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Effective writing is an integral part of marketing success and if you want to fine tune your skills, there’s no better way than by heading to boot camp. And there’s no better drill sergeant to help whip your writing skills into shape than the folks at MarketingProfs.
MarketingProfs’ Marketing Writing Bootcamp is an online course series that will teach you everything you need to know about writing creative, effective marketing copy. As my friends Geoff Livingston and Gini Dietrich pointed out in their post earlier this week, writing is a cornerstone of marketing. And if you’re a marketer who can’t write well, well, you won’t get far.
It seems almost contradictory, but in today’s digital landscape, the written word has become more important than ever. Whether it’s a blog post, web copy, social network updates or an email blast, to name a few, being able to create interesting, compelling content that helps a client (or your own business) achieve larger digital marketing goals is not only an important skill—it’s a must-have asset.
And that’s where MarketingProfs’ latest online series comes in. Although the classes have already started, it’s not too late to get involved. The live courses run through May 23, and you’ll be able to access the recordings for 12 months. Some of the best and brightest names in marketing will share tips about how to jumpstart your creative process, discover new and exciting topics and conquer deadlines. And it’s really affordable. And no, they don’t pay me to tell you about these courses (but now that hag Ann Handley owes me 47 cupcakes. And she’d darn well better come through with them).
If you sign up for and attend the boot camp, you’ll have a chance to get an up close look at some of the most important types of digital content and how to successfully write them, including blogs, ebooks, whitepapers, press releases, case studies and emails. Better yet? You’ll learn SEO tactics that will get your copy noticed in search results, as well as B2B tricks that will help your copy translate into clicks and conversions.
So what are you waiting for? Hop on over to MarketingProfs and register now. Then come back when you’re done and tell us what you learned. Better yet, write a killer guest blog post, showing off your new skills.
Image by Jayel Aheram via Creative Commons
Pin itMaster Writing, Attend Marketing Writing Bootcamp is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency

Mobile devices aren’t just becoming must-have tools for adults—teens are latching onto their phones in droves, using them for a variety of applications including games, communication and connecting to social platforms, to name a few.
And although it’s likely no surprise that teens use their mobile devices a lot, it’s important to understand how they’re using them—and how those numbers are evolving over time. After all, these teenagers may become your business or brand’s customer base in a few years—and the better you understand what sort of information and services they want and how they search for and access that information, the better you can poise your brand—and your brand’s online presence—to tap into this sizable and potentially powerful market.
Fun Mobility’s “Generation OMG: How Teens Use Mobile Devices” offers a great snapshot of how teens used their mobile devices in 2011. Some of the more notable facts include:
While some of us have become reliant on our mobile devices, Fun Mobility’s research shows that teens are quickly becoming downright dependent on their mobile devices. And this signals a larger shift to mobile access that’s becoming more prevalent as each year passes. Sophisticated smartphones and tablet computers are making mobile more accessible to a larger group of users, and as more people incorporate these devices into their daily routines, they’re becoming increasingly likely to consume content, connect with others and even make purchase decisions in the palm of their hand.
And that means that if your business isn’t already thinking about (or implementing) a mobile marketing strategy, now’s the time. Something we can’t emphasize enough to our clients is that a successful mobile strategy goes far beyond simply having a mobile version of your website and/or blog. It’s about understanding what devices people are using to access your information, what they’re searching for and how you can best deliver what they need in an efficient, user-friendly manner that not only helps them in a specific instance—it keeps them coming back for more, too.
Were you surprised by Fun Mobility’s findings regarding teens and mobile devices? And, if you’re up for sharing, how is your company tackling the larger task of mobile marketing?
Lead image by Zawezome via Creative Commons
Pin itHow Teens Use Mobile Devices–And What That Means For You is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency
If you manage Facebook brand pages, you’ll want to know about the Facebook Pages Manager app that’s reportedly on the way for iPhone users.
We don’t know a ton about the Facebook Pages Manager app because it’s not yet been released, but knowing that it’s on the way makes us happy. We manage a lot of Facebook pages—and anything that makes that process more effective is a welcome addition. You’re nodding right now, aren’t you?
As you probably know, although you can somewhat manage pages in Facebook’s current mobile app, we’ll be the first to say that the functionality, well, it sucks. The standalone Pages Manager app will give admins more options and control when it comes to posting content to, monitoring and interacting with their pages. That kind of functionality, well, it doesn’t suck.
Additionally, the app will provide access to your Facebook Insights so that you can keep track of how many people are sharing your page and the number of people that have been exposed to your page. You’ll also get notifications regarding new activity on the page and will be able to respond and comment on your page.
For a sneak peek, check out a couple of screenshots posted by 9to5Mac:
The Pages Manager app is now available in New Zealand, and is expected to be available for U.S. users in the near future. That’s where they’re also testing the ability to buy visibility for your Facebook status updates. Doesn’t it make you wonder what’s up with those Kiwis? Clearly they must be nicer and easier to work with than the rest of us.
We’re looking forward to full release of the Facebook Pages Manager App and once we can give it a test drive, we’ll write more about it. To our way of thinking, this move on the part of Facebook makes great sense. It’s no secret that Facebook is all about the mobile experience and this is just one move closer to making that more user friendly.
Image by ksayer1 via Creative Commons
Pin itFacebook Pages Manager App Reportedly Coming to iPhone is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency
Just 24 hours before Breitbart.com released to the world a promotional booklet released in 1991 from President Obama's literary agent that states according to his bio that he was "born in Kenya and raised in Indonesia", the liberal Huffington Post printed a list of 11 do's and don't's with regards to communicating with literary agents:The Multiple-Personality Bio: Be as careful with your bio as you are with your writing. Double-check it to make sure you aren’t mixing tenses and first/third person.

Barack Obama, the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review, was born in Kenya and raised in Indonesia and Hawaii. The son of an American anthropologist and a Kenyan finance minister, he attended Columbia University and worked as a financial journalist and editor for Business International Corporation. He served as project coordinator in Harlem for the New York Public Interest Research Group, and was Executive Director of the Developing Communities Project in Chicago’s South Side. His commitment to social and racial issues will be evident in his first book, Journeys in Black and White.
Goldenbaum will be there at 2 pm on Saturday, May 19. Where is there? At 7309 West 80th Street in Overland Park, easy to find, around the corner from the clock tower, and facing the famed Overland Park Farmers’ Market.
Check it out at www.mysteryscape.com
No wonder – The I Love a Mystery website describes O’Donohue’s newest book as being inspired by audience comments made during an earlier signing at the mystery bookstore. Located at 6114 Johnson Drive, north side of the street, in the heart of Mission. You need to be there -- the conversation is likely to be very lively.

iKC, Kansas City's conference on innovation and entrepreneurship, has unleashed the agenda for this year's conference on June 20th. With dynamite presentations from local innovators, entrepreneurs and business experts and a keynote speech from innovation expert Dr. Michael E. Raynor, iKC is sure to ignite, innovate and inspire.
The Women Who Tech TeleSummit is a must-attend event for anyone involved in tech, start-ups or social media. If you’re not sure if this includes you, the answer is “Hell yes, it does!” And if you’re a guy, you’re welcome too!
Women Who Tech is founded by my good friend Allyson Kapin of Rad Campaign, a web agency that provides web design, development, online marketing and social media strategy to nonprofit organizations and political campaigns. And the Women Who Tech TeleSummit is yet another way Allyson puts her money where her mouth is and supports women in tech. And it truly is one of my very favorite events—ever.
This year’s Women Who Tech TeleSummit will be held on May 23rd (via phone and web), from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST and there’s simply no reason not to attend. Oh, and the fact that it costs a whopping $20 for the entire day shows the commitment of Women Who Tech to provide resources – and access to them – for everyone. Stop reading; register now.
