AllThingsDigitalMarketing.com presents another video all about: NYCapartmentsKD.com
At one time or another, we all need to find a new place to live. After working as a licensed real estate agent for a very short time with my husband, Kevin Daly, who has been doing this for over 15 years now, I realize how important it is to be there to help apartment seekers and colleagues find a nice place to live and be within budget. This is why we work very hard and are dedicated to helping our clients and customers. We don't just want to rent or sell, we want to walk them through it all and educate them through every step of the process. We want to let everyone know about us so that in the event you or someone you know is looking to find a new place to call home in New York City, we are here for you. This is why we created this video, NYCapartmentsKD.com -- we want to let the world know -- so please spread the word. Thanks!!! Visit NYCapartmentsKD.com
Bios:
Gloria Buono-Daly: Gloria is a native New Yorker and since her childhood years, she has spent countless hours exploring New York City with family and friends. As a corporate publishing and marketing communications professional, she brings extensive creative, administrative and managerial expertise coupled with a unique perspective to real estate.
Kevin Daly: Having come from a family who has been involved in Manhattan Real Estate for over a century, Kevin brings a wealth of experience and knowledge about New York City. As a consistent top performing agent, he rents many BEST DEAL apartments and many are NO FEE to LOW FEE.
Here's our favorite quote about real estate:
Buy land, they're not making it anymore." --Mark Twain (aka Samuel Langhorne Clemens)
Friday, November 19, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Name It. Change It. Press Conference: See What You Missed!
"When you attack one women, you attack all women!" -- Jehmu Greene, President, WMC.
On Tuesday, August 31st, members and supporters of Women's Media Center (WMC), WCF (formerly Women's Campaign Fund) and Political Parity joined at the Paley Center for Media in New York City for a press conference to announce the national launch of Name It. Change It., the media accountability campaign that addresses sexism in the media against women candidates and whose goal is to stop sexist treatment of women candidates beginning with the upcoming 2010 midterm elections.
The event was also live-stream at www.nameitchangeit.org, www.wcffoundation.org, and http://www.womensmediacenter.com/.
Jehmu Greene, WMC President and former advisor to Hillary Clinton, facilitated the conference and was joined by WCF President, Siobhan "Sam" Bennett, and Political Parity Co-Chair and former Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, Kerry Healey.
"Media surrounds us, and when we don't see women in leadership roles, the mental jump to envision them is that much higher," said Greene who went on to share her favorite quote by the late Shirley Chisholm, NY Congresswoman (1968 to 1983; also first black woman elected to Congress).
"Emotional, sexual and psychological female stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says 'it's a girl'!" -- Shirley Chisholm"
"And today we're launching Name It. Change It., a media accountability project just for that exact reason," added Greene.
Highlights of the press conference included startling statistics pertaining to women in political office, the premiere of the campaign’s online video titled "In Your Face with Mark and Friends," created by Strategic Productions, and a newly created "Egregious Incident Alert System" (aka SAS, Sexist Alert System), "The Pyramid of Egregiousness," etc.).
THE PYRAMID OF EGREGIOUSNESS
The goal of Pyramid of Egregiousness model is to encourage everyone to report any sexist treatment of women in the media and characterize it by the color-coded diagram. When you go to the Pyramid's URL mousing over a tier shows sample phrases (e.g., the"Just plain sexist" tier includes the phrase "high maintenance," etc.). The conference also featured a provocative and interesting Q & A.
STATISTICS AND EGREGIOUS TALES
Unfortunately, there is more than enough of statistics and egregious stories when it comes to sexism in media. Did you know that the U.S. currently ranks 86th in the world for the number of women in Congress and that 51% of Americans are women, yet women hold only 17% of the seats in Congress, and 24% of State Legislature seats? And all indications are that much has to do with sexist treatment by the media and lack of awareness and support.
Greene shared a familiar and compelling statistic with the audience from the Geena Davis Foundation Institute on Gender in Media that had to do with the correlation of hours spent watching TV for girls and boys -- The more hours that girls watch TV the less options they feel they have in life. For males, the more they watch TV the more sexist they feel. More information about the "One on One" session at the Paley Center for Media this past April is at http://bit.ly/GeenaDavis-PaleyCenter4Media.
"Women are singularly responsible for us being here today," added Greene who then introduced Siobhan "Sam" Bennet, President, WCF who is also a former Congressional and Mayoral candidate in Pennsylvania. Bennett faced egregious sets of sexist attacks against her personally while campaigning for office, and she courageously went on to take that experience and turn it into a positive campaign to support all women, regardless of their political party, who are seeking leadership roles in government.
Bennett joined the WCF, the oldest organization (36 years old) in 2009 and has been hard at work in fighting sexism against women candidates. In such a short time, many have witnessed the amazing transformation from a social media standpoint of her work in fighting sexist against women and to bring more women into elective office on all sides of the aisle. "Sam Bennett has marshalled in this campaign in such an aggressive and necessary way," said Greene as she announced Bennett.
"Did you ever have a moment where you're surrounded by luminaries and ask how did I get here?" opened Bennett, as she continued by sharing her impressive thoughts about her fellow colleagues on the panel. "Jehmu is an amazing young woman and it's a real honor to be working with WMC and Kerry Healey, former Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, an amazing women, a Republican who is out there on so many issues and she is the co-chair of a historic alliance of women's organizations across this country called Political Parity. To be among this august company is so powerful, such an honor," added Bennett. Bennett also thanked Swanee Hunt, of the Hunt Alternatives Fund, for her energy, insight and experience. Hunt could not be here today but she was surely missed.
Bennett went on to describe how honored and proud she is to be leading the WCF organization and how it has been helping women campaigning for political office for 36 years. "There is not a women of tenure on the hill that did not get a first check from the Women's Campaign Fund. Ask Democrat Barbara Boxer, ask Republican Olympia Snow," said Bennett.
It was compelling to learn how Bennett experienced the most breathtaking misogyny from the media in her own hometown where she's lived for over 30 years. Bennett was a PTA President and founded several civic organizations in her community; but when she ran for mayor she had a taste of sexist treatment by the media.
As Bennett was running for Mayor (which incidentally she lost by only 46 votes) and was doing her first stump speech, she was interrupted by the chair of that meeting who said "Sam I want to ask you a question all the men in this room have been dying to ask you - just what are your measurements?" recalled Bennett. "And there was a reporter who wrote an article about this meeting and didn't even mention it," added Bennett. Bennett went on to describe that when she ran for Congress, that experience paled in comparison to what came her way during her next campaign. "I'm very proud to say I've raised more money but the bottom line is this -- I came away that I want to focus on helping get more women in elected office. My state ranks 46th in the US of women in elected office so something is very wrong," said Bennett.
Bennett introduced Kerry Healey of Political Parity as a visionary who inspires all the women around her. Kerry Healey mentioned experiences throughout her campaign that although they were very humorous they also were so important because it is exactly these types of sexism things that frighten and deter other women into wanting to run for office. Disappointingly, female journalists are just as guilty as male journalists. Healey experienced the most disappointing question as she was on a radio interview by a woman journalist. She was asked if she got elected to office was she going to have twins during her term. The strategy behind this media question was basically due to the fact that her predecessor, also a woman, had twins during her elected office term. "Well obviously, at my age, that would be impossible," said Healey, and the audience laughed. Healey's defeat was actually celebrated and ridiculed in the Boston Globe, caricaturing her as a witch with black hat and all, but with blonde hair.
"Political Parity was an idea because Swanee Hunt of the Hunt Alternatives Fund, started talking about a bipartisan effort to get women elected on both sides of the aisle," said Healey. Another key contributor was unable to attend today's conference, Lauren Emory, an amazing supporter of women causes particularly concerned with the fact that there has never been a women's effort to get women elected on both sides of the table before.
Healey expressed much appreciation and gratitude as she described how she became involved through Political Parity. "The Emory Family Foundation provided the funding and without Lauren Emory, we wouldn't be here today. Lauren is a terrific supporter of women causes," said Healey. Healey continued by reading a statement from Lauren Emory.
"The Political Parity project is a historic and timely initiative for women around the nation of all different backgrounds, cultures and belief systems who are convening and saying it is time is for real change. And we together are going to make it happen. The Emory Family Foundation is honored to be a resource partner for Political Parity's media accountability project headed by WCF, WMC, and Lake Research. We believe the time is now to put our dollars forth in greater numbers for research and find the projects that are in the forefront of this change. The media accountability is one of these projects." -- Lauren Emory, Emory Family Foundation.
Interesting statistics from research pertaining to reasons why few women consider running for office were addressed and the facts why we must examine why this is so.
Did you know women strongly consider running for office 50% less than men? Two important findings were that women feel they already have 2 jobs -- a real paying job and job at home (dishes, laundry, husband, etc.). Women still disproportionately make sure households run well and a main reason women don't go into politics is because they view it as another job. "Why would I sign up for 3 jobs?," said Healey.
Exact statistics will be announced at the next Name It. Change It. Press Conference on September 23rd to be held in Washington DC. In summary, women look at how women candidates are handled by media and that is the direct deterrent for women to run. Male candidates don't worry about the job at home, etc. "How a woman is handled should be no different than how a man is handled," said Healey. Of those 50% women, 30% fewer of them ever run.
Everyone in the audience raised their hand when asked if they believed that women are integral to making sure women bring something important to the table. Kerry Healey mentioned the Rankin File, a campaign which compiles lists of women leaders who should be in Congress and makes sure these names get mentioned when electoral projects are announced or mentioned. The Rankin File program was named after Jeanette Rankin, suffragist, and the first women elected in House of Representatives 1917-1919, running again in 1941-1942.
Before the Q&A segment, Greene mentioned how important this day is and shared a recent conversation she had with Jennifer Posner of Women Media in the News about the sexist comment when Geraldine Ferraro was nominated to be the VP, and Tom Brokaw introduced her as a size 6 along with the sexism in media toward Senator Clinton when she ran for President in 2008.
ON THE NAMING OF "NAME IT. CHANGE IT."
Greene shared how one of WMC's founders, Gloria Steinem, helped with the name, by thinking of different ways of looking about the major issues at hand. From Steinem's first idea, "Name It. Shame It., to Name It. Shame It. Change It., and finally "Name It. Change It." The room was silent as Greene read Gloria Steinem's "Statement on Equality.'
"The most workable definition of equality for journalists is reversibility. Don’t mention her young children unless you would also mention his, or describe her clothes unless you would describe his, or say she’s shrill or attractive unless the same adjectives would be applied to a man. Don’t say she’s had facial surgery unless you say he dyes his hair or has hair plugs….and so on. Don’t say she’s just out of graduate school, but he’s a young Turk or that she’s someone’s protégée but he’s a rising star…
By extension, don’t say someone is a Muslim unless you also identify Christians and Jews, or identify only some people by race, ethnicity or sexuality and not others. However, this does NOT mean being even-handedly positive or negative when only one person or side has done something positive or negative. Equality allows accuracy." -- Gloria Steinem, WMC Cofounder and Board member
Q & A HIGHLIGHTS
A series of questions and answers began with the first question from an audience member directed to Siobhan "Sam" Bennett.
Q: "How did you respond to the question asking for your measurements?"
A: Bennett expressed how she was unprepared. "What I should have said is I'll tell you my measurements if you tell me yours. Instead I stammered my way through it...you don't have a ready response," explained Bennett.
Bennet shared how strategic bridges are creating solutions to these situations. It was interesting to learn that there is research conducted by Celinda Lake of Lake Research that attempts to quantify the electoral effect of sexist type statements and how womens' perceptions change when these statements come out. In an effort to help empower women candidates the research will include sample responses that women can make when they are confronted with such sexist situations and questions. There is not only data but the ability to submit helpful and strategic information about the most effective ways to respond to these questions and situations.
Q: Another question was based on an audience member's opinion that feminism was founded based on pro choice; "So how do you support all women, yet the pink elephant in the room who wears glasses and is from Alaska (Sarah Palin) says she is a feminist yet doesn't represent what true feminism is all about (e.g., pro life vs. pro choice)?" The audience member continued "She says she is a feminist yet doesn't represent what true feminism is all about, she's pro life, feminism is pro chice, how do we treat her as equal?"
A: Healey explained the fact that women are the majority and yet we regard ourselves as the minority due to bipartisanship. She continued mentioning that essentially this is the reason why these attacks come from women as opposed to men -- Because of the partisan underpinning of their hostility toward their candidate through misogyny.
"All women deserve to be treated equally regardless of whether we agree with them, and this is the strength of this entire effort. It does not allow us to be defiant as women," responded Healey. Healey mentioned that she will defend Sarah Palin as needed since all women deserve to be treated in an even-handed way as men whether she agrees with them or doesn't like them will not be a factor.
Bennett mentioned that so much happens because we normalize these kinds of conversations or descriptions about women candidates. "We need to take this off the table to talk about any movement for women," added Bennett.
Q: Another question about Sarah Palin had to do with her stepping down midterm as Governor of Alaska. "Doesn't that mean an admission to a misogynist?" asked an audience member.
A: Healey recounted her experience when she was asked if she was going to have children during her term in office. "All women cannot live up to a perfect standard and can't please all other women by other womens' behaviors... Right now women are being silenced by the fear of being criticized by the media....Sarah Palin has my support whether or not she expresses to have it. This goes to the core belief that everyone be accorded basic standard of respect, and this is what we're trying to accomplish so that they are free to express themselves politically," said Healey.
Greene mentioned John Edwards when he was elected to serve as US Senator and during his first term how he decided to run for President. "Look at the parity, the equality as the goal for this campaign for women and men to be treated fairly by journalists, by bloggers, in the entire media world and that they are judged on the issues, the stances, and vision -- judged as leaders but not because of their judgment, said Greene.
Q: The next question dealt with the way the media addresses Congress as "Congressmen" and never uses a unisex term such as Congress member.
