Mike Mooney
Reputation Management in the Technology (BLOG) World
By George MacBain
 
We had the pleasure today of hearing from Mike Mooney of the business Millsport, a sports marketing business based in Concord, NC. Mike is an Account Director and has had an impressive career with household notables, IBM, Motorola and others before joining Millsport. His topic today about managing ones reputation highlighted the expanding world of internet blogs.
 
For those of us members of the "over 50 club", I went to my Wikipedia on the web and found a quick definition: A blog (short for web log) is a website where entries are written in chronological order and displayed in reverse chronological order. Blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art, photographs, sketchblog, videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), or audio (podcasting), and are all part of a wider network of social media.
 
Mike explained that the blog is fast approaching as the lead means of social networking, educating ones self about "what's going on" in areas of interest to you. There are today 20,000,000 internet blogs with 70,000 new ones created each day. Over 30% of internet users are using blogs, 77% see blogs as useful and 33% use blogs for obtaining breaking news. The traditional ways of assembling, creating and distributing information through newspapers, television news and 24/7 news programs are experiencing a power shift to blogs. Mike recited one survey results show 72% polled feel the press is slanted giving the public more incentive to go to blogs for their info. Now before you cancel your Observer subscription, bloggers are not held to the same journalistic standards as we are accustomed. They use rifle-like focus, do very limited reporting and are more focused on commentary/opinions versus the truth! Due to blogs growing acceptance as a medium for information, they are being treated more like mainstream media and are influencing corporate and political behavior.
 
Mike also reinforced that our reputation is our most important asset. Quoting Warren Buffet, "what could have taken 20 years to build could be gone in 3 minutes". We all need to go on line to see what is being said about us because some blog out there has us mentioned. He encouraged us to do a reputation audit through focus groups, surveys and employee conversations. We are all brands both personally and professionally and need to proactively manage what we have built over the years. This was a very eye opening topic with interesting statistics we all should be aware.

Head Table: Cindy Wolfe, Chuck Lew, Luther Moore, Ron Mikels, Bill Nichols, Sammy Black;
Invocation: George Thompson
Visitors & Guests: John Nicolay; Health & Happiness: Tom Hutchins; Song: Meg McElwain and Gregg Walker

• Cecily Durrett introduced Gene Clark as the club's newest member on Tuesday. Gene is Dean and Professor of Law at Charlotte School of Law. Dean can be contacted at eclark@charlottelaw.org.
    
• Frank Timberlake aced the 150-yard Number 5 at Myers Park Country Club with a 4-wood. This is the 90-year-old Timberlake's first hole-in-one; Anthony Foxx is named in the Charlotte Business Journal's 40 under 40 section; Chambers USA has ranked the firm of Van Hoy Reutlinger Adams & Dunn 2nd in Labor & Employment-NC, and Phil Van Hoy is ranked 1st in individual rankings.
     
• Congratulations to Shannon Vaughn and Trip Young who were married on June 2.
 
• The club's International efforts of the past, present, and future came together on Tuesday when last year's exchange student, Paz, returned for a three week visit to the US; Suji bid farewell as she wraps up her time as an exchange student and returns to her native South Korea this week; and Ambassadorial Scholar Deborah Hirsch sets off on a six-month adventure in Mexico.
 
• Program/speaker suggestions for the upcoming year may be directed to Chuck Lew at chlew@colemanlew.com.
 
• CPCC Summer Theatre is in their 34th season and will kick off its second summer at the new Halton Theater with South Pacific. Call the box office at 704-330-6534 or visit arts.cpcc.edu.
 
• HOST FAMILIES ARE NEEDED to cover December 1-March 1 and March 1-June 1 for incoming exchange student Isabel Masa Tejeda. 16-year-old Isa will be attending Charlotte Country Day, and for transportation logistics, a south Charlotte family would be ideal. Contact Ed Wadsworth (ed@wadsworthgroup.net) or Lamar Thomas (lthomas@washcycle.com) for additional information.

Rotarians of District 7680 are starting to work on the GSE program in exchange with District 3520 in Taiwan. District 7680 will host the Taiwan team March 15-April 15, 2008 and the District's team will travel to Taiwan April 10 to May 10, 2008. Team members are to be between the ages of 25 and 40, be currently employed for at least two years in any recognized business on a full-time basis, work or live in the sending district, and be a citizen of the country in which they reside. Below is a brief update on the exchange and Taipei City.
 
The district was established on July 1, 1998. There are 3,300 Rotarians in the district from 82 clubs with average age of 45. Their vocations are widely diversified across the industries and also include medical doctors, lawyers, architects and certified public accounts. They are not only successful leaders in various fields, but also dedicated and committed to the social services.
 
As the capital of the Republic of China, Taipei is a vibrant blend of traditional culture and cosmopolitan life. Taipei is the political, economic, educational and recreational center of the country, offering an array of significant cultural sights. It has two and half million of population and two hundred seventy sq. km. of area.
 
The city is situated in a basin in northern Taiwan that was inhabited by aboriginal peoples until settlers from China moved into the area about 300 years ago. The first permanent settlements were in the present-day districts of Wanhua and Datong, in western Taipei. These areas still retain many of their old customs, as visitors can readily see in the architecture, sculptures, and ceremonies of the old streets and temples.
 
A more recent cultural focal point in the city is the National Palace Museum, which houses hundreds of thousands of Chinese antiques and art works. The museum is located in the north of the city and is a must-see for lovers of ancient Chinese culture.
 
Eastern Taipei is where the modern face of Taipei shines through, with its glass and steel skyscrapers, wide boulevards, the World Trade Center as well as the world's tallest building, the Taipei 101 skyscraper.
Taipei also boasts dozens of world-class performance venues, where you can enjoy world-class theater and concert events. The city also offers a wide range of other diversions -- shopping malls, nightclubs, live-music bars, quality hotels, and exotic restaurants.
 
With the wealth of interesting and fun activities available in Taipei, and its warm hospitality, visitors are certain to have an unforgettable experience in this remarkable city.