I used to be part of a local marketing group, and so I volunteered my email address, happily. Now I’m rethinking my decision.

It’s not that I don’t believe in the work their doing. It’s that they’ve done some things lately that really annoy me.

First, they gave my email address to another organization that I have no interest in.

Second, to promote an event they send out way more reminders than is warranted. Lately it’s been four emails in a little over a week.

A few days ago, the European Commission slapped Intel with $1.45 billion for strong-arming AMD and other competitors. As I was browsed, the most interesting thing I read wasn’t about Intel.

From chip analyst Linley Gwennap :
“[Intel’s largest competitor] A.M.D. is basically operating on a shoestring…If you have a slip-up, that can kill your revenue for the next couple of years.”

Many people I know work for or own organizations that are operating on a shoestring. They’re praying the string won’t snap because unlike AMD, they don’t have a couple of years to give.

The new mark of value seems to be 5 bucks. I stumbled upon this site the other day: http://fivedollarcomparison.org/

People take photos of things that cost about $5, email them with a short description of what’s in the photo and where they bought it, and they get added to the site.

It’s a really cool idea, and it appears to be sponsored by mobile phone giant Nokia.

The value for Nokia, is fresh ideas—“Fivedollarcomparison.org is a small step to broaden the discussion and explore how the impact might vary across cultures and contexts by asking a simple question: What can you buy for five dollars?”

I recently talked with some of my fellow graduates of the last decade (aka GOLD alumni), and we decided that the traditional way our respective alma maters appeal to us is sometimes…well, annoying.

It’s not the solicitation that bothers us. It’s the overly emotional copy, the over-use of bold text for emphasis, and the hackneyed pea of economic hardship.

But most of all, we get annoyed because the appeal letters don’t address our relationship with the colleges and universities we love so much.

So colleges and universities, here are four things not to do:

NPR’s Scott Simon takes a look at President Obama’s rhetoric revolving around the 1915 Armenian Genocide in this report.

The issue is not that our President suddenly views the killing of 1.5 million Armenians as acceptable, the issue is how he’s talking about it—“genocide” during his campaign, and “killings” in front of the Turkish parliament. The rhetorical pandering is disappointing.

Simon writes, “In a way, the president’s choice to say ‘killings’ in front of his hosts may remind us that it might be wise to regard what any politician says as the words of a suitor who coos ‘I love you’ during courtship. They mean it in the moment. But any adult should know that they may not mean it in just a few weeks.”

The Facebook update and subsequent backlash made the BBC News. And the Washington Post. And the San Francisco Chronicle.

It’s weird to me that we can suddenly morph from flair-spreading to profanity-spitting at the whim of Mark Zuckerberg (remember 2006?).

But no matter how you view it, social media has tremendous power.

Even President Obama has started doing foreign policy on YouTube (evidently it’s sort of working?). He’s also launched a humugo grassroots effort (mostly online) to pass his budget.

Our President has succeeded in getting connected and then calling in those contacts when he needs them.