Diversifying the tech sector is part of the Women Who Tech’s mission – the process of creating products and services and solutions for the masses very much relies on a broad range of perspectives. And getting women and their talents and voices involved is a critical component of success.
Some of the content for the Women Who Tech TeleSummit will include things like:
Funding Your Own Start-up
Changing the World with Open Source
Diversifying Your Tech Teams
Failing Fast and Agile Development
Using Technology and Social Media to Build Social Justice Movements
…and more to come.
You’ll get to hear and interact with killer panelists like Tara Hunt of Buyosphere, Amanda Steinberg of Daily Worth, and Joanne Wilson, who is quite literally changing the angel investing world. Then there’s the inimitable Shireen Mitchell of Digital Sistas, Shaherose Charania of Founders Labs, author, trainer and nonprofit powerhouse Beth Kanter, named by Fast Company as one of the most influential women in tech, and Claire Diaz Ortiz, who leads the social innovation charge at Twitter.
Isn’t your head already spinning at the thought of all this brainpower in one place and at one time? And for a measly $20? Dudettes … I’m so not done yet. You’ll also hear from WordPress Usability expert Jane Wells of Automattic, Elisa Carnahort Page, the COO and co-founder of BlogHer, and Kaliya Hamlin of She’s Geeky.
Women Who Tech is a vibrant and inclusive community of women and companies who are thriving. And they, collectively, are passionate about providing women an open platform to share talents, experiences and insights. Most importantly, participating in Women Who Tech TeleSummit is an opportunity to invest in yourself.
By participating you’ll be able to listen and talk with some of the amazingly talented and well-known women breaking new ground in technology. Even better, these powerhouses are focused on affecting and inspiring change. In my world, we call that using their powers for good – and it’s phenomenal. Phenomenal to do and equally as amazing to be a part of. And applicable whether you’re in the for-profit or the non-profit space.
So do yourself a favor – stop the million other things you’re doing and do something for yourself. Register for the 4th Annual Women Who Tech TeleSummit to be held on May 23rd (via phone and web) from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST.
Or better yet? Enter for a chance to win tickets — we’ve got 2 to give away. To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment telling us why you’re the one who should get a ticket on this post by 5 p.m. CST on Monday, May 21. After that, we’ll randomly select two winners. Good luck!
Update: When some of my smart and totally tech geek friends read this post, they decided to pitch in and donate some MORE tickets to give away. Kudos to Amy Vernon and Liz Scherer for being so amazeballs. Leave your comments here, we’ll be giving away a total of 5 tickets. Tell us a little about why you should be the one we select.
Pin itWomen Who Tech TeleSummit: Get There is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency
My baby girl knows local foods are my favorite!
Road Trip: Conversations with Writers, edited by Shelly Clark and Marjorie Salser, is a an collection of interviews with distinguished Nebraska writers, including Ted Kooser. The book is worth reading for insights into writing well. Especially, this comment by Ted Kooser sticks with me:
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| Beautiful windows! The Windthorst Heritage group is raising funds to repair them. The windows were installed in 1916. Work is planned for this summer. Project cost is around $105,000. |

“..forcing a battered mother to not complain about sexual and physical abuse - it’s confrontational, and if mommy wants to see child again.. then mommy will do as told.”2002 april 2 dr. dale evaluation forensic ordered by court to get mom out of SV from Dec. 2000 ex-parte order
In Bud Dale’s OWN WORDS Courtesy of TheLizLibrary Psychology in Family Court
Case Managers; CUSTODY EVALUATORS
AND PARENTING COORDINATORS
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
What Litigation Abuse Looks Like! It Boggles The Mind That Each ...
9. For example, the below commenting MHP — who has been a parenting coordinator (“case manager”)
on at least one case known to the author in which a severely battered woman lost custody of her daughter to the abusive father,and who regularly performs custody evaluations as well — appears oblivious to the impact of MHP fees (which typically are divided equally between the parents) on a parent with substantially lower income than the other:
More examples:[ANONYMOUS">[www.thelizlibrary.org] LISTSERVE COMMENT]: “If you want the parents to cooperate, why not add a provision that they must go back to mediation or to a parent coordinator if they cannot come to an agreement. As long as the mediator or parent coordinator changes a reasonable fee, the financial incentives for the parents to cooperate is maintained (assuming each wants to avoid paying a mediator or parent coordinator) and there is a solution for persistent disagreements that is fair…” (Kansas doctorate-level MHP, October 24, 2005).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT]: “…issues of child support are totally separate from custody and parenting time determinations. Yet in one case… the attorney continually referenced the fact that I was ‘failing to consider and give weight’ to the fact that the father was $20,000 behind in child support… Fortunately, my appointment letter addressed that my role was separate from the financial issues… Indeed, I had not failed to give weight to the financial issues. I had totally ignored and disregarded them all along – because that’s what I was required to do by law. Some attorneys will attempt to backdoor this issue; that is, they will claim that the child support arrearage represents a character flaw or defect – which might or might not be true. By the way, researching the literature about how fathers get so behind in child support yields some interesting claims on both sides of the issue.”(Kansas doctorate-level MHP, February 12, 2006).
72.The reason for this has been decades of MHP lobbying and propagandizing to the legislatures and legal community.[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT]: “…issues of child support are totally separate from custody and parenting time determinations. Yet in one case… the attorney continually referenced the fact that I was ‘failing to consider and give weight’ to the fact that the father was $20,000 behind in child support… Fortunately, my appointment letter addressed that my role was separate from the financial issues… Indeed, I had not failed to give weight to the financial issues. I had totally ignored and disregarded them all along – because that’s what I was required to do by law. Some attorneys will attempt to backdoor this issue; that is, they will claim that the child support arrearage represents a character flaw or defect – which might or might not be true. By the way, researching the literature about how fathers get so behind in child support yields some interesting claims on both sides of the issue.”(Kansas doctorate-level MHP, February 12, 2006).
116. As is usually recognized by the MHP, e.g. Pickar, supra, note 66b, but only when convenient or desired. Compare the following.[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE CALL TO ARMS]: “There is a new bill in the California state legislature which will be of some interest and concern to all of us who do custody evaluations, especially California psychologists. The bill prohibits the use of psychological testing in custody evaluations unless the court grants “a motion for a mental or psychological examination of a parent only for good cause shown…” (California doctorate-level MHP, February 23, 2007).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT]: “…The legislator is sponsoring this bill on behalf of women’s rights groups, who think that parental alienation is diagnosed too frequently through the use of psychological testing…” (California doctorate-level MHP, February 23, 2007).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT]: “This bill appears to prohibit considerably more than psych testing… “Controversial, nonscientific labels, such as parental alienation syndrome, parental alienation, or alienated child, are specifically excluded as allowable diagnoses and for court use.” (California doctorate-level MHP, February 23, 2007).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT]: “I am responding from a strategic and tactical point of view. In addition to being a forensic psychologist, doing CCE, I am also legislative chair of the Florida Psychological Association. In my experience…” (Florida doctorate-level MHP, February 23, 2007).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT]: “I’ll go ahead and forward this to her if that’s ok with you. the annual Legislative and Advocacy day is coming up mid-March, altho I’m guessing they’ve already selected the legislation they want psychologists to discuss with legislators… do you know how far along this bill is in the legislative process… I think CPA’s stand in general is to strongly oppose any bill that limits psychologists’ scope of practice…” (California doctorate-level MHP, February 23, 2007).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT]: “Perhaps a letter from those of us who write and teach about use of psychological tests in CCEs might be useful?…” (North Carolina doctorate-level MHP, February 23, 2007).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT]: “I agree also and think a letter from professionals that know testing is a great idea. It seems that if the legislature wants to “do something” perhaps advocating for required continuing education of so many hours in order to allow people to use the tests…” (Kansas doctorate-level MHP, February 23, 2007).
