Yesterday evening, I attended the annual installation of officers and awards ceremony for a very large Jewish philanthropic organization (of which I happen to be on the board of directors). Everything was going as planned, until one fatal mistake.

The function was lovely. There were lots of awards, amazing hors d’oeuvres and a room filled with powerful and influential people. The agenda was thoughtfully planned, fast paced and to the point. Purposefully, the night was kept brief - 1.5 hours. Speeches consisted mainly of the importance of helping others less fortunate, the need to fundraise … the power of giving.

Then it happened, a keynote speaker made a terrible faux pas. She started strong. Her speech was moving and heartfelt, hundreds of members of our major Jewish organization were captivated by the heartfelt message. And then, the speaker paused effectively before delivering the quote that was to be the cornerstone of the speech: words from Henry Ford.

That Henry Ford. A man remarkable for many things, not least of which was his anti-Semitic politics.

There was tangible discomfort in the audience. An enormous buzz went around the table I was sitting at. Immediately the “whispers began” about Henry Ford’s well-known anti-Semitic campaigns.

What a major blunder.

If you are going to make a speech in front of hundreds of people, my #1 tip is to think like a fact-checker. Make certain that quotes are appropriate for your audience. Review your references. Double-check your stats.

Public speaking mistakes can happen to even the most seasoned presenters. Ann Curry, the Today Show’s news anchor, delivered the Wheaton –Massachusetts – College commencement and noted graduates of Wheaton – Illinois – College by mistake. Curry made a public apology and was forgiven by college administration.

Know your audience. Know your history. Do your research. I will remind myself to do the same.

Have you ever made a terrible blunder in a speech? How did you recover?

Posted by Leslie Linevsky at 3:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I am reading a post that popped up in my morning scan of socialmention*. At first, it sounds vaguely familiar. Then very familiar.

There is another one. Familiar. Very familiar. OMG. Has someone plagiarized my posts?

The first was a piece on Sarasota’s bid for the Google ultra-high speed broadband project, and Sarasota’s brilliant public relations move of renaming City Island “Google Island.” This was posted as a column with my Miami Internet Business Examiner hat. The article was picked up by SarasotaStyle at Blogger. It is attributed to me, and there is a hyperlink to the original Miami Business Examiner column.

The second article was a long piece on the Top 10 Mobile Shopping Sites, which I originally posted on this blog, and, a couple months later, retooled and uploaded to my EzineArticles account. This was reposted on Mobile Shopping News. It’s a long article, and they posted the entire piece. It actually looks nice. Not spammy at all. This repost is “great” – it included my short bio, a link to my blog and noted the source as EzineArticles. "Great," and yet, not good.

We are used to our press releases appearing on “junk” websites as filler, and in random newsfeeds on splogs (spam blogs). I have -- like everyone else who blogs regularly -- a long list of spam sites that have picked up my RSS feed (which is set on short) to generate content. It’s different when a carefully and thoughtfully written blog post is swiped in a “cut and paste” job. This is content scraping. Something that looks like a human being did the work, not a bot. My feelings vacillate between flattered and annoyed.

What is the etiquette for reposting someone’s blog content?

“Web” -etiquette implies that you must get permission (by email should be fairly simple) from any author to repost their content. Bloggers and other creators of Web content own the intellectual property rights of their content, unless they have been paid for the rights to that content. In that case, the publisher – who has purchased the content – owns the rights.

This is what happens: by scraping content from a blog or other website, you are stealing someone else’s work and you are taking Web traffic away from them. Even if you very correctly and politely post their information, you still have stolen their traffic. Why would anyone click through to the original author’s site if they already READ the entire piece on yours? The other issue is that the original content has already been indexed by the search engines. How much value does it have for your site, word-for-word, anyway?

It takes some thought and patience to get permission to reuse Web content. But remember, it takes a lot of work to create quality Web content: blog posts, articles, and reviews.

There are great ways to appreciate another blogger, that say "kudos, fellow writer, I love what you do!"

♦ Comment on the post in your blog, linking back to the original post
♦ Expand upon the content, linking back to the original post
♦ Quote the author of the blog, linking back to the original post
♦ Answer the author, linking back to the original post

It's much appropriate to react to an excellent post or content on someone else’s site with an original post of your own reaction and a link to the external content. That’s simple enough.

Don’t fall into “hey, this is cool, I’ll put it on my site,” behavior. If you have done this, forward links to the original author and ask for permission, even if after-the-fact. Do it now. If someone asks you to take down content that you have “borrowed”, remove it immediately.

I’m not going to ask either of these other sites to remove my content. The bother me, and, I'll get over it.

But, I always keep tab on my online content. If I discovered a site that was regularly scraping my posts, I would no longer be flattered. If this is happening to you, use Google Webmaster tools to report the offending site. Email the site owner, if you can find them. Demand that your content be removed.

How do you handle content lifting?

Posted by Leslie Linevsky at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Two dramas are unfolding with Facebook that I think are fascinating to watch (both from a consumer and business point-of-view).

1st Drama: Facebook changed their privacy policy, again

Users, mostly professional social media types, are analyzing Facebook’s privacy-compromising moves, as well as Facebook exec Zuckerberg’s responses to a huge flurry of criticism. Online, bloggers are ranting over the lack of consideration and concern for the Facebook community.

As I follow the conversation, and listen to the Facebook privacy foibles on NPR, I am torn.

I think they know that when it comes right down to it, the social media professionals may be watching, but the masses are not. I think about the people I “know” on Facebook.

