The first rule of politics

The National Enquirer. A staple of the grocery store checkout isle, the tabloid is not exactly defined by its tact. Case in point...

"Even her ankles are fat!" Delightful. Being that Rachael Ray and Oprah haven't engaged in a public smackdown, and no crazy drug videos of everyone's favorite ambassador to the world have emerged, it was probably a safe bet to say that this 2007 headline was also wildly inaccurate:

Whoops. Now that news of the John Edwards affair/possible love child scandal is unavoidable, the former presidential candidate is not the only one taking flack (see recent Gawker headline: "Next for Edwards: Hell"). Traditional media is being widely criticized for ignoring scoops circulating throughout the blogosphere and a, uh, seemingly less credible print source. And all around it has become a hot, hot mess. Major publications have all expressed varying degrees of remorse for not jumping on the story. Says the Wall Street Journal: "(The mainstream media) ignored the story at their peril, forgetting that amid the unflattering celebrity photos and overblown headlines, the Enquirer, a supermarket tabloid has a track record of scoops, including some about politics. And this time it found an unlikely ally: a group of Internet voices driven less by political ideology than by a view of the mainstream press as out of touch."

Some blogs are being scrutinized as well - among them the notoriously liberal site Daily Kos. Recently, blogger Lee Stranahan expressed his outrage over being banned from Daily Kos after writing a post calling attention to the affair. In addition to arguments related to free speech, the site evidently has quite the history of posting salacious and questionable news about conservative politicians, including this piece suggesting that President Bush had an alcohol relapse coinciding with Hurricane Katrina.

The Internet has been the Achilles heel for philandering politicians since the Drudge Report broke Monica-gate during the Clinton administration. This latest example is a real shame, particularly considering Elizabeth Edwards' health battle in recent years. I liked John Edwards at the start of this presidential race but, like many people, couldn't help but see voting for the good looking white guy as a cop out of sorts. This is undoubtedly a PR nightmare for him, but our society tends to forgive in time and we love a comeback. Indeed, even a D.C. mayor can get re-elected after being videotaped smoking crack with a prostitute, as in the bizarre case of Marion Barry (below).

Mr. Edwards was wise to finally come clean about his indiscretions. His political future may be in question (can you imagine if he had won the nomination??), but for now he should lay low and plot out the next steps to get his life back on track.

I'm not ashamed to admit that one of my favorite movies is "The Girl Next Door." For my money, it's the most heartwarming addition to the teen sex comedy genre. In one scene, a sleazy supporting character tells our protagonist, a JFK-idolizing high school senior headed for Georgetown, the first rule of politics: "Always know if the juice is worth the squeeze." Not bad. However, today I might go with: Don't cheat on your wife. And whatever you do, don't get caught in the unforgiving clutches of the world wide web.

Deal or No Deal?

Car dealers don't always get the best rep. I'd be willing to bet that when many people think of dealers, they think of, well...

And while "No Credit, No Problem!" may be blissful music to your ears, I'm pleased to report that there is more out there. Earlier this month, I had the chance to tour the new LaFontaine dealership in Highland Township, MI (Buick, Cadillac, Pontiac, GMC). The LaFontaine Automotive Group is a family company with dealerships throughout Michigan.

So, what's the big deal about this new addition? For starters, over $2 million in green initiatives were invested into the facility - including progressive approaches to lighting, heating and water usage. Furthermore, to be frank, the facility is pretty pimped out. Well, if you consider a gift shop boutique, cafe and full-service salon to fall into that category. Maybe "nontraditional" is the better word here.

I spoke to the General Manager, Ryan LaFontaine, for a recent podcast. Check it out to hear the specifics of how this new breed of dealership operates. It is by no means a commercial, so don't expect to hear about their $9.95 oil changes... which do in fact exist. Also, I'd wager to say I'm a bit less awkward than my first go around and that has to count for something!

Here you have it folks: http://tinyurl.com/5gp6f7

I'd love to hear your comments about whether or not a dealership's environmental practices would play a role in your decision to buy from them.

I'd also like to know if you find my voice to be as soothing as Delilah (who has also recorded in the OnStar studio, in addition to John Tesh, Dennis Miller, Dr. Laura and Sean Hannity - woah)... but that's neither here nor there.

I know my calculus. It says 2010 Camaro = woah.

After checking out the "Transformers" movie last summer, I was struck with a few distinct thoughts.

A) Megan Fox is a stone cold fox and doesn't care who knows it.


B) The family minivan may indeed be an intergalactic robot.


... and C) The movie's cars were (to quote Derek Zoolander) really, really, ridiculously good looking.

The car that stood out most to me, both aestetically and for its role as a lovable crime fighter, was Bumblebee - the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro featured above. When I finally encountered the vehicle face to face, it was not fighting off the advances of evil Decepticons, but rather an onslaught of eager journalists, bloggers and car fanatics. Don't judge my rhetoric.