The first two commentators are uninterested in acknowledging past financial issues that have wreaked family havoc, and arguably bear on character as well as explain motives and feelings of the parties; the third is interested in supporting a father’s request to relocate, and so believes that it is within his province to gather and analyze data about prospective financial matters:
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT]: “Tax returns?? Simple issues like one parent claimed 4 kids and there are only two, I can probably figure that out and that speaks to honesty and maybe tracking reality. But I agree that we should not be analyzing tax issues. If it is that complex I can’t think how that would be relevant to custody/parenting issues. If it is, both parent provide information and you hire a tax consultant to review it. I can’t imagine what could be relevant… I have a case right now where there are federal indictments on one parent to the tune of over 1/2 millions and all kinds of issues around money. Very little of it is relevant (except possible prison and honesty) and the other parent wants to make it all relevant. She brought me a notebook of financial records. That’s about her anger about the money – which is relevant to know how angry she is at dad and how that affects her children.”(Kansas doctorate-level MHP, November 23, 2005).
124. For an example of how background might influence the MHP’s investigation, perceptions and conclusions, see Lisa D. Cromer & Jennifer J. Freyd,What Influences Believing Child Sexual Abuse Disclosures? The roles of depicted memory persistence, participant gender, trauma history, and sexism, 31 Psych. Women Q. 1 (2007). From the abstract: “Men believed abuse reports less than did women, and people who had not experienced trauma were less likely to believe trauma reports. Gender and personal history interacted such that trauma history did not impact women’s judgments but did impact men’s judgments. Men with a trauma history responded similarly to women with or without a trauma history. High sexism predicted lower judgments of an event being abusive. Hostile sexism was negatively correlated with believing abuse disclosures.” The study at the University of Oregon found that “young men who have never been traumatized are the least likely population to believe a person’s recounting of child sexual abuse.” (News release, Believing child sexual abuse claims, U. Or. Univ. News, February 13, 2007, at [www.uoregon.edu] )
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE PRECURSOR]: “I just haven’t noticed higher abilities in hypothesis testing among psychologists or other mental health professionals. I realize that you have to take a couple of courses in research and statistics to get a graduate degree (in most fields). It doesn’t seem to translate into skills in decision-making across the board. E.g. the recent thread on the Kansas custody evaluation and Virginia side trip. Some very off thinking and relevant point missing.
One might take arguments similar to that you have made and point out that psychologists just aren’t trained as investigators when it comes to obtaining information outside of psychological data (police officers are better.) And that lawyers are better trained at issue spotting and weighing information. And that judges have more experience decision-making.
I also point out that mental health training does not provide actual information and experience relevant to many of the issues that ought to be considered in a custody determination. For example, the financial aspects. For example, educational opportunities. For example, what it’s like to actually be a parent with day-in and day-out responsibility for children, how the home is run, the pragmatics of life. An unwed childless 28-year-old Ph.D. just out of school probably hasn’t a clue — and I for one see this lack influencing unworkable recommendations.
I also point out that skill in testing and coming up with psychological diagnoses does not qualify anyone ipso facto to translate that into parenting ability or even to understand with what kind of or which parent a child’s best interests is most likely to be fostered. There is very little translating dsm diagnoses into parenting abilities and child outcomes, especially when neither parent is perfect and foibles and personality defects have to be weighed…” (liz, May 2, 2005).
124. For an example of how background might influence the MHP’s investigation, perceptions and conclusions, see Lisa D. Cromer & Jennifer J. Freyd, What Influences Believing Child Sexual Abuse Disclosures? The roles of depicted memory persistence, participant gender, trauma history, and sexism, 31 Psych. Women Q. 1 (2007). From the abstract: “Men believed abuse reports less than did women, and people who had not experienced trauma were less likely to believe trauma reports. Gender and personal history interacted such that trauma history did not impact women’s judgments but did impact men’s judgments. Men with a trauma history responded similarly to women with or without a trauma history. High sexism predicted lower judgments of an event being abusive. Hostile sexism was negatively correlated with believing abuse disclosures.” The study at the University of Oregon found that “young men who have never been traumatized are the least likely population to believe a person’s recounting of child sexual abuse.” (News release, Believing child sexual abuse claims, U. Or. Univ. News, February 13, 2007, at [www.uoregon.edu] )
125. [ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE QUERY]: “My 8 year old son is complaining a lot about being bored in school, to the point it seems to be affecting his overall happiness… I experienced similar problems throughout elementary and high school.. Will talk with the school but am seeking ideas to help him cope…” (Doctorate-level MHP father, April 21, 2005).
…When There Still Isn’t Enough Work, Doing Trainings for Everyone (especially those that push make-work ideas) and Reviewing Other MHPs[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT]: “While such “purity balls” are not something that I and my daughters (ages 14 and 12 next week) have ever or would ever participate in, I can indeed tell you that as a father I feel a desire to help protect my daughters from predators and even poor choices on their part.” (Idaho doctorate-level MHP father, April 19, 2006).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT]: “I asked my stepdaughter what stores my granddaughter likes… One of the stores she mentioned was Victoria’s Secret. Why would a high school junior want to buy anything in Victoria’s secret? Has it changed in terms of what it sells? I know they all like to dress like streetwalkers, but this is ridiculous.” (Minnesota masters-level MHP mother, February 28, 2005).
[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT]: “School is important for kids… why not look and take the time to get good data from people who see them more than we do? And who see them sometimes more than their parents do. I’m going to stop now and call my son’s school. Seems there is an academic counselor… who is helping my son with sending emails to college soccer coaches. She’s helping my son and deserves my support… the students at school call this counselor, “Momma.” And I know why. Aren’t some kids just luckier than others?” (Kansas doctorate-level MHP father, May 10, 2005).
“Do a Bonding Assessment”[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT]: “I do CCEs and I function as a court-appointed “Case Manager” in Kansas. Kansas calls parent coordinators “Case Managers” to avoid confusion – lol. I have also twice attended AFCC sponsored training on parent coordination. The Colorado group (Christie Coates, Robert LaCrosse, And Betsy Duvall) did a 2 day training in St. Louis in November, 2003, and Joan Kelly did a 2 day training in Chicago in June 2004. Both of these training programs emphasize the “Divorce Impasse” Model that Janet Johnston put together. This is a model that I find helps in CCEs and parent coordination/case management. The second AFCC task force has just completed its task of developing model standards for parent coordinators (See AFCC website or request backchannel)…” (Kansas doctorate-level MHP, May 16, 2005).
For more about the GREAT Dr. Milford “Bud” Dale please visit the following links.[ANONYMOUS LISTSERVE COMMENT]: “I do not know of a research based protocol for a ‘bonding assessment.’ It seems the folks that do them around here do an observation of touching, smiling, eye contact, warm interactions etc which are good and important and look at basic needs and are they met. I was wondering if there are protocols that are considered ‘standard of care’ and or are reseach based.” (Kansas doctorate-level MHP, January 14, 2007.)
The sisters will discuss their book at 2 pm today, May 15, in a program at the Corinth Library, 8100 Mission, Prairie Village.
Mother Speaks On Case Management BillTherapeutic jurisprudence in the family courts, i.e. a "mental health approach to the law" substitutes the opinions of mental health practitioners for traditional evidence and decision-making procedures. Because these persons actually do not have any kind of "expertise" to opine this way, what originally was thought to be a helpful idea (in this medicalized and psychologized world) has become merely economic opportunism, harming not only the litigants and children in the system as well as the court system itself, but also perverting substantive and procedural law. It is not science, but compensated yenta-ism that has permeated the courts under the pretexts that engineering family affectional relationships is within the ability of mental health "science" practitioners to accomplish, and that this is an appropriate goal of the government, court system, and state police power because children "need" something it has to offer.
