Inside the world of Rob Mclean, Author

[Felt like ranting a bit today, so excuse the lack of PR content in this post] Full disclosure... I haven't been to a doctor in a long time (and yes, by long time, I mean a very very long time). I've never really had anything that didn't go away on it's own in a few days. Anyway, I recently came down with a sinus bug (or something) that was bothering me for the past 1.5 months. Not enough to keep me off my feet, but enough so that you know you are sick and it makes the day a struggle. Given it's lack of severity, I kept thinking it would go away in a couple of days, but it didn't. So after a month I tried the neti pot (video below) and it worked wonders. Pretty much got me back on my feet in a few days. Who would have thought running water through your nose would do the trick (of note: it also stopped my allergies).  Anyone with sinus issues, breathing through your nose issues, or allergies should get one of these things. So flash forward to a few day

So I read this story today - Bell CEO launches $50-million mental-health initiative What?!  I had to refresh the page to make sure there wasn't some html error that somehow mixed up a mental health story with a Bell Canada story. I mean - WOW. What's going on here? I've never been a fan of Bell Canada. In fact I've always waited for the day when I could get a Skype number in Canada and cut loose of Bell. But now... my view of Bell has just changed 180 degrees. In an era where maximizing profits at any cost seems to be the rule... Bell has catapulted itself to the front of the pack when it comes to corporate social responsibility and it has radically changed how I see them as a service provider. From a PR / branding perspective this was one heck of a risky move as it doesn't support Bell's share price in any identifiable manner. It would have been easier to justify a $50M advertising campaign than a $50M mental health initiative - I mean, mental healt

CNN interviewed Paul Otellini, who basically said the US is not exactly headed in the right direction. I was a little disappointed in his interview. While he comes across as a thoughtful, intelligent guy, he also gives the impression that a company like Intel doesn't owe America anything. Contrast that against a Buffett or a Bill Gates, men who the first thing they will tell you is that the only place in the world they could have achieved what they achieved was in America. Otellini's comments suggest almost a veiled threat that if he doesn't get the tax breaks he wants that Intel will start moving its operations to other countries. It's these kinds of comments that slow the recovery if you ask me. Tax breaks are great and all, but let's also be realistic - America is great at business because it's a country that encourages entrepreneurship. It's success has been founded on the notion of freedom and for any man to pursue his full potential. It has

Buffett Rules Out Double-Dip Recession Amid Growth “I am a huge bull on this country,” Buffett, Berkshire’s chief executive officer, said today in remarks to the Montana Economic Development Summit. “We will not have a double-dip recession at all. I see our businesses coming back almost across the board.” “It’s night and day from a year, year and a half ago,” Buffett said. “I know Wells Fargo, they would love to have $50 billion more of loans now. Go in and talk to the banker.” Finally, a thought leader starts speaking out and calming the irrational fear that everyone seems so eager to embrace.  Now all we need is another dozen or so captains of industry to get out there and start getting people to believe that things can get better again.

So I was visiting CNBC today and came across this blog entry - How Rich People Think by Steve Siebold. It's a must read, especially during a recession.  You can see an interview with Steve below. What impressed me about his blog was that he's right. I mean, it's really not rocket science, but it's precisely because it's so simple that it's profound. Rich people are folks who get up every morning and ask themselves "What problem am I going to be a part of solving today?"  They develop the skills to solve those problems and then go out in to the world and apply those skills. There are basically a few crucial skills / insights that you need in life that you simply won't get from education. In my opinion they revolve around money, happiness, purpose / passion and resilience. There are no courses in these things really, despite the fact that over and over they are talked about as being essential to success. In fact, the more educated you a

Bell ushers in new era with CTV deal  So Bell has purchased CTV.  Not really that big a deal under normal circumstances, except when you realize why they did it... Driving convergence this time, the Internet-enabled mobile devices such as smart phones and computer tablets are threatening home television’s lock on viewers. Bell, like its rivals, wants to offer more content to its subscribers, however they receive the signal. Viewers are increasingly interested in watching their favourite shows on their phones while they ride the bus or sit in the park, and the cable and phone companies that have served as middle men between viewers and broadcasters were in danger of being marginalized. You know what sort of worries me about this kind of acquisition? It's clearly an attempt to own (control) content. When they say marginalized what they really mean is service providers being nothing more than dumb pipes - providing connectivity to the internet and nothing more. As custo

