Zuckerberg was right. Fake news stories did not drive this election. However, he is wrong about what is the real problem with social media. Fake news stories masquerading as coming from real news outlets were not a driver of actual changed opinion in the election. Not one vote was changed or added. However, if anything, users became a massive research tool. Sharp-eyed Johnnies-on-the-spot, becoming adapt at spotting the suspicious clickbait stories, quotes, and headlines, were researching the source before sharing or agreeing. More and more your Citizen Journalist, that is: I, saw just how quickly Friends and Friends of Friends were posting one word: FAKE. So, yay for intelligent users of Facebook. There’s more of you than anybody expected. While admitting the fake news stories on social media did not effect the outcome of the presidential contest, like all good Liberals, Zuckerberg and others in Silly Con Valley still push the idea Continue reading Silly Con Valley: Forked tongue or still missing the point?→

It took a radical feminist only 460 words to tell her Facebook friends how scared the Trump win made her. I’ve quoted it here without attribution to the specific person because, honestly…if I was her and wrote this, I’d be embarrassed to have somebody make commentary on it. Besides, she sure could use a good editor. Meandering. Without cohesion. No end in sight. Reader, you’ll see bold italics where I think you’ll especially like to focus. In between, I’ll make snarky commentary. I do so love snarky commentary. RadFem: “After missing an entire night of sleep in the nightmare that was the Tuesday night US election results, I did manage to sleep last night. Although I was so tired at one point in the late afternoon, I found myself unable to construct a simple sentence at work…gripped in terror and rage and tempered by the icy cool knowledge that US men Continue reading RadFem Rant: Trump is a four-year frat party with nukes aimed at…women!→

I’ve been overhearing some folks say, “Hillary got the popular vote, so why did she concede? Why didn’t she duke it out with The Donald?” If you’re a Liberal-type, your head may explode when I tell you why, so have some paper towels around to clean up the mess…or don’t read further. Secretly, in places she doesn’t let anybody see or is willing to admit she has, Ol’ Hill didn’t want the real job itself because, face it, she couldn’t even keep one server safe much less a couple of compounds in Benghazi. She knew the complicated country called America was way beyond her ability to run. Things would quickly go from bad to worse when she validated everybody’s feelings but quickly found out hard and unpopular decisions must be taken that only she would be responsible for. No wiggle room at the top, girlfriend! The buck stops at that desk Continue reading I’ll let you in on a little secret.→

During a long and brutal campaign, the Media Elite, the Doms and Dominatrices of all things P.C., cackled gleefully with every missile sent Trump’s way, wagged their fingers self-righteously at his Basket of Deplorables, and merrily pointed to every mainstream, established, respected poll that confidently stated Trump was not only going to lose, he was going to lose big. Here’s a guy with an out-sized personality, rough-around-the-edges plain talker, and he won? It can’t be! Tears ran like blood on social media platforms. To make it through the night, anxiety reducing pills were thrown down throats, safe places were sought, white students on uber-liberal campuses set a few fires and whined about how unfair it all was. Then the next day came the insults from the losing side. Whites and blacks alike saying Trump’s election only proved the country they live in hates blacks, LGTBQs, Hispanics, and everybody else that isn’t white and just Continue reading Hey, ummm…about last night’s Black Swan event→

The know-it-all, self-righteous, Liberal P.C. Doms and Dominatrices only interact with the unfortunates when they want their vote, or their appreciative smile and their bobbed head and bent knee delivering a very public “thankee kindly, mum.” Otherwise, Liberals couldn’t, and wouldn’t be willing to, share a table with the great unwashed inside their fave chi-chi hangout — unless it was for a strategic photo op. After which the poor, unfortunate, stupid, lazy slob in need of saving would be quietly hustled out the back door with their dinner packed in a to-go box — extra bread included for their unfortunate spawn. Won’t the kiddies be so proud to open up the bag and see the bread from Chi-Chi? Oooh, extra fancy butter. Aren’t they sooo thoughtful and magnanimous? Children, we’re voting for them. See the butter? These are not new situations. You may enjoy reading this from 1877. In any case, I’ve Continue reading Bruthas from another Mutha: Liberals, Socialists, Communists, and Radical Muslims→