This completely denies the Constitutional Right to a Court of Law governed by FACT.
Source: Topeka Capitol Journal
Excerpt;
“Karen Williams previously had full custody of her daughter before a case manager appointed by the court to work with her and her ex-husband decided to limit her to one or two hours a week of supervised visitation at a Lawrence facility called The Farm.”
“Williams says her rights to due process were violated when the judge allowed the new custody arrangement without giving Williams a full hearing to respond to any evidence for the case manager's decision.
"I still have parental rights, supposedly, but effectively I've been stripped of them," Williams said.
Williams stopped by the Statehouse on Tuesday after her case was heard by the Kansas Court of Appeals. Continue Reading
Caesars Ghost A Commenter sums it up well:
In any other area of lawPSYCHOLOGY; CUSTODY EVALUATIONS; THERAPY, CASE MANAGERS, GAURDIAN AD LITEMS, COPARENTING, SUPERVISED VISITATION, ACCESS VISTITATIONIn any other area of law "confidential conversations between judges and case managers" would constitute ex parte communications that would subject the parties-- including the Judges-- to disciplinary procedures and possible sanctions. This is a joke to provide such exceptions to the due process rights of either parent, as well as the rights of the children whose custody and visitation is being determined by the court.
If the Judges don't want to do their job and wish to abdicate their role to "case managers" then perhaps the Judges need to step down and be replaced by Judges who do want to do their job of hearing all of the facts in a case in full light, view and scrutiny of the opposing parties.
The 6th amendment grants criminals the right to confront their accusers and to be presented with the claims and evidence against them and the right to contest those claims and evidence.
Why does our legislature grant fewer rights to parents than they do to criminals, pedophiles, murders, etc.? And why are children denied access to parents based on what a case manager says.
I don't care if the case manager has specialized training in psychology, family therapy, domestic issues or anything else. That specialty gives the case manager nothing more than "expert witness" status constitutionally speaking. It does NOT make that case manager the default judge.
The best way to fix this is not to revise the statute and required qualifications to serve as a case manager. The best way to fix it would be to repeal the statute that created case managers in the first place and go back to how Kansas handled these cases for nearly a century and a half prior to 2002.
The whole case manager position never existed in Kansas before 2002, and so it isn't like this is just something that HAS to exist for Courts to function. Instead it is part of the reason courts are NOT functioning for families or for those who believe in due process principles of the Constitution or for those of us who abhor seeing more tax dollars going to create quasi authority figures by turning expert witnesses into defacto unlicensed judges while we continue to pay the salaries of both the abdicating judges and the defacto unlicensed judges.
Case Managers; Forensic Psychology; Guardians ad Litem; Therapeutic Jurisprudence
The sociological and psychological research on families and child well-being impacts public policy and the issues of child custody in family law. The research frequently is misrepresented, and mis-cited by mental health professionals, lawyers, forensic psychologists and others, as well as interest groups lobbying for laws. Also review the sections pertaining to the issues impacted by the "therapeutic jurisprudence", such as child custody, parental alienation theory, research pertaining to child development, the subsection for research Myths and Facts in FAMILY LAW, and other family law issues. Also see the subsection on Child Custody in FAMILY LAW. The Therapeutic Jurisprudence index page contains links to recommended off-site locations as well as the on-site articles [www.thelizlibrary.org]
Index: Therapeutic Jurisprudence
All that was scheduled to come to an end in 2007 — 70 years after Barrie’s death. A special UK legal exception has restored the hospital’s rights to royalties, however, only in the UK. But in the spirit of Barrie’s magnificent gift, the hospital administrators are hoping that producers outside the UK will make “donations” to offset the loss of royalty income.
Every CMO wants to figure out integrated multichannel marketing in the digital era. Trying to understand how the different disciplines fit together forces a new level of knowledge. In the end, writing ties them all together.
Whether you work in advertising, PR, interactive, social, direct or simply general marketing, you must write.
Our new book Marketing in the Round discusses each of these tactics in depth, and how to weave them together. But no matter the integration strategy, marketing a good product or service successfully depends on your ability to write well.
Think about it. Even a video requires a script. Images tell a story, often with captions or short phrases embodied in info graphics. Consider how Hugh McLeod uses captions with his comics to communicate. There’s still a message — words — that he conveys.
Whether it’s a short form like mobile messaging or great ad headlines (“Imported from Detroit”) or long form communications such as speeches and white papers, great marketers write fantastic copy!
Valuing WritingThose who want great careers can best ensure continued opportunities by honing their writing skills. Without the fundamentals, there’s little hope of mastering one of the core subsets of marketing — PR, advertising, direct or interactive.
Yes, you can become a great creative. Yes, you can become a master SEO practitioner. Yet it’s like being a basketball player who can pass and rebound, but can’t score.
Sooner or later, if you want to advance in marketing, you must write.
Marketing values great writing, whether it’s stated or not. Even a great strategy must be well communicated to your colleagues.
It’s no coincidence both of us studied English in college. We wish more Communications and Business programs at the university level put a stronger focus on the primary fundamentals of grammar and storytelling. The entire marketing profession would be better for it.
Styles Beyond SocialSo much of today’s marketing conversation revolves around personality and social media engagement. We don’t disagree that these storytelling methods are important.
But we do see them as a method. Style takes many forms. Without understanding how words empower you to choose one style or another for different media, marketers will struggle to master more than one discipline.
One thing we both benefited from was learning to write for different media! How can you challenge yourself to learn a new writing form?
Writing a research report requires a sophisticated arc and the incorporation of data-intense proof points, while still telling stories to compel readers. Compare that to a 50-word print advertisement. Both forms tell stories through different uses of the written word and illustrations despite disparate length.
Comprehending how the written word is used across different media and marketing tactics empowers a marketer to supersede media. Such is the power of words.
Geoff Livingston is an author and marketing strategist, and serves as VP, Strategic Partnerships for Razoo. A former journalist, Livingston continues to write, and most recently he co-authored Marketing in the Round, and authored the social media primer Welcome to the Fifth Estate.
Gini Dietrich is the founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, a Chicago-based integrated marketing communication firm. She also is the founder of the professional development site for PR and marketing pros, Spin Sucks Pro and co-author of Marketing in the Round.
Their new book Marketing in the Round shows you how to get more value from all your marketing and communications channels integrated together!
Image via Geoff Livingston/Creative Commons
Pin itWriting, the Marketing Cornerstone is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency
Therapeutic Jurisprudence - 3rd party ‘Access to Justice’ deniers - Fathers Rights, SHARIA style to take his property.
Another Great Exposure Report on the Injustices of Mothers via Court Appointed Case Managers, parenting coordinators, Custody Evaluators et el.
Fight for Daughter Could Change Law in Kansas
Therapeutic Jurisprudence - 3rd party ‘Access to Justice’ deniers - Fathers Rights, SHARIA style to take his property.
Another Great Exposure Report on the Injustices of Mothers via Court Appointed Case Managers, parenting coordinators, Custody Evaluators et el.
Fight for Daughter Could Change Law in Kansas
[vodpod id=Video.16474179&w=425&h=350&fv=%26embedCode%3DluZjVwNDqKHrO7eJUgcis6ORoqtvS7kx]

Topeka, Kan. — A mother said her daughter was taken away from her and she’s never been allowed her day in court to fight for her child. The woman’s story has now inspired lawmakers to look into what they can do to change the system.
