There is no better time than right now to support your local community. The economy is down and frankly, so are a lot of our local businesses and members. What better way to raise your spirits than to help raise someone else’s spirits too! Although there are many ways to get involved, here are a few easy ways to make an impact in the city you call home.

Working in media planning and buying I was forced to realize something I had rejected my whole life - sports are important and valuable. While time-shifted viewing continues to rise, sports are viewed live 99% of the time. 

Apple’s new releases Tuesday just added to the running commentary in my head about how far technology will go to make us comfortable sharing even our most intimate information. At VI, it’s an important consideration, since we are a firm determined to test boundaries.

As social media evolves, brands are finding more and more ways to engage their followers. Online marketing today is about what happens after brands and their audiences connect. It’s all about including consumers in the process.

It’s been a big few months for both Flipboard and Pinterest. The personal magazine creator, Flipboard released it’s latest update allowing users to buy products via Flipboard, create their own magazines and “flip” content from commerce websites using the new bookmarklet feature. An announcement that they have gone live on Windows 8.1 quickly followed the update.

You’ve probably heard of Amazon Prime. It started in 2005 with an offer of $79 per year to receive 2-day shipping on all orders. Would customers be willing to pay the extra amount just to get 2-day shipping? Why would they pay extra when most consumers were hurting financially? How would Amazon not lose money by offering 2-day shipping on all purchases for only $79 a year?

When I was a kid, I always got my dad the perfect gift. Birthday, Father’s Day, Christmas, it didn’t matter. I know because he would say, without fail “Oh wow, it’s just what I wanted.”

Christmas is upon us, and tis the season when we all turn to our favorite brands. Forbes came out with it’s most valuable brands of 2013 list this week, and who’d have thought it, a brand guy like me using nearly every one of the Top 10 (actually top 11, to make my point more to the point).

Thanksgiving had a different feel this year. Not at my house so much, but in the market as a whole. It seems like the anticipation of evening pumpkin pie, the year’s first turkey sandwich, and the kids drawing names for Christmas gifts has suddenly been replaced. I sense that Americans are hurrying through their pre-meal prayer, skipping ‘thirds’ and leaving the dishes for a later time - all because the line at Costco is already around the block. Not for tomorrow morning’s door-busters, but for tonight’s family busters (aka 4 hour deals).

Tomorrow (Friday August 9) there will be a social media event in downtown Oklahoma City that is unlike any we’ve seen.

People in the media business know that research gathered from local stations, regardless of medium, are without a doubt skewed to show that particular station or group of stations in the best light possible.

We've had several conversations lately with organizations that want to change the way they sell their product. That's a great idea in theory as one can save buckets of money with an online model. The dilemma with these specific companies is that they want to change the way they sell,