A: Green agreed that this issue needs to be addressed within the media especially women candidates and counterparts with an equal amount of experience. "We must make sure women are being judged and profiled as the same people that our male counterparts have been and continue to be," said Greene.
Q: There was a question pertaining to whether the reach of Name It. Change It. purports to be domestic or global, particularly with the international sexist incident toward France First Lady by the President of Iran, labeling her a "whore" (severe misogyny on the Egregiousness Scale) for her humanitarian effort to the Iranian woman sentenced to being stoned to death.
A: Greene explained that for 2010 the reach is domestic, but long term the program will broaden its reach in as much as possible. "We should all look forward to conversation by Sam and Kerry about how to continue to broaden the reach in the future. Taking a step back from Name It. Change It., the Women's Media Center very much wants to provide opportunities for visibility and action to make sure the situation in Iran and the activists engaged in fighting back have a platform and that their voices are being heard, something we do on a daily basis at WMC," said Greene.
Bennett mentioned Rita Jensen, Editor in Chief at Women's eNews, her work and the importance to start in a domestic platform during the midterm elections. She then explained why our nation needs to be an international leader in how women are regarded so that our domestic work here is preeminently important especially as we need to set the example in how women candidates are treated.
"As per Gloria Steinem, whatever we say about men, say nothing less about women. Women's Campaign Fund and Foundation have an opportunity to encourage women to run at all levels," said Bennett.
Q: There was a question pertaining to whether Name It. Change It. has a specific outcome at the end of this campaign.
A: Greene explained that if we look back to the 2008 election and notice the level of sexist attacks that candidates Hillary Clinton and Geraldine Ferraro faced. WMC was not just monitoring the attacks but developing a campaign to address it. Greene gave examples such as the comments from Chris Matthews who was then CNBC lead anchor. WMC put together a video and through many conversations and many actions did meet with MSNBC President who issued a very big apology. Chris Matthews also issued an apology and his actions resulted in him loosing his MSNBC anchor seat, now Matthews serves as commentator. "Maria Theresa Kumor became a contributor at MSNBC and Rachel Madow got her show so to look back and see that through a little bit of work and activism came outcomes," said Greene.
Q: Another question had to do witth how Name It. Change It. will be measured.
A: Greene mentioned that when we receive national response, we know we're on track, and from Political Parity's standpoint, many projects will allow women to feel more comfortable to enter the political arena and get elected. Measuring by how many more women run for office and be elected to office is the way this campaign will be measured.
Q: The final question from the audience was about the participation of WMC co-founders Gloria Steinem and Jane Fonda. "Is Gloria or Jane going to be doing any appearances?"
A: Greene explained that Gloria has been blogging about the launch of this campaign and will continue to do more posts. Also that Jane is engaged in the campaign and very much behind making sure we have resources that are effective.
Greene shared an article from The LA Times (August 30, 2010 issue) which reported that we will probably be seeing our existing ten women House of Representatives and Senate seats and probably loosing the same amount of women seats in this competitive election. "The impact of this campaign is to make sure that we open up the doors and spread and engage more women and that they understand, now more than ever how important it is that we encourage women to run for office," said Greene.
In closing, Greene thanked the live, online, and live-stream audiences as well as her fellow colleagues, Siobhan "Sam" Bennett and Kerry Healey, for being here.
On Tuesday, August 31st, members and supporters of Women's Media Center (WMC), WCF (formerly Women's Campaign Fund) and Political Parity joined at the Paley Center for Media in New York City for a press conference to announce the national launch of Name It. Change It., the media accountability campaign that addresses sexism in the media against women candidates and whose goal is to stop sexist treatment of women candidates beginning with the upcoming 2010 midterm elections. The event was also live-stream at www.nameitchangeit.org, www.wcffoundation.org, and http://www.womensmediacenter.com/.
 |
| Pictured from left to right: Kerry Healey, Sam Bennett, Jehmu Greene |
Jehmu Greene, WMC President and former advisor to Hillary Clinton, facilitated the conference and was joined by WCF President, Siobhan "Sam" Bennett, and Political Parity Co-Chair and former Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, Kerry Healey.
"Media surrounds us, and when we don't see women in leadership roles, the mental jump to envision them is that much higher," said Greene who went on to share her favorite quote by the late Shirley Chisholm, NY Congresswoman (1968 to 1983; also first black woman elected to Congress).
"Emotional, sexual and psychological female stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says 'it's a girl'!" -- Shirley Chisholm"
"And today we're launching Name It. Change It., a media accountability project just for that exact reason," added Greene.
Highlights of the press conference included startling statistics pertaining to women in political office, the premiere of the campaign’s online video titled "In Your Face with Mark and Friends," created by Strategic Productions, and a newly created "Egregious Incident Alert System" (aka SAS, Sexist Alert System), "The Pyramid of Egregiousness," etc.).
THE PYRAMID OF EGREGIOUSNESS
 |
| The Egregiousness Pyramid |
Pyramid of Egregiousness Diagram includes a color-coded system in shades of orange, to identify the three degrees of sexism in media. 1."Just plain sexist" (bottom tier, lightest orange); 2. "Really darn sexist" (middle tier, orange); 3. "Severe misogynist" (third, tier, deep, burnt orange). Note, 50% fall in the "just plain sexist" tier while the remaining 50% fall in the other 2 tiers, "really darn sexist" and "severe misogynist."
The goal of Pyramid of Egregiousness model is to encourage everyone to report any sexist treatment of women in the media and characterize it by the color-coded diagram. When you go to the Pyramid's URL mousing over a tier shows sample phrases (e.g., the"Just plain sexist" tier includes the phrase "high maintenance," etc.). The conference also featured a provocative and interesting Q & A.
STATISTICS AND EGREGIOUS TALES
Unfortunately, there is more than enough of statistics and egregious stories when it comes to sexism in media. Did you know that the U.S. currently ranks 86th in the world for the number of women in Congress and that 51% of Americans are women, yet women hold only 17% of the seats in Congress, and 24% of State Legislature seats? And all indications are that much has to do with sexist treatment by the media and lack of awareness and support.
Greene shared a familiar and compelling statistic with the audience from the Geena Davis Foundation Institute on Gender in Media that had to do with the correlation of hours spent watching TV for girls and boys -- The more hours that girls watch TV the less options they feel they have in life. For males, the more they watch TV the more sexist they feel. More information about the "One on One" session at the Paley Center for Media this past April is at http://bit.ly/GeenaDavis-PaleyCenter4Media.
"Women are singularly responsible for us being here today," added Greene who then introduced Siobhan "Sam" Bennet, President, WCF who is also a former Congressional and Mayoral candidate in Pennsylvania. Bennett faced egregious sets of sexist attacks against her personally while campaigning for office, and she courageously went on to take that experience and turn it into a positive campaign to support all women, regardless of their political party, who are seeking leadership roles in government.
Bennett joined the WCF, the oldest organization (36 years old) in 2009 and has been hard at work in fighting sexism against women candidates. In such a short time, many have witnessed the amazing transformation from a social media standpoint of her work in fighting sexist against women and to bring more women into elective office on all sides of the aisle. "Sam Bennett has marshalled in this campaign in such an aggressive and necessary way," said Greene as she announced Bennett.
"Did you ever have a moment where you're surrounded by luminaries and ask how did I get here?" opened Bennett, as she continued by sharing her impressive thoughts about her fellow colleagues on the panel. "Jehmu is an amazing young woman and it's a real honor to be working with WMC and Kerry Healey, former Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, an amazing women, a Republican who is out there on so many issues and she is the co-chair of a historic alliance of women's organizations across this country called Political Parity. To be among this august company is so powerful, such an honor," added Bennett. Bennett also thanked Swanee Hunt, of the Hunt Alternatives Fund, for her energy, insight and experience. Hunt could not be here today but she was surely missed.
Bennett went on to describe how honored and proud she is to be leading the WCF organization and how it has been helping women campaigning for political office for 36 years. "There is not a women of tenure on the hill that did not get a first check from the Women's Campaign Fund. Ask Democrat Barbara Boxer, ask Republican Olympia Snow," said Bennett.
It was compelling to learn how Bennett experienced the most breathtaking misogyny from the media in her own hometown where she's lived for over 30 years. Bennett was a PTA President and founded several civic organizations in her community; but when she ran for mayor she had a taste of sexist treatment by the media.
As Bennett was running for Mayor (which incidentally she lost by only 46 votes) and was doing her first stump speech, she was interrupted by the chair of that meeting who said "Sam I want to ask you a question all the men in this room have been dying to ask you - just what are your measurements?" recalled Bennett. "And there was a reporter who wrote an article about this meeting and didn't even mention it," added Bennett. Bennett went on to describe that when she ran for Congress, that experience paled in comparison to what came her way during her next campaign. "I'm very proud to say I've raised more money but the bottom line is this -- I came away that I want to focus on helping get more women in elected office. My state ranks 46th in the US of women in elected office so something is very wrong," said Bennett.
Bennett introduced Kerry Healey of Political Parity as a visionary who inspires all the women around her. Kerry Healey mentioned experiences throughout her campaign that although they were very humorous they also were so important because it is exactly these types of sexism things that frighten and deter other women into wanting to run for office. Disappointingly, female journalists are just as guilty as male journalists. Healey experienced the most disappointing question as she was on a radio interview by a woman journalist. She was asked if she got elected to office was she going to have twins during her term. The strategy behind this media question was basically due to the fact that her predecessor, also a woman, had twins during her elected office term. "Well obviously, at my age, that would be impossible," said Healey, and the audience laughed. Healey's defeat was actually celebrated and ridiculed in the Boston Globe, caricaturing her as a witch with black hat and all, but with blonde hair.
"Political Parity was an idea because Swanee Hunt of the Hunt Alternatives Fund, started talking about a bipartisan effort to get women elected on both sides of the aisle," said Healey. Another key contributor was unable to attend today's conference, Lauren Emory, an amazing supporter of women causes particularly concerned with the fact that there has never been a women's effort to get women elected on both sides of the table before.
Healey expressed much appreciation and gratitude as she described how she became involved through Political Parity. "The Emory Family Foundation provided the funding and without Lauren Emory, we wouldn't be here today. Lauren is a terrific supporter of women causes," said Healey. Healey continued by reading a statement from Lauren Emory.
"The Political Parity project is a historic and timely initiative for women around the nation of all different backgrounds, cultures and belief systems who are convening and saying it is time is for real change. And we together are going to make it happen. The Emory Family Foundation is honored to be a resource partner for Political Parity's media accountability project headed by WCF, WMC, and Lake Research. We believe the time is now to put our dollars forth in greater numbers for research and find the projects that are in the forefront of this change. The media accountability is one of these projects." -- Lauren Emory, Emory Family Foundation.
Interesting statistics from research pertaining to reasons why few women consider running for office were addressed and the facts why we must examine why this is so.
Did you know women strongly consider running for office 50% less than men? Two important findings were that women feel they already have 2 jobs -- a real paying job and job at home (dishes, laundry, husband, etc.). Women still disproportionately make sure households run well and a main reason women don't go into politics is because they view it as another job. "Why would I sign up for 3 jobs?," said Healey.
Exact statistics will be announced at the next Name It. Change It. Press Conference on September 23rd to be held in Washington DC. In summary, women look at how women candidates are handled by media and that is the direct deterrent for women to run. Male candidates don't worry about the job at home, etc. "How a woman is handled should be no different than how a man is handled," said Healey. Of those 50% women, 30% fewer of them ever run.
Everyone in the audience raised their hand when asked if they believed that women are integral to making sure women bring something important to the table. Kerry Healey mentioned the Rankin File, a campaign which compiles lists of women leaders who should be in Congress and makes sure these names get mentioned when electoral projects are announced or mentioned. The Rankin File program was named after Jeanette Rankin, suffragist, and the first women elected in House of Representatives 1917-1919, running again in 1941-1942.
Before the Q&A segment, Greene mentioned how important this day is and shared a recent conversation she had with Jennifer Posner of Women Media in the News about the sexist comment when Geraldine Ferraro was nominated to be the VP, and Tom Brokaw introduced her as a size 6 along with the sexism in media toward Senator Clinton when she ran for President in 2008.
ON THE NAMING OF "NAME IT. CHANGE IT."
Greene shared how one of WMC's founders, Gloria Steinem, helped with the name, by thinking of different ways of looking about the major issues at hand. From Steinem's first idea, "Name It. Shame It., to Name It. Shame It. Change It., and finally "Name It. Change It." The room was silent as Greene read Gloria Steinem's "Statement on Equality.'
"The most workable definition of equality for journalists is reversibility. Don’t mention her young children unless you would also mention his, or describe her clothes unless you would describe his, or say she’s shrill or attractive unless the same adjectives would be applied to a man. Don’t say she’s had facial surgery unless you say he dyes his hair or has hair plugs….and so on. Don’t say she’s just out of graduate school, but he’s a young Turk or that she’s someone’s protégée but he’s a rising star…
By extension, don’t say someone is a Muslim unless you also identify Christians and Jews, or identify only some people by race, ethnicity or sexuality and not others. However, this does NOT mean being even-handedly positive or negative when only one person or side has done something positive or negative. Equality allows accuracy." -- Gloria Steinem, WMC Cofounder and Board member
Q & A HIGHLIGHTS
A series of questions and answers began with the first question from an audience member directed to Siobhan "Sam" Bennett.
Q: "How did you respond to the question asking for your measurements?"
A: Bennett expressed how she was unprepared. "What I should have said is I'll tell you my measurements if you tell me yours. Instead I stammered my way through it...you don't have a ready response," explained Bennett.
Bennet shared how strategic bridges are creating solutions to these situations. It was interesting to learn that there is research conducted by Celinda Lake of Lake Research that attempts to quantify the electoral effect of sexist type statements and how womens' perceptions change when these statements come out. In an effort to help empower women candidates the research will include sample responses that women can make when they are confronted with such sexist situations and questions. There is not only data but the ability to submit helpful and strategic information about the most effective ways to respond to these questions and situations.