Karen Williams went to the Kansas Appellate Court arguing that her constitutional rights were violated when a Douglas County judge removed her daughter from her custody all based on the word of a court appointed case manager. The case manager suggested to the judge that there was “probable abuse.”Continue Reading
Excerpt: “Kansas Representative Joe Patton (R-Topeka) wants to change the law to require educational standards for case managers…..”
Joe Patton, “Shame on you”. You are an attorney for goodness sake. LAW, FACT, COURT – What part is not clear about this? FACTs only NOT ideas or the ‘Therapeutic Jurisprudence’s’ - OPINION, Theory, Personal Belief System, Societal Culture, ‘Philosophy’ - an ‘Idea’ -a-could-be-might-be 16th century witch DoktoR – voo-doo-thinking ‘get a stick and beat it to death’ mentality, who have created for their selves, HIGH Paying Jobs Where NONE should exist to begin with. None.
The primary reason psychologists and other mental health professionals should be banned from the family court systems, except to answer limited and narrowly-defined questions actually within their expertise, is that their presence does not add value, but rather, wastes court, lawyer, and litigant time, money and resources. http://www.thelizlibrary.org/therapeutic-jurisprudence/TheDetectives.html
A call for a revolt altogether against the notion of "therapeutic jurisprudence" -- which has been proved to do little to benefit children, much to benefit the divorce industry, much to complicate and pervert our family laws, much to erode fundamental rights and liberties, and much to harm the families who become trapped in the system. There are many problems, of course. But they are symptoms. Step one is to get the agent of most of them out of our family courts. The Emperor has no clothes. [www.thelizlibrary.org]
Lawyers' unacknowledged conflicts are destroying the quality of family law representation. One of the problems with the rise of therapeutic jurisprudence and the placement of non-legal systems into the courts is the subtle denigration of long-established precepts of lawyer independence and due process. One of the multiple ways this happens in the family courts is through the common development of multidisciplinary collegial relationships and business referral. [www.thelizlibrary.org]
DOJ Study: Child Custody Evaluators' Beliefs About Domestic Abuse Allegations- Their Relationship to Evaluator Demographics, Background, Domestic Violence - Knowledge and Custody-Visitation Recommendations Final Technical Report Submitted to the National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice
Parenting Coordination, a bad idea
You cannot ‘PREDICT’ or see in any “Crystal Ball”. It is not FACT and these Case Managers, Guardian Ad Litem’s, Parenting Coordinators, Co-parenting, Shared Parenting, SUPERVISED VISITATION and ACCESS VISITATION Centers should have NEVER been allowed into the Kansas Courts to begin with! It is all Therapeutic Jurisprudence that denies ‘Access to Justice’. It does not matter, in fact will only ‘entrench’ these NON Fact – Pseudo Science, self serving Profiteers with ‘god’ like authority if you Give them a simple pedigree in B.S. crystal ball reading experts forced, CAPTIVE litigants to hire by the Court of Law and Fact. You still have the same thing as you do with a non licensed A$$hole. Oxymoron. Allow the Judge to ‘Judge’ not anyone else. If these people want to ‘judge’ rule and play god in an already EGO ruled Entitlement Family Court then let them become ‘Judges’.
The Amicus Brief by the one Dr. Milfred 'Bud' Dale Amicus Brief - Karen Williams- Case Managers Kansas – EXPERT of the experts for hire by the experts- forensic PROFESSIONAL expert - in the end is still just ‘one man’s personal opinions’, self interest, extremely profitable and continuing expenses for his ‘captive’ clients. This completely denies the Constitutional Right to a Court of Law governed by FACT.
(I know this first hand) (KS) Dr. Dale and Pedophile Dr. Gardner: Similarities Engaged
A Topeka Kansas Evaluation: Teaching the mother to NOT REPORT sexual or physical Abuse: As Ordered by the Courts;
Courtesy www.TheLizLibrary.org
then see below same? hmm……
Overview of Dr. Richard Gardner’s Opinions
on Pedophilia and Child Sexual Abuse
Richard A. Gardner, M.D., is the creator of the creator and main proponent for Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) theory. Prior to his suicide, Gardner was an unpaid part-time clinical professor of child psychiatry at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University . He made his money mainly as a forensic expert.
Get rid of them. The best interest of the child is to remain with their primary attachment figure (usually their mothers) stop ripping the hearts and the lives out of these mothers and her children, by the highly profitable lucrative ‘industry’ of Case managers, Guardian Ad Litems, et other 3rd party ‘Justice’ interferers.
Topeka, Kan. — A mother said her daughter was taken away from her and she’s never been allowed her day in court to fight for her child. The woman’s story has now inspired lawmakers to look into what they can do to change the system.
Karen Williams went to the Kansas Appellate Court arguing that her constitutional rights were violated when a Douglas County judge removed her daughter from her custody all based on the word of a court appointed case manager. The case manager suggested to the judge that there was “probable abuse.” Continue Reading
“Kansas Representative Joe Patton (R-Topeka) wants to change the law to require educational standards for case managers…..”
Joe Patton, “Shame on you”. You are an attorney for goodness sake. LAW, FACT, COURT – What part is not clear about this? FACTs only NOT ideas or the ‘Therapeutic Jurisprudence’s’ - OPINION, Theory, Personal Belief System, Societal Culture, ‘Philosophy’ - an ‘Idea’ -a-could-be-might-be 16th century witch DoktoR – voo-doo-thinking ‘get a stick and beat it to death’ mentality, who have created for their selves, HIGH Paying Jobs Where NONE should exist to begin with. None.
The "Trial Within a Trial" Court-Appointed, Case Managers, Custody Evaluators et el. Waste Judicial Resources and Parents' Funds
The primary reason psychologists and other mental health professionals should be banned from the family court systems, except to answer limited and narrowly-defined questions actually within their expertise, is that their presence does not add value, but rather, wastes court, lawyer, and litigant time, money and resources. http://www.thelizlibrary.org/therapeutic-jurisprudence/TheDetectives.html
Parenting Evaluation, Parenting Plans...
Reevaluating the Evaluators: “Rethinking the Assumptions of Therapeutic Jurisprudence in the Family Courts” [www.thelizlibrary.org]
Lawyer Conflict: MHP’s and “therapeutic jurisprudence” ultimately must be – and will be – taken out of the family courts.A call for a revolt altogether against the notion of "therapeutic jurisprudence" -- which has been proved to do little to benefit children, much to benefit the divorce industry, much to complicate and pervert our family laws, much to erode fundamental rights and liberties, and much to harm the families who become trapped in the system. There are many problems, of course. But they are symptoms. Step one is to get the agent of most of them out of our family courts. The Emperor has no clothes.
Lawyers' unacknowledged conflicts are destroying the quality of family law representation. One of the problems with the rise of therapeutic jurisprudence and the placement of non-legal systems into the courts is the subtle denigration of long-established precepts of lawyer independence and due process. One of the multiple ways this happens in the family courts is through the common development of multidisciplinary collegial relationships and business referral. [www.thelizlibrary.org]
Children need. . . THIS? standards and practices in child custody evaluations
CHILD CASE MANAGERS, CUSTODY EVALUATORS: IN THEIR OWN WORDS [www.thelizlibrary.org]
DOJ Study: Child Custody Evaluators' Beliefs About Domestic Abuse Allegations- Their Relationship to Evaluator Demographics, Background, Domestic Violence - Knowledge and Custody-Visitation Recommendations Final Technical Report Submitted to the National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice
Parenting Coordination, a bad idea
Therapeutic Jurisprudence – Child Trafficking via family Courts. It’s monetary. It's all about their money and the "gravy train" ride. THEY MUST BE ELIMINATED FROM ALL FAMILY COURTS!!
