Ode to Spring in the Texas Hill Country

It's an amazing time of year in the hills of Central Texas. Wildflowers bloom, tomatoes grow, peppers produce, grape vines stretch towards one another. And all the birds sing their sweet songs.

I am at peace with my hands in the dirt at Love Life Gardens. My fingers and back sore from the labor. The air gives life in these big blue skies. The smells are sweet with innocence and opportunity. Everything is new again.

http://www.lovelifegardens.com/

My quest to celebrate diversity in America

I seek to be a tolerant, patient and nonjudgmental person. My heart is usually in the right place, but I sometimes rush to express things before thinking about them through the perspective of others. My wife is encouraging and guiding me to grow in this area. I am grateful for her patience and wisdom.

Last week I stumbled when trying to express my desire to be part of a world in which diversity is celebrated. My intentions were good, but my communication was bad (ironic that I am a communications professional). In the process, I hurt people I love who are kind to me and my family. My heart is heavy with remorse. I have asked forgiveness, but I know scars take time to heal and that trust must be rebuilt.

I must also learn to celebrate diversity in terms of everyone's individual life experience, generation and worldview.

In New York City (where I work and spend much time) I am constantly exposed to diversity. It is part of the landscape everywhere in the city. On the subway, I love to observe diversity in race, culture and language. In a way, the subway represents an equalizer. Rich, poor and middle class people of all ages, races and religions exist together in the same place for a little while. In those moments, all are somehow more equal. 

The mindset I get in New York City does not directly translate to my home state of Texas. People in Texas are beautiful, thoughtful, kind and generous. Texans celebrate independence and self-dependence in a way that is uniquely wonderful. But Texans have a worldview that is quite different than that of New Yorkers. In Texas, I live in Austin. And people in Austin have a much different worldview than people anywhere else in Texas. Austinites embrace diversity to the point of celebration. “Keep Austin Weird” is in fact the theme of the city.

The combination of living in Austin, working in New York City and being raised in Southern California has contributed to my worldview that embraces diversity and is socially progressive. Yet, I often overlook the fact that mine is but one view. To truly celebrate diversity I must not only do so in relation to race, culture, religion, language and sexual orientation – I must also learn to celebrate diversity in terms of everyone’s individual life experience, generation and worldview. This is an important lesson I learned this week.

When I make mistakes interacting with others, I try to focus inward. The last few days, I’ve thought about my life. I’ve thought about times when my son told me that things I said or did were inappropriate or insensitive. I’ve remembered my father telling me about his childhood. He shared some of the phrases people used commonly back in the 1940s that would today be completely inappropriate. I thought about phrases I’ve used in my life that were totally inappropriate, considering when I stopped using them and if I was still in fact using some.

This inward thinking has led me to realize that we are all to some extent racist or at the least insensitive to others. None of us are completely right or wrong on the issue of diversity. We are each progressing through phases of perceptions, understanding and tolerance. In my quest to celebrate diversity in America, I now have a greater desire to personally listen more to people of other races and cultures.

Over the last few days, I took time to sit down with a few people and ask about their unique life experiences. I met a saxophonist from the Bronx who loves jazz so much that he adjusts his entire life to play it as often as possible. His music and stories touched my heart and soul. A cabbie from Brooklyn who happens to be Muslim told me about being born in Macon, Georgia, moving to with his family to New York City and encouraging his children to embrace being different. Their stories have enriched my life and broadened my worldview.

A beautiful thing about this world is that everyone truly has a unique story to tell. Here’s one such story from Milton Creagh about his father: Overcoming Racism and Why It's Pointless to Hate.

To enjoy these stories and celebrate diversity, all we have to do is ask. 

LinkedIn: How Professionally Connected are the 2012 GOP Presidential Candidates

LinkedIn is arguably the most important social networking website for business professionals in America. I was interested to see how the current crop of 2012 GOP presidential candidates were represented on LinkedIn. The results are indeed interesting.

Below are the LinkedIn profiles and some key statistics for each of the current GOP candidates. Candidates are listed in order of rank based upon the following criteria: do they have a profile, how well are the profiles completed, links to website / social pages, how many connections and how many recommendations.

