Constructive criticism sounds to many people like something you are meant to give a first grader, but we need to use this technique throughout our lives, with our partners at work, and even with our adult family members. If you want to ask someone to make a change (i.e., give some criticism), it’s best to do it in a constructive way, to keep the peace and nurture important relationships.

I work with a group of artists and writers on a daily basis, and every once in a while someone comes into my office complaining about how a client is going over the line with their critique. Almost as often, I get a client coming into my office asking me why an artist got their feathers all ruffled just because they wanted to make a logo bigger. How can this be avoided?

1. Avoid disputes from the beginning. Make the project expectations crystal clear before anyone gets started. If the project is defined on paper on a creative brief or job description sheet, it will be easier for someone to execute. Ask at this stage what your creative team needs from you. And be specific about what is expected to be delivered at what deadline. At the next level, it’s easier when critiquing to point out what is missing, if anything. Then, leave room for a second round of drafts.
2. Make changes clear. When you receive something and you know there will be many changes, take some time to be specific about what is obviously wrong or missing. If you have your job description on paper, this will be simple.
3. Don’t be too clear. If you’ve delegated work to someone, don’t take all the fun (er, job satisfaction, that is) out of it by dictating font sizes or changing colors just because you feel like you need to make some comment. Ask yourself if your end audience will see a difference in the changes you are suggesting. If not, zip it! And remember, you have sent this work to this person for a reason – because you are too busy, because they are a specialist, because they have access to more resources – let them do their work.
   I’ll just say this now, in case no one has ever told you – graphic artists/designers as a rule do NOT like it when someone stands behind them and watches them make changes – that’s pretty much universal.
4. Be clear about what is right. If you find yourself filling a piece of paper with red marks, invest in a green pen. Is the headline good? Do you like the font choice, or photo selection? Circle a few things you definitely want to keep. These choices took time, and your appreciation of these items will make your creative partner feel a bit more at ease.
   Start your feedback conversation by mentioning one of these items, and come back to one of these at the end of your discussion for a good ‘compliment sandwich.’
5. Language is important. If you didn’t create it, you may not understand the creator’s motivation behind the way the project was done. Some language that has been helpful for me:
   • I see what you’re doing here, but what if you tried some less formal language?
   • I like this color combination, but it might be a bit bold for this product.
   • This section is great, but I think we may have gone into too much detail for our audience. Can you break it down for the outsider to understand better?
   • This image is really exciting, but I’m not sure if it fits the character of the rest of the piece. Do you have some others you can show me?
6. Disaster plan. If what you have received is nothing near what you thought you asked for, then something could have gone wrong from the job description point. Keeping communication open is imperative, so everyone is in the same frame of mind. Maybe the project manager will step in with — “I must have really steered you in the wrong direction, we’re going to have to reboot this,” or something like that – to get everyone on the same side, and restart the project rather than slicing and dicing what’s been done.

The creative process doesn’t have to be painful. It can be a fun, collaborative adventure if it’s approached in the right way. I hope these hints will help you down that path!

This weekend the 2012 Olympics will come to a close, and I will be sad to see them go. Say what you will about the confusing plot of the opening ceremonies (which I totally LOVED), but I just love the Olympics. There are sports I end up watching that I would never watch any other time of year — boxing, gymnastics, cycling, archery — and I find myself rooting for the Jamaican who really deserves this, or the Korean who would really make his country proud.

Talking to my friends and coworkers, another thing I’ve found about the Olympics is that, since they are only every four years, they compress time. Each of us has Olympics memories from years ago — playing Mary Lou Retton off the couch (to Mom’s chagrin), or working to be Bruce Jenner or Usain Bolt on the track — and these moments are really what the Olympics are all about.

I remember gathering around a television hooked up with a computer in the early 80s, with my cousins and my sister. The 1984 games were in Los Angeles, and all my friends who took piano lessons were learning the theme to “Chariots of Fire” (1981) for their recitals. My uncle had gotten an Olympics video game (not officially licensed, but off-the-shelf) for the kids to play, and we played the hell out of it. “Summer Games” it was called (screen shot shown here). Every time we started a round, the Olympic theme played. I couldn’t get it out of my head for months.

I know I’ll have the same Olympic theme stuck in my head until this October, at least. Nice that some things stay the same.

I am a bit overwhelmed with the number of reviews that I have read this week, and most of them were not for movies or books. They were for television ads.