I wouldn't want to have Obama's job right now (actually, come to think of it, I would). His comments on the economy show that things are not going his way, but I believe a lot of that is of his own doing. Facing a rising jobless rate, Obama told a White House news conference: "For all the progress we've made, we're not there yet. And that means the people are frustrated and that means people are angry." "And since I'm the president and Democrats have controlled the House and the Senate, it's understandable that people are saying, you know, 'What have you done?'" Here's a PR tip... if people are asking 'what have you done?', then even if you have done something, you're pretty much up a creek without a paddle - you get an F for your communications efforts. The problem with the economy isn't rocket science, and it's disappointing that Obama isn't explaining it to people properly. It's your prov

On the heels of Hawking's latest book (but totally unrelated) ... we've got a church group planning to burn the Koran . Really? These people don't have anything better to do with their time other than stir up controversy? What's worse is the media attention they are getting. There is no story here other than a bunch of idiots trying to incite hatred (in response to other idiots who tried to incite hatred with 9/11), which will probably cause other idiots to react with, you guessed it, more hatred.  It's stories like this that sometimes make me think the media is what will bring down society. They have no filter... a story is a story....even if that plays right in to the hands of people seeking to incite unrest or fuel the fires of religious tensions.   But if they don't cover it, and their competitor does, they lose viewership / readers. So they don't really have much of a choice. But there's no question, the media are the gasoline that can turn

So I've been talking about the internet usurping all other forms of information transfer for a while now. We can get our newspaper, our magazines, our television, our telephone... you name it, you can get it from the internet. But up until now there's been no clear sign as to whether this transformation was a year away, 10 years away or 20 years away from becoming a real revolution (forget evolution, we're talking revolution). Well, as far as I'm concerned, it is here NOW. Why do I say this? For a very simple reason. Rogers has recently changed its internet package offerings.  Up until about a month ago you could get their Extreme Internet Package (15MPS/95GB cap) for $60. That has changed. Now their Extreme Internet Package, still $60, only offers you 80GB cap per month (15GB less than before - or roughly 20% less for the same cost). That means if you want to download another 15GB and reach a 95GB usage rate for a month, you'll pay an extra whopping $2

So Stephen Hawking has caught up to Nietzsche and basically proclaimed that God is dead....well, not dead exactly, but something that is not required for the universe to exist or be what it is. In his new book, which I haven't had a chance to read yet, The Grand Design , apparently he argues that the universe most likely came about through spontaneous creation. “ Our conclusion: This (the universe) can all be explained through science and we don’t need God to explain how the universe came into existence or why the laws of nature are what they are,” said Mlodinow. (Mlodinow wrote the book with Hawking). From a PR perspective you have to give it to Hawking, he knows how to generate interest. I'm not really sure why God factors in to the discussion if it is purely a scientific overview of the universe. Once you toss God in there you are now mixing science with sociological, anthropology, philosophy and mythological variables and belief systems. But that's why you have

Hartz recently had a product recall on one of their products (dog food) and as usual, I tend to visit a company's site just to take a peak at what they are doing from a PR perspective during a crisis. Unfortunately, Hartz appears to be doing nothing on their Web site in terms of informing consumers about the recall. There isn't even a news release or FAQ about it. They did however issue a news release, likely at the behest of the FDA, but you won't find that news release on their Web site anywhere (including in their press release section). So why make a post about Hartz? For a simple reason, they exemplify the difference between marketing and public relations, a difference which is all too often overlooked.  I was surprised when I visited Hartz at how good their Web site was. Excellent navigation layout, great colors, fantastic imagery, interactive elements for visitors.... basically they've put together one heck of a Web site that blends simplicity for the use

Sorry, no cigarettes or alcohol, trapped miners told I thought this story was interesting. So you've got a group of miners trapped underground. They've been trapped for four weeks and probably won't get out for several months.  What are they requesting? Alcohol and cigarettes. Why? "To help them cope." The reason I find this story interesting is that it goes to show how psychologically complex the issue of substance use is. After four weeks of being off cigarettes and booze, I'd assume any withdrawal symptoms or physical dependency issues would be next to nothing. In addition, one would think that with the physiological addiction mostly out of the way that their minds would be more focused on their present situation than on having a cigarette or glass of wine. You'd almost expect a 'if I make it out of this alive, I'm going to start living healthy' attitude.   And yet... booze and cigarettes were what they requested.    Not a steak dinner