I’ve decided that I will use this blog for my non-marketing-related posts and general rants about life. I’ll also start sharing what I’m learning as I really roll my sleeves up in WordPress, Twitter API and other technologies that our Fresh Ground clients, and my own curiosity, have me pursuing.

That may make this blog less palatable for some of you. If deep tech dives and rants turn you off, please refer to the Fresh Ground Blog, where Chuck and I will continue to post our more general thoughts on marketing, technology and business.

The full post is available on the DNA13 blog.

Please follow my new blog at http://itsfreshground.com/blog to get all my thoughts on social media, PR, measurement, marketing and business.

So what’s to become of this blog and site? I’m not sure yet, but I’m thinking about redirecting More Than Marketing to the Fresh Ground Blog, while keeping VanHoosear.com directing here — if that’s possible. I will be switching my RSS feed over to the Fresh Ground Blog, and am considering switching my Facebook Notes feed as well. If you read this on Facebook, are you more interested in my thoughts on social media, PR and technology, or what I had for breakfast?

My undergraduate degree in communications, obviously my first four-year stint (okay, more like 4.5 if you count a couple summer terms) is where I found my love of public relations and refined my editorial skills (which I first picked up in high school as an occasional contributor to our high school paper and to the newsletter for my Civil Air Patrol Squadron, for which I was awarded 1989 Michigan Wing Newsletter Editor of the Year). My love for PR and editing skills came in good part thanks to Ned S. Hubbell and PRSSA, where I edited the MSU chapter’s newsletter called the Forecaster (I won a couple awards for that too). Unfortunately, PR didn’t pay so well in the early 90s, so I had to make my money a different way. I chose to go back to school. I studied communications, but got an assistantship from the MSU Computer Lab to pay my way. Still a lousy salary, but they also paid for school. This led to my slow but inevitable temporary departure from communications and marketing.

My first five years of my professional career, from about 1992 to 1997, gave me my really deep understanding of technology, and exposed me to public speaking, training and the joys of editing and the web. These first five years took me from my graduate program in communications to a temp job, a part-time job, and finally a full-time job at the Computer Lab. I went from running the Graphics Lab (where I learned to be a Photoshop guru) to the last editor of ACRONYMS (the Computer Lab’s newsletter, where I learned PageMaker), to running the school’s non-academic computer training program (where I taught, in addition to PageMaker and Photoshop, Excel, Unix, Windows, Networking and several other popular classes), to helping launch the schools first virtual university project (where I was responsible for setting up the computers that served web pages and streamed video and audio to Extension Schools across Michigan).

My next three years (1997-2000) brought me to Boston, where I transitioned from technology back to communications at Advis, later bought by Primix, later bought by Burntsand. I went from a Java trainer (my first, very short-lived gig at Advis) to network administrator (running Windows Server and NeXT machines) to pre-sales consultant (where I got to do live demo installations of web applications for PeopleSoft and SAP) to marketing communications manager (where I was re-acquainted with PR in a big way, especially when my company made Barron’s famous Burn List that essentially kicked off the dot com crash).

When the opportunity to jump ship and work at the PR agency I had hired for Primix came around, I jumped at it. I cut my teeth in PR from 2000 to 2003 as an account manager and account director at Miller/Shandwick Technologies (later merged with a couple other IPG agencies to form Weber Shandwick Worldwide). And when the opportunity came to work for my old boss at Miller/Shandwick came, I also jumped on board his growing small PR agency called Topaz Partners.

My five-year tenure at Topaz Partners from 2003 to 2008 marked my rapid introduction to Web 2.0 and social media. I launched our blog on July 7th, 2004, and it was downhill from there (you can see every old blog post of mine here). I loved it there, but it seemed like it was time to move on.

SocialSphere gave me an opportunity to grow into some new markets, including some more consumer- and government-focused areas. I got to work with some great people, and cut my teeth on some new technologies. I helped the company solidify its client services, including the development of some pretty mean spreadsheets that drove our (whenever possible and always morphing) daily War Room discussions. It was what you would call a learning organization, rapidly trying new ideas at it worked to improve itself. It was an enjoyable 8 months, but it was again time to move on.

