I'm torn. One side of me really understands why disenfranchised Americans coalesced under the banner of the Occupy movement. I’m proud of them for asking questions and exploiting the media to take advantage of the platform. I really am. The other shoe drops for me when I see nothing but the loudest, least eloquent protesters at center stage. Not to mention that the "movement" appears to be intolerant of discussion or even agreeing on its key desires. Where's the puritanical manifesto? - This intolerance of so many issues creates confusion, and doesn’t do the Occupy movement any favors.

If I was in a cartoon right now, steam would be hissing out of my ears while they blast like the “quitting time” whistle at a quarry. Because before sitting down to write this, I had a heated discussion with a colleague about how a client "envisions" handling website transactions.

Take a look at a recent webinar I just did with Starmark. One of the many responsibilities that I have with our agency is that of (hopefully) a thought leader. Additionally we aggressively write what we call "eTIPS" every week and I highly recommend that you subscribe to them. While these tips are directed at digital marketing professionals, I think most business owners will get something from the intelligence. We give a ton a great content away. That being said, enjoy the presentation:

Billions of years ago, when the earth was cooling and a few tiny amoebae started their sexy little single-cell dance in a pool of water, Carnegie Mellon University Professor Jesse Schell talked about the future beyond Facebook games. Well, at least two years in Web time seems that long on the evolutionary timeline. Professor Schell is the creative mastermind behind Schell Games, and the guy is an absolute monster when he shares his thoughts on the future of gaming.

There's a simple truth in this concept, it is in this moment where we (as creatives) need to look again at the tools we have at our disposal. We get all very excited about 'kicking the tires' on new technologies. I know I do as I'm as #FOMO as they come. But the truth is that we have yet begun the process of exploiting the potential uses of what we have as this video makes clear.

There are a slew of things to take into account when adding or creating a game-like environment for your site or its content. I'm going to assume that I don't need to tell you that, before any of you determine your goals, you should do a deep competitive analysis and determine the mindset of your demographic prior to spending any real money in this direction. This topic is a bit more than 101 when it comes to the new-world marketer, as it's making rapid changes and not a lot of it has been truly tested...

Much like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in psychology, there are various levels in social media that are becoming galvanized within the discipline. Therefore, we’ve outlined each, starting from the bottom and working our way to the top. While this document is a generalization, we know that each client has specific needs and we can work with you to create customized solutions to meet them.

Do you want to be one of the “social glitterati?” Do you want the admiration and respect of the impressionable masses that follow your every post, Tweet, update and check-in? Then pay close attention to this list of social media mistakes you should avoid:

I go ballistic every time I read another blog post from someone who provides this frothy bit of advice: "Have a crisis-management plan in place." Gee thanks. That's it? How about a little help with the plan, pal. Otherwise it's like giving someone a smoke detector, but not telling them they need to take it out of the box, install a battery and mount it in the hallway. You've given them a great tool but they're still going to burn.

In my experience with both agency and client I've often heard "well we have a small budget so we can only do this..." Wait, what? Is this a creative meeting or is this a funeral? First, let me tell you what sad little emotional creatures we overly sensitive creative types are. We're a ball of fire that you walked in and pissed on before you told us hello...

There's no chronological order to the countless mistakes that I've made over the last twenty years, nor I'm sure the same will be said for the next twenty years. Many of you will look at this list and laugh and think "what a fool." Others of you know that this industry, having been building site since 1994, had no rules, no manuals, no "best practice," just a lot of us 'winging it' and hoping we would make something great.

Subject: "Budget Crisis" Dear Mrs. Adams, I know that this may fall on deaf ears but in all my political ignorance I've only recently come to understand the breadth of the budget crisis through educated conversations with my spouse. I'm not sure what is being done, but I wanted to express my fear to someone with the power to change.

Fall (October) rollout Rumors & Discussion websites: http://iphone5world.net/ http://iphone5release.org/ http://www.iphone5specs.org/

There are some critical decisions that needs to be made that can effectively make or break a rogue campaign before it even starts. Are you going to be transparent to your user that you're advertising, or not? They both have there pros and cons that break down very simply.

Here's an interesting article debating the likes of #EA and others regarding digital influence: http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/social-media-a-bad-measure-influence/227557/ - while well rounded, I must say to think that #SoMe is the (by no means) not the only measurement. Most current metrics are flawed to begin with as there's no defined standards and regulatory compliance. I practice #SoMe and don't hold nearly the stock in klout and other services as this article seems to portray. What are your thoughts?

Need some juice for that client that isn't certain that social media is for them? This deck is great resource for you. I've taken the time to vet out what I see as key points for me as a marketer and as an entrepreneur. I hope this gives you some great metrics: