Blogging With Integrity

As an seasoned journalist and marketing professional with more than 20 years of experience, I was gratified to learn about the new Blog With Integrity movement, started in July 2009 as a direct result of conversations among four bloggers, Susan Getgood, Liz Gumbinner, Kristen Chase and Julie Marsh to combat the recent spate of unethical behavior by some bloggers. The four got together to provide bloggers like myself with a tangible and collective way to express our commitment to a simple code of blogging conduct.

I would like to make a commitment to you, my readers, to always be transparent in my motives and objectives, to give clear disclosure, to cite sources, to give attribution and credit and to always clearly define articles from ads and advertorials. I have signed the Blog With Integrity pledge (www.blogwithintegrity.com) and urge other bloggers to follow suit. If you have any feedback or suggestions, please post your comments.

Who Is Today's Michael Jackson?

By Caryn L. Stumpfl

Despite all the weirdness, the eccentricities, the plastic surgery, the drugs and the hype, Michael Jackson really was one of the biggest stars of the late 20th/early 21st centuries. In fact, it could be said he was the biggest musical superstar/performer of all times. Hopefully, his music will remain the focus of all these memorials happening this week. Some disingenuous folks seem to be jumping on the Michael bandwagon now that he's gone and that kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The same people were badmouthing him as a pervert or pedophile just a few years back but now they're embracing him and his memory as if none of that ugliness ever happened.

No matter what you think about him, Michael really did provide the soundtrack for the last forty years and was an awesome entertainer. I grew up with ABC, I Want You Back, Got To Be There, I'll Be There, etc. in the late '60s/early '70s playing on every pop radio station, hearing it at school, parties, on TV -- everywhere you looked, there were the Jackson 5. I discoed (not literally) to hits from Off the Wall in the late '70s and graduated high school as Beat It, Billy Jean and Thriller hit the airwaves. Nothing and nobody was bigger in 1983 than Michael Jackson. MTV, which reportedly had not been playing videos of black artists at the time, could not refuse Michael Jackson. They had to play him in order to exist. Michael, of course, continued to roll out hit after hit throughout the '80s and '90s as I danced in clubs and continued to watch him on MTV. I read about all of his trials and tribulations and laughed at his physical transformations, marveled at whatever weird thing the press happened to report about this month or that month. I feel like I've come full circle though, because at my wedding a few years ago, when I was picking music for the DJ to play, I just had to have several Michael Jackson and Jackson 5 songs on my essential playlist. You want people to dance at your wedding, right?

This week, my husband and I were trying to think of another celebrity/musician/entertainer who might be today's (or tomorrow's) Michael Jackson and we were really hard-pressed to come up with anyone who could equal his status. There are plenty of big stars, famous and weird people in the world but nobody can come close to his celebrity status. Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce ... they all fall a bit short now, don't they? Of course, we had Elvis and the Beatles but nobody ever really achieved the heights that MJ did. Do you have any suggestions for who could be the next "Michael" or who might replace him in the media or entertainment world? I'm eager to hear your point of view - please respond and leave your comments. Thanks!

Scam Alert: Beware of Certain Online Recruiters & Websites

I recently became aware of certain South Florida (and national) recruiters who are contacting jobseekers and telling them they have the perfect job for them. They convince the eager job applicants to come to their offices for a preliminary screening or even interviews and then proceed to give the unassuming job seeker the hard sell on their supposed "services" including resume review/preparation, sending resumes out to "hundreds" of businesses and other recruitment services (amazingly, no interviews!). They ask for money up front (sometimes upwards of $6,000) and proceed to deliver nothing. Other companies promising jobs right now are just fronts for pyramid (multi-level marketing) schemes. You'll find a lot of these companies on legitimate job websites like Careerbuilder.com and Monster.com. There are class-action lawsuits from duped job seekers (some at the executive level) all over the tri-county area in South Florida.

Steer clear (better yet, run away from): DuMarkt Concepts (parent company R3 Enterprises) and FES. Also beware of fraudulent freelance writing jobs online through Craigslist and other sites including GoFreelance (big scam!). Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. I'm not saying all online jobs are scams but there are many scams out there. Just be sure to vet the opportunity thoroughly before agreeing to anything (a quick google search can provide abundant helpful information). No legitimate recruiter asks for money from the jobseeker - they receive their compensation by the hiring companies they are contracted to represent.

Have you ever fallen victim to a recruiting or freelance writing scam? Let us know the details!

Post or Publish Here!

Send me your unpublished articles, manuscripts, poems, original artwork, photos, e-zines, e-books and/or links to the above and I'll post them right here on Soflawriters -- for FREE. It's the perfect way to get your byline out on the web for all to see and enjoy. You can access my e-mail through the "About Me" section or simply e-mail your files directly to cstumpfl@wncommunications.com. For more information, call 561.330.3805.

Excellent Writers' Resource

If you haven't visited http://www.writersweekly.com/ yet, I highly recommend it. This site is a wonderful resource for freelance writers of all kinds - from journalists to marketing pros and novelists -- all can benefit from Angela Hoy's helpful information. Her Whispers and Warnings column has been particularly helpful in my quest to expose a couple deadbeat publishers (and hopefully get paid some day).

R U Serious? Is Proper Grammar Passe?

You're probably familiar with the lexicon of texting - sending text messages through your cell phone, Blackberry, iPhone, etc. However, should the abbreviated terms, OK for text messages, be used in copy writing for publication in newspapers, magazines, newsletters, websites, e-mails, etc.? In my opinion, proper grammar and punctuation never goes out of style but occasionally does need to be updated for the times. Let me know your thoughts on this!

Getting Noticed On A Tight Budget

I just attended a PR seminar by Tina Pugliese, Pugliese Public Relations, that I found quite valuable. Tina shared a great number of excellent ideas on marketing and promoting your business during a recession including ways to get publicity, cheap marketing and PR tactics, sales tips and more. The key is to get out there and stay out there in the public's eye during a recession so even if you aren't getting sales now, when the market turns, the customers will know who you are. I highly recommend her programs, CDs and e-books for more information. Check out www.pugliesePR.com for more details.