It’s sad how this ending mirrors so many endings before it. The meteoric rise to fame. The quick fall from superstar to laughing stock to object of morbid curiosity. And then the death scene, complete with mysterious handlers, enablers, doctors and assorted hangers-on.
There was a long stretch of time, roughly corresponding to my college years (’82-’86), when Michael Jackson wasn’t just everywhere, he was Everywhere. It’s become cliche to say there will never be another moment like that again, but I really doubt there will ever be another performer who could stop the World quite like he did in those years.
I just read an interesting piece about how Twitter is being used by various folks in nearby Pleasantville, NY.
@Pleasantville has a following of 115 mostly local individuals and organizations. The next goal for the @Pleasantville project is to dramatically increase the number of businesses participating, giving local residents more incentive to sign up for Twitter. I’m shooting for 500 mostly local followers by the end of June, and my plan is to make regular posts to this blog to keep readers informed about our progress. The real goal, of course, is not about numbers of followers, but of bringing benefits to the local community.
Back home in Pound Ridge, I’m helping out a friend who’s running for local office and unlike my run two years ago, social media has grown to the point where we can realistically use tools like Twitter and Facebook to get our message out.
In searching around the neighborhood, I found a handful of Pound Ridge-related twitter accounts. Bonnie Brodnick, local author and journalist covering all things Northern Westchester is @bonni_brodnick. I’ve also discovered Bonnie is blogging. Who knew?
Pound Ridge’s controversial golf course has a Twitter account but nothing there about the pesticides found in neighbors’ drinking water. Just platitudes. What a wasted opportunity.
Finally there’s the Pound Ridge Nurseries’s twitter feed and blog. Both great resources from a great local institution that I’m glad to have found.
My statement to the Bedford Pound Ridge Record Review on Ari Fliescher being asked to speak at Pound Ridge’s Memorial Day ceremonies:
Memorial Day is as close as we come to having a sacred National holiday and it should be free from politics.
The problem I had with Ari Fleischer being invited was that he is and continues to be a political figure. He has been raising money for conservative causes and GOP candidates. He’s been mentioned as a candidate for the House (against John Hall) and the Senate (against Kirsten Gillibrand), and he appears on the cable news networks as a conservative / GOP strategist and commentator.
To be perfectly honest I’d have the same objection if John Hall or another Democratic politician were asked to speak. Memorial Day is about our heros and those who died in defense of our freedoms. It should be free from politics.
As far as the other stuff – Fleischer’s support of torture, the War, his involvement in the Valarie Plame affair, that’s something we can all agree to disagree on. And since I find all that objectionable, when he passed me in the parade I turned my back to him. But that has nothing to do with why he should or shouldn’t be invited.
Taken together, however, all of this put a lot of parents in a very uncomfortable position of having to send their children to march in a parade with someone who’s politics and positions they find objectionable. I think the Town Board should have taken all of this into account and instead have given the honors to someone who really deserved to be honored. I’m sure there are plenty of vets and heros in our Town who deserve the recognition.
A while back I wrote a post bemoaning the general state of bright-shiny-lust among certain tech bloggers. I’m not against technology moving forward, nor do I have any problem with The Next Big Thing(tm). I’m just wondering why we can’t be happy with what we already have. I mean if you told me five years ago that my phone would also have a camera, well you know….
Anil Dash has kicked off Earth Day with Last Year’s Model – a tribute to great technology that stands the test of time and for fighting the urge to run out and buy the newest toys. Let’s all save some Styrofoam peanuts and packing tape – not to mention some landfill space – and keep what we already have.
David Parmet is a New York based PR and social media marketing guru who helps businesses and agencies navigate the seas of social media.
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