However there’s still plenty of room for innovation within the standard ad positions. Adweek recently highlighted a number of ad executions at NYTimes.com, including the Russian homepage advertisement for “The Americans.”

Immersive, engaging online creative. With no ick factor.

A period New York Times front page in Russian links to “The Americans” Facebook page.

“WSJ is launching a social network in the coming months that will compete with LinkedIn as a platform for *like-minded people* to meet online and share ideas.” (via Times of London)

And here’s Abuzz acquisition, circa 1999:
“The New York Times will use Abuzz’ Beehive technology as the community-building engine…for our growing audience of *like-minded people* and for the advertisers who want to reach them.” (Via CNET.)

Still have a few pens lying around. Great swag.

This weekend I read a very moving op-ed in Sunday’s New York Times, and it has stuck with me: A Word Gone Wrong.

Columnist Lawrence Downes explains that today, March 6, is the fifth annual “day of awareness” in a national campaign to stop using the word “retard.”

It seems like a small thing, but it’s not. Growing up in the 80s “retarded” was a fairly common slur, aimed in anger and scorn, right up there with “faggot”…a term that’s now completely unacceptable and that I hesitate even to write. So why is “retard” still ok to say?

Because words can hurt. Every day there’s a news story about another bullied kid, another child’s suicide. When I was young there was the playground, the backyard and the home phone (usually in the kitchen)…public spaces with some degree of adult supervision. Now it’s a lot easier to amplify and escalate a campaign against that not-so-cool kid when you’ve got Facebook, Twitter, GroupMe and Google Chat.

The NYT column quotes John Franklin Stephens, who writes beautifully:

So, what’s wrong with ‘retard’? I can only tell you what it means to me and people like me when we hear it. It means that the rest of you are excluding us from your group. We are something that is not like you and something that none of you would ever want to be. We are something outside the ‘in’ group. We are someone that is not your kind.

Someone that is not your kind.

Unfortunately “The R Word” site seems to be down — hopefully a result of too much traffic! — but the organization’s Facebook page Spread the Word to End the Word is going strong.

That’s where I saw this story, A Word Can Be a Matter of Life and Death about three-year-old Amelia who was initially denied a life-saving kidney transplant because she is mentally retarded. It’s an excellent piece by Matthew Holder, Global Medical Advisor to the Special Olympics, about what defines, and who decides, “quality of life.”

Years ago in Boston I spent many summer Saturdays volunteering with an organization that ran trips for folks with disabilities — or rather, disABILITIES as their slogan proudly stated. We went kayaking and camping and I was often paired up with a young man who was blind and mentally “challenged.” But he could kayak forever…I would steer from the back, and he would power us down the river, tirelessly. And man, did he love to swim, with a look of pure joy on his face.

None of us is perfect. Some disabilities and personal challenges are just more visible, more obvious to others…and less socially acceptable. (Mis)perceptions are powerful. Words matter.

“A Word Gone Wrong” from The New York Times. Illustration by Jordan Awan.

When I jumped off the corporate ladder to launch Mohan Media in May 2011, my initial clients were colleagues or referrals from my NYT and WSJ days. I’m incredibly grateful for these relationships over the years. And I’ve met fascinating folks in Year One to expand the network.

There’s nothing I enjoy more than connecting interesting people and projects. And increasingly, connecting clients to the right tools and technology that will help drive the company forward.

Someone got smart and designed Fred Flintstones vitamins for adults. Much easier pill to swallow, literally.

But the small print is kind of funny. Maybe they can rebrand as “Two A Day.”

And BTW, why are vitamins so expensive???

“Erin DiMeglio, a 17-year-old senior, was 2 for 3 passing in that scrimmage at Loxahatchee. And on Friday night, she took two snaps in the Paladins’ 31-14 season-opening victory against Nova, handing the ball off both times. She is believed to be the first girl to play quarterback in a Florida high school football game.”

As the only girl on the soccer team for years (this was early ’80s), I can relate.

But I’m not a fan of the photo selected to run on the SportsMonday section front.

Of all the pix to choose from, NYT went with cheerleader helping quarterback fix her ponytail. Really?

My choice would’ve been Erin DiMeglio as she channels…

…David Wright.

I shouldn’t care about my Klout score. It’s a fairly arbitrary number, subject to change, prone to privacy snafus. Like most social platforms & tools these days.

The Klout is really a reminder mechanism: oh I meant to Tweet that story, oh I haven’t blogged in days (weeks, lately!)

But that 50 is a nice number to aspire to.

And ironically, in a month when I took a vacation (and was *mostly* offline, but not totally unplugged or relaxed, sad to say), a Valentine’s Facebook post w/50+ Likes seems to have boosted & maintained my score.

Lesson learned: Posts about true love get lots of luv. There’s a book in there somewhere. Or a Kindle Single at very least.

I’m not going to write about the over-the-topness that is CES, it’s been done. I’m not going to speculate whether CES is going the way of COMDEX.

But I do sense a pivot in the works, or at least a (smartly) evolving event. It makes complete sense that CMOs and ad agencies are meeting & speaking at CES this year, as advertising+social+mobile+location+analytics all intersect, with the brand at the hub. It’s not the platform per se. It’s figuring out how to communicate the brand across which platforms make the most sense, depending on your resources, assets and audience. While keeping an eye on what’s next. And that’s what CES is best at.

So maybe it’s time to put Las Vegas back on my travel circuit for next year. I do love the scale of that city and especially the hotels. Everything is super-sized, even the lobbies. And even a few decent restaurants.

Palazzo Lobby, with Lavo in the background (pre-Kardashians).

Dessert delight at Aureole Las Vegas.

The world's largest wine tower, Aureole Las Vegas. Of course.

And another from Google:

And a different Twitter 404 caught my eye in the tabs — this time it’s the number of updates, not the fail whale.