Yes friends, I was given the chance to attend the unveiling of the 2010 Camaro earlier this week. I'm typically a fan of retro anything and thus the new Camaro hits the spot - bringing the original car's combo of sporty and sleek into 2008. Well, actually, 2010. Wow... I'll be a college graduate by then. Which means I will absolutely not be able to afford it, unless I fulfill my longtime goal of winning big on reality TV (if only I were joking).

Regardless... something to aspire to, right?



Ed Welburn, Vice President of Global Product Development, at the unveiling.


http://www.chevrolet.com/camaro/

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Remember that time I got pseudo-freaked out by the increasing tween presence on social networks? If you don't, check out my first entry from June. Well, turns out it's a moot point.

I believe it was the late great R&B singer Aaliyah who said it best: Age ain't nothing but a number. To illustrate this point, I invite you to meet Daniel Brusilovsky. At the ripe age of 15, he has founded a company called Teens in Tech and serves as a youth evangelist across the social media spectrum. Woah.

** Conversely, when I was 15 I spent my time dreaming of the day when I could drive the majestic family minivan, Big Blue, and wondering what that cranky Brit Simon Cowell would say next. He says the darndest things.

<-- He's kind of a big deal.

I've spent a summer living amongst the Ivy League set and I'm very familiar with the "startup speak" a young entrepreneur should exhibit. So very, very familiar. This guy has got it down pat. But, as we know, talk is cheap without action. Something tells me young innovators like Daniel may just have a movement on their hands.

Rothbury Recap

I love concerts. I know that is a generic statement, but I make it a priority to attend a few quality shows per year. This past semester, I drowned out the desperate pleas of my bank account and traveled to three of them. There was Kanye West's "Glow in the Dark" tour, Jimmy Buffett (which coincided seamlessly with my 21st birthday), and the country stylings of Keith Urban and my girlfriend. While all of the shows definitely hit the spot, they were pretty much what one would expect. After learning I had the opportunity to attend the Rothbury Music Festival over the holiday weekend, I had a sense that it would be different from any concert I had ever experienced. I was right.

The first annual festival was founded on ideals of the green movement, encouraging sustainability alongside musical expression. The festival's location tied in well with the message - over 200 acres on Rothbury, Michigan's Double JJ Ranch are a far cry from the cola-sponsored stadiums I've become accustomed to. After driving through a field to check in, me and my friend Greg, a graphic design intern at GM, were able to park and gaze out at the sea of camp sites surrounding us.

Whenever I watch retrospective looks at the music of the sixties, I wonder if I would have been a hippie or a total square had I grown up in that era. While I can't say that for sure, the counterculture movement seemed alive and well in Michigan this weekend. Nearly everyone I encountered seemed unique in their own way, yet they were all united for a common reason. Which, of course, leads me to the music.

I caught three different acts over the weekend. The first was Snoop Dog, which was undoubtedly a highlight. Anyone who follows music/pop culture knows that Snoop is a larger than life figure. You might think his persona is just for TV and that he can't really be that outrageous. But indeed my friends, he is. And a heck of a performer. 311 took the stage next and put on a very energetic set. Having only been casually familiar with their music, it was a pleasure to see what all the fuss was about - although I did keep getting distracted flashing back to a Travel Channel special I saw about singer Nick Hexum's private island in the Florida Keys. Jealous, jealous, jealous.

We also caught the Dave Matthews Band on Saturday night. DMB concerts were a staple in high school, yet I had always been exiled to the far corner of a lawn with what seemed to be miles of fanatics between me and the man himself. At Rothbury, this was quite the opposite - I was right up in the center of the action. The band's sprawling three hour set thrilled the crowd and inspired me to call more than a few of my concert buddies of yesteryear during their favorite songs.

Earlier in the day on Saturday, Greg and I had the chance to join the GMnext crew behind the scenes. It was there that we got to meet Kyle Gass from Tenacious D, aka the self-proclaimed greatest band in history. Kyle is traveling with GMnext on their Plug In tour, making stops at the biggest global rock festivals of the summer. Kyle was friendly enough to chat with us lowly interns for quite a bit. He touched on topics ranging from his music, to meeting The Who's Roger Daltrey, to his role in the summer movie "Kung Fu Panda." After talking with Kyle, we were invited on board the GMnext tour bus. As evidenced by the pictures below... not too shabby!

Overall, Rothbury was an excellent way for some 40,000 attendees to ring in the Fourth of July. After some aggressive napping/showering, I feel fully recovered from a long weekend outdoors! So, will they do it again? Much like a sequel to a Hollywood blockbuster, it appears Rothbury 2009 has already been given the green light. Calling all Midwestern music junkies to mark your calendars...