Why? Well, for a long time now I’ve been wanting to strike out on my own. I have a wonderful combination of technology, communications and marketing skills and a great network thanks to all the social media involvement I’ve had. I’m not quite ready to share what’s next yet, but stay tuned over the next few weeks for more news as I set the stage for what I hope will be a successful business.

In Loving Memory of Brad Van Hoosear (1970-2007)
Photo Copyright (c) Kay Phelan, uploaded by tvanhoosear

Brad Van Hoosear died in December 2007 of pancreatic cancer at the young age of 37. Here are some facts about pancreatic cancer, many from Brad’s mother, who was at Brad’s side throughout his terrible ordeal.

In 2007, The National Cancer Institute estimates 37,170 new cases of pancreatic cancer and 33,370 deaths in USA. Most people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer will have passed away by the end of the first year. Americans are twice as likely to be affected by pancreatic cancer that Europeans, for reasons unknown.

The symptoms of pancreatic cancer, according to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancreatic_cancer, but verified elsewhere) include pain in the upper abdomen that typically radiates to the back and is relieved by leaning forward, loss of appetite, significant weight loss and jaundice. By the time you feel the pain from pancreatic cancer, however, it’s likely already beyond most typical cancer treatments currently available.

Furthermore, there are currently no non-intrusive, conclusive tests for pancreatic cancer beyond magnetic and sonic imaging that can pick up cancer masses, but which typically are only authorized after symptoms appear, when it’s already too late.

There are some known risk factors for the disease (the Wikipedia article lists several), and a few preventative measures, including quitting smoking, taking vitamin D, and eating foods rich in vitamins B12, B6 and folate.

The incidence of pancreatic cancer increases with age; most people are between 60 and 80 when they receive the diagnosis. Brad was 37. He was so young that, even though his symptoms were exactly those of the cancer, he was misdiagnosed because of his age. The doctor even said “If you were 60, I’d say you had pancreatic cancer.” Well, he did. But even if he had been diagnosed, it would’ve been too late.

There are people actively looking into ways to new treatment options. One such person is Michelle Calabretta, Ph.D., who blogs about her research at http://drmiggy.wordpress.com/ (she’s also on Twitter at http://twitter.com/drmiggy), but there are many others—you can read her blog for lots of good information and links to all kinds of cancer research, not just pancreatic.

In the U.S., pancreatic cancer is 9th or 10th most commonly diagnosed cancer (depending on gender), but the fourth leading cause of cancer death in men and women. The median survival period from the time of diagnosis until demise is arguably the worst of any of the cancers. The median survival for untreated advanced cancer of the pancreas is about 3 1/2 months; with good treatment this increases to about six months. Brad fought the disease for a year and a half—his youth and strength of spirit carried him.

I knew very little about this disease when Brad was first diagnosed. Quickly, however, I learned that a coworker’s cousin had died of it. When I tweeted about it yesterday (http://twitter.com/vanhoosear), more cases came out of the woodwork. In my network of 300+ Twitter followers, six wrote back saying they had lost a friend, acquaintance or family member to this disease! (Dozens more shared sympathy and support, for which I am very thankful, as is Brad’s direct family, with whom I shared this groundswell of support.)

A diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is a death sentence. There is no cure, few treatment options, and the 5 year survival rate is less than 5%. Despite this high mortality rate, the federal government spends woefully little money on pancreatic cancer research. It’s a very painful way to die, few treatments exist, and no cures.

The National Cancer Institute’s cancer research budget was $4.824 billion in 2004, an estimated $52.7 million of which was devoted to pancreatic cancer (1% of the budget for the fourth leading cause of cancer death in men and women). Research spending per pancreatic cancer patient is $1,145, the lowest of any leading cancer.

There are things you can do to help change this!

First, learn more about the disease. Start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancreatic_cancer and http://tinyurl.com/24p83b.

