It’s that time of year once again…when we take a moment to reflect upon the most newsworthy events of the past 12 months. If you really want to go back down memory lane you can take a peek at our lists for 2007 and 2008 as well. So, in no particular order, here our top 29 of 2009:

1. Michael Jackson dies at 51. We’ll miss you, King of Pop

2. Tiger Woods wins another Major, coming within four of Jack. Later in the year, he loses sponsors and goes on hiatus when affairs are made public.

3. Facebook and Twitter continue their rise in popularity.

4. Notable people including Farah Fawcett, Billy Mays, Ed Kennedy, Danny Gans, Patrick Swaze, Walter Cronkite and Brittany Murphy pass away… just to name a few.

5. H1N1 (originally known as Swine Flu) breaks out worldwide

6. Balloon boy fools the nation

7. Somali Pirates terrorize the seas

8. Rule29 is published in four books including: The Graphic Eye and Caffeine for the Creative Team

9. Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States

10. The International Olympic Committee awards the 2016 Summer Olympics to Rio de Janeiro

11. Rule29 believes that Books Matter

12. Bernie Madoff orchestrates the biggest Ponzi Scheme in history

13. Kanye West upstages Taylor Swift

14. Sarah Palin announced resignation as governor of Alaska

15. Oprah announced resignation from her syndicated talk show

16. Miracle on the Hudson

17. Steelers win the Superbowl and Yankees win the World Series (again)

18. Jon and Kate Gosselin file for divorce

19. Rampage at Fort Hood.

20. Salmonella outbreak from peanut butter

21. Octomom delivers eight babies in California

22. General Motors and Chrysler filed for bankruptcy

23. According to Jim, Deal or No Deal, King of the Hill, Prison Break and ER series finales

24. Conan O’Brien takes over for Leno on The Tonight Show

25. Healthcare overhaul introduced and debated, and debated…

26. Chief Justice Sonia Sotomayor is sworn in as the first Hispanic Chief Justice

27. Twilight New Moon fever sweeps the nation

28. Lady Gaga is weird

29. Rule29, MacDonald Productions and LIA debut their first documentary, This is My Home

What were your top moments of 2009?

We are very excited to have had the chance to interview the one and only Father Christmas. We know this time of year he is extremely busy, but thanks to email and twitter we were able to get the next 29 Questions answered just in time for the big day. So whether you are naughty or nice we think you will enjoy this latest installment. Merry Christmas!

1: Of your numerous aliases, which one would you say is your favorite? Kris Kringle, Santa Claus, Papai Noel, Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, etc.
I’d have to go with St. Nick….Mrs. Claus has some of her own that only she can call me… Ho, Ho, Ho.

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Snail mail greetings – even with all the electronic communication out there; there’s nothing like opening your mailbox to a personal hello. This time of year we think of Christmas cards, those warm holiday greetings bringing well-wishes, family updates, and all-around seasonal cheer. Every year this brings the challenge of crafting the perfect holiday message to send out to friends, family, and business associates alike. We have welcomed this task and happily present to  you our past 6 years of cards.

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It’s always interesting to me how things work in cycles. It wasn’t too long ago that everyone said, “You have to have a website; everyone who is anyone has one.” And to a certain extent, at least nowadays, that is true. Recently, you see the same thing happening with social networking. Do you have a Facebook page? A twitter account? Are you LinkedIn? And we see a lot of clients asking for those, just because everyone else has them. Ahh, peer pressure.

We do agree that our clients (and you) should make use of these various communication vehicles. However, like a website, it needs to be done for the right reasons and should be analyzed in the correct way. Otherwise, all social networking will do for you is drain your resources.

So, why do you want to do it? If it’s just to get a lot of followers, your efforts will produce little fruit. But if you use twitter to spark conversations about a particular area of interest, promote your culture and attract clients, if it’s for personal education or connection to certain topics, now you are talking something more strategic. But there are several rules of thumb that this will all always boil down to:

1) STRATEGY: What are your goals? What is your strategy? Does it work for your culture? Is it for customer feedback, more transparency, or research? Outlining your strategy enables you to measure success and know how and when to evolve.

2) CONTENT: Content is king! Without good content, your network will become stale. Have a plan. It can evolve, but have a plan.

3) CONSISTENCY: These forms of communication need consistent updating. If you don’t have a plan or the horsepower to update, reply, and interact, it would be better not to start at all. ( Also, a bonus rule of thumb: start small, then build. This will help you keep things consistent.)

If you figure out these three items for you and your clients, you are off to a great start.

In an upcoming post, we will talk about how to use social networking to build your business. In the interim, what has worked and not worked for you or your clients in this area?

With the LA Auto Show winding down (you have until the 13th to check it out), the first chapter of Ford’s new Fiesta Movement is also coming to a close. For those not familiar (or if your only memory of a car named ‘Fiesta’ is one of the not-so-desirable kind), Ford recently redesigned the Fiesta for their European markets.

The European Spec Fiesta has seemingly been a big hit. The continued strong sales have given Ford the push it needs to get their feet wet in the proverbial kiddy pool of B segment cars that is ever expanding here in the US. To create some hype for the upcoming domestic launch of the recently revealed car, Ford looked to more unconventional marketing. And with that, the Fiesta Movement was born.

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