FYI

Recorded my first podcast last week, on the topic of "Everyday Green Tips." Ch-ch-check it out:

http://fyi.gmblogs.com/podcasts/

Quickipedia

The world lost a luminary of television, journalism and politics earlier this month with the death of "Meet the Press" anchor Tim Russert. I first heard of Russert's passing at around 5:00 pm on June 13, as whispers spread throughout my floor at work. I assumed this was news that was just breaking, however I later learned that word first got out nearly two hours earlier.

Consider the timeframe here. Russert arrived at a Washington DC hospital at 2:23. His Wikipedia page was updated with his death at 3:01. Wow.

That seems like an incredibly short period to me, especially since NBC was making efforts to hold off on an announcement until Russert's family (abroad in Italy) could be notified. In this case, buzzings throughout the social media realm predated Russert's own network. Despite an outpouring of Twitter users discussing the matter early on, CNN's official presence on Twitter held off on its announcement until the day after Russert died.

The rapid speed at which the online community took command of this story was reminiscent of actor Heath Ledger's passing earlier this year. Everyone's favorite satirical news site, The Onion, actually wrote an article lampooning this. In 2007, the speedy dissemination of information on Wikipedia took a decidedly creepy turn when the wife of ill-fated WWE wrestler Chris Benoit was reported dead on the site hours before her body was found. Understandably, the mysterious page update became a major source of controversy - more details about which can be found here.

It goes without saying that the world of social media is reliant on speed. In an era where you can first read breaking news on Twitter, you may also find yourself discovering your friend has become engaged amongst the clutter of your Facebook newsfeed.

Is all of this impersonal? Sure. Maybe even a bit weird? You could argue that. But, as a wise friend of mine will often tell me, it is what it is. Amen.

An OnStar for every season

My first experience with OnStar was earlier this year. I was traveling through a remote part of Michigan with my roommates from school, en route to my friend Jim's family cabin on the lake. Evening was swiftly approaching. The only open shops in sight were a few elk jerky outlets, which we neglected to visit. Only two miles from the cabin, Jim made an awkward and decidedly unnecessary manuever. He drove us off the road into a snowbank. And despite our best laid efforts, we weren't going anywhere.

Happy camper -->

After coming to terms with the failure of our He-man strength, Jim consulted the OnStar button located within his father's Saturn Outlook. We were assured that help would come, but to be patient because of our off the beaten path location. With the promise of rescue, we huddled in the car and listened to the musical stylings of our beloved Carrie Underwood to pass the time. I wish I could say I was kidding, but alas I cannot.

The wait was without incident, with the exception of a creepy truck driver who stopped by our predicament at first to offer help and then to ask menacingly, "Y'all boys been drinkin?" Rest assured, partying was the last thing on our minds. Soon after when our help arrived, it was truly a beautiful sight to behold.



^ The Saturn is removed from the dark clutches of the snowbank. Why we photographed all of this, I know not.

Flash forward to summer: OnStar and I reunited earlier this week, thankfully without vehicular distress in the picture. This time, I had the opportunity to tour their command center. I was blown away by all the technology in my midst - from the giant maps that display all incoming calls throughout the country, to on-site simulation stations.



OnStar is not your mother's operator service (am I too young to use that phrase??). The center takes into consideration a variety of potential crises that could unfold, and even have an aptly-titled "situation room" to best tackle whatever, er, situations may arise. When I was there I also learned about their Stolen Vehicle Slowdown program. This initiative uses technology to literally take the speed out of vehicles that are reported stolen, making it easier for police to apprehend thieves. I see it as OnStar's way to take a bite out of crime as it were.

Whether helping foolish college students make their way out of a compromising situation, cramping the style of carjackers nationwide, or lending a hand when things take a turn for the worse on the road, I think OnStar is both a cool and progressive service and I'm glad I got to check it out first hand.

A glimpse at the future

I'm not a particularly artsy individual by any stretch. However, this has not deterred my mother from positioning humiliating childhood artwork throughout our home. Exhibit A (below): My third grade portrait of a Navajo chief that inexplicably appears to have just emerged from a cage fighting match.

<--- Why?!

Despite my shortcomings in this area, earlier this week I had the opportunity to be further humbled while watching the GM design interns at work. Each intern specializes in a specific area of design - sketching, sculpting, color, engineering, animation, etc. They are working in teams to conceptualize car models for 2020 and it is quite an operation. Participants not only hail from the US, but from India, Mexico, Russia and China as well. The communications interns are going to be working on a project for these folks, and I think they have an exciting story to tell.

I can't forget the design center itself! On the surface, the GM Technical Center in Warren, MI has the look of a college campus. However, inside is another story completely. (Disclaimer: if your college/university features top-secret cars of the future and has a strict no camera phone policy, then this blogger apologizes for misspeaking).



