Andrea Weckerle first appeared in an FIR Interview a decade ago after she had founded CiviliNation, a non-profit that is “taking a stand against online harassment, character assassination, misinformation, and violence.” That’s a tall order given the state of civil discourse these days. In this FIR Interview, Andrea is joined by CiviliNation’s new president, veteran technology journalist Jolie O’Dell. The conversation covers the organization’s approach to addressing the issues that underlie outrage culture, doxxing, and other behaviors that undermine the potential of online conversation.

FIR co-hosts Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz spoke with Jolie and Andrea on Monday, March 8.

About our conversation partners

Jolie O’Dell is a journalist and nonprofit leader. As a news writer and editor, she contributed to tech-focused publications such as ReadWriteWeb, Mashable, and VentureBeat, with bylines appearing in national print outlets periodically. She also frequently appeared on local and national news and podcasts as a tech industry analyst. In addition to her media duties, she was also heavily involved in event planning and newsroom management. O’Dell is the author of four books with a fifth coming in 2023. She lives in Virginia with her dog, Lt. Barclay.

Andrea Weckerle is the founder of CiviliNation and the author of Civility in the Digital Age: How Companies and People Can Triumph over Haters, Trolls, Bullies, and Other Jerks. She earned her Juris Doctor at the University of Richmond School of Law, where she served on the Senior Staff of the Richmond Journal of Law & Technology. She also holds a Master of Arts (MAIS) degree with a focus on Public Relations/Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University. Prior to founding CiviliNation, she ran her own boutique communications consultancy and also worked with national agencies, where her experience included legal and corporate communications, online communications, and social media.

By now, most or all of you are somewhat digitized and working remotely, if not entirely. 

As one CEO of a large tech company recently stated, “We are witnessing what will surely be remembered as a historic deployment of remote work and digital access to services across every domain.”

Indeed, recent data show that we have vaulted five years forward in consumer and business digital adoption in a matter of around eight weeks. Five years!

Banks have transitioned to remote sales and service teams and launched digital outreach to customers to make flexible payment arrangements for loans and mortgages. 

Grocery stores have shifted to online ordering and delivery as their primary business. 

Schools are either all in-person, some sort of hybrid, or all virtual. And don’t get me started on the hybrid schedules plus having to quarantine because a friend in class tested positive. Oy vey! 

As some regions reopen fully and lift mask mandates, businesses are considering how to return to some semblance of full speed in a still unstable environment. What does that look like as we consider how we market? Are there changes we’ll need to make? If so, how?

The answer is in creating values-based marketing.

That’s what we discuss on this week’s episode of the Spin Sucks podcast.

Resources Included

* Bud Light Thursday Night Shoutout

* EatOkra

* The Who We Are Project

* Spin Sucks Community

#621: Rene Johnson and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Lead from your power zone and not from your comfort zone. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Rene Johnson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/renesjohnson/), an elite authority in personal power dynamics, author, coach, keynote speaker, and CEO of Power Zone Coaching. She holds an ICF Certified Empowerment Coach degree from Institute of Professional Excellence in Coaching (IPEC).

Rene is passionate in partnering with purpose-driven business leaders, turning leadership into their greatest profit center, while having more joy in life. She is an instructor who can inspire audiences with energy, insight, and expertise to become positive and power-filled change agents.

If you’re a small to mid-sized company and you have “power leaks,” consider reaching out to Rene Johnson by visiting her websites https://www.linkedin.com/in/renesjohnson/ and https://powerzonecoach.com/.

Here are a couple of AHA messages from this episode:

* Small and mid-size leaders but are “power leaks” should reach out to Rene Johnson. https://www.linkedin.com/in/renesjohnson/

* My role is to turn your leadership into your greatest profit center and the vehicle to live your best life. #LeadershipWhy https://powerzonecoach.com/ @pzcoach

* I can work with you in identifying and converting “power leaks” which are wasted time and resources that are wasting your and your team’s strengths and talents. #LeadershipWhy https://powerzonecoach.com/ @pzcoach

* I can teach you how to activate the “magic” in your power zone, where against the odds, you can accept your true calling to reveal your greatness. #LeadershipWhy https://www.linkedin.com/in/renesjohnson/

* I can mentor you in uncovering the “why” behind your leadership approach to increase your influence and business results to make a significant difference in people’s lives. #LeadershipWhy https://powerzonecoach.com/ @pzcoach

To view the video interview click here.