You cannot ‘PREDICT’ or see in any “Crystal Ball”. It is not FACT and these Case Managers, Guardian Ad Litem’s, Parenting Coordinators, Co-parenting, Shared Parenting, SUPERVISED VISITATION and ACCESS VISITATION Centers should have NEVER been allowed into the Kansas Courts to begin with! It is all Therapeutic Jurisprudence that denies ‘Access to Justice’. It does not matter, in fact will only ‘entrench’ these NON Fact – Pseudo Science, self serving Profiteers with ‘god’ like authority if you Give them a simple pedigree in B.S. crystal ball reading experts forced, CAPTIVE litigants to hire by the Court of Law and Fact. You still have the same thing as you do with a non licensed A$$hole. Oxymoron. Allow the Judge to ‘Judge’ not anyone else. If these people want to ‘judge’ rule and play god in an already EGO ruled Entitlement Family Court then let them become ‘Judges’.
Opinions only - None are based in any FACT—A Court of Law, must be FACT. The difference between non licensed and licensed ‘carnival crystal ball reading – theory, assumption, future predicting based on their own personal beliefs’ is the PRICE they charge.
The Amicus Brief by the one Dr. Milfred 'Bud' Dale Amicus Brief - Karen Williams- Case Managers Kansas – EXPERT of the experts for hire by the experts- forensic PROFESSIONAL expert - in the end is still just ‘one man’s personal opinions’, self interest, extremely profitable and continuing expenses for his ‘captive’ clients. This completely denies the Constitutional Right to a Court of Law governed by FACT.
(I know this first hand) (KS) Dr. Dale and Pedophile Dr. Gardner: Similarities Engaged
Courtesy www.TheLizLibrary.org
then see below same? hmm……
![]()
Overview of Dr. Richard Gardner’s Opinions
on Pedophilia and Child Sexual Abuse
Richard A. Gardner, M.D., is the creator of the creator and main proponent for Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) theory. Prior to his suicide, Gardner was an unpaid part-time clinical professor of child psychiatry at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University . He made his money mainly as a forensic expert.
Get rid of them. The best interest of the child is to remain with their primary attachment figure (usually their mothers) stop ripping the hearts and the lives out of these mothers and her children, by the highly profitable lucrative ‘industry’ of Case managers, Guardian Ad Litems, et other 3rd party ‘Justice’ interferers.

In a book that begins with a series of lynchings and ends with a series of apologies, Eula Biss explores race in America. As Biss moves across the country—from New York to California to the Midwest—she brings an eclectic education to the page based on her experiences chronicled in her essays.
They say money can’t buy you everything—but in this case buying visibility (or popularity) on Facebook might just be a reality. The company is currently testing a ‘highlight’ feature that would let Facebook users pay $2 to promote their status updates. Well, that’s craptastical.
The ‘highlight’ feature is geared toward individual Facebook users, not pages or businesses, and is now being tested by a small number of people in New Zealand. Currently, the visibility of Facebook posts is determined by the site’s EdgeRank algorithm that takes into account factors like affinity, weight and time to determine who sees that particular post—which, by the way, is typically seen by only 12 percent of your friends.
When new sites or features are released, we tend to sit back and see how things play out before making a decision. And although we’re interested to see if the ‘highlight’ feature becomes more widespread, our gut feeling is that this is not a direction in which Facebook should go. In fact, unless there’s something I’m totally missing, this downright stinks.
Sure, Facebook wants to make money—we all do, right? But are they really hurting for revenue? There’s such a huge risk involved in creating a social site in which visibility can be bought rather than earned by producing relevant, quality content that sparks organic engagement. Creating ways to game the system—as with Klout or Empire Avenue, for example, or Facebook’s new ‘highlight’—seem, to us anyway, an utter contradiction of the inherent purpose and benefit of social sites.
Not only could this tactic get annoying—it could become downright spammy, too. Can’t you already kind of make a list of the people you know that you can see starting to do this? I know I can. If this is going to happen universally, to our way of thinking the value of the News Feed will be diminished, because it will be populated by the annoying folks who are paying for visibility.
Hopefully Facebook will be smart and limit the use of paid highlights—to something like once a month. That way, if Facebook advertising doesn’t make sense as a possible outreach solution, users could have the option to more widely promote information that they find truly important without abusing the feature at a low price and making everyone who knows them hate them.
What’s your take on Facebook’s latest move?
Image by billaday via Creative Commons
Pin itFacebook’s Popularity Contest: Buying Visibility is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency
Now that Google’s over-optimization penalty is in effect, too much SEO can actually be a bad thing—and that’s why it’s important to make 6 SEO-related changes to your site now.
The penalty is part of Google’s larger ongoing effort to reward high-quality sites, especially those that regularly produce relevant and informative content, which Google lumps under the term “white hat” SEO. Google’s nemesis is “black hat webspam,” in which SEO techniques like keyword stuffing and link schemes are used to rank pages higher than they should be.
As part of the over-optimization penalty, sites that engage in “black hat” tactics will receive decreased rankings—and who wants to get on Google’s bad side?
If you’re using solid SEO principles, regularly creating great content and avoiding spammy SEO tactics, you’re likely in the clear. Still, it doesn’t hurt to check over your site and incorporate these 6 SEO-related changes to keep your website visible and in Google’s good graces.
There’s no denying that SEO is an art and a science—and because it’s a difficult technique to master, there’s a chance that you’ve outsourced your SEO work. If you’ve taken that route, be sure that you keep an eye on your site and your content to make sure nothing wonky is happening. If so, ditch your SEO firm ASAP and get someone who knows what they’re doing.
Are you glad that Google is continuing to take a stronger stance against SEO manipulators? And have you made any changes to your sites as a result?
Image by kenteegardin via Creative Commons
Pin it6 SEO Changes To Make Now is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency
Linda Laird will be signing her book, American Grain Elevator from 10 a.m. to noon June 9 at The Bookshelf and Hidden Closet, 206 N Main St, Mcpherson.


This is called Seasons of the Moon because it has a blank center with 4 different moon themed squares to change for the seasons. The block surrounding the center is a simple bias square with a mini charm square stitched on one side. Fast and easy.
Calore’s book began as a blog, when he had difficulty conveying to civilians the nature of his war experiences. The title evolved because Calore thought “most people could relate to coffee. Some coffee is good, some coffee is bad. Just like some of his days at war were good, but many were bad - very bad.” Read more of Calore’s blog posts at [michaelcalore.com] . Army Coffee Sucks is available as an e-book at www.amazon.com .
Johnson County Library and Rainy Day Books is pleased to offer you the opportunity to meet author Timothy Gay as he discusses his newly released title, Assignment to Hell: The War Against Nazi Germany with Correspondents Walter Cronkite, Andy Rooney, A.J. Liebling, Homer Bigart, and Hal Boyle. Gay, a 30-year veteran of the Washington, DC public policy community, spent more than two years researching this book, combing through microfilm, letters, papers, and diaries from the men, and traveling to old airbases and battlefields throughout Europe. Assignment to Hell offers a unique view of World War II and the journalists who covered it from the front lines.
Assignment to Hell was Walter Cronkite’s description of a bombing raid over a German U-boat base in 1943. Author Gay will be speaking in a program at the Johnson County Central Resource Library, 9875 W. 87th St., Overland Park, at 6:30 pm on Thursday, May 17.


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Half-Cherokee Marquitta “Skeet” Bannion thought she was leaving her troubles behind when she fled the stress of being the highest ranking woman on the Kansas City Police Department, a jealous cop ex-husband who didn’t want to let go, and a disgraced alcoholic ex-cop father. Moving to a small town to be chief of the campus police force, she builds a life outside of police work. She might even begin a new relationship with the amiable Brewster police chief.