While I wasn't walking into an episode of "The Jetsons," the vehicles on tap for the future were profoundly cool and I got a real sense for this aspect of the automotive process. One interesting part of my tour was learning how car models are created. Did anyone know that they make life size models out of foam??? Buellar? The best part is, you would never know it based on look or feel.

It goes without saying, but the moral of the story is that if you get a chance to gain a behind the scenes peek at a center like this - GO!!! If not, you may want to brush up on those art and design skills. Who knows - maybe one day you can take a role in crafting the future Volts of the world.

As evident by my work displayed at the beginning of the post... I'm available for lessons.

Whose car is it anyway?

Yesterday, a fellow GM intern shared with me an insight from one of her college friends: "I hate the big three, so I bought a Hummer." Touche.

However, there is one glaring error in this sock-it-to-the-man stance against the likes of GM, Ford and Daimler Chrysler - Hummer is a GM product.

(http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/news.php?viewStory=60627)

It is interesting how many consumers are not able to associate GM and its eight brands as related entities. I wonder if this is a Gen-Y thing. From what I gather, in past generations there was a stronger sense of familiarity with / loyalty to American automakers.

Because I have trouble pondering without action, I sent the following text message to six of my lazy, praise-seeking peers:

"This is random, but I have two questions. A) Name two General Motors vehicle brands if you can (no looking!) and B) What kid of car do you drive? I apologize for sending out awkward text messages."

The responses...

1) Female/Jeep:

"Not a clue."

2) Male/VW:

"Oldsmobile? Not sure..." (Well, up until 2004)

3) Female/Honda Civic:

"Chevy and GMC." <--- Ding! Ding! Ding!

4) Male/Honda CRV (with a sad face in reference to said vehicle):

"GM and Ford." In response to this , I will also include a sad face...

5) Male/Also a Honda CRV:

"Dodge... Chevrolet?"

6) Male/"Used to drive grandparents old Honda Civic but that died last week"
"Chevy, Pontiac, GMC, Dodge." (3/4 ain't bad... my condolences about the car)

As my elaborate study reveals, four out of six of my "subjects" were at least vaguely informed. And even if they weren't, as long as vehicles are being sold and properly promoted... is it really a bad thing that GM as a corporation sometimes takes more of a backseat in the public eye? Any thoughts on this?

How to suceed in Twitter without really trying

Deceptively simple, the micro-blogging site Twitter asks only one question of its users: What are you doing? The response to this question, known as a "tweet," is then sent out to your network of followers and everyone is up to date on each other's activities. However, you didn't come here for a tutorial (which coincidentally can be found here).

I suppose I expected Twitter to be more complicated. Yet, like so much of today's social media, it is grounded in a profoundly simple concept. The basic notion of keeping your friends aware of what you're up to is similarly illustrated in other social media (see: Facebook below).

So, who's using it? Apart from the obligatory social media buffs and perhaps the overly narcissistic, Twitter is being used across the board. This includes corporations and even politicians. Today, during my internship at General Motors, I was able to discuss topics ranging from ethanol to safety measures with users by tweeting back and forth.

It seems Twitter has even come into play under particularly dire circumstances. This article explores how it was used in the midst of the recent earthquakes in China - besting even the speediest media outlets in on-the-scene reporting. In this video, a security consultant advises using Twitter to alert your family members in the event of a disaster.

Ultimately, it's unclear if Twitter will ever be commonly used as an alert device in the face of burglars, forces of nature, etc. However, one thing seems more likely. It's going to be around until the fat lady tweets.

IDK, my bff Facebook

The day has come. My 14-year-old cousin is a registered Facebook user.













<--- My dismay



It seems Myspace's reign as the exclusive online tween haven is over. To think, college upperclassmen like myself can remember a day where one dared not pass go and collect $200 at the Facebook gates under the ripe age of 18.

And while I'd rather young Laura spend her days contemplating what hijinks the "High School Musical" cast is up to - can you really blame her? As social media continues its rapid expansion to all corners of the web, it is only natural that an expanding user base will follow.

College kids can be protective over Facebook. What was once ours is now, well, everyone's. By the time one is done de-tagging a mortifying spring break photo so their boss doesn't see it, they very well could have a request to join the Facebook "Oregon Trail" wagon of a good friend's mom (yes, I received said request).

Sure, Facebook is a generic place to start looking at all of this. After all, it's everywhere - 19,589 articles on Google News have contained a reference to the medium in the past 24 hours. But the Book is far from alone - having joined seven additional social media outlets in the past week, I still feel as though I've only scraped the surface of what's out there.

This summer I am taking on the role of a social media intern for a major corporation. In this blog, I will share my observations and findings - the innovative, the interesting, the weird, the wacky, the useful and the useless.

These are the impressions of an ordinairy young man descending into social media nerddom. Annnnd we're off.