Next, tell your friends and family about the disease, especially if they match a lot of the predisposing factors outlined in Wikipedia.

Remember that November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. Buy a purple ribbon pin to show your support: http://tinyurl.com/2964gg.

If cancer has affected you personally, tell people about it. I’ve found the experience very fulfilling and comforting.

Finally, consider supporting awareness and research into treating this terrible disease. There are many causes out there. These are just a few:

• American Cancer Society: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/DON/DON_0.asp
• Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN): http://www.pancan.org/
• Pancreatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland: http://www.pancsoc.org.uk/
• Johns Hopkins Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center: http://pathology.jhu.edu/pancreas/
• Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research: http://www.lustgarten.org/

My dear cousin left behind a very rich life, despite its shortness, wonderful memories for his friends and family (including myself), and one final, incredible gift. Brad’s final legacy was to donate his cancerous tissue to Dr. Iacobuzio-Donahue’s research department at Johns Hopkins University in the effort to help find a cure for this dreaded disease.

If you knew Brad, or have been moved by this particular case, please consider making a memorial donation directly to the work of Dr. Iacobuzio-Donahue in Brad’s honor:

“GI Medical Donation Program”
c/o Christine Iacobuzio-Donahue, MD, PhD
Dept of Pathology Johns Hopkins University
1550 Orleans Street, CRB II, Room 343
Baltimore, MD 21231
(410) 955-9132

Please include your name and address, and note that your donation is being made in memory of Bradley Van Hoosear.

Brad, thank you. You’ve inspired friends, family, and now hundreds of people online to think about pancreatic cancer, moving us one important step closer to treating, preventing and someday curing this terrible cancer.

You will be missed!

collaborate on original research and educational programs focused on the advanced study of emerging trends and developments in media and communications, and their effect on business, professional communications, media, and society.

Who else is on the list for this year?

The 2009 SNCR Fellows include Connie Bensen, online community strategist for Techrigy; journalist Andria Y. Carter, online editor of Trentonian.com; Marcia L. Conner, managing director of Ageless Learner and Fast Company columnist; Mark Chrisman, senior instructional designer for T-Mobile USA; Vanessa DiMauro, CEO of Leader Networks; Laura Fitton, Twitter expert and founder of Pistachio Consulting; R. Craig Lefebvre, PhD, new media expert and designer of public health and social change programs; public relations strategist and author of Now Is Gone, Geoff Livingston; Gaurav Mishra, the Yahoo! Fellow in International Values, Communications, Technology, and Global Internet at Georgetown University; John Quinn, media veteran and public affairs marketing director for ABC affiliate WJLA-TV in Washington, DC; Susanne Rockwell, Web editor for University Communications at the University of California, Davis; Todd Van Hoosear, senior analyst for SocialSphere Strategies; Dr. Tamara L. Wandel, Ph.D., assistant professor in communication at the University of Evansville; and Charlotte Ziems, vice president of client engagement at Tendo Communications.

I’m in some pretty impressive company! I’ll tell you more about the research I’m planning in future posts.

• Breaking free of the “nice-o-sphere”
• The dangers of Twitter
• Podcast.com’s Top Podcasts of 2008

You can listen to the conversation below. Sorry I didn’t record my side of the conversation–the audio quality was a little Skypy and I cut out from time to time, but it was an interesting conversation.

• Setting up a research calendar for 2009 reports, which will focus on particular segments of social web technologies
• Launching our weekly Social Media Business Tool review, which will focus on how to get started with individual services, sites and tools
• Kickstarting one podcast series–in which SocialSpherites will interview book authors–and adding a few more interviews to the B-2-B social media successes series I started for Tech PR Gems and PRobecast
• Reviewing existing, and ultimately proposing SocialSphere’s own, frameworks for evaluating social media tools and services for businesses
• Formalizing the processes around our daily Social Media War Room, including a headline news feed and other notification and subscription services

In the meantime, please check the SocialSphere Blog for updates from the other crew.