In the name of tough love, certain radical feminists have rained down curses upon Ivanka Trump’s business by asking for a boycott of her clothing line wherever it is sold. Of course, the New Yorker jumped all over that. Hey, it’s all about selling magazines and papers, or getting eyeballs online. I get it. Then Sir Baratunde Thurston decided to weigh in with what I saw as a thorough wasting of my valuable Facebook time. Sir Baratunde is a writer whose columns I always read — and valued — in Fast Company, a business magazine. So, I made a quick reply on that most egalitarian of social media platforms as ever existed. You can see it in the below screenshot. And you want to know what happened? Oh. My. Gosh! Who replied but the one and only Sir Baratunde, a business media personality, well known, and paid massive amounts of money to Continue reading “Oh, Baratunde, I’ll never wash my face(book) again.”→

Men who take stiffy-inducing drugs and then get melanoma can now sue. It’s true. The ads are all over TV. The latest reported side effect linked to Viagra (and other of those ED-types including Cialis) is an increased risk for melanoma. Men who take these for any of its recommended uses have legal rights if they develop this deadly skin cancer. So if the everlasting-stiffy and the loss of vision and hearing don’t kill you, hey, that innocuous black spot will. “What a way to go” now has new meaning. What caught my eye in this announcement was that if a man takes these drugs for any other use than what is recommended, then he cannot sue. The big question here is: What are the unrecommended uses for Viagra? So I researched it. I couldn’t find any unrecommended uses other than the long list of medicines one should not use at Continue reading “What a way to go” now has new meaning.→

The Internet is touted as that awesomely verdant wild place where viral events happen like evolutionists say the monkey changed into city-building man and the fish sprouted wings to see the waters in which it once swam. That is, viral events could not be planned or made to happen on the Internet. No way. No how. If anything went viral on the Internet, then it was truly by the vote of The People of the World Whose Will is All-Powerful but Truly Unknowable. Part of me wanted to believe that. Part of me wondered why it is my brilliant ideas never caught on. Part of me was willing to close my eyes and wish and hope. Then again… …another part called bull because the Internet is like the Wild West: You have to go there to see it. You have to have a weapon to survive the fight. Other people must be informed where the Continue reading “We can make your [fillintheblank] go VIRAL! Sign here.”→

Billy Bush, part of the extended Bush family which includes certain professional politicians, was filmed doing what men do: Talking dirty about women they want to get frisky with, and bragging about gittensum — or admiring another man who got what he couldn’t. I do not have a problem with any of that as it is part of the DNA of men. Women talk about men the same way, so we have our own DNA making trouble for us, too. All that makes the world go ’round. What I’m finding particularly interesting about this whole situation is that the Media Elite privately is okay with this when it’s their buddies doing it. See, nobody was calling names in 2005 when The Donald and Billy were privately taped saying those things. Though it didn’t air (FCC rules and all that), no sanctions came down from NBC brass. But because of loyalties to Continue reading Billy fell down and broke his crown→

This is a story about reliance on and unquestioning faith in experts and how that is killing business, including music.   Everybody in the room is sniffling and sneezing. Hacking coughs are heard throughout the room. They all have itchy, watery eyes. Temperatures are rising. With that description you might be tempted to say, “Hey, everybody in that room has the common cold.” And you might be right. Then again, maybe not. What if those same symptoms had three different causes but the only cure to be trotted out was the standard treatment for the common cold? What if one of those unknown causes meant at least three people in that room were going to die and two would be crippled for life if those particularly nasty causes were not identified? Take it further. Let’s say a doctor came in the room, glanced around and said, “Common cold. Aspirin, cough medicine, and bed rest. Continue reading You: Pass the tissues, please. Expert: You’re not sick.→

Preventing small forest fires makes extreme ones an inevitability. Making something artificially bigger by incubating it from outside stressors makes it more vulnerable to a severe collapse. Investors should listen to Taleb. Author of The Black Swan, The Impact of the Highly Improbable, he knows of what he speaks. Which brings me to why I am writing this for you, Investor Person. I’ve got a company that needs a small influx of cash for marketing. I’ve built the product at my own expense. There is a huge and desperate market need. But because I cannot show — in fact, will not show (more on this later) — that millions of people will follow blindly like sheep within Period X at Y Cost Per with Z performance income guaranteed to make anybody smile, nobody is listening. In other words, what is happening is in order to stop the big fire that started because nobody deleted Continue reading Nassim Nicholas Taleb has a point→