Q: Another question was based on an audience member's opinion that feminism was founded based on pro choice; "So how do you support all women, yet the pink elephant in the room who wears glasses and is from Alaska (Sarah Palin) says she is a feminist yet doesn't represent what true feminism is all about (e.g., pro life vs. pro choice)?" The audience member continued "She says she is a feminist yet doesn't represent what true feminism is all about, she's pro life, feminism is pro chice, how do we treat her as equal?"
A: Healey explained the fact that women are the majority and yet we regard ourselves as the minority due to bipartisanship. She continued mentioning that essentially this is the reason why these attacks come from women as opposed to men -- Because of the partisan underpinning of their hostility toward their candidate through misogyny.
"All women deserve to be treated equally regardless of whether we agree with them, and this is the strength of this entire effort. It does not allow us to be defiant as women," responded Healey. Healey mentioned that she will defend Sarah Palin as needed since all women deserve to be treated in an even-handed way as men whether she agrees with them or doesn't like them will not be a factor.
Bennett mentioned that so much happens because we normalize these kinds of conversations or descriptions about women candidates. "We need to take this off the table to talk about any movement for women," added Bennett.
Q: Another question about Sarah Palin had to do with her stepping down midterm as Governor of Alaska. "Doesn't that mean an admission to a misogynist?" asked an audience member.
A: Healey recounted her experience when she was asked if she was going to have children during her term in office. "All women cannot live up to a perfect standard and can't please all other women by other womens' behaviors... Right now women are being silenced by the fear of being criticized by the media....Sarah Palin has my support whether or not she expresses to have it. This goes to the core belief that everyone be accorded basic standard of respect, and this is what we're trying to accomplish so that they are free to express themselves politically," said Healey.
Greene mentioned John Edwards when he was elected to serve as US Senator and during his first term how he decided to run for President. "Look at the parity, the equality as the goal for this campaign for women and men to be treated fairly by journalists, by bloggers, in the entire media world and that they are judged on the issues, the stances, and vision -- judged as leaders but not because of their judgment, said Greene.
Q: The next question dealt with the way the media addresses Congress as "Congressmen" and never uses a unisex term such as Congress member.
A: Green agreed that this issue needs to be addressed within the media especially women candidates and counterparts with an equal amount of experience. "We must make sure women are being judged and profiled as the same people that our male counterparts have been and continue to be," said Greene.
Q: There was a question pertaining to whether the reach of Name It. Change It. purports to be domestic or global, particularly with the international sexist incident toward France First Lady by the President of Iran, labeling her a "whore" (severe misogyny on the Egregiousness Scale) for her humanitarian effort to the Iranian woman sentenced to being stoned to death.
A: Greene explained that for 2010 the reach is domestic, but long term the program will broaden its reach in as much as possible. "We should all look forward to conversation by Sam and Kerry about how to continue to broaden the reach in the future. Taking a step back from Name It. Change It., the Women's Media Center very much wants to provide opportunities for visibility and action to make sure the situation in Iran and the activists engaged in fighting back have a platform and that their voices are being heard, something we do on a daily basis at WMC," said Greene.
Bennett mentioned Rita Jensen, Editor in Chief at Women's eNews, her work and the importance to start in a domestic platform during the midterm elections. She then explained why our nation needs to be an international leader in how women are regarded so that our domestic work here is preeminently important especially as we need to set the example in how women candidates are treated.
"As per Gloria Steinem, whatever we say about men, say nothing less about women. Women's Campaign Fund and Foundation have an opportunity to encourage women to run at all levels," said Bennett.
Q: There was a question pertaining to whether Name It. Change It. has a specific outcome at the end of this campaign.
A: Greene explained that if we look back to the 2008 election and notice the level of sexist attacks that candidates Hillary Clinton and Geraldine Ferraro faced. WMC was not just monitoring the attacks but developing a campaign to address it. Greene gave examples such as the comments from Chris Matthews who was then CNBC lead anchor. WMC put together a video and through many conversations and many actions did meet with MSNBC President who issued a very big apology. Chris Matthews also issued an apology and his actions resulted in him loosing his MSNBC anchor seat, now Matthews serves as commentator. "Maria Theresa Kumor became a contributor at MSNBC and Rachel Madow got her show so to look back and see that through a little bit of work and activism came outcomes," said Greene.
Q: Another question had to do witth how Name It. Change It. will be measured.
A: Greene mentioned that when we receive national response, we know we're on track, and from Political Parity's standpoint, many projects will allow women to feel more comfortable to enter the political arena and get elected. Measuring by how many more women run for office and be elected to office is the way this campaign will be measured.
Q: The final question from the audience was about the participation of WMC co-founders Gloria Steinem and Jane Fonda. "Is Gloria or Jane going to be doing any appearances?"
A: Greene explained that Gloria has been blogging about the launch of this campaign and will continue to do more posts. Also that Jane is engaged in the campaign and very much behind making sure we have resources that are effective.
Greene shared an article from The LA Times (August 30, 2010 issue) which reported that we will probably be seeing our existing ten women House of Representatives and Senate seats and probably loosing the same amount of women seats in this competitive election. "The impact of this campaign is to make sure that we open up the doors and spread and engage more women and that they understand, now more than ever how important it is that we encourage women to run for office," said Greene.
In closing, Greene thanked the live, online, and live-stream audiences as well as her fellow colleagues, Siobhan "Sam" Bennett and Kerry Healey, for being here.
by Gloria Buono Daly
Founder of AllThingsDigitalMarketing.com
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Google In Your Backyard: Has the internet gone far beyond mainstream advertising and invasion of privacy?
From internet cookies to your backyard, what next? Spying in your bathroom?
According to a recent Wall Street Journal investigation, see article by Jessica E. Vascellaro of The Wall Street Journal “Google Agonizes on Privacy As Ad World Vaults Ahead” (Tuesday, August 10, 2010, A1, or see video) Google senior executives are reviewing their confidential “vision statement” assessing how far they should go in monetizing from it’s massive database, which tracks all forms of internet usage patterns from what video you upload on YouTube, your Gmail messages and your physical home address, to your checkout transactions and what websites you visit. All this enables Google to customize the ads you see, a term they call intraspace advertising.
So as you search the web using Google for information, let's say about cars, Google will inundate you with automobile ads which is turning your internet service experience, that you pay for with your own money, for your own personal Web search use, into a plethora of target marketing gimmicks, not only annoying for consumers but essentially invading privacy. This type of internet advertising self dealing has been going on for some time now, but is becoming more rampant as new technologies are added coupled with the use of thousands of third-party businesses. Obviously, in the long run, this is going to do more harm than good.
Statistics from comScore indicate that in the month of June Google had the highest internet usage of all the global web companies with 75% of global Internet users (943.8 million). Included in Google’s vision statement was the admission that while some of their uses of databases are safe, some are “NOT” safe.
Doesn't Google's data-trading marketplace and use of users' personal information from various sources equate to essentially exploiting individuals without their permission? Is the public going to allow Google to essentially cyber-stalk for the sake of target advertising?
Have Google’s aggressions gone far beyond “mainstream advertising” to virtually snooping in backyards? Are Government Officials and Google abusing their power and illegally spying on the U.S. population?
According to Aaron Dyles of Infowars.com (8/2/2010), local government officials in Riverhead, N.Y. are using Google’s satellite technology to snoop in residents backyards and issue fines to those that have pools without permits. All this without the legal protocol of acquiring a search warrant! Is this a violation of our constitutional rights? From internet cookies to your backyard, what next? Spying in your bathroom?
Please answer this LinkedIn poll. Should something be done to prevent Google and other internet companies from invading consumer privacy on the Web?
by Gloria Buono Daly
Founder of AllThingsDigitalMarketing.com
According to a recent Wall Street Journal investigation, see article by Jessica E. Vascellaro of The Wall Street Journal “Google Agonizes on Privacy As Ad World Vaults Ahead” (Tuesday, August 10, 2010, A1, or see video) Google senior executives are reviewing their confidential “vision statement” assessing how far they should go in monetizing from it’s massive database, which tracks all forms of internet usage patterns from what video you upload on YouTube, your Gmail messages and your physical home address, to your checkout transactions and what websites you visit. All this enables Google to customize the ads you see, a term they call intraspace advertising.
So as you search the web using Google for information, let's say about cars, Google will inundate you with automobile ads which is turning your internet service experience, that you pay for with your own money, for your own personal Web search use, into a plethora of target marketing gimmicks, not only annoying for consumers but essentially invading privacy. This type of internet advertising self dealing has been going on for some time now, but is becoming more rampant as new technologies are added coupled with the use of thousands of third-party businesses. Obviously, in the long run, this is going to do more harm than good.
Statistics from comScore indicate that in the month of June Google had the highest internet usage of all the global web companies with 75% of global Internet users (943.8 million). Included in Google’s vision statement was the admission that while some of their uses of databases are safe, some are “NOT” safe.
Doesn't Google's data-trading marketplace and use of users' personal information from various sources equate to essentially exploiting individuals without their permission? Is the public going to allow Google to essentially cyber-stalk for the sake of target advertising?
Have Google’s aggressions gone far beyond “mainstream advertising” to virtually snooping in backyards? Are Government Officials and Google abusing their power and illegally spying on the U.S. population?
According to Aaron Dyles of Infowars.com (8/2/2010), local government officials in Riverhead, N.Y. are using Google’s satellite technology to snoop in residents backyards and issue fines to those that have pools without permits. All this without the legal protocol of acquiring a search warrant! Is this a violation of our constitutional rights? From internet cookies to your backyard, what next? Spying in your bathroom?
Please answer this LinkedIn poll. Should something be done to prevent Google and other internet companies from invading consumer privacy on the Web?
by Gloria Buono Daly
Founder of AllThingsDigitalMarketing.com
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Deal with It: Communicating in a Crisis - How to Navitate the Chaos and Triumph
Deal with It: Communicating in a Crisis - “How to Navigate the Chaos and Triumph”
written by Gloria Buono Daly, as appeared on NYWICI.org on May 8, 2009
On May 5th, NYWICI members and guests gathered at Burson-Marsteller NY for a panel on how to master crisis management in politics, government, business and non-profit organizations. Panelists addressed the gaps, critical challenges and successes in crisis communications.
The event was moderated by Courtney Hazlett, columnist and celebrity correspondent, MSNBC. The panelists included Cindy Leggett-Flynn, partner, Brunswick Group LLC; Davia Temin, president, Temin & Company; Loretta Ucelli, senior advisor, Gutenberg Communications; and Gail Cohen, Global Chair of Healthcare Practice, Burson-Marsteller NY.
Hazlett started by quoting then Senator John F. Kennedy: “The medium, television, which lends itself to manipulation, exploitation and gimmicks, can be abused by demagogues but appealed to emotion, and prejudice, and ignorance.” She then picked up the threat and addressed the panel: “That was when we only had TV to deal with; now that we got Twitter, the internet, and cable news 24 hours a day, speed is everything! When do you decide to jump on something, and when do you decide to pull back and see what the story is going to be?”
READINESS AND SPEED
Most communications’ crises stem from a gap between what an organization perceives as a problem and what the public thinks is the problem. Ucelli believed that in those cases, speed is everything; crisis managers must be ready to communicate when necessary and be aware of what is going on around them.
MONITORING IS BREAD AND BUTTER
Social media are vital in identifying a developing crisis and have broadened crisis communications. Leggett-Flynn believes that many companies don’t have the tools to take necessary steps, however. Cohen added that there are more voices today than a decade or two ago and that now, “monitoring is bread and butter.”
HERE TODAY, TWEETED AWAY TOMORROW
Twitter users are mostly in their 30s and 40s, while CEOs and company heads are usually older. Temin sees a lot of confusion among managers on the reality of blogs and tweets, given that many celebrities often hire people to tweet for them. “Tweets may be here today — and tweeted away tomorrow.”
TRANSPARENCY, RESPONSIBILITY AND REPUTATION
Communicators face challenges when putting aside personal feelings about a particular corporation, when asked to restore their company’s or client’s reputation. Leggett-Flynn believes that many communicators function as legal representatives. “In media, you’re either evil or a hero; gray areas don’t play well.”
THE DOT AT THE END OF THE SENTENCE
While one of the main elements in crisis management is developing the facts and putting them out fast, Ucelli stressed communicators must know how to end the sentence quickly in almost any crisis situation. Temin shared an experience, where a communications manager and former journalist kept on answering questions when the right strategy would have been to simply say it once and leave it at that.
BRIDGE THE GAPS, CONTROL THE DAMAGE
After Nickelodeon’s failure to address the domestic abuse charges against Chris Brown, many parents wanted to know why the station hadn’t disqualified the singer from its Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards. “If Nickelodeon had participated in a public conversation rather than simply wait for Brown to pull out, that would have helped [its] reputation,” explained Cohen.
Q & A HIGHLIGHT
On the failing auto industry, Bernard Madoff, Bear Sterns, AIG and Rod Blagojevich, the consensus was that the car makers committed the biggest blunders in their crisis communications. Ucelli believes the situation had been in their control but management had missed the target for years. “The inability to produce a car that Americans would be driving and the big public relations incident on Capital Hill, didn’t work,” Ucelli concluded. “It’s so ubiquitous, so silent, nothing online,” added Cohen. And Leggett-Flynn believed that there was disconnect from reality — which, by the way, goes for most of those on the list.
written by Gloria Buono Daly
as appeared on NYWICI.org on May 8, 2009
written by Gloria Buono Daly, as appeared on NYWICI.org on May 8, 2009
On May 5th, NYWICI members and guests gathered at Burson-Marsteller NY for a panel on how to master crisis management in politics, government, business and non-profit organizations. Panelists addressed the gaps, critical challenges and successes in crisis communications.