1. Ron Paul - Profile: Yes, Extensive Details, 3 Links, 500+ Connections, 16 Recommendations
2. Newt Gingrich - Profile: Yes, Moderate Details, 1 Link, 500+ Connections, 4 Recommendations
3. Rick Perry - Profile: Yes, Few Details, 4 Links, 500+ Connections, 1 Recommendation
4. Rick Santorum - Profile: Yes, Almost No Details, 1 Link Working (2 Broken Links), 358 Connections, 0 Recommendations
5. Mitt Romney - Profile: Not Really, No Details, 0 Links, 0 Connections, 0 Recommendations
6. Michele Bachmann * - Profile: No, No Details, 0 Links, 0 Connections, 0 Recommendations
7. Jon Huntsman * - Profile: No, No Details, 0 Links, 0 Connections, 0 Recommendations
*Note: You will have to log in to LinkedIn in order to see search results for candidates that do not have a public profile on LinkedIn.

Other 2012 Presidential Candidates:
Herman Cain * - Profile: No, No Details, 0 Links, 0 Connections, 0 Recommendations
Barack Obama - Profile Yes, Moderate Details, 3 Links, 500+ Connections, 0 Recommendations

It is also worth noting that some of the candidates do have LinkedIn Groups dedicated to their 2012 Presidential run.

Movember Reminds Men to See Doctors for Annual Check Up and Cancer Screening

Another Movember has come and gone. Another month of manly mustaches were grown by many a men to encourage men worldwide to see their doctors for their annual check up and cancer screening. This year I was proud to be a member of the team Fantastico Mustachios, who raised over $8,000 in our combined fund raising efforts. All proceeds go to support issues around men's cancer, including the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

My 16-year-old son supported my Movember campaign this year by growing an impressive 'stache in his own right. In the photo, Ayrton and I ponder the ever increasing importance of Movember to men's health. We encourage everyone to get a check up with your doctor and help the fight against men's cancer.

You can still contribute to the cause @ http://mobro.co/Korye

5 Days & Nights @ the 2011 US Open Tennis Championships in New York City

A montage of photos and videos I took while attending the first five days and nights of the 2011 US Open Tennis Championships at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York.


The music is "Remember the Name" by Fort Minor. Please support this artist by buying and playing their music.

MOVEMBER: Top Ten NFL Mustaches

In honor of this Movember Sunday full of football, I have compiled a top ten list of the greatest NFL Mustaches. I'm sure my selected order and omissions will create controversy and spark some lively mustache debate. My credentials were: look, style, image and how it contributed to their identity as a football player. Here we go:

#10. The Original Buccaneer

#9. Mike Ditka

#8. Scott Player

#7. Cliff Harris

#6. Drew Pearson

#5. Jack Lambert

#4. Walter Payton

#3. Joe Namath

#2. Ben Davidson

#1. Conrad Dobler

This list is inspired by MOVEMBER and the fight against men's cancer. If you wish to support this worthy cause, please donate to our team the Mostachio Fantasticos. You can also Like our team page on Facebook.

Social Media Grows Up & Delivers R.O.I.

When it comes to advertising, I have always been a much bigger fan of programs that drive business results than those that win awards for creativity. I guess this is timely being that everyone gets so geared up about creative TV ads during the Super Bowl. Today's big trend in advertising and marketing is social media. It's so hot these days that Pepsi even made big news by ditching their normal Super Bowl ad spend in order to fund The Pepsi Refresh Project, their 2010 social media initiative.

I've been fortunate enough to work in the social media industry for many years at companies like BOSSdev and Powered. It's been enjoyable watching social media evolve from a little something that innovative clients would fund as a proof of concept into what is today an important component of most marketing plans.

One marketing professional I follow and admire who is very versed and steadfastly focused on the R.O.I. of social media is Olivier Blanchard aka The Brand Builder. Olivier has a nice style about his presentations. They are engaging, relevant and entertaining. But do not mistake his style, for lack of substance. He delivers plenty of substance and advice on how to track the business results of your social media efforts (hint: it's about more than tracking media). Here's a great presentation by Olivier on the basics of social media R.O.I.