There I was online. Surfing the news. When up pops before me a headline that says “TRUMP WILL DECLINE SALARY IF ELECTED!” Well, I think that is a perfectly awesome thing to do and I believe that headline. Though I’m thinking it might not be true only because the story had one paragraph and the website it was on was www.MakingMoneyFromHitCounts.com or something like that. However, that is not what this article is about. Instead it got me to thinking about just how the President gets his weekly paycheck. Now think about it. I’m serious about this question. We’re always being told how much they make and that they make it for life which, by the way, is a sweet deal. But does anybody tell us who it is that comes around with a stack of envelopes on Friday morning (to make sure they show up for work on Friday and don’t take a Continue reading Paychecks and the Prez→

Chapter headings for a forthcoming book, maybe? Hmmm…I’ll just have to give this a big ol’ think, huh? Three Aims of the Media Elite • Support of Approved Liberal Narrative • Scarcity of Truth • Slavish devotion to the Cult of Personality Acquisition of Influence • Mysterious sources • Central Theme: You are stupid and Daddy knows best • Manipulation of Politically Correct Erogenous Zones The Conduct of the Media Elite • Flouting of Expensive Journalism Degree • Landing a Job With One of the Big Three • The Hunt for a Suitable Co-Host  Getting Help from  Friends to find: • Approved Media Hookups • Approved Significant Others • Approved Living Quarters Two Kama Sutra-Approved Positions for the Media Elite:  

Dear Huffington Post, I want to caution the Senior Political Reporter for the Huffington Post — one Mr. S.V. Dale — for not doing a good enough job of CYA with his recent story on The Donald as seen in this link. Furthermore, S.V. Dale’s article could not even qualify for a Wikipedia insertion as you can tell by comparing it to their editorial standards. (At left) I have included a graphic (below) I made of the Four Easy Steps to Writing Your Own Misleading and Highly Spun Column that your columnists would do well to follow, if only to stop annoying readers as badly as Mr. Dale did. Please feel free to download, print, and pass out at your next editorial meeting. To show you how my helpful graphic would have benefited Mr. Dale, we shall compare his column linked above to my guidelines. Clearly breaking all the rules as set forth in my Continue reading Dear HuffPo, watch your boohiney→

I’m concerned for the eyesight of the new crop of waiters and waitresses or, for those who prefer the more P.C. version, waitstaff which you can fill in on your own to replace the other titles. You see, it seems they are having a difficult time identifying the age of many of their patrons and that they may very well be hiding that failing vision by simply addressing all but the shortest (who they believe to be children or young teens) as “Dear.” “Hello, Dear,” they say kindly, “would you like a table today?” Two years ago when I was first addressed thusly I can honestly tell you I took it personally. That is, I believed this young waiter was calling me old. I was tempted to whip out these pictures (see below) and compare them side by side while putting the metaphorical beatdown on him with this command: “Tell me of these two which should Continue reading Hello, Dear? Oh, dear.→

My ex-husband used to say to me, “Angie.” That’s what he called me, Angie. “Angie,” he’d say, “you can dance to an alarm clock.” He was right. I can. I was born with rhythm. Do not confuse what I just said with I was conceived via the Rhythm Method. Okay? That is not what I said. What I said was my rhythm is DNA deep. I did not learn it. It is simply there. So, when I hear music or any rhythmic pattern say from a train on a track or whatever, my body naturally starts moving. Often I’m not even aware I’m dancing. This rhythm of mine has gotten me in trouble, cranked up party fun, and caused people to laugh. Which brings us to the title of this article. I was having my Waffle House cheesy eggs on the side with onions and ham this morning (no raisin toast or Continue reading Dancing at the Waffle House→

I’ve been saying it for years: Radical feminism is a hate crime against men. Radical feminism does not celebrate differences in gender: They punish them. We now have more evidence of the success of RadFem’s campaign to incite hate in this story about two men. One dead. One now a murderer. And why? Because some damn woman didn’t get the RadFem Memo about giving her inner warrior permission to open her own damn door, that’s why. Because her inner warrior was a drama queen that wanted to see two men fight over her. Because that damn drama queen complained to her boyfriend that some other man dissed her. Because her inner warrior needed a man to fight her fight for her. And the murdered man. A father. Going into a McDonald’s for a burger. Gets shot dead. What about him? He was probably confused as hell to see a gun pointed at him for not holding Continue reading Radical feminism is a hate crime→