The event was moderated by Courtney Hazlett, columnist and celebrity correspondent, MSNBC. The panelists included Cindy Leggett-Flynn, partner, Brunswick Group LLC; Davia Temin, president, Temin & Company; Loretta Ucelli, senior advisor, Gutenberg Communications; and Gail Cohen, Global Chair of Healthcare Practice, Burson-Marsteller NY.
Hazlett started by quoting then Senator John F. Kennedy: “The medium, television, which lends itself to manipulation, exploitation and gimmicks, can be abused by demagogues but appealed to emotion, and prejudice, and ignorance.” She then picked up the threat and addressed the panel: “That was when we only had TV to deal with; now that we got Twitter, the internet, and cable news 24 hours a day, speed is everything! When do you decide to jump on something, and when do you decide to pull back and see what the story is going to be?”
READINESS AND SPEED
Most communications’ crises stem from a gap between what an organization perceives as a problem and what the public thinks is the problem. Ucelli believed that in those cases, speed is everything; crisis managers must be ready to communicate when necessary and be aware of what is going on around them.
MONITORING IS BREAD AND BUTTER
Social media are vital in identifying a developing crisis and have broadened crisis communications. Leggett-Flynn believes that many companies don’t have the tools to take necessary steps, however. Cohen added that there are more voices today than a decade or two ago and that now, “monitoring is bread and butter.”
HERE TODAY, TWEETED AWAY TOMORROW
Twitter users are mostly in their 30s and 40s, while CEOs and company heads are usually older. Temin sees a lot of confusion among managers on the reality of blogs and tweets, given that many celebrities often hire people to tweet for them. “Tweets may be here today — and tweeted away tomorrow.”
TRANSPARENCY, RESPONSIBILITY AND REPUTATION
Communicators face challenges when putting aside personal feelings about a particular corporation, when asked to restore their company’s or client’s reputation. Leggett-Flynn believes that many communicators function as legal representatives. “In media, you’re either evil or a hero; gray areas don’t play well.”
THE DOT AT THE END OF THE SENTENCE
While one of the main elements in crisis management is developing the facts and putting them out fast, Ucelli stressed communicators must know how to end the sentence quickly in almost any crisis situation. Temin shared an experience, where a communications manager and former journalist kept on answering questions when the right strategy would have been to simply say it once and leave it at that.
BRIDGE THE GAPS, CONTROL THE DAMAGE
After Nickelodeon’s failure to address the domestic abuse charges against Chris Brown, many parents wanted to know why the station hadn’t disqualified the singer from its Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards. “If Nickelodeon had participated in a public conversation rather than simply wait for Brown to pull out, that would have helped [its] reputation,” explained Cohen.
Q & A HIGHLIGHT
On the failing auto industry, Bernard Madoff, Bear Sterns, AIG and Rod Blagojevich, the consensus was that the car makers committed the biggest blunders in their crisis communications. Ucelli believes the situation had been in their control but management had missed the target for years. “The inability to produce a car that Americans would be driving and the big public relations incident on Capital Hill, didn’t work,” Ucelli concluded. “It’s so ubiquitous, so silent, nothing online,” added Cohen. And Leggett-Flynn believed that there was disconnect from reality — which, by the way, goes for most of those on the list.
written by Gloria Buono Daly
as appeared on NYWICI.org on May 8, 2009
Friday, July 23, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
Gloria Buono Daly Introduces www.NYCapartmentsKD.com
Video - Gloria Introduces http://www.nycapartmentskd.com/
To see our latest video (November 2010) about NYCapartmentsKD.com, click here. Thanks for your interest.
Hello and thank you for watching my video. I wanted to let you know of my latest business, NYC real estate. I’m a licensed real estate agent and I work at Prince Real Estate Associates. I work with my husband, Kevin Daly who has over 15 years experience in residential real estate in New York City. We both have a tremendous passion for helping many individuals and families find a place to live in New York City. Let me help you find your next home in NYC by contacting us at 917.312.8643 or emailing us at kevin@nycapartmentskd.com. We would love to hear from you and be of assistance in your search for a home in NYC.
To see our latest video (November 2010) about NYCapartmentsKD.com, click here. Thanks for your interest.
Hello and thank you for watching my video. I wanted to let you know of my latest business, NYC real estate. I’m a licensed real estate agent and I work at Prince Real Estate Associates. I work with my husband, Kevin Daly who has over 15 years experience in residential real estate in New York City. We both have a tremendous passion for helping many individuals and families find a place to live in New York City. Let me help you find your next home in NYC by contacting us at 917.312.8643 or emailing us at kevin@nycapartmentskd.com. We would love to hear from you and be of assistance in your search for a home in NYC.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
2010 Streaming Media East: Will Online Video become as Ubiquitous as Text?
On Wednesday, May 12th I attended the 13th Annual Streaming Media East show at the Hilton in New York City and was amazed to learn about the latest online video trends and how these innovations are being utilized to impact and enhance user experience online.
The event was filled with so many people, products and services. Professionals in all areas of business, obviously with a passion for online video, attended including video content owners, viral video creators, online marketers, enterprise corporations, broadcast professionals, ad agencies, educators, etc.
Products and services from the latest high speed online video technologies for small mom and pop web site owners to enterprise solutions for major global corporations, Streaming Media East 2010 at the Hilton on Sixth Avenue in New York City was the place to be to learn all about the latest products and participate in discussions about how the various technologies for online video are impacting businesses worldwide.
It’s amazing when I realize how just a few years ago computer users and web site owners, myself included, stayed away from videos on the web due to the inordinate amounts system problems such as computer glitches, sluggish operations and even crashing.
This sentiment has obviously changed, and the web user experience is becoming more exciting and engaging as online video gains momentum now more than ever.
I was glad to have the opportunity to learn more about two products that I feel are well worth mentioning: BrightCove.com, an online video platform for video editing, customization and monetization and Magnify.net, a CVC (Curated Video Content) system platform.
Among the advancements from BrightCove.com are enhancements that enable web site owners to edit video frame/shells with customized background color, company logo in player chrome and loading screens, etc. creating a look and feel consistent with their respective web site themes; managing video inventories, creating playlists, integrating advertising networks and servers for monetization, and universal delivery systems to enable multi-bitrate streaming for multi-platform devices (e.g., iPod, iPad, connected TVs, etc.) intuitively done with simple clicks.
The Magnify.net user interface, has made online editorial video curation attainable for not only the rich and powerful community web sites such as Huffington Post but also for small to mid-sized publishers and web site owners. Magnify.net, “a realtime video curator engine,” offers a free version that enables web site owners to gather videos from across the web and build their own video channel. The free version is limited but there are professional, magazine and events editions that feature more bells and whistles. I feel this product particularly benefits print and magazine publishers offering new web site launches to highlight their expertise for a particular product or service as there are endless ways to engage the user experience.
With all the latest online video technologies, tools and choices for web marketers and magazine publishers, taking their company web sites to the next level will be easier, more tailored and productive, and online video well-positioned to become as prevalent and ubiquitous as what text is on web today.
Do you think that online video will become as ubiquitous as what text is on the internet today? To answer this LinkedIn poll please click this link.
For more information about Streaming Media East, visit streamingmedia.com/east. I’m already looking forward to the next Streaming Media East 2011 show scheduled for May 10-11, same place, Hilton, New York, NY and seeing some of you there.
written by Gloria Buono Daly
The event was filled with so many people, products and services. Professionals in all areas of business, obviously with a passion for online video, attended including video content owners, viral video creators, online marketers, enterprise corporations, broadcast professionals, ad agencies, educators, etc.
Products and services from the latest high speed online video technologies for small mom and pop web site owners to enterprise solutions for major global corporations, Streaming Media East 2010 at the Hilton on Sixth Avenue in New York City was the place to be to learn all about the latest products and participate in discussions about how the various technologies for online video are impacting businesses worldwide.
It’s amazing when I realize how just a few years ago computer users and web site owners, myself included, stayed away from videos on the web due to the inordinate amounts system problems such as computer glitches, sluggish operations and even crashing.
This sentiment has obviously changed, and the web user experience is becoming more exciting and engaging as online video gains momentum now more than ever.
I was glad to have the opportunity to learn more about two products that I feel are well worth mentioning: BrightCove.com, an online video platform for video editing, customization and monetization and Magnify.net, a CVC (Curated Video Content) system platform.
Among the advancements from BrightCove.com are enhancements that enable web site owners to edit video frame/shells with customized background color, company logo in player chrome and loading screens, etc. creating a look and feel consistent with their respective web site themes; managing video inventories, creating playlists, integrating advertising networks and servers for monetization, and universal delivery systems to enable multi-bitrate streaming for multi-platform devices (e.g., iPod, iPad, connected TVs, etc.) intuitively done with simple clicks.
The Magnify.net user interface, has made online editorial video curation attainable for not only the rich and powerful community web sites such as Huffington Post but also for small to mid-sized publishers and web site owners. Magnify.net, “a realtime video curator engine,” offers a free version that enables web site owners to gather videos from across the web and build their own video channel. The free version is limited but there are professional, magazine and events editions that feature more bells and whistles. I feel this product particularly benefits print and magazine publishers offering new web site launches to highlight their expertise for a particular product or service as there are endless ways to engage the user experience.
With all the latest online video technologies, tools and choices for web marketers and magazine publishers, taking their company web sites to the next level will be easier, more tailored and productive, and online video well-positioned to become as prevalent and ubiquitous as what text is on web today.
Do you think that online video will become as ubiquitous as what text is on the internet today? To answer this LinkedIn poll please click this link.
For more information about Streaming Media East, visit streamingmedia.com/east. I’m already looking forward to the next Streaming Media East 2011 show scheduled for May 10-11, same place, Hilton, New York, NY and seeing some of you there.
written by Gloria Buono Daly
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
The 40th Annual Matrix Awards 2010: Honors Crème de la Crème Women in Communications
"Don't worry; If you love doing it, you'll really be great at doing it."
-- Jeffrey Garten
"So follow the life of Ina's sweet husband, Jeffrey." -- Brian Williams
On Monday, April 19th, a full house audience of over 1,500 communications professionals gathered at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City to celebrate the 40th Annual New York Women In Communications Inc., (NYWICI) Matrix Awards and honor this year’s crème de la crème of women in communications. Also referred to as the “Oscar of Communications” by many, this prestigious event continues to honor the best of the best, as all honorees continue to accept their awards in person, and to me, says a great deal about New York Women In Communications, Incorporated (NYWICI.org).
This year’s eight honorees included women in all walks, or should I say, talks, of communications from television, newspaper, and books to music and lyrical artistry, internet technology, and philanthropy. Also celebrated were NYWICI Matrix Scholarship winners awarded to young women pursuing careers in communications.
Brian Williams, NBC News Anchor was MC of this year’s Matrix Awards and marked the second time in a row that the Matrix Awards commissioned a "man" to emcee. “As we gather on this sparkling day in New York, and we don’t know what other luncheons are doing for their star power, there is an elephant in the room,” said Williams. The audience cheered early on, as William's sharp intelligence, humor and incredible wit engaged the audience and set the stage. “I don’t know why a man’s husband does lunch. And don’t paint on me because they talk, they yell, and chew up around $200,000 for lunch! I should blame the volcano which we’ll be blaming for a lot of things today,” added Williams referring to his boss, Jeff Zucker, CEO of NBC Universal who was also on stage.
Oprah, adorned in a chic, deep coral, iridescent-like, A-line dress looked stunning as usual, and was the first to present. She shared her fond memories of Matrix honoree, Gayle King, O editor at large and host of The Gayle King Show. “There isn’t enough time for me to really tell you about my friendship with Gayle and what her friendship means to me … The only person in my life who said yes you should go to Chicago and yes you can be Phil Donahue.” Oprah blocked out rumors in the press and in Kitty Kelley's unauthorized tell all book, including the latest tabloid reports of another man claiming to be her biological father. Oprah brushed it off as just another man needing money for home repairs by saying, "Daughter, call me, I just need a new roof." As King came up to the podium she mentioned how great it was to be here and that she had a dream regarding what to wear and yet she still ended up wearing a similar vibrant color as Oprah. "No this wasn't done intentionally," said King. This fashion statement goes to show you how they do tend to think alike and have similar taste. King was inspiring to listen to as we learned about her experiences about motherhood and her career. “I was never the type of person to stay home all day,” said King. The audience laughed so hard when she shared her body slimmer secrets. King shared many more life lessons including her most important belief that one must always be open to what life has to offer. (Incidentally, I was able to personally meet up with Oprah earlier before our Matrix Awards ceremony began, and I was thrilled to have her answer my "question of the day." More on this can be found in this same blog just below the contents of event write up portion.)
Katie Couric, CBS Evening News anchor and managing editor and 60 Minutes correspondent, was presenter to Anne Keating, senior vice president of public relations, special events and corporate philanthropy for Bloomingdales who also earned another title from Couric as "lovely pitbull." “So I’m sitting in the newsroom on a Friday afternoon getting ready to go on the air, the phone rings and they tell me it’s an important call that I have to take. Who is this, Barack Obama, Sarah Palin, Les Moonves? No. I pick up the phone and it’s Anne Keating,” said Couric. “I was happy to answer the call because Anne always does," continued Couric. It became very obvious Keating shared Couric’s passion for colon cancer awareness. Bloomingdale’s became the very first corporate supporter of Couric’s colon cancer campaign. “And while today we are here with a few network queens, no Brian I’m not talking about you. Anne is the queen of networking,” said Couric. “Women have changed the world so much,” said Keating. “I am humbled to be on the same stage with an exceptional group of people.”