Olivier Blanchard Basics Of Social Media Roi

View more presentations from Olivier Blanchard.

Christmas in Lakeway, Texas 2009

Movember Helped Me Confront My Fear of Cancer

Movember is a movement in which men grow moustaches during the month of November to create awareness of mens' health, in particular prostate and testicular cancer. It was founded in Australia in 2003 and first supported cancer awareness in 2004.

“The month formerly known as November is a moustache growing charity event held during November each year that raises funds and awareness for men's health.”
- Movember Foundation United States

Many technology and marketing professionals in my hometown of Austin are active participants in Movember. People like Aaron Strout and Simon Salt are active on a local team named Team SocMed Austin. While Joe Flowers up in Dallas is a leader for Team International Sexy. I followed and supported these teams throughout Movember, and I encourage you to do so today by making a donation and by promoting them to your networks on Facebook and Twitter.

Meanwhile, Movember has a deeply personal meaning to me. About a decade ago, I lost my father to prostate cancer at the far-too-young age of 65. He died as the cancer was detected too late, because he did not want to go to the doctor for an exam. This meant that my now 14-year-old son only knew this wonderful man for a brief time.

Movember to me meant that I could not shave until I got a prostate exam. I hope moving forward it means this to all men over the age of 40 or in a high-risk group. I had my exam on Monday, November 23rd. The doctor gave me the results: “I found a nodule. I need you to see a urologist as soon as possible.”

Thanksgiving was a wonderful holiday with family and friends. Yet it was filled with periods of intense anxiety and concern, especially when I was alone. I know I am a young man at age 43. And I know that I am healthy, as my recent physical indicated. Yet when you hear news like what my doctor told me, you can’t help but have your mind wander to scary questions.

What if I have cancer? What if it is severe? How will it be treated? Will my insurance cover it? Will I be around for my wife and son?

My visit to the urologist was earlier this week. He confirmed my primary physician’s findings and ordered a blood draw to test my PSA level and scheduled a biopsy for this Friday. Yet, there was some relief in that the urologist told me “I’m betting you don't have cancer, but even if you do it will be early stage and fully treatable.” I asked how and he explained that surgery would be the appropriate course for someone my age. OK I thought, that sounds manageable.

Yesterday I received a call from the urologist’s office. My PSA levels are normal. Wheh. Relief.

Next Movember, I will see my doctor again for another check up. In the meantime, I will enjoy every moment of life and time with my family just a bit more.

Thank you Aaron, Simon, Joe and everyone else who participated in Movember. I hope to see many of you at the Austin Movember Gala Parte tonight at Six.

New Year's Day by Slaid Cleaves, Saxon Pub in Austin

Slaid Cleaves performed live at Saxon Pub in Austin, Texas the night before Thanksgiving November 25, 2009. I went with my sister Tamara and brother Rick from California. It was a great show and a fabulous night topped off with pancakes at Kerby Lane Cafe. And we've got the syrup to prove it! You can ask Man Ray.

Here's a video of the last song he played that night. New Year's Day is beautiful song with fantastic lyrics.


After the show, I asked Slaid if I could post some videos I took on YouTube. He replied "Sure thing, you can't stop it anyway." I commented that it helps promote your music. So if you like what you hear, please check out more of Slaid's music at www.slaid.com, go see his shows and buy his CDs.

In the picture below, my brother-in-law Rick asked Slaid to sign his CD for his wife. Slaid asked "what's her name?" and I interjected "Rick." We all laughed. Good times, good people and good music.

Get Off Your Computer & Love Your Life

Four weeks ago my wife and I quit Farmville and a bunch of other time eating online activities. During this period, I have rarely touched a computer on the weekend. My free time has instead been spent with my wife and son in the backyard creating a family sanctuary. Looking back, it is amazing what we can accomplish in just one month of weekends.

Here's a pictorial record of the creation of Love Life Gardens in the back yard of our home at the west end of Austin in the Texas Hill Country.


Consider how you spend your free time. If you're connecting more with Tweeps and Facebook friends than your own family, I suggest you step away from the screens and look those you love in eye. Go for a walk, pull some weeds, play a board game... connect with the few people who matter most in your life. I bet they miss you.

