Arron Lorenz

In writing today I find myself a bit torn. On the one side I believe that the way we treat corporations/unions/organizations as human entities is just wrong. On the other hand saying “money isn’t speech” is just wrong.

Money = Speech

I’m sorry to say this but the markers you just bought, the thin piece of wood, the glue, and the poster board all cost money. So if speech isn’t money then how can posters outside of a rally be speech? How can t-shirts be protected under free speech? Or tattoos? Money does equal speech.

Corporations pay taxes but cannot vote to change the laws that affect them. Unions pay no taxes but can still endorse candidates. So the workers can organize and fight the corporations but again the business’ cannot affect change? Unions, LLC’s, S-Corps, Sole Proprietorships, Churches and many other groups are just that – A collection of individuals. So why can’t that collection of people spend the money that that group earns legally on anything they want?

News Corp (NASDAQ: NWS) brings in on average 50 Billion dollars, thats FIFTY BILLION dollars. They have 152 sub-entities in NO TAX or LOW TAX areas. Yet they are allowed to produce and run which ever propaganda dribble that manages to spew out of FOX News’ broadcast. How is that not political speech? How come the FEC does not shut them down 30 days before an election? Because they are giving you “news”?

Locally headquartered LEE Enterprises (NYSE: LEE) owns 64 news papers in 23 states. They are allowed to produce and run any number of editorials, and endorsements that many folks will argue can sway an entire election. Yet GE cannot purchase a TV advertisement claiming that Barack Obama will be bad for business. Nor could Coca~Cola purchase a Quad City Times advertisement saying that John McCain will be the best president for sugary sodas. WHY NOT?

Next time you are hand making a sign while watching MSNBC and reading a copy of the Quad City Times remember to nod your hypocrite hat at the millions of business’ and organizations that now share the same liberties.

Hey for those of you reading my blog here I’ve been sharing some of my posts from QC Design Tech. I’m a big fan of the following because I’m trying to remind folks that Social Media is just another avenue for communication. What you communicate is up to you!

After having been engaged in various social media networks, and blogging platforms over the years time has shown me a few things. I have found that completely original ideas are hard to come by. That we are more simply trying to constantly improve on all facets of our lives, and this world. Social Media is a new growth on mass communication. Where the lines of “bull horn” marketing are blurring with dinner conversations.

How Social Media is used today

In 2009 with one in five Americans on Twitter, and 35% of Americans are more likely to tweet if they are already a member of another social network. It is easy to see that spreading the word across multiple SM channels is crucial. From 2008 to 2009 Social Media websites saw an additional 11.3 million members from the 35-49 age group.

The information and data that I have included in this post all highlight a trend that is heading up. Social Media is as ubiquitous as a cellphone, e-mail, radio, computers, and  television. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, along with the hundreds of others are just different mediums and different channels for your business to capitalize on.

Rush Limbaugh is Social Media

In 1988 during the decline of AM radio Rush Limbaugh first nationally syndicated his radio show. He went national by doing something that no one else had done. Rush GAVE HIS PROGRAM AWAY. Usually radio stations paid a royalty to the talk show for being able to air the program. Rush gave his radio signal to any radio station that would play it. He then signed the advertising deals directly with advertisers. He completely cutout the middle man. By giving his program for free to these AM stations in their decline he managed to get his name, his brand, and his voice to thousands of stations.

The radio stations don’t pay Rush, the listeners aren’t paying a dime to Rush to hear the radio program.

Read More: http://www.qcdesigntech.com/2009/11/social-media-is-talk-radio/