Marissa Mayer, vice president of search product and user experience for Google, was introduced by Maria Bartiromo, anchor of CNBC's Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo, and host and managing editor of Wall Street Journal Report With Maria Bartiromo.” Maria dressed in her usual well-tailored, business attire -- a Wall Streetish navy pin-striped suit, her off-white collared blouse showing a hint of cleavage that revealed a black bra, her signature style. “Marissa was the 20th person hired at Google, and today she is literally, still on her honeymoon,” said Bartiromo who believes that this Matrix award to Marissa is a shout out to so many women in communications. "She is with seven other women who changed the world, because technology, the kind she lives and breathes every day, has changed the world in so many ways and so dramatically," said Bartiromo. Mayer graced the podium in appropriate shout-out chic, wearing a gorgeous, geeky-green dress patterned with swirls of black triangles, rectangles, dashes and parentheses-like shapes. Math and code in everything she does, and at best, an exponential life! Then came a quick snapshot of Bartiromo presenting the Matrix Award to Mayer followed by Mayer's first words at the mike, "I’m Marissa Mayer, and I work for Google and I’m a Geek!” She then described her passion as a geek and how it applied to everything in her life including her wedding plans, specs for her bridal gown, honeymoon, to even setting up the stereo acoustic system in her home. “I’m very happy to accept the award on behalf of women geeks in communications everywhere,” concluded Marissa.
Mariska Hargitay, the star of Law and Order, presented Matrix Award to Grammy Award-winning Singer/Songwriter, Sheryl Crow. Hargitay believes that everyone here has a favorite Sheryl Crow song and shared hers, Out of Our Heads and explained how this song has become her anthem. “Sheryl can see into my soul, how I feel what I know and what I believe. And being a multi-platinum musician doesn’t compete with how she’s a mother and a friend,” said Hargitay. Crow shared her beliefs that a great record is a people art and the importance of her family. “Right now I’m writing at a really interesting time in my life, and it’s a great honor to receive this award. I will accept this award as a challenge to continue and look at the world objectively,” said Crow.
Susan Chira, New York Times foreign editor, received her award from friend and colleague Jill Abramson, managing editor of the New York Times. “Susan Chira represents everything that is still important and vital in journalism,” said Abramson. “She is the soul of integrity. She works herself to the bone to protect her correspondents and promote their gallant work. Her belief is to tell a story objectively. There is no one more deserving of this award,” continued Abramson. “I was lucky enough to work when barriers were falling, said Chira. “In 1969 when I was in sixth grade, girls had to wear dresses and if they wore pants they were sent back home,” said Chira who also shared her belief that women can have both work and family.
Anna Quindlen, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist, presented the award to Ina Garten, former White House nuclear policy analyst, host of the Food Network cooking show and specialty food store owner of The Barefoot Contessa. “This introduction, a piece of cake,” said Quindlen as she introduced Ina Garten. “Like Cher or Madonna or Oprah, she’s known by her brand name; Unlike Cher or Madonna or Oprah, she makes the world’s best coconut cupcakes,” continued Quindlen. Garten mentioned her work experiences at the White House and how she would always tell her husband that what she really would love to do was to have parties for friends. “My husband told me to go ahead and do it and not to worry about making money. He said, if you love doing it, you’ll really be great at doing it,” said Garten. This is what motivated her to buy a specialty food store and call it The Barefoot Contessa. "And my father thought you're giving up a White House job to buy a grocery store," said Garten. Little did she know, The Barefoot Contessa would become a household brand. “And who would think that the Food Network, a tiny little network would take off to become such a powerhouse as it is today. I was really lucky, and it’s been a wonderful ride along the way,” added Garten.
Lesley Stahl, CBS News and 60 Minutes correspondent, presented Matrix Honoree, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, historian and political commentator. Stahl opened her presentation with a very insightful and compelling fact about success, to the almost 100% female audience. (Another highlight and take away for me was my opportunity to personally meet Goodwin after the Matrix Awards ceremony, and I was awe-struck to have her answer my "question of the day;" More on this can be found in this same blog just below the contents of event write up portion.) Several years ago Stahl had met Rice University researchers who were conducting research on success, and their findings were that every women they interviewed all said they were lucky. "Not one man said that,” commented Stahl. It became apparent to me the audience was stunned. What's wrong with women having success resulting from ambition, hard work and intelligence? “Women take a lesson. I’m here happily to present Doris Kearns Goodwin, brilliant biographer and historian. Author of one great book after the next including “Team of Rivals” about Abraham Lincoln,” said Stahl. Then she continued with a question regarding what was the title of Goodwin's thesis for her Harvard Ph.D. “Prayer and Reapportionment,” Stahl announced. “Not to make Doris blush but to underscore, she is an expert on I think just about everything,” continued Stahl. According to Stahl, what everyone in TV-Land loves about Goodwin is not only her bright and sharp analysis but also that fact that Doris talks very fast. “Whenever she’s on you get twice as many words,” said Stahl. Newsworthy trivia about Goodwin is the fact that she is the first women to be allowed into the locker room of the Boston Red Sox and this is also one of the Trivial Pursuit questions for Boston. “There is nothing trivial about Doris Kearns Goodwin, and on top of everything else, on top of all her accomplishments she is really, really nice. I am so proud she is my friend,” said Stahl. Goodwin arrived at the podium and described her love of history by praising 2 important childhood experiences. The first influence, her father, and how scorekeeping became a serious art for her. Her father taught her how to keep score for baseball games and she quickly learned the importance of telling a story from beginning to end. “He worked in NYC during the day and asked me to record the history of the baseball games of that afternoon. He would come home at night and he would listen and laugh as I would explain all the detail,” said Goodwin. “My father paid attention and listened for three hours making me realize that I was telling a fabulous story and made me think there’s something about this thing called history,” continued Goodwin. Her second childhood experience, Goodwin explained, traced to her mother’s chronic illness, rheumatic fever which left her with a damaged heart and with the arteries of a 70 year old yet she was only 30 years old. Her mother’s illness meant she would be bedridden all the time and although with only an eighth grade education, she would read books all the time. “Every night she would read to me I somehow became obsessed about the idea of asking about her own childhood,” said Goodwin. Her mother died when she was only 15 years old but those stories and times with her mother kept Goodwin’s memories alive and were part of what made her who she is today.
Brian Williams was back at the mike and brought on more delightful wit plus a few in-between pokes. “So what have we learned here?" asked Williams. “Tina, I think you said I was your corn, might have been porn? I want to thank you. Is that how you juggle? Some try to be a little bit more like me, um. Unaware, unknown to you the Director said give me a shot and they took Anne Curry. So what do you think of that," continued Williams. “Thank you Gayle for putting the content on body slimmers out there. I can’t name names but there are some men with spanks on the stage today. We need to wait today until Oprah’s plane clears New York Airport," said Williams. “Marissa, I love your speech and your code, and thank you for Google Earth. Anne, you are right to honor Katharine Graham, perhaps the most fascinating women, there’s no one more interesting, mine is No Ordinary Time, the story of the FDR at the White House during WWII by Doris Kearns Goodwin," said Williams.
In closing, Williams continued more insightful delights by reminding us of the “man’s husband,” Jeff Zucker, and reiterated the importance of why we are all here today, to celebrate our scholarship winners. “We have so many young students here today, it’s all about them and we have to remember it,” said Williams. He continued with a quote from honoree Ina Garten's husband, Jeffrey, “Don’t worry if you love doing it, you’ll be great at it." This was an amazing event and tribute to our young scholarship winners. "So follow the life of Ina's sweet husband Jeffrey," said Williams.
Below are some highlights of my personal experiences, before, during and after the event:
Arriving about an hour before the event proved to be the best strategy for me. I got to stake the place out. And I had my “question of the day” all prepared: “What was your most important decision and was it based on your knowledge or a hunch?”
The Waldorf-Astoria was filled with so many exciting people from the exterior’s front façade to the ladies room. I was able to speak to so many attendees from honorees to distinguished guests and presenters before, during and after the event. I couldn’t believe I was wearing such high, stiletto heels, standing around for hours but no way was I going to break this momentum by slipping off my gray Sergio Rossi stilletos for black ballerina flats.
As I was heading toward the reservation desk to find out my table number, “OMG, it’s Oprah,” I shouted to myself as I rushed towards her in my stilettos and all hoping she would answer my question of the day. “Hello Oprah. I love you” I said and then continued “What was the best decision you ever made and was it based on a hunch or knowledge?” Oprah looked gracious as always and replied “My best decision was moving to Chicago and it was based on a hunch.” I’m sure everyone loves Oprah, but seeing and listening to her answer my question, was too profound for words to describe. She is so powerful, yet so approachable.
The elevator ride up to the 3rd floor was anything but normal. Television news journalists and celebrities Ann Curry, Hoda Kotb, Kathy Lee Gifford, and Natalie Morales didn’t seem to mind the crowded elevator. It was apparent, that I along with a few colleagues, really got a surprise ride. Seeing them in person was like having one of Ina's cakes with extra icing. And it was so obvious how happy they were to be at The Matrix Awards to celebrate the honorees.
As I entered the dining hall, I received even more surprises. I was able to ask a diversified group of individuals including luminary television hosts, news anchors, and journalists, my question of the day, and everyone I asked replied! Eleven out of eleven ain't bad.
NBC Today co-anchor and national correspondent, Natalie Morales replied, “I think the most important decisions we make in life is our life partner and then having children and having a family. Of course I made the right decision. It wasn’t just a hunch you just know.”
“Moving to NY was my most important decision and it was based not on my knowledge but just purely, ambition,” said Rachel Shippy, Assistant to the Publisher, Ladies Home Journal, A Meredith Publication.
“My best decision was moving to New York and having a career in Fashion, and it was based on evolution,” said Margo Hasen, Owner at New York City’s Margo Hasen – Fashion Made Easy.
Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS RD author of The F-Factor Diet and the founder of Tanya Zuckerbrot Nutrition, LLC and www.skinnyandthecity.com mentioned that her most important decision was based on a hunch.
Listening to television news anchor, Hoda Kotb, co-host of NBC Today and Dateline NBC news correspondent, host of syndicated series Your Total Health, and a recipient of numerous awards I learned that being persistent despite repetitive rejection can be a blessing in disguise. “Mine was when I was going on job interviews right after I graduated school and I got in my mom’s car and drove and drove and drove and got rejected everywhere. I received about 27 rejections so when I got to the 28th interview, I almost didn’t go in there because I’ve been rejected so many times. The best decision I probably ever made and I really made it because I was frustrated and tired and just wanted to get it over with and go home. I decided to go on that one more interview when everyone had told me no. I was at a fork in the road, and I could have gone to PR here and TV News here and then there was the News Director, Sam Candrone, standing in the cross road and I almost didn’t go. So that decision to knock on his door was probably the most important decision I have ever made.”
After listening to NBC Today News anchor and journalist, Ann Curry it became clear that her best decision came from a hunch. Curry shared how her humble upbringing and supportive family are what really shaped who she is today. “I came from a poor family, and I was the first to graduate college. My family was very important in my life. My best decision was to attend college and major in Journalism and fulfill my dreams.”
I also noticed Jeanine Pirro, host of her own show, Judge Jeanine Pirro and legal analyst on Fox News and frequent guest to many other shows including FOX News’ On the Record with Greta and CNN’s Larry King Live. I was so thrilled when she graciously took a moment to answer my question as I could tell she was very busy and heading somewhere. Her signature smile and lively spirit came through even with her short, quick answer. “Facts, facts, facts, you know that, it’s always about the facts; I always base my decisions on facts,” said Pirro. She is also a former Judge, prosecutor, and New York State elected official.
Rena Bartos, Matrix Award honoree, 1977, former advertising executive and author of The Moving Target. “My most important decision was based on a hunch,” she said.
Linda Kaplan Thaler, CEO & Chief Creative Officer of Kaplan Thaler Group LLC, NYWICI President Elect, and author of The Big Bang brought more unexpected and exciting moments. “The most important decision I ever made was marrying my husband. Whether it had to do with any expertise or partly based on the fact that I was 36, no just joking. It was just gut feeling because like the first time I met him I felt like I had gone home. I always tell people go with your gut, it has an IQ of 100,000; your working brain has an IQ of about 100."
Before heading home, I was fortunate to notice Matrix Award honoree, Doris Kearns Goodwin, historian, biographer and Pulitzer Prize author at a table at the restaurant in Waldorf-Astoria after the event. She is the most intriguing woman and was so genuine, kind and patient to provide me with her answer which obviously was based on her instinct for making the right decisions. “When I got married and had my kids; I was at that time still teaching. I realized I couldn’t be a professor, and write, and be a mother at the same time," said Goodwin. "So I decided to give up being a professor even though that was my identity for over 10 years. I decided to take a risk to write and that turned out being the right decision. But it really meant that I could write and be with the kids,” added Goodwin.
There were so many lessons and learning experiences from this year’s Matrix Awards event. Initially I was disappointed that I was unable to participate in volunteering at the red carpet, but this negative became a positive for me. I learned a lot including the power of knowledge and intuition and how this is truly a gift. I’m looking forward to next year’s Matrix Awards 2011 to be held on Monday, April 11th and sponsored by Meredith Corporation. I hope to see you all again.
written by Gloria Buono Daly
Below is a listing of the the latest Internet Media Coverage on this year's Matrix
Huffington Post, “Who Was Best Dressed?”
Oprah Winfrey Honors “MSF” Gayle King at NYWICI 2010 Matrix Awards
Oops Tina Fey and Sheryl Crow Wear the Same Dress to the Matrix Awards
Oprah Speaks Out About Kitty Kelley Book: “So-Called Biography”
Lady Newsies [and Brian Williams] Gather for Matrix Awards
Oprah: Norh Robinson, man claiming to be father, just wants “a new roof”
Tina Fey and Sheryl Crow Among Matrix Winners
PIC: Sheryl Crow, Tina Fey Arrive to Event in Same Dress!