Linda Rodriguez is a member of the Latino Writers Collective …. and has published poetry and fiction in numerous literary magazines …. She has also published numerous articles for general and scholarly publications. More at www.ravenbookstore.com, that’s the Raven at 6 E 7th in Lawrence.
When I was a kid, a creek was like a magnet to me. If it had running water and fish in it, I could not stay away. I remember a tiny creek that ran through a golf course where me and a friend spent countless hours catching creek chubs and crawdads. Even though we both owned fishing poles, making due with wood slats, fishing line, hooks and some hot dogs and raw bacon seemed like more fun or more primitive. We probably caught more crawdads as we did fish, but they were just as exciting. Wherever I went, a creek or stream with running water drew me in. Of course fishing was the most fun, but even an intermittent drainage can provide opportunities for frog catching, wading, and just exploring the mud and cattails. Every kid should know the fun of exploring a creek. It doesn't require any planning or preparation. Just turn them loose on the creek and stand back. Making a fishing pole from a willow branch and catching a grasshopper or worm for bait will dramatically enhance the experience. Catching a fish would be just icing on the cake. Any nearby creek, large our small, will do. Get the kids out this weekend and let them explore the magic of a creek.
Given today’s proliferation of digital channels, traditional marketing practices no longer apply when it comes to creating a marketing strategy, regardless of your industry.
Eduardo Conrado, senior vice president and Chief Marketing Officer for Motorola Solutions, has seen this sort of marketing transformation firsthand. During yesterday’s BMA-KC luncheon, Eduardo talked about the division of Motorola into two companies, one of which is Motorola Solutions. As a result of the split, Conrado helped guide Motorola Solutions through a rebranding campaign that not only changed the external vision and image of the company, but also focused internally in order to educate and engage employees.
The Importance of PurposeAs the Motorola Solutions team began to craft the rebranding and marketing strategy, a primary question emerged: What do we do with the brand? The company already had an external consumer image, and the team didn’t want to lose the company’s heritage at the expense of the redefinition.
Marketers are likely familiar with the four “P’s,” but Eduardo said a fifth “P” emerged during the rebranding process: purpose.
When a business becomes purpose-driven, it not only guides a new marketing strategy—it’s also an effective way to translate the company and employee values into leadership. Storytelling is an important part of effectively communicating a company’s purpose, and that storytelling not only helps customers and clients more closely connect with a brand—it also inspires employees, too.
“Creating a purpose-driven brand has a huge impact externally and internally,” Eduardo says.
That’s an important distinction to understand. Much of today’s marketing discussion is centered on the digital space. And although that’s an undeniably important component of today’s marketing landscape, there are other factors to consider, too—namely engaging with customers and employees. So many brands have tunnel vision and solely maintain an external focus. But employees are important, too. The more they’re engaged with and invested in the brand, the more likely they are to serve as brand ambassadors, fulfilling critical customer service roles and sharing their own experiences that can be woven into the larger brand story.
If you’re skeptical, let’s talk money. Eduardo shared a chart that showed Motorola Solutions’ stock significantly increased in value as a result of this purpose-driven rebranding campaign. Research shows that purpose-driven companies tend to outperform competitors, not only as a result of the message but also because these new marketing strategies unite various departments like marketing and sales, creating a stronger presence that can more effectively reach current and prospective customers through relevant content, updated sales initiatives and other strategies.
The New “P’s”Focusing on purpose is important when redefining your brand’s marketing strategy, but it’s also a good idea to take into account how the four “P’s” of marketing have shifted:
Product –> Solution
Promotion –> Education
Price –> Value
Place –> Access
Today’s marketing strategies are about more than delivering a message. They’re about promoting, educating, informing, sharing and engaging. By creating and sharing your brand’s story, you’re more likely to build a relationship with customers (and employees), a more valuable outcome that can lead to a far bigger ROI than a single, one-off transaction. And what business owner doesn’t want to sell more products and make more money?
If you’re at a point at which you’re starting to take a long, hard look at your brand’s marketing strategy and where you’re headed, you should consider how to shift your business to a purpose-driven entity. Purpose motivates employees and provides a platform in a way that products can’t. And by channeling that focus and motivation, you can better serve your customers and demonstrate that you’re actively invested in not only fulfilling their needs, but also in fostering brand loyalty and a lasting relationship.
What’s your take on Motorola Solutions’ rebranding campaign? Would you consider incorporating purpose into your own company’s vision and marketing practices?
Image by David A. Riggs via Creative Commons
Pin itMarketing Strategy: Channeling The Power Of Purpose is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency
Among Bauer’s vivid recollections: driving a team of huge, clomping work horses; his father’s daybreak call to long days in the field at age 12; and surviving eight years of education in a one-room schoolhouse (with one teacher determined to have all her students learn the harmonica). He shares the trials of Depression and drought, experiences the coming of electricity—which prompted his father to take on a sideline as an electrician—and reveals the vital importance of the local blacksmith. Throughout the book, he finds wonder in the commonplace, like going to town on a Saturday night for a black walnut ice cream cone.
So often people ask me how to kick-start a fiercely loyal community. Sometimes they already have a community up and running. Sometimes they sort of have a community. And sometimes they are starting from scratch. The one thing they have in common is that they know they want to ignite fierce loyalty in a community that is built around what they are up to in the world. After all, isn’t that the point of a community—to converse and engage with other like-minded individuals?
I’m guessing that there are readers of this blog who see themselves in what I just described. No matter where you are in the spectrum – whether already having a community to starting from scratch and everything in between – I’ve got some ideas for you that will help you fire up fierce loyalty. Ready?
The Top 7 Ways to Ignite Fierce LoyaltyDetermine your reason(s) for wanting a community. If it’s simply a means to an end so that you have people to sell stuff to, hit the pause button. No matter how you try to mask that, potential community members will smell your motivation a million miles away. If your motivation is building relationships with your customers and clients and getting to know them so that you better understand their needs, then you’re on the right track.
Decide who your community is for. So often I see emails, newsletters and websites that try to appeal to a very broad group. And I talk to business owners who are building one community for about five different audiences with five different interests. Because the message is so general, people aren’t sure whether or not they belong. And if they aren’t sure, they won’t stay. Be specific and targeted.
Figure out the single common interest that everyone in your community shares. Maybe there are five different types of people in your community but they share a single common interest. For example: you sell organic dog food and your community is made up of pet owners, veterinarians, pet trainers, pet sitters, and pet store owners. Their common interest is holistic pet wellness. Build your community and fierce loyalty by speaking to that common interest.
Create multiple connection points. And by connection points, I mean opportunities for two-way communication. Gone are the days of businesses pumping out one-way messages. Use blogs, social media, livestream videos and in-person gatherings to connect with your community members and give them the opportunity to connect with each other.
Invite them to help you create the community. Give them an ownership stake by incorporating their ideas into the community design. Ask them what would make the community better and then implement some of their suggestions. It’s a little scary to give up some control, but the payoff is a community full of people who feel that it belongs to them—and that feeling of ownership can be a powerful motivator when it comes to keeping people involved and interested.
Make your community members the stars of the show. Feature content they create. Put their pictures and their words up on your blog or your website. Talk about them by name on your social media channels. Give them a reason to brag to their friends with a link to your site.
Be human. Let your community see all sides of you rather than just your polished, well-groomed public persona. Talk about things that are happening that have nothing to do with business. Share details about your life (only as much as you feel comfortable) so your community members 1) get to know more about who you are and 2) will feel comfortable doing the same.
