Attention To Detail

Attention to detail.

You learned it in school.

Your grandfather taught you about attention to detail in his workshop.

You learned about it the hard way when your college professor gave your A+ term paper a "D" because of its many typos.

Attention To Detail is a core belief and central part of our culture here at Versfelt Communications Group.

At other television public relations agencies ... not so much.

Google Chrome is a big deal. It certainly was for Google, but its ad agency didn't pay full attention to detail in this 2011 full-page print ad for Google Chrome in the New York Times.

Look at how Chrome is spelled where the ad states "Download Google Chome" ... what ? !

The agency misspelled it's client's name!

We see this happening more often today than in decades past. But not in our shop. Not on our watch.

At Versfelt Communications Group, we pay attention to detail.

http://www.businessinsider.com/huge-typo-in-googles-campaign-for-the-chrome-browser-2012-4?nr_email_referer=1&utm_source=Triggermail&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Advertising+Select&utm_campaign=Advertising+Select+Mondays+2012-04-16

Did you know John Schneider starred in the recently released movie OCTOBER BABY?

Good for John, and standing up for being Christian. That's tough to do in Hollywood.

Great interview with The Hollywood Reporter: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/john-schneider-christian-films-pro-life-dukes-hazzard-306023

The anti-Christian viewpoint in Hollywood is endemic and the worst kind of blacklist. I know, I work there and have seen and experienced this often. It's tough to be conservative as well.

On a lighter note, Schneider said about the DUKES OF HAZARD movie:

"The only thing they got right was the color of the car".

Please Support Political Cartooning

I have enjoyed the political cartoons from the very talented A.F. Branco over the last year or so. I believe that, no matter what your political leanings or beliefs are, it is healthy for Americans to laugh at ourselves, and perhaps think a little more deeply about important national issues. This is why political cartoons are so valuable to the public discussion.

If you can help spread the word about his work, advertise on his web site or encourage your local newspaper to publish his cartoons that would be wonderful, thank you.

Porter Versfelt III




This message is from A.F. Branco:

"Dear Friends

First of all thank you for sharing my Political cartoons and your thoughts. It has been an honor to serve with you as a fellow patriot.

For approximately 2 years I've devoted my self passionately (Full Time) to getting the conservative message out through my cartoon art work for little to no income at all. Although I originally didn't do this for the money or to retire wealthy to an island somewhere in the Bahamas, I had hoped at some point I could turn this into enough financially that it would allow me to continue my passion into the future, but hard times have hit us all.

I'm a better artist than I am a Businessman. but for the next few days I'm going to try to sell myself a little better so that I can stay in the game. The next few weeks will decide my political cartoon fate.

(THIS IS WHERE I COULD USE YOUR HELP) I'm going to start selling add space at the bottom of each cartoon, and increase local and national news paper subscribers. (Subscribers will not have the add on their cartoon).

If you like the cartoons please contact your local NEWS PAPER and ask that they subscribe to A.F.Branco's cartoons at

If you know someone who would like to run an ad at the bottom of my cartoon viewed by thousand daily, please have them contact me at

Your participation will be very appreciated and may determine if I can continue in the future

Thank you.

A.F.Branco"

Spike Lee Is A Vindictive Moron - There, I said It

Spike Lee should be prosecuted for making this poor couple's life miserable and full of fear because of his tweet.

Spike, there ARE consequences for mindless, vindictive and moronic acts such as yours.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/spike-lee-zimmerman-tweet-567891

UPDATE:

As of Thursday, 29 March 2012, Spike Lee has made an undisclosed financial settlement with Elaine McClain and her husband David.

From The Hollywood Reporter:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/spike-lee-settles-twitter-mcclain-address-trayvon-martin-george-zimmerman-306315

Finally, Spike Lee did the RIGHT thing.

CBS News:

The Blaze: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/spike-lee-reaches-settlement-with-elderly-couple-after-retweeting-wrong-address/

Washington Post:

Associated Press (AP):

MAD MEN - A Show About "Nothing"?

I have finished watching the season opener for MAD MEN on my DVR and I give it a solid three thumbs up. :)

A friend posted on Facebook tonight that the show "is about nothing and nothing ever happens". Really? Have we been watching the same TV series for all of these years?

Gosh, MAD MEN is a social commentary on an era gone by, a time when Madison Avenue created things that didn't exist, a time contrasting so much from today when anything goes, there are few social or cultural standards and people once dressed up just to leave the house.

It's about people and their foibles and watching this we know we haven't changed much in 50 years.

The show is about secrets and betrayal and love and lust and all of those things that have made good drama since "cave men" told stories around a camp fire and made hand puppet shadows on a cave rock wall.

MAN MEN is brilliantly written, directed and full of nuance. SEINFELD is a show "about nothing". ;)

http://www.amctv.com/shows/mad-men

Living The Data Intense Life, Or Hardly Living?

