andy giefer

We'll assume these beauties are the handiwork of Periscope Correction OLSON did these (thanks Kelly). Can I get a hell yeah for outdoor baseball? See also.

I confess I'm a bit of a Google fanboy. I'm the last one to get paranoid about privacy concerns even as the GOOG becomes ever-more pervasive.

But then I read The Onion article Google Responds to Privacy Concerns with Unsettlingly Specific Apology, a brilliant piece of satire that shines a light on the fears some people have. Do we have good reason to feel unsettled?

Here's a summary of the things Google "knows" about you if you use their services. I use quotes because it really means Google stores or has access to this information.

Google "Knows"
- What you're searching for (Google.com).
- What your search history is (Chrome, Google Toolbar).
- Where you live (Google Maps).
- What your house and neighborhood look like (Google Maps Street View).
- Where you are now (Google Maps Mobile).
- What local businesses/places you might visit (Google Local).
- Who and about what you email (Gmail).
- Who and about what you chat (Gchat).
- What your phone usage is (Droid and Google Voice).
- What you're thinking (Google Buzz).
- What your plans are (Google Calendar).
- What you buy plus credit card info (Google Checkout).
- What you're selling (Google Adwords).
- What's in your personal documents (Google Docs).
- What photos you view and post (Picasa).
- What videos you view and post (YouTube).
- What your interests are (Blogger).
- What's on your hard drive (Google Desktop).
- What your medical history is (Google Health)

In reality, of course, Google is not tracking your every move. I believe it when they say they only use the data they collect to improve and personalize search results and to serve relevant ads. It's not in their business interests to be viewed as big brother.

For me, it's more a sense of awe than worry. I'm in awe of how all-encompassing Google has become in a relatively short time. And I'm in awe of the huge responsibility they have to keep our personal data private and stored safely in the cloud.

Still, maybe it's all too much and you want to opt out of Google. The Onion shows how Google can help you with that too:

In the spirit of HAPPO, here's a look at some questions to ask when considering you next PR hire. My responses as a candidate in Minneapolis/St. Paul follow. If you like what you read, let's get in touch:

andy@andygiefer.com
@andy_giefer
LinkedIn

1. Do I need a traditional PR person or a someone with a broader skill set?

While traditional PR skills are still important, technology has infinitely broadened the scope of the field. Is it important that your hire is skilled working outside that traditional box?

My abilities reach beyond traditional PR. Over six years at an integrated agency, I demonstrated expansive skills including PR, digital/social media, creative and strategic thinking, writing and branding. I'm also someone who's driven to enhance my skills and develop new ones as PR evolves.

2. Am I committed to the strategic use of digital and social media?

As the social web becomes the center of gravity, PR is poised to capitalize. Are you on board with this shift? Will your next hire be ready to make it happen?

If you're looking for someone to immediately take advantage of social media, we should talk. My passion for and knowledge of social eliminate the learning curve. I'm prepared to strategically build, implement and manage programs from day one.

3. Am I looking for a cog or a linchpin?

A cog is a replaceable gear in a machine. A linchpin, in Seth Godin's parlance, is someone indispensable. Which will your next PR hire be?

I'm driven by a desire to help others, do meaningful work, teach, learn and provide great ideas. I'm not interested in the cog life. I try make myself a linchpin through exceptional results, insights and productive collaboration with smart people.

4. Do I have a sense of humor?

If your work culture is rather buttoned down, your PR candidate should fit that mold. If you believe that humor, personality and fun are prerequisites to creativity, make sure your next hire  does too.

While I do work hard, I'm not someone who gets accused of taking myself too seriously. I want to work with fun, interesting people with an opinion and a story to tell. I believe that kind of culture ends up producing the best results.

What are you looking looking for in your next PR candidate, and do I fit the bill? If so, let’s talk soon. Reach me at:

andy@andygiefer.com
@andy_giefer
LinkedIn

Although the Vikings enjoy a rabid fan following and stellar television ratings, the on-field love has not translated to a new, publicly funded stadium as it did for the Cowboys.

It's a contradiction I call the purple paradox. And it has me thinking, could the team use social media to move the needle of public opinion in its favor?

Of course, passions rise when you get into the politics of publicly funded stadiums. I'm not going there with this post. Instead, I'm interested in how the team could use social media to make a stronger case to the public in their stadium drive.

If you were in their position, what would you do?

Start by aspiring to a vision greater than the Vikings organization. The best way to gain traction in social media is to do something remarkable or unexpected. Beyond the known benefits like keeping the team in MN, construction jobs and possibly attracting a Super Bowl, how else could the stadium serve the greater good?

Yes, the new stadium design is green, but what if it actually generated energy and gave back to the grid? What if the new stadium and surrounding development consisted entirely of local/sustainable business? What if rural or impoverished Minnesotans had better opportunities to use the facility? Whatever it is, if the public is going to help pay for it, the Vikings need to find more ways to do remarkable things for Minnesota.

Open conversation to the community. Closely related to the first point, this is about crowdsourcing the vision. Ask for ideas from the public to make the stadium a truly remarkable addition to the community. Hold live or online forums to discuss what we want Minnesota to look like and if/how the stadium and team fit into that picture.

Let the public in on the decision making process as much as possible. Look at the Pepsi Refresh Project  or the Open Government Initiative as examples of how to solicit the best ideas.

Use players to break the tension. No, the players shouldn't be directly pimped for the stadium effort, but when the debate gets heated, the team's personalities (and there are some great ones) could bring some levity and goodwill to the situation. Imagine pulling off a series of online videos in the same vein as the SportsCenter commercials while poking fun at the Metrodome and the entire stadium situation, you'd have a decent chance of viral success.

Showcase team's current and future good works. Let's face it: Vikings players have never had the squeaky clean image that the Twins enjoy. Yet when you look at the Vikings' community and charitable efforts, they're quite impressive and have actually grown under Wilf's ownership. The problem is few people know about the positive things the players do for the community.

Capture some good, entertaining video of these efforts and start pushing it out through the team's social channels. Players should also be encouraged to get social by talking about their outreach efforts through Facebook, Twitter or personal blogs. Also, start asking what else the players could do for this community. What if each player chose a social entrepreneur to invest in?  Plenty more ideas could be generated through crowdsourcing.

Tap into the passion of fans. Get fans thinking more about what the team means to them beyond Sunday afternoon entertainment. There are strong currents of pride, family and community running through the fan base. What if you offered a platform for fans to tell their greatest, funniest or strangest Vikings memories? The public could vote on their favorite videos and winners could get season tickets.

The team's Facebook page has about 360,000 fans, not to mention the many unofficial pages out there. Why not try to start a meme? For example, think of the one thing you'd miss most if the Vikings left and make that your status 

Those are just a few ideas. If you have more, I'd love to hear them.

NPR did a great story on the 20th anniversary of this photo, taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft in 1990. It almost didn't happen because there was fear of frying the cameras when they pointed back at the sun.

Carl Sagan urged NASA not let the opportunity pass, and they did not disappoint. Here's Sagan's take on the photo:

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every 'superstar,' every 'supreme leader,' every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there — on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

Just a little perspective late on a Friday afternoon.

Read the full article

It's official: I'm running Chicago.

It will be by far the biggest (45,000 runners) and hopefully fastest marathon I've ever run. I'm not particularly quick. All I want for marathon number seven is a 3h 30m time. If I can do that, I'll be happy with half marathons from there on out.

What will it take? It's time to shake up the program. More strength, more cross training and a better diet.

An early start will help too. The race is 8 months from today. Gotta run.