The New York Women In Communications 2010 Matrix Awards Red Carpet
The big Life – The Women Who Change The World” Gayle King, Tina Fey and more
Seeing Double: Sheryl Crow and Tina Fey Rock the Same Dress at the Same Event
Tina Fey Honored at Conference
Matrix Awards Lauds Women
People in the News
The Best Dressed: matchy-matchy chic
Oprah Winfrey, Lesley Stahl, Sheryl Crow: Scenes From Women Who Change the World
Breaking News and Gossip - Perez Hilton
Every year since 1970, NYWICI has awarded outstanding women in communications the prestigious Matrix Awards. The long list of past winners reads like a who-is-who of exceptional women in the fields of advertising, books, broadcasting, film, magazines, new media, newspapers and public relations and is a true reflection of achievements by women in communications. For more information visit NYWICI.org
-- Jeffrey Garten
"So follow the life of Ina's sweet husband, Jeffrey." -- Brian Williams
On Monday, April 19th, a full house audience of over 1,500 communications professionals gathered at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City to celebrate the 40th Annual New York Women In Communications Inc., (NYWICI) Matrix Awards and honor this year’s crème de la crème of women in communications. Also referred to as the “Oscar of Communications” by many, this prestigious event continues to honor the best of the best, as all honorees continue to accept their awards in person, and to me, says a great deal about New York Women In Communications, Incorporated (NYWICI.org).
This year’s eight honorees included women in all walks, or should I say, talks, of communications from television, newspaper, and books to music and lyrical artistry, internet technology, and philanthropy. Also celebrated were NYWICI Matrix Scholarship winners awarded to young women pursuing careers in communications.
Brian Williams, NBC News Anchor was MC of this year’s Matrix Awards and marked the second time in a row that the Matrix Awards commissioned a "man" to emcee. “As we gather on this sparkling day in New York, and we don’t know what other luncheons are doing for their star power, there is an elephant in the room,” said Williams. The audience cheered early on, as William's sharp intelligence, humor and incredible wit engaged the audience and set the stage. “I don’t know why a man’s husband does lunch. And don’t paint on me because they talk, they yell, and chew up around $200,000 for lunch! I should blame the volcano which we’ll be blaming for a lot of things today,” added Williams referring to his boss, Jeff Zucker, CEO of NBC Universal who was also on stage.
Oprah, adorned in a chic, deep coral, iridescent-like, A-line dress looked stunning as usual, and was the first to present. She shared her fond memories of Matrix honoree, Gayle King, O editor at large and host of The Gayle King Show. “There isn’t enough time for me to really tell you about my friendship with Gayle and what her friendship means to me … The only person in my life who said yes you should go to Chicago and yes you can be Phil Donahue.” Oprah blocked out rumors in the press and in Kitty Kelley's unauthorized tell all book, including the latest tabloid reports of another man claiming to be her biological father. Oprah brushed it off as just another man needing money for home repairs by saying, "Daughter, call me, I just need a new roof." As King came up to the podium she mentioned how great it was to be here and that she had a dream regarding what to wear and yet she still ended up wearing a similar vibrant color as Oprah. "No this wasn't done intentionally," said King. This fashion statement goes to show you how they do tend to think alike and have similar taste. King was inspiring to listen to as we learned about her experiences about motherhood and her career. “I was never the type of person to stay home all day,” said King. The audience laughed so hard when she shared her body slimmer secrets. King shared many more life lessons including her most important belief that one must always be open to what life has to offer. (Incidentally, I was able to personally meet up with Oprah earlier before our Matrix Awards ceremony began, and I was thrilled to have her answer my "question of the day." More on this can be found in this same blog just below the contents of event write up portion.)
Katie Couric, CBS Evening News anchor and managing editor and 60 Minutes correspondent, was presenter to Anne Keating, senior vice president of public relations, special events and corporate philanthropy for Bloomingdales who also earned another title from Couric as "lovely pitbull." “So I’m sitting in the newsroom on a Friday afternoon getting ready to go on the air, the phone rings and they tell me it’s an important call that I have to take. Who is this, Barack Obama, Sarah Palin, Les Moonves? No. I pick up the phone and it’s Anne Keating,” said Couric. “I was happy to answer the call because Anne always does," continued Couric. It became very obvious Keating shared Couric’s passion for colon cancer awareness. Bloomingdale’s became the very first corporate supporter of Couric’s colon cancer campaign. “And while today we are here with a few network queens, no Brian I’m not talking about you. Anne is the queen of networking,” said Couric. “Women have changed the world so much,” said Keating. “I am humbled to be on the same stage with an exceptional group of people.”
Marissa Mayer, vice president of search product and user experience for Google, was introduced by Maria Bartiromo, anchor of CNBC's Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo, and host and managing editor of Wall Street Journal Report With Maria Bartiromo.” Maria dressed in her usual well-tailored, business attire -- a Wall Streetish navy pin-striped suit, her off-white collared blouse showing a hint of cleavage that revealed a black bra, her signature style. “Marissa was the 20th person hired at Google, and today she is literally, still on her honeymoon,” said Bartiromo who believes that this Matrix award to Marissa is a shout out to so many women in communications. "She is with seven other women who changed the world, because technology, the kind she lives and breathes every day, has changed the world in so many ways and so dramatically," said Bartiromo. Mayer graced the podium in appropriate shout-out chic, wearing a gorgeous, geeky-green dress patterned with swirls of black triangles, rectangles, dashes and parentheses-like shapes. Math and code in everything she does, and at best, an exponential life! Then came a quick snapshot of Bartiromo presenting the Matrix Award to Mayer followed by Mayer's first words at the mike, "I’m Marissa Mayer, and I work for Google and I’m a Geek!” She then described her passion as a geek and how it applied to everything in her life including her wedding plans, specs for her bridal gown, honeymoon, to even setting up the stereo acoustic system in her home. “I’m very happy to accept the award on behalf of women geeks in communications everywhere,” concluded Marissa.
Mariska Hargitay, the star of Law and Order, presented Matrix Award to Grammy Award-winning Singer/Songwriter, Sheryl Crow. Hargitay believes that everyone here has a favorite Sheryl Crow song and shared hers, Out of Our Heads and explained how this song has become her anthem. “Sheryl can see into my soul, how I feel what I know and what I believe. And being a multi-platinum musician doesn’t compete with how she’s a mother and a friend,” said Hargitay. Crow shared her beliefs that a great record is a people art and the importance of her family. “Right now I’m writing at a really interesting time in my life, and it’s a great honor to receive this award. I will accept this award as a challenge to continue and look at the world objectively,” said Crow.
Susan Chira, New York Times foreign editor, received her award from friend and colleague Jill Abramson, managing editor of the New York Times. “Susan Chira represents everything that is still important and vital in journalism,” said Abramson. “She is the soul of integrity. She works herself to the bone to protect her correspondents and promote their gallant work. Her belief is to tell a story objectively. There is no one more deserving of this award,” continued Abramson. “I was lucky enough to work when barriers were falling, said Chira. “In 1969 when I was in sixth grade, girls had to wear dresses and if they wore pants they were sent back home,” said Chira who also shared her belief that women can have both work and family.
Anna Quindlen, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist, presented the award to Ina Garten, former White House nuclear policy analyst, host of the Food Network cooking show and specialty food store owner of The Barefoot Contessa. “This introduction, a piece of cake,” said Quindlen as she introduced Ina Garten. “Like Cher or Madonna or Oprah, she’s known by her brand name; Unlike Cher or Madonna or Oprah, she makes the world’s best coconut cupcakes,” continued Quindlen. Garten mentioned her work experiences at the White House and how she would always tell her husband that what she really would love to do was to have parties for friends. “My husband told me to go ahead and do it and not to worry about making money. He said, if you love doing it, you’ll really be great at doing it,” said Garten. This is what motivated her to buy a specialty food store and call it The Barefoot Contessa. "And my father thought you're giving up a White House job to buy a grocery store," said Garten. Little did she know, The Barefoot Contessa would become a household brand. “And who would think that the Food Network, a tiny little network would take off to become such a powerhouse as it is today. I was really lucky, and it’s been a wonderful ride along the way,” added Garten.
Lesley Stahl, CBS News and 60 Minutes correspondent, presented Matrix Honoree, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, historian and political commentator. Stahl opened her presentation with a very insightful and compelling fact about success, to the almost 100% female audience. (Another highlight and take away for me was my opportunity to personally meet Goodwin after the Matrix Awards ceremony, and I was awe-struck to have her answer my "question of the day;" More on this can be found in this same blog just below the contents of event write up portion.) Several years ago Stahl had met Rice University researchers who were conducting research on success, and their findings were that every women they interviewed all said they were lucky. "Not one man said that,” commented Stahl. It became apparent to me the audience was stunned. What's wrong with women having success resulting from ambition, hard work and intelligence? “Women take a lesson. I’m here happily to present Doris Kearns Goodwin, brilliant biographer and historian. Author of one great book after the next including “Team of Rivals” about Abraham Lincoln,” said Stahl. Then she continued with a question regarding what was the title of Goodwin's thesis for her Harvard Ph.D. “Prayer and Reapportionment,” Stahl announced. “Not to make Doris blush but to underscore, she is an expert on I think just about everything,” continued Stahl. According to Stahl, what everyone in TV-Land loves about Goodwin is not only her bright and sharp analysis but also that fact that Doris talks very fast. “Whenever she’s on you get twice as many words,” said Stahl. Newsworthy trivia about Goodwin is the fact that she is the first women to be allowed into the locker room of the Boston Red Sox and this is also one of the Trivial Pursuit questions for Boston. “There is nothing trivial about Doris Kearns Goodwin, and on top of everything else, on top of all her accomplishments she is really, really nice. I am so proud she is my friend,” said Stahl. Goodwin arrived at the podium and described her love of history by praising 2 important childhood experiences. The first influence, her father, and how scorekeeping became a serious art for her. Her father taught her how to keep score for baseball games and she quickly learned the importance of telling a story from beginning to end. “He worked in NYC during the day and asked me to record the history of the baseball games of that afternoon. He would come home at night and he would listen and laugh as I would explain all the detail,” said Goodwin. “My father paid attention and listened for three hours making me realize that I was telling a fabulous story and made me think there’s something about this thing called history,” continued Goodwin. Her second childhood experience, Goodwin explained, traced to her mother’s chronic illness, rheumatic fever which left her with a damaged heart and with the arteries of a 70 year old yet she was only 30 years old. Her mother’s illness meant she would be bedridden all the time and although with only an eighth grade education, she would read books all the time. “Every night she would read to me I somehow became obsessed about the idea of asking about her own childhood,” said Goodwin. Her mother died when she was only 15 years old but those stories and times with her mother kept Goodwin’s memories alive and were part of what made her who she is today.
NBC Saturday Night Live head writer and Weekend Update anchor, Seth Meyers, presented the Matrix Award to Tina Fey, NBC Saturday Night Live Executive Producer, head writer, and Star NBC's three-time Emmy Award-winning "30 Rock." “Open with an Oprah close with Meyers,” said Meyers. From start to finish, Meyers' brilliant humor throughout his presentation wowed the audience with laughter on top of more laughter. It began with Meyers' appreciation for Matrix Honoree, Anne Keating, which made him reminisce about his experience as a child at Bloomingdales with his mother. He said to Keating “I’ve been thinking about it all day. Jeff Zucker and Brian Williams are up there on stage with you. That day I got lost in Bloomingdales, they were also there. When I got there I inkly remembered,” explained Meyers. Did you know that Meyers’ closest friend is his mother? Well I certainly never knew such a comic genius could also be mama's boy. But can you imagine being the mother of a young son who never stops thinking crazy funny? I don't know about anyone else, but it must have been exhaustive. And I'm sure I wasn't the only one in the audience thinking that maybe his mom had too much of him that day and was kinda' glad to lose him while he was hiding somewhere in women's lingerie, using padded bras and panties as head caps and sneaking in the ladies fitting rooms. Meyers went on to say of his mother “she always said learn good table manners cause you never know when you’re gonna’ eat in front of a thousand women.” Sort of reminded me of Forest Gump's recollection of his mother explaining life with a box of chocolates, "never know what you're going to get till you bite into it." Myers shared his feelings about being here on stage with Brian Williams, “…although I wish you would stop referring to yourself as my wingman today,” poked Meyers. “It is an honor to be here to introduce my good friend Tina Fey but to be honest I have greater jokes for Doris Kearns Goodwin,” Myers added, as he continued to describe his work experience with Fey as well as her successes and how her latest film, Date Night, has made her both TV and movie star. “There’s something in line about Tina Fey having the exact same career that Sarah Palin wishes she had," Meyers went on. “Tina Fey is the hardest working person I have ever worked with. She always looks for a better joke until the minute she says a joke. It’s relentless and anyone that works with her learns a lot and it’s an honor to give her this award today,” said Meyers. Fey was beaming as she reached the podium, in her vivid Dolce & Gabana designer print dress almost identical to fellow honoree Sheryl Crow. Fey implied that Crows' surfer-chic style was more appropriate for her athletic shape, compared to her demure version, accessorized with a black sweater. Yet we all knew their dresses weren't enough to give anyone in the audience diplopia. “It’s an honor to receive this award today and be among these amazing women. I’m really grateful of the generation of women who have worked in communications before me from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s," said Fey. One of Fey's proudest moments was chanting a commercial back when everything was classic, Coke Classic, Kodak Classic, Nike Classic, and the SNL team thought of “Kotex Classic.” "It was really funny, but we realized after several meetings they asked what is it and how we should answer," said Fey. "We answered it’s like a loaf of white bread between your legs," said Fey. “It was very reassuring as I always thought boys could see that thing between my legs and now after all these years I learned they didn’t see it,” Fey continued and the audience couldn’t stop laughing. On a serious note, Fey believes there is scrutiny among women in business that needs to change as it doesn’t apply to men. “Some journalists said to me you work and you’re a mother, how do you juggle it all? You’re really juggling it all, you’re really brilliant right,” said Fey. "Not only are we amazing but we can stand up on unbelievable scrutiny. Congratulations to all of our Matrix winners,” said Fey. Do you think journalists scrutinize working women/moms more than men? We value your opinion, please answer this poll.