It is Saturday night and my wife and I are babysitting two of our grandchildren, so I don't have time to write a full and well-reasoned blog post. That is why I give you this link to an excellent essay on modern-day data distraction, with more personal commentary to come later.

http://blog.commonflame.org/battling-distraction/


We all are increasingly accosted by data and information via smart phones, TV, Internet web site advertising, blogs, news stories, radio, movies, tweets, text messages, IM's, etc. I am a huge consumer of information and love the Internet for that purpose. I am very guilty of consuming information most of the time. I did the same before the Internet as an avid (and continue to be ) book and magazine reader. But we can go too far in our consumption and I am learning that my life and work are much more creative, productive and less stressful by controlling that data stream into my brain better.

This is why so many Americans have sleeping problems and frequent headaches. We are always (or nearly so) consuming data during a typical day, even on weekends.

I urge you to take stock of your life and think about what you value most. I vote for God, family and friends in that order. News and information have their places, but in smaller, better-organized and scheduled chunks than we have now.

I don't stand around with my face glued to a smart phone when idle in public - say, in a grocery store checkout line or waiting between meetings - or when visiting family. I know so many people who do this. I find it rude, and sad. I think about what those folks are missing.

I talk to people, have conversations, watch the birds and the clouds, laugh at children playing and learning. The world God gave us is the most entertaining and informative data there is. I have found enjoying that first, and taking in electronic-distributed information in smaller, controlled doses, is the best pathway to a longer, less-stressed and happier life, both professional and personal.

This has been on my mind this afternoon and evening as I have played with toddlers and dogs outdoors in the beautiful Spring weather. Feeling the breeze on my skin, laughing at childhood discovery, having a conversation with my three year old granddaughter sitting on my lap. This is what life is all about. There is plenty of time to pack our brains with even more data. Times and experiences like these come first.

Links to writing about data overload and distraction as cited in the Common Flame blog:

Sharon Begley writing for Newsweek ... http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/02/27/i-can-t-think.html

Jimi Jones on productivity and setting deadlines in order to relieve stress: http://jimijones.com/productivity/productivity-the-importance-of-setting-deadlines/

Finally, this Bible passage which is among my favourite guides for living life. In essence, there is a right time for doing everything in our lives, just not all at once. :)

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8:

1 There's an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:

2 -8 A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.

Now I Have Made It To The Big Time!

Well, I have finally made the big time in the Twitterverse. A prominent Reuters news service financial writer has mentioned me on his official Reuters blog. This is exciting!

Felix Salmon writes about financial news for a global audience via the famed and venerable British news service Reuters. In his 22 March 2012 blog he wrote about Twitter becoming more annoying and mentioned me as the poster boy for those who are both annoyed by Twitter tweeters and, apparenty, also annoying. To him at any rate.

Here is the blog:

http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2012/03/22/why-twitter-will-get-more-annoying/#comment-37238

And this was Mr. Salmon's reference to me:

"And then there are people like Porter Versfelt III, who will get annoyed if I dare to express a personal opinion on Twitter. For Mr Versfelt, I have a “core purpose” on Twitter, which is to provide him with financial news, and anything I do outside that purpose is annoying.

Going forwards, all of us are going to find Twitter increasingly annoying. "

This was the tweet I made in reference to Felix Salmon at 12:07 AM on 22 March and what he was responding to on his blog:

"@felixsalmon What does Trayvon Martin have to do with financial news? Can you plz stick to your core purpose here?"

Mr. Salmon had tweeted this:

"Prosecute the killer of our son, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin http://www.change.org/petitions/prosecute-the-killer-of-our-son-17-year-old-trayvon-martin?share_id=zRMaJTMMzv&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter I'm signature 960,458. Let's make it a million."

This was my reply in the comments section of his blog that mentioned me:

"Hey Felix, thanks so much for mentioning me in your blog.

The reason that I tweeted Wednesday evening about your "core purpose" being '... to provide him (me) with financial news ...' was because the public description of your Twitter account is this:

'Felix Salmon is the finance blogger at Reuters.'

Your tweets about the Trayvon Martin shooting incident in Florida had absolutely nothing to do with the financial world in my opinion. As a journalist of some 30 years of experience, I DO find journalists who interject personal editorialization into their work as, yes ... annoying. ;)

I never tweeted that YOU were 'annoying', by the way, as your blog here hints at. :)

So thanks for the free publicity sir. This is a first in my brief Twitterverse career. I now consider myself a Twitter "professional" now that a Reuters reporter has taken the time and effort to present me to the world as someone who annoys him. :)

Sincerely,
Porter Versfelt III
Versfelt Communications Group
Atlanta, Georgia - USA"

Now, back to tweeting. Let's see who I can annoy next. ;)