Archive for December 23rd, 2008

NY Times 2008 Buzzwords FTW!

Word nerd? Design nerd? Font nerd? Whatever your nerdly predilection you are sure to enjoy The New York Times’ beautifully-illustrated piece on The Buzzwords of 2008.

The list is mostly political buzzwords though a few Web-centric ones made the cut (see Fail above). I was really hoping to see FTW on the list, but it was shut out. For old-timers like me FTW had a vastly different meaning than For the Win. I had to do some googling to figure out what the heck was going on. And I learned, thanks to netforbeginners, that I wasn’t the only one a bit confused by the new TLA (three letter acronym).

I also learned, from my boss, that FTW is a Hollywood Squares reference (e.g. “I’ll take Whoppi for the win.”) and has nothing to do with hockey like I thought.

So, I am taking FTW as my favorite buzzword(s) for 2008. What was yours?

Harvard’s Good Business offers advice for struggling non-profits

Harvard’s Good Business blog has a piece today about Non-profits facing hard decisions. Last week we talked about how Minnesota non-profits are struggling, so it should come as no surprise that non-profits around the country are dealing with the same problems — increased demand, decreased donations. Nan Stone, the author of the blog post offers up some advice to non-profit leaders.

Hard times force hard choices – for nonprofit leaders and for those who support them. The best advice I’ve heard about how to make those choices is fundamentally the same on both sides of the philanthropic equation: Be clear about what matters most, and focus your resources there. For nonprofits, this means protecting your core programs and staff – the ones that have the greatest impact on the people and causes you serve – and cutting back, or discontinuing altogether, other less, essential activities. . .

Here’s my advice for MN non-profits. Sign up for the Sierra Bravo’s Overnight Website Challenge. Not only do you get a chance to get a free Web site built by the best Web nerds in the area, you also get a chance to talk about your cause.

What are you waiting for? sign up today, the deadline (January 9th) is coming soon.

Reindeer Rodeo — Thrown back like a beer at a ballgame

Yesterday I showed you some fun ad agency holiday cards, but I saved the best for today. This is reindeer rodeo from Bernstein-Rein. It’s a lot of fun, even though I can’t seem to get past Randolph. Darn you Randolph! Give it a try. I bet Randolph gets the best of you too.