These seven strategies: determine your reason, decide who it’s for, figure out the common interest, create multiple connection points, invite them to help, make them the stars and be human are not expensive or fancy. And anyone at any point in their community building process can put them into play.
Which one or ones will you try first? What would you add to the list? Let’s talk about it in the comments!
P.S. If you want dig in further on the whole idea of Fierce Loyalty, you can download my whitepaper (opt-in free) “The ROI of a Fiercely Loyal Community.”
Sarah Robinson is president and CEO of Sarah Robinson Co. She is a seasoned business coach, strategist, advisor and speaker who helps business owners set their companies apart from the pack. Based in Birmingham, Ala., Sarah advises her international clients on how to build a thriving, successful community, how to increase social media effectiveness, and how to develop a remarkable online and offline business presence. Her expertise in personal and business change was developed through many years of working with and providing coaching to entrepreneurs, small businesses and start-up non-profits, where she honed her ability to “turn around” thousands of struggling individuals and organizations.
Image by charles chan* via Creative Commons
Pin it7 Ways to Ignite Fierce Loyalty in Your Community is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency








Everyone hates spam. We all complain about spam in our email boxes; I know I do. I’ve had my email address for 18 years. Back when it was shiny and new, I admit that I didn’t know better and gave out my email address without a care in the world. Of course,18 years ago, spam was just a luncheon meat…. oh, the good old days!
And even though we can universally agree on a dislike of spam, here’s the tricky thing—sometimes people spam others without realizing what they’re doing. Since the Can-Spam Act of 2003, spam is a serious business. If you break the rules (yes, there are rules), you could be fined—up to a whopping $16,000 per infraction.
“So what?” you might be thinking to yourself. “People do spammy stuff all the time and nothing ever happens to them.” Although it’s true that a large number of people or companies that make regular use of spammy tactics may never see any sort of enforcement or punishment, not everyone will escape unscathed—and that’s why it’s better to be safe than sorry. Consider Jumpstart Technologies, which was fined $900,000 for “disguising its commercial emails as personal messages and by misleading consumers as to the terms and conditions of the promotion.”
Or ValueClick, which paid $2.9 million to settle an FTC charge that their “emails were deceptive and violated federal law” after ValueClick sent out emails offering “free” gifts that weren’t actually free.
Now that I have your attention, I’ll help you steer clear of violating this act (and spamming your friends and neighbors!). Here are a few of the most common ways you may unknowingly be spamming someone and what to do about it.
Business cards don’t equal subscribers. Just because you received someone’s business card at a networking event doesn’t mean you can automatically sign that person up for your newsletter. In the Can-Spam Act, Congress includes “affirmative consent,” which is defined as ‘the recipient expressly consented to receive the message, either in response to a clear and conspicuous request for such consent or at the recipient’s own initiative’. Unless you discussed your newsletter at the networking event and that person requested to receive your newsletter, it’s a no-go.
Opt out. If you distribute an email newsletter and don’t have a method for unsubscribing, change that—immediately. This is one of the major reasons I suggest that clients use email marketing software such as MailChimp, Constant Contact or iContact (to name a few). These programs all include an unsubscribe link that allows recipients to easily unsubscribe. Plus, the software removes them for you—how easy is that?
Meet the deadline. According to the Can-Spam Act, you have three days to drop someone from your mailing list once they’ve unsubscribed. Again, this is another reason to consider using email marketing software.
Money can’t buy subscribers. You bought a list so everything must be good and right in the world, right? Wrong! The Can-Spam Act says you cannot “harvest” a list. You’ll find that most reputable email marketing software companies will not let you use a purchased list since the individuals on it have not given “affirmative consent” to be a part of “your” list (see tip number 1).
Clear contact info. Your newsletter must include accurate reply to/from and contact information. That means the information needs to readily and easily identify the person and business that sent the message.
Social networks aren’t exempt. You may think the Can-Spam Act doesn’t apply to social media. Think again! On March 28, 2011, in Facebook, Inc. v. MaxBounty, Inc., the California District Court held that messages sent by Facebook users are “electronic mail messages.” If you’re sending blatant ads on social media platforms, think twice before hitting “send!”
To keep yourself and your business in the free and clear (and avoid debilitating fines), make sure you’re following these email marketing best practices:
Now that you’ve completed a crash course in avoiding spam, go forth and email wisely!
Robin Moss is the founder of ribit, a digital marketing agency that specializes in custom WordPress web sites, e-commerce sites, SEO, social media, graphic design, marketing, advertising and public relations. In her spare time you will find her on Twitter or trying to find the best sushi restaurant in town.
Lead image by jacobms via Creative Commons
Pin itAre You Spamming People And Don’t Even Know It? is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency
How much does mobile marketing and mobile strategy factor into your integrated marketing plan? If you’re not already thinking about mobile, now is the time. By 2016, nearly three in five consumers will have a smartphone. And recent research from Forrester indicates that personal computers at home and in the office will soon be displaced by the tablet.
The critical thing to understand about mobile is that it’s much, much more than creating a mobile version of your site or developing an app—although those are two important components of a mobile presence.
Wondering where to start planning and defining your mobile strategy?
5 Questions to Shape Your Mobile Marketing Strategy Has mobile traffic to your website changed?It’s no secret that we’re analytics nuts – and if you’re not reading your analytics weekly, start. Look at how your mobile traffic is changing – we’ll bet it’s increasing on a regular basis. If our predictions are true, what are you doing to serve up content to those folks accessing your site from mobile devices? If the answer is “nothing” …. well, you know where I’m going with that.
Where are your mobile visitors coming from?Again, this is where your analytics will come in handy. Google Analytics, for example, will allow you to segment your mobile traffic to see where it’s coming from. Are they coming to your site from Google or from another source? And what page are they landing on that’s drawing them in? Identifying visitor traffic patterns and tracking conversions can help ensure the overall effectiveness of your site.
What are your mobile visitors looking for?Your analytics show you what your visitors are thinking – if only you’ll let them. Pay attention to what keywords draw them to your site and how that compares to search habits of desktop users. Be sure to develop your content strategies accordingly. Give mobile users information that’s critical to them on a mobile site. That will, most definitely, lead to not only more sales, but also happier customers.
App or mobile website?Do you really need an app? Probably not. Many times people think they need an app when in reality they need a mobile website. Mobile websites work just like apps and are almost always less expensive to develop. We think mobile websites are so important that when we develop sites for clients, we almost always develop a mobile website concurrently. Apps are ubiquitous, but don’t talk yourself, or let anyone else talk you into an app without first making sure that’s the best possible solution.
How are you going to market your app?Decide on an app after all? Terrific. What is it about your app that makes it irresistible? The average iOS user has some 60 apps on their device (many have more) yet 26 percent of those apps are downloaded once and never used again. If you decide on an app, you’d best decide how you’re going to market the app once it’s developed, and you’d better be asking some hard questions about what it is about your app that makes it something people want – and need – to come back to day after day. If you don’t ask these questions at the beginning of the app development process, you might be sad once you’ve spent a whole bunch of money and no one is downloading, or more importantly, using, your app. It happens. All the time.
Planning a mobile strategy isn’t all that different from creating an overall digital strategy, or hashing out your approach to social media. And a mobile strategy doesn’t mean creating a mini version of your corporate website and/or developing an app and calling it good.
Taking the time to understand your mobile audience and their needs, and how you can serve those needs in the most effective, efficient manner possible – well, it just leads to good things.
Have you created a mobile strategy for your brand or business? If so, would you recommend any other questions to ask before getting started?
Image by Robert Scoble via Creative Commons
Pin itMobile Marketing: 5 Questions That Will Shape Your Strategy is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency
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