For example, the middle-aged woman who posted her own glamour shots of herself half naked to her profile. Or the business exec who added links to his personal account at Flickr and showed the world his own kids’ birthday party photos. Theses two examples clearly demonstrate that these individuals really are not concerned with their own privacy.

Privacy is not an issue for most Facebook users. Most of them don’t even know what they agreed to when they signed up. How many people really READ all that stuff before they click “agree”?

2nd Drama: It’s Free … you are not entitled to any say

As a business person, I know that customer service is the cornerstone of any company. Questions and concerns should be addressed. Clients should be made happy.

But here’s the thing: Facebook is free. Remember, all of social media is free.

By creating a social media account, I am tempted to feel that there is an agreement that I will be respected and provided the agreed upon service. This is because I expect the same from a fee-for-product relationship. Wrong. Social media is a different animal. It often defies measurement, operates with a fluid game plan, and makes up the rules as it goes. Users have to remember that what they are getting, they are getting for free. The execs at Facebook must keep an eye on profitability. It would be nice if they remembered their users, but do they have to?

Yesterday, Facebook canceled the landing page functionality for business and brand fan pages with less than 10,000 fans. The work-around is purchasing Facebook advertising that clicks through to a “welcome” tab on a fan page. No advertising & no huge fan base = no landing tab privilege.

How ridiculous is this? A grassroots movement (on Facebook) for a mass exodus of Facebook users, “Quit Facebook Day” has 4600 Facebook fans.

Facebook has 400 million – MILLION – users.

So go ahead and leave. Or stay.

Just remember it’s free. Use it to your advantage. Promote your business however you can. Protect your own privacy.

Take social media for what it is, that’s my advice. What’s yours?

Posted by Leslie Linevsky at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My daughters, along with 300 of their school band members, played The National Anthem at a Marlins baseball game last week.

This was a big event, a televised national sports team gig. The girls, even though they could care less about baseball, were excited because they love playing their respective trumpet and clarinet. Their younger brother was excited to be going to the ballgame. Their dad was excited to watch his daughters on the field.

As for me, well …

You see, I’m not a huge baseball fan, actually not much of a baseball fan at all. And the five minutes of watching my two talented girls play their instruments among 300 other children, in the middle of a huge baseball field held up against three hours of baseball in the sun-cooked bleachers had a rather sobering effect on my enthusiasm for any type of evening with the Marlins.

At home, we discussed and delegated. The band engagement at the Marlins game became a “dad gig.”

For a moment, while I was getting my manicure and pedicure with a friend -- right before I headed to my coveted four-year-strong Literary Luscious Ladies book club, I had a twinge of guilt. The I-should-be-there-to-support-my-kids kind of guilt. At the nail salon, I asked if the manager could tune to the game. The televised coverage did not include our school band’s rendition of The Star Spangled Banner. I didn’t see the girls, with their uniforms and the black tennis shoes I ran to purchase the previous evening.

The first ball was thrown. The teams took the field. Nine innings loomed.

My guilt was fleeting. My nails drying. The book I was prepared to discuss engrossing.

I had made a good call, splitting responsibilities along the lines of talent, enthusiasm and skill sets.

In parenting, and in business, you have to make decisions. Delegating is an art, as is recognizing talents. There are certain things that I do very well, and that I truly enjoy working on, and others that are better delegated to those whose abilities best ensures an excellent outcome.

Posted by Leslie Linevsky at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Catalogs.com has 1000 Facebook Fans today!

The number “1000” looks fantastic on our Facebook Fan page, and as we promised, we are giving away an iPod Touch to one of those first 1,000 fans …

Now we get to say “congratulations” to Staci Googins, from Winona, Minnesota.

Catalogs.com has been having fun on Facebook, sharing new catalogs, shopping deals and lots of photos with catalog fans from everywhere.

Here are some of the things that we are hearing in return:

“ ♥ The catalogs u offer to us!! thank u!”

“INTERESANTE!”

“I love catalogs.com-they have a lot of good free mail order catalogs!”

Lots of our Facebook fans are sharing their favorite catalogs with each other, too. We are looking forward to the next 1000 fans, and the 1000 after those!

Come and chat “catalog chat” with Catalogs.com on Facebook.

Posted by Leslie Linevsky at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My daughter’s recent induction to the National Junior Honor Society made me very proud. The ceremony was serious, with candles, school administrators and the middle school students – all girls, actually – in fancy dresses (except my daughter who was mortified that she showed up in torn blue jeans and a Ed Hardy top: we didn't think it was a formal affair).

My daughter is on the right track, a hard-working, focused and self-motivated student. This, I hope, is just one of many stepping stones – recognitions, accomplishments, successes – in my daughter’s academic career.

The National Junior Honor Society was founded in 1929. The organization has chapters in schools across the nation and membership is based upon outstanding performance. The NJHS looks for excellence in Scholarship, Service, Leadership, Character and Citizenship. These are all lofty, serious endeavors.

High achieving kids have always had a push-pull of success and stress. I have friends who have watched their high school seniors meltdown over college acceptances and rejections, and whose teens make themselves ill preparing for too many Advanced Placement tests. This is not a new phenomena. I used to get severe stomach problems when it was final exam crunch time.

So, while I am excited for my daughter, and proud, and my first impulse is to encourage her: go get more, win more, achieve more. Study harder, study longer, watch your class rank, monitor your grade point average daily. It’s a long haul to get through university, so pull out all the stops and learn the concept of "summa cum laude" early.

My second impulse is one that draws on my own struggle to maintain a work-life balance.

“Go play,” I’m whispering in her other ear. “Go have fun.”

Posted by Leslie Linevsky at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)