Brian Williams was back at the mike and brought on more delightful wit plus a few in-between pokes. “So what have we learned here?" asked Williams. “Tina, I think you said I was your corn, might have been porn? I want to thank you. Is that how you juggle? Some try to be a little bit more like me, um. Unaware, unknown to you the Director said give me a shot and they took Anne Curry. So what do you think of that," continued Williams. “Thank you Gayle for putting the content on body slimmers out there. I can’t name names but there are some men with spanks on the stage today. We need to wait today until Oprah’s plane clears New York Airport," said Williams. “Marissa, I love your speech and your code, and thank you for Google Earth. Anne, you are right to honor Katharine Graham, perhaps the most fascinating women, there’s no one more interesting, mine is No Ordinary Time, the story of the FDR at the White House during WWII by Doris Kearns Goodwin," said Williams.
In closing, Williams continued more insightful delights by reminding us of the “man’s husband,” Jeff Zucker, and reiterated the importance of why we are all here today, to celebrate our scholarship winners. “We have so many young students here today, it’s all about them and we have to remember it,” said Williams. He continued with a quote from honoree Ina Garten's husband, Jeffrey, “Don’t worry if you love doing it, you’ll be great at it." This was an amazing event and tribute to our young scholarship winners. "So follow the life of Ina's sweet husband Jeffrey," said Williams.
Below are some highlights of my personal experiences, before, during and after the event:
Arriving about an hour before the event proved to be the best strategy for me. I got to stake the place out. And I had my “question of the day” all prepared: “What was your most important decision and was it based on your knowledge or a hunch?”
The Waldorf-Astoria was filled with so many exciting people from the exterior’s front façade to the ladies room. I was able to speak to so many attendees from honorees to distinguished guests and presenters before, during and after the event. I couldn’t believe I was wearing such high, stiletto heels, standing around for hours but no way was I going to break this momentum by slipping off my gray Sergio Rossi stilletos for black ballerina flats.
As I was heading toward the reservation desk to find out my table number, “OMG, it’s Oprah,” I shouted to myself as I rushed towards her in my stilettos and all hoping she would answer my question of the day. “Hello Oprah. I love you” I said and then continued “What was the best decision you ever made and was it based on a hunch or knowledge?” Oprah looked gracious as always and replied “My best decision was moving to Chicago and it was based on a hunch.” I’m sure everyone loves Oprah, but seeing and listening to her answer my question, was too profound for words to describe. She is so powerful, yet so approachable.
The elevator ride up to the 3rd floor was anything but normal. Television news journalists and celebrities Ann Curry, Hoda Kotb, Kathy Lee Gifford, and Natalie Morales didn’t seem to mind the crowded elevator. It was apparent, that I along with a few colleagues, really got a surprise ride. Seeing them in person was like having one of Ina's cakes with extra icing. And it was so obvious how happy they were to be at The Matrix Awards to celebrate the honorees.
As I entered the dining hall, I received even more surprises. I was able to ask a diversified group of individuals including luminary television hosts, news anchors, and journalists, my question of the day, and everyone I asked replied! Eleven out of eleven ain't bad.
NBC Today co-anchor and national correspondent, Natalie Morales replied, “I think the most important decisions we make in life is our life partner and then having children and having a family. Of course I made the right decision. It wasn’t just a hunch you just know.”
“Moving to NY was my most important decision and it was based not on my knowledge but just purely, ambition,” said Rachel Shippy, Assistant to the Publisher, Ladies Home Journal, A Meredith Publication.
“My best decision was moving to New York and having a career in Fashion, and it was based on evolution,” said Margo Hasen, Owner at New York City’s Margo Hasen – Fashion Made Easy.
Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS RD author of The F-Factor Diet and the founder of Tanya Zuckerbrot Nutrition, LLC and www.skinnyandthecity.com mentioned that her most important decision was based on a hunch.
Listening to television news anchor, Hoda Kotb, co-host of NBC Today and Dateline NBC news correspondent, host of syndicated series Your Total Health, and a recipient of numerous awards I learned that being persistent despite repetitive rejection can be a blessing in disguise. “Mine was when I was going on job interviews right after I graduated school and I got in my mom’s car and drove and drove and drove and got rejected everywhere. I received about 27 rejections so when I got to the 28th interview, I almost didn’t go in there because I’ve been rejected so many times. The best decision I probably ever made and I really made it because I was frustrated and tired and just wanted to get it over with and go home. I decided to go on that one more interview when everyone had told me no. I was at a fork in the road, and I could have gone to PR here and TV News here and then there was the News Director, Sam Candrone, standing in the cross road and I almost didn’t go. So that decision to knock on his door was probably the most important decision I have ever made.”
After listening to NBC Today News anchor and journalist, Ann Curry it became clear that her best decision came from a hunch. Curry shared how her humble upbringing and supportive family are what really shaped who she is today. “I came from a poor family, and I was the first to graduate college. My family was very important in my life. My best decision was to attend college and major in Journalism and fulfill my dreams.”
I also noticed Jeanine Pirro, host of her own show, Judge Jeanine Pirro and legal analyst on Fox News and frequent guest to many other shows including FOX News’ On the Record with Greta and CNN’s Larry King Live. I was so thrilled when she graciously took a moment to answer my question as I could tell she was very busy and heading somewhere. Her signature smile and lively spirit came through even with her short, quick answer. “Facts, facts, facts, you know that, it’s always about the facts; I always base my decisions on facts,” said Pirro. She is also a former Judge, prosecutor, and New York State elected official.
Rena Bartos, Matrix Award honoree, 1977, former advertising executive and author of The Moving Target. “My most important decision was based on a hunch,” she said.
Linda Kaplan Thaler, CEO & Chief Creative Officer of Kaplan Thaler Group LLC, NYWICI President Elect, and author of The Big Bang brought more unexpected and exciting moments. “The most important decision I ever made was marrying my husband. Whether it had to do with any expertise or partly based on the fact that I was 36, no just joking. It was just gut feeling because like the first time I met him I felt like I had gone home. I always tell people go with your gut, it has an IQ of 100,000; your working brain has an IQ of about 100."
Before heading home, I was fortunate to notice Matrix Award honoree, Doris Kearns Goodwin, historian, biographer and Pulitzer Prize author at a table at the restaurant in Waldorf-Astoria after the event. She is the most intriguing woman and was so genuine, kind and patient to provide me with her answer which obviously was based on her instinct for making the right decisions. “When I got married and had my kids; I was at that time still teaching. I realized I couldn’t be a professor, and write, and be a mother at the same time," said Goodwin. "So I decided to give up being a professor even though that was my identity for over 10 years. I decided to take a risk to write and that turned out being the right decision. But it really meant that I could write and be with the kids,” added Goodwin.
There were so many lessons and learning experiences from this year’s Matrix Awards event. Initially I was disappointed that I was unable to participate in volunteering at the red carpet, but this negative became a positive for me. I learned a lot including the power of knowledge and intuition and how this is truly a gift. I’m looking forward to next year’s Matrix Awards 2011 to be held on Monday, April 11th and sponsored by Meredith Corporation. I hope to see you all again.
written by Gloria Buono Daly
Below is a listing of the the latest Internet Media Coverage on this year's Matrix
Huffington Post, “Who Was Best Dressed?”
Oprah Winfrey Honors “MSF” Gayle King at NYWICI 2010 Matrix Awards
Oops Tina Fey and Sheryl Crow Wear the Same Dress to the Matrix Awards
Oprah Speaks Out About Kitty Kelley Book: “So-Called Biography”
Lady Newsies [and Brian Williams] Gather for Matrix Awards
Oprah: Norh Robinson, man claiming to be father, just wants “a new roof”
Tina Fey and Sheryl Crow Among Matrix Winners
PIC: Sheryl Crow, Tina Fey Arrive to Event in Same Dress!
The New York Women In Communications 2010 Matrix Awards Red Carpet
The big Life – The Women Who Change The World” Gayle King, Tina Fey and more
Seeing Double: Sheryl Crow and Tina Fey Rock the Same Dress at the Same Event
Tina Fey Honored at Conference
Matrix Awards Lauds Women
People in the News
The Best Dressed: matchy-matchy chic
Oprah Winfrey, Lesley Stahl, Sheryl Crow: Scenes From Women Who Change the World
Breaking News and Gossip - Perez Hilton
Every year since 1970, NYWICI has awarded outstanding women in communications the prestigious Matrix Awards. The long list of past winners reads like a who-is-who of exceptional women in the fields of advertising, books, broadcasting, film, magazines, new media, newspapers and public relations and is a true reflection of achievements by women in communications. For more information visit NYWICI.org
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Monday Night at The Paley Center for Media: Guess Who Got Re-Elected?
“Geena Davis on screen and off! Tonight’s conversation is bound to be inspiring for all” Mitchell praised as she introduced Geena Davis. Besides summarizing Davis’ remarkable career of iconic roles in TV including Buffalo Bill and Commander in Chief, and films Tootsie, Beetle Juice, A League of Their Own, The Accidental Tourist, where she received her Oscar, followed by the iconic Thelma and Louise, where she (with Susan Sarandan) was nominated for a second Oscar for best actress, only a few years after receiving her first Oscar.
Highlights of the evening included a discussion about the impact of Geena Davis' life on winning her first Oscar for The Accidental Tourist to her various iconic roles. Also discussed were barriers in the entertainment industry for women and young girls, particularly the disturbing gender gap of women in media. Davis' goal is to make sure that the awareness of gender gap issues continues to increase and that people continue to see the vast differences of roles for girls and boys in media and become involved.
In 2007 there were only 2.7% female film directors employed. Davis was aware of women parts from amazing women who have paved the way such as Meryl Streep, Jessica Lange, Sally Field and Glenn Close, but it wasn’t until her daughter was about 2 years old and they were watching kids programs that she noticed gender disparity directed at little kids.
The characterizations were so sexualized that she found it disturbing and prompted her to start The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. In a very short time, her organization has compiled the largest research on G-rated films and TV programs made for children. Among her research findings are the many producers, writers, and directors that weren’t aware of gender disparities. Her goal is to reach all movie makers of children’s programs (i.e., writers, producers, directors, casting directors, etc.) and discuss the choices being made right there on the sets.
Her institute has several research projects in the works and they are going to be more qualitative than quantiative and will focus more on the top grossing G-rated movies from 2006 through the present. They will interview the film and TV executives to see if they are aware of the gender disparity issues and learn what they think.
Of great concern to many women is the fact that there aren't enough female action-hero movies, and there is a need for more diverse portrayals of females and males in Film and TV entertainment for children. According to research from The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, the ratio of girls to boys of 1:3 has never improved and has been the same since 1946 (a span of 64 years). “It never gets better, the psyche of people in Hollywood believes women will watch men but men won’t watch women,” Davis concludes. According to her research 70% of those interviewed believe female character roles are boring.
Davis feels that it takes consciousness to make changes in gender disparity, and that it's not just about having equal amounts of boys and girls. Davis illustrated this by her recollection of a boat race scene in Stuart Little where the director for casting extras placed the boy extras with the boat remotes in the front and positioned all of the girls behind the boys to watch. “I looked and asked, can you give half of the remotes to the girls?” said Davis. “And he said, yeah,” Davis added.
The alarming issue of hyper-sexuality in film and tv was discussed and the conclusion of how the vast majority of 13 year old girls occupied with watching this is eye candy. "Hot characters in a G-rated movie makes me cringe, what does my daughter think? And that's all 13 year old females can do?" a deeply concerned Davis added. Other findings from her research indicated that the number 1 aspiration by lead female characters in film and tv is romance and that the only two career goals for women were entertainment and royalty. "It's very hard to get jobs in royalty," said Davis. A compelling correlation of hours spent watching TV for girls and boys was discussed. The more hours that girls watch TV the less options they feel they have in life. For males, the more they watch TV the more sexist they feel.
Another alarming trend had to do with the fact that sex-revealing clothes worn by girls in G-rated movies were the same as the clothing worn in R-rated programs. Davis believes that in order to improve children's images in movies and TV, the most impact for girls is going to be in the secondary and tertiary characters. Getting more movies about female characters, taking parts and switching them around so that more females are involved in the action is key to confronting gender disparity in children.
Topics about the importance of having more women portrayed in senior leadership roles on TV and Film were also addressed. “Your iconic TV role as first female President of the United States, Mackenzie Allen, in Commander in Chief, which was #1 until Fox’s American Idol aired. I wonder what was running through your head” a curious Mitchell asked. It was very obvious that Davis had a tremendous fondness for that role and admitted being disappointed about the show’s short run. “I mean you can’t get more iconic than playing that role; What else am I suppose to do? Play a waitress? I’m the President,” said Davis. “Actually I took this role right after playing a parent on The Rosie Show,” Davis added as the audience laughed.
Commander in Chief, was #1 on Tuesday nights until FOX's American Idol aired. Davis provided compelling evidence and statistics of the big impact this show had even with it’s short TV life.
According to a media research study done by The Kaplan Thaler Group, people who didn’t even watch the program and who were just familiar with the show were 58% more likely to vote for a female President. “That was just during our short season and shows how powerful that show really was,” says Davis. “Imagine if we had 2, 3, or 4 seasons, we might have had a female President,” surmised Mitchell.
When Davis was asked if there was anything that we, the consumers could have done to help keep Commander in Chief on the air Davis replied that despite all of the letters and correspondence, it would have been difficult to get the advertisers’ buy in. “Actually I have been trying to get the show back on Cable TV, “an optimistic Davis said. “And here’s the ad -- a silhouette of me and the caption -- Guess who got re-elected?”
