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Thanksgiving is a time where we all take a step back and give thanks for things that we may have taken for granted. One thing that I am thankful that I know you are thankful for is this glorious mustache that I have been growing for Movember.

While it is easy to note the awesome comedy that the ‘stache offers to you, one thing you probably don’t know is that it is fighting cancer. So donating a few dollars or cents will help you not only get a belly chuckle, but also raise funds for research for testicular and prostate cancers.

So when you are giving thanks on Thursday afternoon, please consider visiting http://mobro.co/jeffespo to make a tax-deductible donation.

Thanks in advance for the support.

What ones were your favorite?

Image - MAA.org

Glad this odd week has come to a close. Very uneventful and a times days seemed as if they were standing still. The only thing I really have to say is that the SM contest that I am running at Vistaprint will be ending next week and someone will be taking home a MacBook Pro, not the iTampon, but still pretty cool. If you haven’t entered check it out here, otherwise enjoy this week’s Five for Friday. Oh and if you missed the big news over at the PR Breakfast Club, I have officially joined the club.

The Myth of Control in New Media – This is a great piece from Brian Solis that shows some disturbing stats when it comes to companies responding to negative feedback on blogs and on social media sites. This is something that needs to be addressed as we’re moving closer and closer to having 100 percent social customers looking for transparency and help on their terms.

Why Your 4,243,564 Twitter Followers Don’t Mean Jack – Finally an article that pokes fun at the inflated follower count accounts on Twitter. Hopefully the coming months will lead away from folks focusing on the arbitrary follower counts and look at what is really important in social media – the conversations.

Help Yourself to Help Your Clients – Great post from Danny Brown on Wednesday that really puts embracing change into a new light. Sure it opens with a summary of a great scene in a movie, but the message to hammer home is helping each other to become better. Bonus – Read DB’s article on how Audi made the PR blunder of the young year. (Spoiler it includes Nazis)

18 People you are Scared of on Facebook – The title says it all. It’s a funny view that I am sure you’ll get a kick out of and be able to identify someone on your list.

How Ford got social marketing right – I don’t know if you can tell or not, but I am a fan of the Ford Motor Company and their work in social media. Working for a company finding its way in the space, there is no better company to look at than Ford – great story all around and worth attempting emulation for anyone in the field.

Bonus Video – Inside Jet Blue’s Two-pronged Twitter (click here if you can’t view)

Today’s cartoon of the day comes from @gariphic via @kottavio and this Tweet.

Why PR Should Run Your Company’s SM Efforts

Content is King ­– While this header is cliché, it is also something that flacks, by nature, do well: produce content. If you don’t believe me, think about it for a second. Who writes press releases and their quotes? Briefs executives for interviews? Script the external communications? You do. So why should you leave writing a real-time, let’s-hope-we-don’t-blow-it outlet directly to your customers to anyone else?

Click Here to read the full piece.

Image: Meredith.com

I love short weeks, especially ones where there is a hockey game leading into the Friday off-day. Only problem with this short week is that a major real-world event is now less than a month away. While this post is being auto-posted and Tweeted, I will be sitting in the bowels of the building dubbed the ugliest in the world – Boston’s Government Center filing an application for my marriage license. Hopefully the process is not as bad as the one to get a drivers’ license. Hopefully your day is as fun filled and you can find enjoyment in this week’s Five for Friday.

Nine social media Halloween costume ideas – Let’s face it Halloween is tomorrow and chances are you have a costume laid out for your night of tricks and treats. However, if you are slow to the punch or just a procrastinator, here are some great costume ideas that came way via @jessisjuicy.

The most important blog post you’ll ever read – The title sums it up. While we’d all love to hold the title of owning said post, it doesn’t reflect the post but rather the way of thinking. Thanks to the guys over at New Marketing Labs for passing this along.

Seven patty Whopper challenge – I am all for buzz-based marketing – but something that can kill you for just eating – no thanks. I love burgers as much as the next man, but seven patties is a whole lot of meat. This will go down as a Burger King and Microsoft fail.

Twitter cluelessness – Great post over on the Open Network from Guy Kawasaki. While the post is geared towards the small business owner, it can also be applied to many folks just jumping on board the Twitterwagon. Note to those on the high horse – you aren’t a guru, expert or swami – get over yourself.

Two more reasons companies need to pay attention to social media – A lot is being written and discussed on disclosure and the importance of social media. This post points out two great notions and is worth giving a read.

This week’s #followfriday is sponsored by the letter B

Here’s a Trick or Treat video to take you into the weekend.

Instead of snickering, think of ways to measure success. It can be anything, from retweets and blog comments. There was an interesting post up on the PR Breakfast Club the other day on this very topic. While the end result of measuring the success lies company to company, here is a presentation that can help you lay out the groundwork.

You may also want to check out the SIM method suggested by Razorfish. How do you track the metrics?

The result of this team-up is a two-day telethon to benefit the Jimmy Fund, a charity founded in 1948 supporting the fight against cancer in children and adults. While the simple mention of the word telethon conjures up memories of late night reruns and cheesey old men in corduroy suits, this one is for a charity that actually gets it. You’d think that with their partnership with these media giants and the Sox, they would be focused on big donors to hit their $5 million goal (2009 goal)  – and be dead wrong. Earlier in the year, I wrote about a letter that I received from the Jimmy Fund, a hand written on none the less, thanking me for my annual contribution. That is a little personal touch that had me eager to resign my pledge for 2009-10, because they made the personal connection.

Cancer is something that none of us ever want to be diagnosed with. However hearing the kids’ stories pull (here, here & here) at the heart strings a little more. Every dollar counts and it goes a long way to finding a cure and making these kids lives a little less tough. All donations are tax deductible, wouldn’t it be nice to help raise $5 million for cancer research despite this down economy?

CLICK HERE to make a donation.

So while the studio is still a ways away, I can look back on some of the better movies that have been filmed in the Bay State recently and find it odd that two of the more recent movies starred a native of Long Island, New York. I am not talking about Scorsese or DeNiro, but rather the tons of fun star of King of Queens – Kevin James.

Earlier this year, James’ flick Paul Blart Mall Cop was actually filmed in the Burlington Mall during the late summer. It was kind of weird seeing the Santa setup during the middle of the summer. Earlier today, I saw this article on the Globe’s Web site noting that James is taking over a zoo not too far from here:

Making the trek from Birds’ World to Serengeti Crossing recently became a little more arduous at the Franklin Park Zoo.

Instead of a direct path, visitors must now make their way around a massive movie set — a fake zoo within a real zoo — in one of the main walkways through the exhibits.

There, on a portion of the unused outdoor gorilla exhibit near the zoo’s rear entrance, crews have been laying the groundwork to begin filming the MGM comedy “The Zookeeper,” starring Kevin James.

The set is forcing patrons in the back of the zoo to make their way to the other exhibits by walking through the tropical forest, which features Little Joe and the other gorillas, or on another side trail.

I wonder if the animals are allergic to Twinkies…Nothing funnier than a fat man chasing wild animals.