But last Sunday was the Superbowl!

So, right at the beginning of the game, we had to rewind it a minute or two with the Tivo because I missed the introduction of the Steelers while I was taking mozzerella sticks out of the oven. Other than that, we wanted to experience the Superbowl and the ads with the rest of the world. Honestly, with the rest of Twitter.

I was trying really hard to keep up with all the comments about all the Superbowl ads on Twitter, but the number of people following comment categories like #adbowl and #brandbowl and #sbads has grown to an immense number. It is really impossible to read all the tweets as they fly by. I finally gave up and resorted to reading blog posts after the game.

I learned that Network Solutions has a clever GoGranny online video, complete with an endorsement by the woman behind BlogHer. And GoDaddy answered some complaints about their GoDaddy Girls with a more, um, brainy? online ad. I can’t find it again.

Back to the rest of the Superbowl ads… I’ve noticed that I really like ads that show a character in a number of settings. It gives you a feeling that you’re getting a full story and not just being sold at. I think this is why I liked that Old Spice commercial so much.

So my favorites ended up being:

• Living Social – Apparently didn’t show in all markets, but it shows a lot you can do with Living Social and it’s pretty funny.
• CarMax – The ad takes the metaphor ‘kid in a candy store’ to the max.
• Chrysler – It really shows that Detroit has heart.
• VW Passat – It’s not the mini Darth Vader that gets me, it’s the music, which is unforgettable and meaningful to me. I covet that Force for myself.
• NFL Best Fans Ever – Most of these shows have been part of my life, but this gets on my list for the “we can’t miss the commercials” at the end.

I’d love to hear your votes for best ad of 2011 – which ones did you like and why? Did some turn your stomach?

In some circles the news media is called the Fourth Estate, recognizing the power the press has as a counter-balance to powers within the government and business. Though this title was created in the 18th century, it is still true today.

Why bring this up? Because power is at the root of why news organizations are struggling with their ethical regulations to such a degree. I suggest that those organizations that we see suspending personnel, or firing them, over violations that some of us may find inconsequential, are the news organizations that we can trust for original, fact-checked, opinion-free news.

NOTE: I’m not saying that these organizations are handling everything correctly, but they recognize the impact their journalists can have.

Organizations that want to be considered reputable news sources DO need to make sure that their personnel aren’t doing insider trading, or fixing the horse race — however you want to think of political donations coupled with favorable news coverage — when it comes to one of the most important stories they cover, our ELECTIONS.

It also seems fair for news organizations to watch for clear biases along racial, gender or religious lines.

That’s what we’ve seen happening in the past couple of months, and I for one applaud the effort. Sure, all the internal memos reminding reporters that they shouldn’t be seen carrying signs on the National Mall sound silly to the public, but we need our Fourth Estate intact. We need a strong, virtuous press corps willing to look at journalism as a sort of public service, because at its best, that’s what it is.

By all means, politicians and pundits have important roles in our system, too, but it is dangerous to rely on them for news.

You turn on the television and they are there – beautiful people, with perfect makeup and clothes, saying clever things at just the right time – celebrities.

Movie stars and even our national newscasters seem so out of reach, so otherworldly sometimes. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to say hello, to see them in person, maybe even shake their hand?

Well, it’s possible, my friend – and sometimes it’s easier than you think. Here are a few tips that have helped me satisfy my need for a brush with fame.

Getting started

• Focus: start with a targeted group of celebrities. When they gather, you’ll have a better chance at hitting one of them. For instance, NASCAR drivers or ballet dancers.
• Patience is a virtue: Especially if you have a major celebrity in mind, you may have to wait a long time for the right opportunity, and a long line may be in your future. Accept this fact and wait for the right moment.
• Manners make the man: Realize that if a celebrity has opened that door to a wall of fans dying to meet them, they are being very brave and patient, and they are hoping that each fan is not a psycho. Don’t be that psycho.
• Know your celebrity: What is your idol up to? Are they on a speaking tour for their favorite charity, selling an autobiography or helping a politician they like get elected? Keep informed.
• Out of their element, in with you: When rock stars are writing children’s books, or comedians are giving ‘serious’ presentations, they are out of their element. This means the crowd around them is not as large, only true fans or business partners have come to see them, and they are much more grateful for the attention they are getting. This is a golden opportunity to get your photo or an autograph.
• Accept your mission: Autographs? Photos with you and the band? In most cases you will have a split second with the celeb, and no re-takes, so decide ahead of time. Actually, decide now. The band may walk into the restaurant any minute now. However: when they say NO, it’s usually best to accept that. In more cases photos are OK and autographs are not, because celebs know the value of their scribbles.
• How much is your celebrity worth? Yes, you might have to spend some money. Some stars charge for an autograph, whether it’s on a piece of paper or on an 8″ x 10″ glossy photo they are selling you. Or you may have to buy a ticket to a book signing, and even buy their book (again!) Why? Signing 200 photos at $20 each might be this week’s income. Hey, it’s a living.