#622: Jared Brick and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

How to create a strategy to solve digital confusion. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Jared Brick (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredbrick/), he is the Media Producer, Director and Founder of Brick House Media. He is also a Media Marketing Strategist, Video Director and Content Creator. He helps Thought Leaders who have digital confusion.

Jared Brick’s vision is to become a professional photographer, and share new perspectives of this dynamic evolving world. He founded Brick House Images in 2000, to fulfill his creative passion. He’s always possessed an attraction to visual media, with talents in social marketing, skills in digital education, business strategy and a lifetime of expertise in photography and video. Jared offers an opportunity to leverage these expertise areas for emerging thought leaders and break through bold clients.

If you’re a thought leader or small business owner and you do have #DigitalConfusion, you should consider reaching out to Jared Brick by visiting his website at

The March installment of The Hobson & Holtz Report includes reports on these stories:

* The road to hell is paved with good intentions, which Burger King learned after one well-meaning but poorly thought-out tweet

* Do you subscribe to a podcast or follow it? (Or listen to it?) These verbs may have consequence, especially in attracting new podcast listeners.

* Another company has fired another employee who built a following sharing work-related TikTok videos.

* A racing drone’s 87-second flight through a bowling alley has captured Hollywood’s attention.

* Neville is trying Timely, an Android-based competitor of Clubhouse.

* NFTs — non-fungible tokens — are a hot topic right now. Will they become a staple of marketing and communication or will remember them as a flash in the pan in a few years’ time?

* Dan York has updates on WordPress and Google in his Tech Report.

Our FIR recording sessions are now being streamed live, because why not? We already stream it in order to capture a backup recording on YouTube; we’ve just been making these restricted streams. We have decided to make them public so you can watch and comment. Our next recording is Saturday, April 17 at noon ET. You’ll see our pre-recording conversation as well as seeing how the sausage gets made. Watch live here.

(You can watch the video of the making of this episode, though it’s clearly too late to share comments we can read right into the show.)

We are hosting an FIR Communicators Zoom Chat each Thursday during the stay-at-home period at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly or request the credentials in our Facebook group or send an email to [email protected]. Spread the word to your communications community.

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Neville’s link blog, Outbox, is available, as well.

Links from This Month’s Episode

* Latest Politemail Internal Comms Benchmark Report

* Burger King UK under fire for tweeting ‘Women belong in the kitchen’ on International Women’s Day

* Burger King’s Snafu Puts Focus on the Danger of Using Shock Value as a Social Media Strategy

* KFC Gaming tells Burger King to delete ‘women belong in the kitchen’ tweet

* Burger King Gets Grilled for ‘Women Belong in the Kitchen’ Tweet Supporting Female Chefs

* Podcasting: What word to use instead of “subscribe”?

* Subscribe or Follow a Podcast: What’s in a Word?

* Brands: Let your internal culture out

In May 2021, Google search rankings will start to include more user experience ranking factors – are your websites ready?  Using a set of metrics called ‘Core Web Vitals’, your web pages will now be ranked based on how fast they load, how quickly a user can start interacting with a page, and how stable the page is while it loads. In this episode, I explore questions such as: what does this mean for your websites? What tools can you use? What can you do to improve your sites so that they don’t lose any search engine ranking (and perhaps increase their ranking)? In this time when commerce has moved online, and Google search remains a critical way for people to find websites, how can businesses ensure their websites remain competitive?

Learn more:

* Mindmap with links for this episode

* Google’s page on Core Web Vitals

* PageSpeed Insights

You can’t visit a news site or check your feeds right now without seeing articles about NFTs — non-fungible tokens — and how they have captured imaginations. Taco Bell, the National Basketball Association, the Kings of Leon, Jack Dorsey, and artists like the one who sold a JPG for $69 million are examples of digital assets that have been purchased (or are up for grabs) with NFTs.

There are scenarios that make NFTs exciting for brands and, by extension, for communicators. What are they and how do they work (in terms we communicators can understand)? For that, we turn to Phil Gomes, former digital executive at Edelman and current head of global communications and marketing for Bloq‘s multiple services and brands.