The Day the Music Thrived on the Social Web

The music industry shone brightly Monday on the social web with a wide variety of highlights occurring simultaneously across a diverse set of social networking sites. Perhaps these events are indications of a change in tide for the oft-beleaguered industry.

It's been a full decade since Napster changed music distribution forever. That seems like a long time to wait for a good solution, but progress is happening. Just last week, industry leaders including Amazon, Apple, Nokia and Universal Music Group signed a potentially historic online distribution agreement with the 27-nation European Union.

Ultimately success for the music industry is reliant upon its ability to deliver quality content to consumers in compelling ways. This is precisely why it is great to see such a variety of innovative music momentum across the social web today.

U2 360 Concert Broadcast Worldwide via YouTube
Sunday night in Pasadena, California, U2 performed in front of a Rose Bowl packed with 96,000 fans. Also in the stadium were four dozen cameras and the latest in video technology used to broadcast the concert live to millions of fans worldwide via YouTube. A rebroadcast of the U2 Live from the Rose Bowl concert can be seen on YouTube.


Guitar Hero is the First Videogame with a Million Fans on Facebook
Activision announced an industry first today when Guitar Hero surpassed a million fans on Facebook. Considering that The Beatles: Rock Band recently topped the heavyweight, this was good cause for celebration. It's interesting to watch how entertainment such as music and gaming can be combined to drive success.

Alice In Chains Launches Black Gives Way To Blue iPhone App
I was quite impressed with the extent of content and diverse functionality featured in the iPhone application launching tomorrow in support of the new Alice In Chains release Black Gives Way To Blue. In addition to music, photos and video, the app lets you check out tour dates, buy concert tickets and merchandise, and share via Facebook, Twitter and email. There's a nice demo of the application on the Music Ally blog.

Meanwhile, iconic rockers Metallica release a not so innovative finger-tapping music app called "Tap Tap Revenge: Metallica" Tuesday. This is a game in the style of Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Developed by Tapulous, it is similar to apps previously released to promote Lady Gaga, Coldplay and Nine Inch Nails.

MySpace & Amazon used for Them Crooked Vultures Pre-Release Teaser
The much anticipated album by rock supergroup Them Crooked Vultures won't be released until mid November. The band features an impressive line up including John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl and Josh Homme.

DGC/Interscope gave fans a taste of what to expect by launching an exclusive single premiere of "New Fang" Monday on MySpace. The page includes a "Pre Order Now on Amazon.com" call to action in the main hero graphic. This pre-launch effort is presently supported with a simple web site, YouTube channel, Twitter account and Facebook page that already has over 50,000 fans.

#MusicMonday All Abuzz on Twitter
With music industry activity like the things discussed above, it's no wonder people are talking music on Twitter. The phrase #musicmonday trended in the top two spots all day long on the leading micro-blog site. People include the tag in Tweets about music they like. Some use it to identify what they are listening to at the moment, while others post links to songs or videos.

"If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevance even less."
~ General Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army

Social Keeps Pushing Innovation in Music Distribution & Sharing
Online heavy hitters Google and Facebook are making moves to enhance online search, sharing and sampling of music. They're leveraging services like Lala, iLike and Imeen to power their offerings. Keep an eye on Lala's Facebook presence over the next few months. Brad Stone covered the story for the New York Times last week "Hot on Heels of Google, Facebook to Take First Step into Music." Facebook's own Will Chen recently offered a sneak peak of their approach to gifting music in a blog entry entitled "A New Tune for Facebook Gifts."

Considering how Facebook came out of nowhere to outplay everyone in the photo sharing game over the last two years, I'll certainly be keeping a close eye on how they integrate music into the world's leading social network.

Gaming Goes Social: Farmville Thrives on Facebook

Farmville has enjoyed explosive growth since being introduced on Facebook on June 20, 2009. Currently, over 56 million people play the game each month according to an article published last week by USA Today. "For social networks, it's game on" details the killer combination of casual games and social networks. I suggest you read the article, as it offers great insights and statistics.