Places stars hang out

• Charity auctions/benefits
• Book signings
• Film screenings/premieres
• eBay
• Product launches – for their signature perfume, clothing line, sneakers etc.
• Fan conventions – comic book conventions, horror conventions, Star Trek conventions, etcetera. Don’t be surprised if the stars in the autograph tent extend beyond the main theme of the convention, and be prepared at these events to pay for an autograph and/or a glossy photo of your favorite star.
• University campuses. If you graduated from somewhere, put that alumni card to use! If not, poke your nose into the local campus and get on their mailing list.
• Fan newsletters, sports team websites etc. If you are the fan you say you are, suck up every piece of info you can. Buy tickets to any special-access event the day they become available, and get your butt out there and be first in line!
• THEIR WEBSITE – many celebrities are only stars to a small group of people. Try writing an e-mail or the treasured hand-written note. You would be surprised how many people will return the favor.
• Twitter – there are as many real celebs on Twitter as there are fake ones. And there are dozens of lists of “Celebrities on Twitter” to help you decipher the difference. Use those tools before you find yourself following an impostor.

Good luck meeting your idol. And remember, be polite!

(I previously published part of this article on Squidoo.)

I’m looking forward to embarking on a new adventure as a corporate tweeter. As such, I’ve taken a good deal of time accumulating best practices for corporate accounts. Many of these are the same as I would recommend for anyone operating a business Twitter account for themselves:

1. Have a mission/message in mind before you post your first tweet.
2. Your message should also consider your target audience.
3. Twitter directories are a good way to gain some followers initially, but there is no get followers quick solution.
4. Be selective in following. There is no need to follow everyone who follows you.
5. Be careful of your language. This is even more important for corporations than for individuals.
6. Your posts are 100% public. Remember that bad news travels faster than good news and anything your shareholders wouldn’t like will travel out of the Twitterverse and onto TV screens and into newspapers.
7. Corporations need to select a voice. It’s best if one person, or a couple of people, man the account, for consistency, and to be sure there’s no redundancy. Most corporations invoke the royal ‘we.’  Other more customer-service oriented Twitter accounts have used an individual speaking from the first person.
8. A regular stream of content is important to any Twitter feed to maintain followers. Appropriate corporate topics include:

• • respond to follower/customer inquiries
  • retweet satisfied customer tweets
  • link to updated/interesting information on corporate websites/blogs
  • retweet updates from affiliated Twitter accounts
  • Twitter contests
  • advance notice of corporate news
  • Twitter discount codes
  • stimulate Twitter discussions with product-related questions
  • product-related trivia
  • run online surveys
  • photos of corporate events

Have some other ideas? Please share in the comments!

Bird art by Triax Mills.

We lost some big names in entertainment this year, I just wanted the chance to say one last goodbye to some of my favorites.

• Actor Patrick Swayze, 57 – I really enjoyed Dirty Dancing and many more of his movies.
• Director John Hughes, 59 – His films were some of the first that I rented from video stores and watched over and over again.
• Actress Farrah Fawcett, 62 – What a courageous documentary she made at the end of her life.
• Actor Dom DeLuise, 75 – Always made me laugh.
• Actor Ricardo Montalban, 88 – I still want to visit Fantasy Island.
• George Michael, sports broadcaster, 70 – I watched his ‘Sports Machine’ show for years in DC.
• Vic Chesnutt, singer/songwriter, 45 – Just an amazing talent.
• Actress Brittany Murphy, 32 – I loved her voice work for King of the Hill.
• Ed McMahon, 86 – I’ll remember him from Star Search, way before American Idol.
• Pitchman Billy Mays, 50 – He could sell me the shoes on my feet, what a guy.
• Walter Cronkite, 92 – Sad to see him go, but that’s the way it is.

There were many more notable deaths, as The New York Times notes in their annual review.