About our Conversation Partner

Phil is chief communication and marketing officer for Bloq’s multiple services and brands. Prior to joining Bloq in 2018, Phil spent 13 years at Edelman, guiding the world’s largest communications firm’s initial explorations across two generational technology shifts — social media and blockchain — and building its global blockchain center-of-excellence. In his near-decade in Silicon Valley prior to Edelman, Phil worked with startups and enterprise companies alike. His work helped guide clients to win the Technology Pioneers Programme Award at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Twice. Known for industry “firsts,” Phil is widely considered to be the first PR professional to start a blog (2001) and the first to describe and demonstrate the value of blockchain technology in communications (2015).

Links to Resources Mentioned in the Interview

* Mintable.app

* TrustWallet

* Rarible

* Foundation

* Imogen Heap and the Blockchain Revolution

* The Trust Machine (documentary by Alex Winter)

* Coinbase

* About the Kings of Leon NFT

#618: Thom Harrison and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Helping spiritually-inclined professionals, small business owners, & entrepreneurs end self-sabotage, live their purpose, and advance the world with their works. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Thom Harrison (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomharrison/), who is an owner and coach devoted to his entrepreneurial endeavors and everyday life to co-creating conditions for a thriving, socially just world.

Thom works with earth-loving, distraction-prone professionals and entrepreneurs, who tend to get in their own way. He guides himself and his community to walk our Why: being ourselves, living our purposeful vision, and loving the world with our work.

If you’re seeing yourself not walking your why for so many different reasons, you need to reach out to Thom Harrison via https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomharrison/ or https://walkyourwhy.com/.

Here are a couple of AHA messages from this episode:

* I offer a 30-day program called 30 Days to Walk Your Why and that really helps you get on that track. https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomharrison

* It’s the hundreds, if not, thousands of conversations and the many iterations of my own professions over the years that have really been about connecting with my purpose in one way or the other. https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomharrison

* I’ve had a variety of different professions and the most recent iteration is what I call being a life purpose guide. https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomharrison

* I’m a co-lead of the business engagement initiative of Pachamama Alliance and organizational people know and they recognize my mission. https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomharrison

* I’m guiding people to their why and it’s interesting when you have meaningful conversations. https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomharrison

To view the video interview click here.

#619: Dr. Michelle Reina and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Helping leaders who are not realizing the potential of their people and transform workplaces through trust to produce faster growth. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Dr. Michelle Reina (https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellereina/), who is the Co-founder and Chief Trust Building Officer of Reina Trust Building®. She is an internationally sought after trust building consultant, speaker, and executive coach. Michelle began trust work in 1991 and is considered a pioneer in the field of organizational trust.

Michelle has published numerous articles appearing in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, New York Times, and Harvard Business Management Update. She has appeared on CNN, CNBC and a variety of radio shows. She has received several leadership awards, including the Strategic Leadership Award by the World HRD Congress

If you’re reading this and you’re a leader and you’re not realizing the potential of your people, reaching out to Dr. Michelle Reina would make a whole lot of sense. Reach out to her via https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellereina/ or https://reinatrustbuilding.

When the pandemic began and schools closed their doors, everyone was crazy understanding. While not everyone had children at home learning, on top of our trying to figure out how to work, it felt like we were all in the same boat. Or at least on the same waters, helping one another paddle toward the coastline.

(That was a terrible analogy. I’m sorry.)

Now, nearly a year later (359 days later, to be exact), people have begun to lose patience. Some schools are fully open. Some are on a hybrid schedule. Some have been quarantined (like us) and some are about to go on spring break. People are exhausted. And, while we can see normal life coming up in the near future, we’re not quite there.

We still have a ways to go and during this day after International Women’s Day, I’d like to spend a little time talking today about all of the women who are out there, trying to have it all. That and more on this week’s Spin Sucks podcast episode.

Resources Included

* International Women’s Day

* Women are leaving the workforce at four times the rate as men

* Recent projections based on economic scenarios modeled by McKinsey and Oxford Economics estimate that employment for women may not recover to pre-pandemic levels until 2024—two full years after the recovery for men 

* Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world

* #ChooseToChallenge

#615: Alexanne Stone and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Helping individuals increase their effectiveness in communication through understanding the body language message they deliver and how it is received. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Alexanne Stone https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexannestone/, who has 30+ years in sales and 27+ years as a trainer in neuro-linguistic programming and body language expert to help individuals maximize their full potential.

