention of winter. 

The one trend I’ve noticed among folks in Minnesota who dread the winter is they don’t have an outdoor activity they enjoy once the snow flies.  So instead of looking forward to shredding fresh powder, they dread scraping their car.  That first frost creates visions of driving on black ice, not cutting their first ice fishing hole.

Luckily, I’m here to help.  Here are 5 outdoor hobbies that any winter wimp should consider taking up:

1)       Ice hockey or boot hockey on your favorite pond or city rink

2)       Downhill or cross country skiing

3)       Ice skating

4)       Winter camping

5)       Ice fishing

What winter activities do you recommend for beating the winter blues?

-Jeron Udean