The audience viewed an excerpt of her ground breaking movie, The Accidental Tourist, the dog walking scene. “Other than cruelty to animals did you expect that The Accidental Tourist would be the ground-breaking role that would win you the Academy Award?” asked Mitchell. “I read the book and thought how much I want to play that part. I was fairly naive about how things worked in those days, “ replied Davis.
Davis then described how the characters she had been most attracted to were complicated, multidimensional women who were in charge of their own destiny yet couldn't articulate their desires. “I always wanted to play very active parts, and I’m lucky that I wasn’t financially obliged to take parts I didn’t want to,” says Davis.
For many women winning the Oscar actually limited their careers but for Davis it was filled with moments of defying all odds. Winning her first Academy Award was very affirming. She was not sure how much it opened doors for her, instead she felt recognition and relaxation. “Kickback! It gave me a sense that the pressure was off and it actually had a calming effect,” says Davis. Davis mentioned how profoundly educational her Oscar experience was as she personally never appreciated the media and then was struck by how so few opportunities there are that can make you feel this way. “It had a big impact on me and my future choices,” said Davis.
Throughout the provocative discussion, the audience received a lot of take-aways; besides Davis' charm, brilliance and sense of humor the audience witnessed surprise, delightful insights such as knowing one of Davis’ favorite quotes from her films. As the audience viewed an excerpt from the film, Thelma and Louise, the scene where the policeman gets forced into the trunk while pleading with them that he has a wife and kids. Louise (Geena Davis) with gun in hand replies “You’re lucky. You be sweet to them especially to your wife. My husband wasn’t sweet to me, look how I turned out?”
The discussion was followed by a series of Q and A ranging from the recent female ski olympians and hypersexuality in the media (i.e., Sports Illustrated bathing suit issue), perceptions of senior women leaders and executives in media to information on how to access data from her research and if her research is done around the world. Interestingly, her organization researched 30 other countries and found that they shared similar concerns regarding gender disparity and hypersexuality. Surprisingly, 80% of international movies are made in America, and we are responsible for the vast amount of female stereotyping in film all around the world. In Mitchell's closing she shared her thoughts with the audience that Davis' ability to impact the world on this topic is such a big subject that she needs to return. Let's stay tuned for Part II.
This Paley Center for Media One on One program was presented in association with New York Women In Communications, Inc., New York Women in Film and Television, The Paley Center for Media, and The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. For information about findings from her organization's research visit SeeJane.org.
written by Gloria Buono Daly (c) 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Is Facebook Safe?: You've Got the Cutest Little Facebook, But is it Safe?
Is Facebook Safe?: You've Become Social Media Guru, Got the Cutest Little Facebook, But is Your Private Information Private and Safe?
Facebook, that wonderful social media site with the wonderful intention of helping friends stay connected, has recently announced new changes regarding their revised "open site governance" policy which will essentially enable Facebook to automatically share your Facebook user account data with other external sites without the you, Facebook user, ever knowing it and without your permission. This will take effect on April 3, 2010.
When I first joined Facebook, this was not the case and I was assured that only the Facebook user would control who would get to see my private information. And this why I was willing to be part of the social media action. But now it appears Facebook is pulling the "bait and switch" tactic on Facebook account users, and I have a few concerns. Is this ethical? Do you think Facebook is going too far?
What this new policy change means is that external web sites that you are not even aware of exist all over the world, will now be awarded the priviledge of having access to all of your Facebook account information including your photos, friends, birthday, etc., and other personal information you have on Facebook. All this without your permission! And to cover itself, Facebook recently changed its open site governance policy to accommodate this new strategy which appears to benefit Facebook and compromise Facebook account members/users all over the globe.
According to Barry Schnitt, Sr. Manager of Corporate Communications and Public Policy at Facebook in an email to ReadWriteWeb.com, "the right way to think about this is not like a new experience but as making the [Facebook] Connect experience even better and more seamless." I beg to differ. Facebook believes with the advent of social media and blogging, etc., the world is less concerned about privacy and more concerned about making it easier to connect with other sites. But wait a minute, who is Facebook to speak for you and me? Is all this worth compromising the pricacy and security of Facebook users? What this new change could mean is that Facebook users will now have to be more cautious and spend more time on Facebook opting-out instead of opting-in. Apparently they will be adding tools which will enable you to "opt-out."
According to Marshall Kirkpatrick Vice President of Content Development at ReadWriteWeb.com's article Facebook May Share User Data With External Sites Automatically "That sounds downright creepy. It's nice to have one-click access to your Facebook info if you decide to share it with other sites - that's what Facebook Connect does - but the prospect of having that information automatically shared when you show up on another website seems like an idea that won't be well received by users. There's a big difference between opt-in and opt-out "data portability"."
My chief concern is that Facebook cannot guarantee that private information can be kept safe especially if you include those additional Facebook applications. So I'm not adding any Facebook applications to my Facebook account and will continue keeping it simple; Be conscientious, cautious, and don't put too much private information on Facebook as there may be big sorry tomorrows. There is an interesting video I viewed from BBC which explains how malicious Facebook applications could steal the personal details of all your friends, not just your own details. Click here to view it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coczh-f9r_4
How do you feel about Facebook's latest policy change? Your opinion is valuable, please answer this poll at http://bit.ly/Facebook_Issue
written by Gloria Buono Daly (c) 2010
Facebook, that wonderful social media site with the wonderful intention of helping friends stay connected, has recently announced new changes regarding their revised "open site governance" policy which will essentially enable Facebook to automatically share your Facebook user account data with other external sites without the you, Facebook user, ever knowing it and without your permission. This will take effect on April 3, 2010.
When I first joined Facebook, this was not the case and I was assured that only the Facebook user would control who would get to see my private information. And this why I was willing to be part of the social media action. But now it appears Facebook is pulling the "bait and switch" tactic on Facebook account users, and I have a few concerns. Is this ethical? Do you think Facebook is going too far?
What this new policy change means is that external web sites that you are not even aware of exist all over the world, will now be awarded the priviledge of having access to all of your Facebook account information including your photos, friends, birthday, etc., and other personal information you have on Facebook. All this without your permission! And to cover itself, Facebook recently changed its open site governance policy to accommodate this new strategy which appears to benefit Facebook and compromise Facebook account members/users all over the globe.
According to Barry Schnitt, Sr. Manager of Corporate Communications and Public Policy at Facebook in an email to ReadWriteWeb.com, "the right way to think about this is not like a new experience but as making the [Facebook] Connect experience even better and more seamless." I beg to differ. Facebook believes with the advent of social media and blogging, etc., the world is less concerned about privacy and more concerned about making it easier to connect with other sites. But wait a minute, who is Facebook to speak for you and me? Is all this worth compromising the pricacy and security of Facebook users? What this new change could mean is that Facebook users will now have to be more cautious and spend more time on Facebook opting-out instead of opting-in. Apparently they will be adding tools which will enable you to "opt-out."
According to Marshall Kirkpatrick Vice President of Content Development at ReadWriteWeb.com's article Facebook May Share User Data With External Sites Automatically "That sounds downright creepy. It's nice to have one-click access to your Facebook info if you decide to share it with other sites - that's what Facebook Connect does - but the prospect of having that information automatically shared when you show up on another website seems like an idea that won't be well received by users. There's a big difference between opt-in and opt-out "data portability"."
My chief concern is that Facebook cannot guarantee that private information can be kept safe especially if you include those additional Facebook applications. So I'm not adding any Facebook applications to my Facebook account and will continue keeping it simple; Be conscientious, cautious, and don't put too much private information on Facebook as there may be big sorry tomorrows. There is an interesting video I viewed from BBC which explains how malicious Facebook applications could steal the personal details of all your friends, not just your own details. Click here to view it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coczh-f9r_4
How do you feel about Facebook's latest policy change? Your opinion is valuable, please answer this poll at http://bit.ly/Facebook_Issue
written by Gloria Buono Daly (c) 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Vice President's Open Mic Expletive - Big Effing Deal, No Big Effing Deal?
Big Effing Deal, No Big Effing Deal? You be the Judge.
On Tuesday, March 23rd, our Vice President Joe Biden was heard saying "This is a big (bleeping) deal" to President Obama before a historic healthcare bill signing. Do you think Biden should publicly apologize? Your opinion is valuable. Be a judge and answer this poll at http://polls.linkedin.com/p/82596/yhtia
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Surprise Nominee for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize
Guess Who Has Been Nominated for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize?According to an article today by "The Wall Street Journal" the "Internet!" Originally nominated by the Italian version of Wired magazine and already eleven backers with two including the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Shirin Ebadi and Nicholas Negroponte, founder of One Laptop Per Child, the internet as contender appears to have growing momentum worthy of consideration.
Who would accept the prize if the Internet happened to be the winner? questions CNN SciTechBlog. Suggestions include LOLcats and Al Gore.
Who would accept the prize if the Internet happened to be the winner? questions CNN SciTechBlog. Suggestions include LOLcats and Al Gore.
Besides bridging gaps and serving the world as a communications catalyst for many events particularly major disasters, many supporters, including Internet For Peace, believe the internet is more like a "web of people" than just a tool.
Among the many issues is whether a tool (communications medium) can be eligible for this nomination. I guess that it will be up to the Nobel Peace Prize to decide. Read more about it at the WSJ's The Internet: a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize article.
Do you think the Net can be nominated? Answer this poll at: http://bit.ly/Poll-NobelPeacePrize2010
Below video: "Internet for Peace Manifesto" video.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Another specialty video: Think Deep and Grow Rich
ZENWAY = ZEN TRAINING + WARREN'S WAY! Another specialty video by Gloria Buono-Daly and Maria Benevenga for client Zenway.com. Financial IQ Training for Parents and Children. Zenway Group provides financial IQ tutoring for kids and coaching for parents. "Merging time-tested Zen mind IQ training into the proven Warren Buffett Way, we developed a system of unique practices and strategies to think deep and grow rich,"says founder Brian Zen.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Google Search Results and Winter Olympians on Sports Illustrated 2010 Swimsuit Issue: Are the Feminists or the Beauties Making It More Exciting than the Olympics? by Gloria Buono Daly
From last month to a few days ago, the 2010 Winter Olympics received less than a few hundred thousand Google search results and as of today (February 10th) received 4,350,000 Google search results, less than 24 hours after the release of Tuesdays, Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue featuring bikini-clad Olympian beauties Lindsey Vonn, Hannah Teter, Clair Bidez and Lacy Schnoor. See Google exact search engine results spreadsheet below for detail information of all 32 swimsuit models; this total includes the "fab 4 Olympians." Interesting to note a total of 22,708,040 Google Exact hits for ALL 32 swimsuit models in the 2010 issue with 8.34% coming from the Fab 4 Olympians:
Feminists appear clawing, complaining for attention about Sports Illustrated’s famous Swimsuit Issue (Tuesday, February 8th issue, and on newsstands now) as being sexist due to the treatment of 4 accomplished Olympian beauties posing in what they describe as sexual positions wearing bikini-clad swimwear and half-nude wear. Feminists’ main issue, besides the sexist poses, is why are these Olympians not being recognized for their athleticism instead of their beauty? Is the way SI treats women athletes sexist? Is the sky blue? If these 4 beauties choose to pose, isn't it their choice, their bodies? Wouldn't this net out the "sexist" part since they're getting something out of it too?
From a marketing and communications perspective, the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues have been around for decades and every year this issue brings about controversy, media frenzy, and with all the attention, big money, advertisers, web presence, etc. that comes with it. Yes, feminists and afeminists all know “Sexy Sells.” We cannot ignore the marketing aspect and realize that this is overriding the Winter Olympic Event (regardless of feminists protesting the Winter Olympics). Real feminists know that freedom of choice matters most and that feministic double standards have been downhill since the eighties.
But Now I’m wondering, in light of our tough economic conditions, are more and more feminists speaking out simply to be a part of the action and media frenzy to draw attention to themselves and their causes? In essence doing exactly what they complain the media and Sports Illustrated are doing? Isn't it about time we reach that plateau where feminism means never having to say you're feminist, never having to say your opinion is better than someone who has a different feminine viewpoint? Why does it seem that so many feminists still believe that to be a true feminist you must be a liberal elitist, graduate magna or summa cum laude, read tons of feminist literature, etc.?
Below are some quotable quotes from comments by these Olympians on posing for Sports Illustrated. Since I’m not sure which of the 4 said what I’ve put my guess in parentheses. If anyone knows for sure, please reply and I will correct accordingly. Thanks.:
- “It’s fun to be sexy. Growing up in Vermont in the woods always covered I never dreamed of being half-naked being risqué.” (Clair Bidez?)
- “To pose topless wasn’t that hard cause I was always covered up. I was a little bit nervous though.” (Lacy Schnoor?)
- “We work hard on these bodies and are always covered up in helmets and ski suits…” (Hannah Teter?)
- “I enjoyed the opportunity to be in Sports Illustrated without my helmet and my ski clothes." (Lindsey Vonn?)
For NBC, sponsor of this years Winter Olympics, there was disappointing news. After NBC Today's Matt Lauer interviewed Lindsey Vonn yesterday morning (Tuesday, February 9th) we learned that she may not be able to compete in the Olympics due to a deep contusion to her shin (deep muscle bruise). According to Lindsey, it is excruciatingly painful for her to even put on her boot. According to Chris Chase of Fourth-Place Medal, “this news is just as bad for NBC, which has built a huge marketing campaign around Vonn and her quest to become the Michael Phelps of Vancouver.” The Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010 in Vancouver begins Friday, February 12th. Chase also believes that NBC will lose money on Olympics and will not ever broadcast another? (Blog, Fourth-Place Medal, Chris Chase January 11, 2010.)
P.S. For those curious, here's the sexiest pose of me on the slopes, back in 2002 at Lake Tahoe.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)