Alexanne climbed the corporate sales ladder all the way to vice president of international sales for a software firm in Santa Clara. On the way up, she became a certified Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) trainer. NLP is simply the study of the language of your mind and the minds of others.

If you’re reading this and you’re not sure what messages you’re communicating with your body versus what’s coming out of your mouth, you’re going to want to reach out to Alexanne Stone https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexannestone/ or https://alexannestone.com/

Here are a couple of AHA messages from this episode:

* I help individuals increase their effectiveness in communication through understanding the body language message they deliver and how it is received. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexannestone/

* I work with a lot of people. I do one-on-one coaching and in group coaching, to help people understand the message they’re delivering and learn how to read another person’s nonverbal body language. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexannestone/

* I certify people at two levels. Both practitioner and master practitioner give them the opportunity to go out and do this themselves or they use it for personal transformation. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexannestone/

* I started training people. I’ve trained everyone from massage therapist to attorneys. You can imagine how important it is to be watching someone on the witness stand. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexannestone/

* I was trained by the originator of NLP himself. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexannestone/

To view the video interview click here.

#616: John Bates and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Bringing out what is awesome inside every C-suite executive leaders. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert John Bates (https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbates/), who brings powerful executive presence, storytelling influence and Jedi-like persuasion skills to top teams world leaders entrepreneurs scientist and those in the light side of the force.

John is a leadership communication expert whose large & small group trainings, keynotes & executive level leadership, presentation, speaker coaching and media training for Fortune 100 companies are world renown.

If you’re a C-suite executive and you’re really good at what you do, but what you do doesn’t necessarily encompass the soft side of the world and you’ve been given the opportunity to get in front of our group, and you need to speak, you’re going to want to talk to John Bates. Connect with him through https://www.linkedin.

#611: Sal Silvester and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Optimize and measure leadership programs for a more human workplace. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Sal Silvester (https://www.linkedin.com/in/salsilvester/), industry thought leader, innovator, internationally sought-after executive coach and leadership development trainer and facilitator, blogger, speaker, author, and founder and CEO of Coachmetrix. He wrote an Amazon bestseller “Unite! The 4 Mindset Shifts for Senior Leaders,” #1 in Amazon’s Movers & Shakers list “Ignite! The 4 Essential Rules for emerging Leaders,” and a collaboration with Marshall Goldsmith called “Stakeholder Centered Coaching: Maximizing Your Impact as a Coach.”

Sal’s passion and unique leadership perspective is nurtured through his 25 years as an Army officer, a corporate executive, founder of his own consulting firm, and as developer of the Coachmetrix platform where his mission is to make a difference in the coaching and leadership development industry to affect leadership behavioral change.

To learn more how to be real, vulnerable, to create human connections and eradicate shit in the workplace, consider reaching out to Sal Silvester by visiting his websites https://512solutions.com/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/salsilvester/.

Here are a couple of AHA messages from this episode:

* Leaders who have shit that gets in the way of better business results should reach out to Sal Silvester. https://www.linkedin.com/in/salsilvester/

* My role is to bring #Humanity back into your workplace by building healthy teams, confident leaders, and self-aware executives. https://512solutions.com/ @512solutions

* Organizations can have communication breakdowns and turf wars between people. I can help you 1) focus on the right things, and 2) create a healthy dynamic, so you can have the conversations that matter most for your business. #Humanity https://www.linkedin.com/in/salsilvester/

* I can teach you how to navigate complex relationships with your peers, understand the impact of your actions and decisions on company culture, and expand your capacity to think and act strategically. #Humanity https://512solutions.com/ @512solutions

* With my guidance, I can show you how to measure proof on change and personal growth in your organization that fundamentally affects team excellence and productivity. #Humanity https://512solutions.com/ @512solutions

To view the video interview click here.

#612: Dave Roby and Mitchell Levy on Thought Leader Life Credibility Episode

Build high performance teams and get away from status quo in your family business. This episode features #ThoughtLeader and #Expert Dave Roby (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveroby/), certified international family business coach, entrepreneurial mentor, top producing sales manager, speaker, board member, and founder and CEO of Broadway One, Inc. He is a confident, dynamic leader with the ability to spot market share opportunities, always with an entrepreneurial mindset.

Dave has successfully managed multi-million dollar retail stores to top performance in company ranking for revenu...