Despite starting slow this week really picked up for the better and closed out July on a good note. Hopefully August starts out on the same foot.  This weekend also marks the first weekend that Mrs. Espo will not have any kind of law school to worry about. She wrapped up the bar and now just needs to wait for the results. So wherever you are this weekend throw up a toast for the wifey and enjoy this week’s edition of Five for Friday.

Ford’s Explorer Reveal – Unlike the other links that are in this post, this links to a Facebook page. Ford, who is always pushing the social media envelope, revealed the Explorer on Facebook.  The content trickled live onto the page throughout the day. This is pretty cool and came out cleaner than I originally thought it would when it was first reported a few weeks ago.  Seriously how awesome is Mike Rowe?

Can Internet Buzz Actually Hurt Sales? – The buzz around the Old Spice videos won’t die. This post doesn’t beat a dead horse but brings up a honest assessment of why the campaign is not transitioning to direct sales – You can’t polish a turd. Now that statement alone brings the article into the top 5 of the week. I liked the campaign, but I am already an Old Spice customer, as I like the smell.

The clash of the social media know-nothings – Now this article is has a lot of great points as to what we should look for in social media marketing as well as what we should avoid in the snake oil section, however that is not the beauty of the link. The comments are. I don’t think I have seen this many insightful nuggets on a topic in a while. Definitely peep it out.

Should Levi’s disclose sponsorship of viral video? – Scott Stratten makes a great point in this post on this viral video making its rounds across the Web. While the video is pretty cool, it seems disingenuous now as the video was sponsored by Levi’s. Now this was not disclosed in the video, but should have been. What do you think?

A new chapter in personal brands – This article from Jason Falls addresses the move of Frank Elliason from Comcast to Citi. Now while people moving jobs are nothing new, Frank was the face of Comcast. The humanization of this brand if you will, that will surely be missed. Unlike most people leaving a company, the general public liked Frank as he empathized with their problems and helped them get their issues resolved. This is something that companies will have to look at as the space continues to evolve.

Image – Nextup