"An estimated 100 million people are recent devotees of social games such as FarmVille, Mafia Wars, Sorority Life and Bejeweled." the USA Today article explains. These games are easy to play and fun; and they're free for the most part. Yet the industry is generating significant revenue via micro-transactions of game add-ons as well as ad revenue from display banners.

For marketers, this is one more example of how important Facebook is becoming as a means to reach consumers. Marketing on Facebook is fishing where the fish are.

So it's quite apparent that I am not alone in my recent effort to reclaim time in reality that was temporarily lost to social gaming: read "How do we best spend our time?" In fact, a Google search of Farmville addict returns 170,000 results. And results on YouTube are significant as well, with admissions of addiction, Farmville interventions and even an interesting take on what Hitler would do if he found out about the rotten eggplants.

Personally, I'm happy I quit Farmville. The family and I actually planted a real farm this last weekend. Well, we built and installed three above-ground gardens. It was a lot of work and a great family activity. I will share more on my real-world farming adventure soon. Until then... have fun in the digital space, but stay well grounded in the real world.

Facebook Supercharges Brands' Digital Marketing

Facebook is burgeoning. Over 300 million active users with 50% or more logging on each day. Hitwise recently clocked its traffic being in the neighborhood of a 60% share of US-based social activity. Last summer, Mashable reported that people share more content via Facebook than email (source: AddToAny).

Brands like VW and Bud Light are savvy to this. They are integrating and leveraging the power of Facebook into their marketing. Notice how they use custom tabs on their pages to present fully controlled messaging. Importantly, brands can leverage the data power of FBML within this controlled presence.

Try the VW "Analyze Me" tool and you might be shocked at what it immediately knows about you.

While these pages aren't replacing their brand.com sites, they are at the forefront in connecting with consumers online; and serve as an important touch point and traffic driver. If your brand targets consumers and isn't doing this kind of social media marketing, you should be considering it now.

I love this shift! This continuum in the evolution of communications is what makes my career invigorating. I love learning the lay of the land in emerging media; and then applying classic business and marketing principles to them.

I am fortunate enough to work with some amazing visionary clients and fantastic people at BOSSdev to create compelling Facebook solutions. I'm tipping my hat towards you, Mr. K. Alan Robbins.

Are you creating branded presences on Facebook for your company or your clients? Are you planning to do so? I would love to hear your stories and opinions.

How best do we spend our time?

We all are challenged by the limited resource of time in our lives. For the last four days, I have been down with the flu sleeping as much as possible. This downtime has led to some re-evaluation of how I spend my time. This thought process actually started a few days earlier, when my wife and I were discussing an article I shared with her about the risks associated with some social media activities.

"Top Facebook Applications Vulnerable to XSS and SQLi: Highlights the risks of trusting third-party apps"
In reference to Farmville and Causes, the top two applications on Facebook, the article states: "Both applications contained cross-site scripting vulnerabilities that could have been exploited to perform a wide range of attacks, from exposing personal information from a user's profile to launching a social networking worm that propagates through clickjacking." Yikes! That is not the kind of exposure I want.

After reading the article, my wife said "Instead of wasting time fake farming, I could be learning to cook amazing things on Rouxbe for the holidays when the family comes to visit." Rouxbe is a beautiful and informative online cooking school to which I purchased a lifetime membership for my wife. Christine's comment brought a smile to my face.

So while I was home sick over the weekend I eliminated about seventy percent of my applications on Facebook, left about forty groups and/or pages, tightened up my privacy settings and cut out almost all Facebook notifications to my email. Then in my personal email account, I unsubscribed to about thirty emails; and cut my inbox down from about 400 to forty emails.

How will I spend all this time saved?
There are some things that I need to do more. Listening, walking, jogging, stretching, reading and writing are among them. So I have committed to do more of these things, in place of some of the mindless online activities I have eliminated.

Yesterday, I went out to the garage and pulled out a box of old books that I would like to read. Since I recently attended the Wizard Academy out in the Texas Hill Country west of Austin, I dusted off a copy of Greek Tragedies. Mythology and storytelling are very important in understanding our world; and can help immensely in making us more compelling communicators.

I must admit that understanding mythology is not one of my strengths, all the more reason to study up. However, I did find the following beautiful and wise.
"Justice so moves that those only learn who suffer; and the future you shall know when it has come; before then, forget it. It is grief too soon given. All will come clear in the next dawn's sunlight."
~Chorus of Argive Elders,
Agamemnon of the trilogy The Oresteia

What are some ways that you would like to change how you spend your time?

A day in the rain at Austin City Limits 2009

My son Ayrton and I went to Austin City Limits in the pouring rain last Saturday. We were both fully decked out in protective and waterproof gear and did our best to stay dry. Here are some photos from our experience.

Ghostland Observatory Performs "Rich Man" at Austin City Limits 2009

Geeky Rockstars Are Nice, But They Don't Sell Like Relevance

I just read an interesting blog post from Andrew Austin on the YourStoryAlive blog. Entitled "Corporations Aren't People - People Are People" - it praises the current Intel TV campaign for adding a human touch to the brand.


That's nice, but I don't believe "nice" sells in today's market
While I kind of like that commercial and agree it adds a human touch to Intel, I don't believe it increases my affinity for their brand or likelihood to purchase or recommend Intel (Net Promoter Score). Note that I purchased a laptop in the last 30 days and actually bought one with an AMD chip.

I have long been an advocate of the need for brands to build meaningful connections with consumers. However, I feel in this case that the ad may be a little self indulgent, particularly in consideration of the economy. It's more about Intel than the consumer. Right now, most consumers need value and trust.

Why Hyundai's Assurance Left the Competition in the Dust
To this point, this is why Joel Ewanick of Hyundai was recently awarded Brandweek's Grand Marketer of the Year '09. He made their marketing about the consumers, not Hyundai. Ewanick puts it this way:
“We kept saying, ‘Why aren’t you buying a car right now? You say you want to buy one, but you’re not doing it!’”... Finally, he hit pay dirt. “It turned out they were in a fearful state. And once you understand that fear, then you can come up with something like Assurance.”

Now that is marketing that is relevant to consumers right now. Most importantly, it worked! "Hyundai Motor America and its affiliate, Kia Motor America, accounted for 8 percent of the new-vehicle market in the United States in August, more than Chrysler’s 7.4 percent." Read more about Hyundai's recent success in this New York Times article "With Low Prices, Hyundai Builds Market Share."

The first TV spot in the series even starts with the statement "This is a car commercial, but it's not about cars... it's about the people who buy them." Note it didn't say "it's about the people who make them."


Hyundai's doing it right! That's my two cents... and those two cents mean more to me now than they did a year ago,

Business & Pleasure at Camelback in Scottsdale, AZ

Last week I had the pleasure of presenting at the National Association of Dental Plans 21st Annual Conference at Camelback Inn in Scottsdale, Arizona. I presented for BOSSdev, Inc. on the topic of social media as it relates specifically to business and, in particular, the dental industry. The session had an excellent turnout and was very well received.

You can view our download the slides from my presentation here:

NADP Convention: Wrapping Your Head Around Social Media for the Dental Heathcare Industry

View more presentations from Korye Logan.

I would like to thank the director of this event, Jeff Hurt for the invitation to speak and for his gracious hospitality. I highly suggest following Jeff on Twitter and on his blog Midcourse Corrections. Additionally, I wish to thank Joe Flowers of the NADP for his support during the event. Follow Joe on Twitter and at I Need Dental Benefits.

Once the event concluded, I had the opportunity to stick around Camelback for the weekend and enjoy the resort with my wife and some friends from Arizona. It is a beautiful and even magical place "where time stands still." Here are some photos from my stay.



If you are interested in learning more about the presentation I made or you would like me to speak at an upcoming webinar or event, please contact me via this blog, on Twitter or at 512.608.1460. BOSSdev is an an Interactive and Social Media company dedicated to delivering highly engaging digital communications solutions.

Quails Bathing in the Cool Dirt in Scottsdale, AZ

My wife and I enjoyed watching this family of quail bathe in the cool dirt during our nightly sunset walk at Camelback Inn in Scottsdale, Arizona. There were many animals on the grounds and they were not nearly as skittish as I am accustomed to seeing. Their collectively calm demeanor helped us to relax even more at the place where time stands still.