That Guy in the picture above, in the midst of all public opinion to the contrary, said “Hey, something evil’s brewing and I will not support it.” At the time, That Guy did not heil Hitler when all around him said he better do it. I guarantee you he was hounded, cursed, his business ruined or fired from his job, kids kicked out of school, wife snubbed at the grocery store, and bank loans called. And that’s the best-case scenario. More than likely he was shot, hanged, or burned in public…as an example. That Guy’s wife and kids were killed too, after each drop of slave labor was wrung from them. And all for what reason? Because That Guy’s conscience told him he could not support what he knew was a really bad thing. That Guy in the picture has had history prove him to be brave, smart, and prescient. Continue reading Colin Kaepernick: Being “That Guy”→

In my multiple and oft-overlapping roles as software inventor, industry disruptor, author, publisher, editor, book designer, and songwriter, I attend a diverse array of industry events all of whom have hired professional photographers who have taken classes and have certificates to prove it. And yet to this day I fail to understand how it is all (except one: Thank you, Patrick) of these professional event photographers manage to take so many pictures of me while capturing every bad angle in the worst lighting available to them. Further, they insist upon super-duper closeups even after I say “trust me on this, it won’t work” and they say “oh yes it will, my camera is awesome” and the pictures are downloaded and there it is… Ick… EEE. How is it I can look awesome in an unretouched photo I took myself — and four hours later the guy with the fancy camera Continue reading Selfies and the rise of The Donald→

I don’t care who you are, no one can accurately represent themselves to the public. We can’t see the tree for the forest. Heck, even I had to get help to put together my author site because I could not see myself clearly. But, once I got the feedback, and once I saw how it could be implemented, and I was able to see me from the POV of the public, then it became an easy process of keeping that updated. Just like for these authors here — visit Jedwin Smith’s site or Fred’s site — I can build the frame for your online presence; you can maintain and update after that.             If you would like a quote to build or awesomely refresh your site, just fill this out and I will be in touch.

After asking for more information about why it was wrong (her word) to immediately let people know what one’s business is and then ask if they could use a service or product, a woman said to me, “With all due respect, you don’t have a sales background, so you have no context for what constitutes great selling practices and process.” It is true I do not have a sales background like her, but after being in business for myself since 1992, I think I have some experience in finding out what managers, department heads, CEOs, and small business owners need, and whether or not what I have can fulfill that need. If I was the only person having a major challenges with growing their customer base, then I would give much greater credence to what this woman, a social media relationship marketing expert, was saying. But I’m not the only Continue reading Rude? Wrong? It makes no damn sense.→

Sad, short answer: Most are. The questions are why and how? First, what is Relationship Marketing (RM)? Simply put, RM is based on how you can sell or service a customer and then continue to stay in touch in a friendly and helpful fashion and sell or service them a second, third, etc. time when they need that product or service again. Think sales and service departments at car dealerships. They stay in touch with helpful hints on how to keep the resale value of your car at a higher level by timely servicing of important components you might not even know it had. As one man said, “It all comes down to building rapport, credibility, trust.” If you are nodding your head, you understand the entire basis of marketing that will lead to repeat sales. However, then came the great Social Media revolution and everybody went online and tried Continue reading Are experts in social media relationship marketing full of themselves?→

Hot day. Air conditioner would not work. I don’t mean it wasn’t cooling fast enough. I mean, the thing that makes it cool was silent. I eventually found out my air conditioner was hit by lightning, the copper coils in the condenser fused to the housing. It was a Saturday and my regular A/C guy did not answer his phone. I left a message, but went online to see if there was another company close by and open that could come and reset some button I didn’t know about. You know, quick fix, right? Google search for “air conditioning repair Decatur, Georgia” returned ads for those close to me. I clicked on various links and finally found one that serviced my area. That is, their service map included my city, and they had a link at the bottom of the screen for my city that, when I clicked on it, Continue reading Hello. Is it me you’re looking for?→