http://www.hynescommunications.com/index.php en acarter@calypsocom.com Copyright 2010 2010-07-16T14:44:15+00:00 http://www.hynescommunications.com/index.php/blog/article/summer_reading_musts/ http://www.hynescommunications.com/index.php/blog/article/summer_reading_musts/#When:13:44:15Z As you know, July 16th marks the end of summer…well just about.  In a panic, the kids are starting to take seriously their summer reading requirements. In that vein, I have created my own summer reading list. Enjoy!                                   Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Ways to Creativity By Hugh MacLeod           Exploring the idea of creativity and what exactly makes a person artistic, MacLeod shares his best advice and insights, as well as some of his more clever cartoons.  From business to daily life, MacLeod helps readers understand where inspiration comes from and how they can reach their full creative potential. Readers will learn how to stick out from the crowd and gain the confidence they need to put their best ideas forward.  After reading about MacLeod’s 40 keys to creativity, you’ll have the confidence you need to stand out and make a name for yourself in business. Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin and the Race of a Lifetime By John Heilemann and Mark Halperin           You may think you know the election of 2008, but how well do you really know it?  Game Change tells the story of the 2008 presidential election in a new and engaging way.  With dialogue and expertly detailed scenes, as well as new interviews and revelations, Game Change looks back on this historic election and exposes some of its most disappointing, exciting and revolutionary moments from behind the scenes.  Only after reading this novel-like account of the election will you be able to understand and appreciate just how groundbreaking this election really was.  The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot           Although she used to be known as Henrietta Lacks, this poor, Southern farmer is now simply known as HeLa, well her cells are at least.  Lacks’ cells are known to be the first “immortal” human cells grown in culture.  Even though she has been dead for 60 years, her cells have helped develop the polio vaccine, uncover secrets of cancer, and have even lead to advances in cloning.  In this investigative biography and scientific thriller, Skloot follows the life of this extraordinary woman and her ancestors living today.  By observing this astonishing scientific breakthrough, as well as its consequences for Lacks’ family today, Skloot shows just how closely science and society can be related.  2010-07-16T13:44:15+00:00 http://www.hynescommunications.com/index.php/blog/article/my_beef_with_dc_metro/ http://www.hynescommunications.com/index.php/blog/article/my_beef_with_dc_metro/#When:00:51:09Z I moved to Washington, DC in January of this year.  Since moving I have had a huge and standout pet peeve with the city that I don’t think anyone from another city could understand. As simple as it sounds, it’s the escalators in the Metro. It’s not just me, everyone I know that lives here is driven nuts by them as well. I promise that anyone that lives in Washington right now and rides it knows what I’m talking about. It isn’t an understatement that it’s normal for 50% of the escalators to be out of order at any given stop In any other city it wouldn’t be a problem, but DC is different. Hear me out before you judge me on this seemingly unimportant issue. I mean, there’s a hugely popular local blog that rants about it to back me up - UnSuckDCMetro. Generally escalators that don’t work aren’t such a problem for me. I’m very familiar with Boston’s T and New York’s subway system and don’t mind taking the stairs in those cities. It’s usually faster to run up them and who couldn’t use a few more stairs in their daily wanderings? But, like I said, DC is different. Before I get to the bad, the nice part about the Metro is that it’s clean, spacious, and generally runs on time. Unlike Boston, you can sit on some nice seats that aren’t carved to death and graffiti doesn’t stand a chance. It’s not too crowded and doesn’t smell like the rancid subway system in New York. I’ve been on nearly a dozen different subway systems and this one has got to be the nicest – once you’re on the platform. Now we’ll go to the bad and the reason why I think it’s the only place where one can complain about escalators not working and not be picked on as being lazy. Washington has the longest escalators you could ever imagine. The longest escalator in the Western Hemisphere? Yep, it’s here. 508 feet of escalator. That’s nearly two football fields of mechanical stairs. Every single friend that I’ve had visit me here makes a comment about how far you have to climb on escalators in the Metro. Most snap photos at both the top and the bottom. Roslyn is probably 20,000 leagues under the DC swamp (I know it’s technically Virginia). Dupont isn’t as deep, but must be below a tectonic plate at the very least. Yes, the Metro does have elevators, but I have only taken them twice here. The first time was when I just moved here and couldn’t see the steps down at Navy Memorial/Archives. The second was when I had a whole PC with me. I’m young and relatively in shape so I refuse to let myself. Now that summer is here and everyone is visiting, things are getting brutal. This city was seriously built on a swamp and it’s the muggiest place I’ve been in the world. There are tons of jokes about ambassadors getting hazard pay for being sent to DC back in the day. Now, imagine climbing a broken escalator at least twice as long as you’ve ever seen in your life – in a suit – with a computer bag in 100 degree heat while you can practically see dew drops forming in the air in front of you. Not fun. I’m not kidding that people die when they don’t work. Is it that hard to keep the escalators running?  I guess so, but can’t understand why. Fares are about to go up for the second time since I got here 7 months ago and it’s probably worse than the day I got here.  The Metro is so perfect – aside from the escalators! If you don’t believe me and the mayhem I speak of, look what just happened a few blocks away from me yesterday. Smoke + broken super-long escalators + lots of people underground = …   I promise my next post won’t be such a rant. 2010-07-14T00:51:09+00:00 http://www.hynescommunications.com/index.php/blog/article/grown_ups_is_funny_charming/ http://www.hynescommunications.com/index.php/blog/article/grown_ups_is_funny_charming/#When:15:55:18Z Vampire love stories not your bag? This weekend you might think about watching Adam Sandler’s new flick Grown Ups. It contains all the silliness of Sandler’s earlier films such as Billy Madison and comes much closer to pulling off a warm and charming message than other Sandler movies like Click, which I actually liked, but most people I know view as a stinker. Sandler plays a super rich Hollywood agent with a gorgeous wife and some really bratty kids. When his youth basketball coach passes away, he takes his family to New England for the funeral.  There he reunites with his four boyhood buddies (played by Kevin James, David Spade, Chris Rock and Rob Schneider) and their families for a long July 4th weekend at the coach’s old lake house. The rest of the story is fairly predictable. Each of the couples (except for Spade, who plays a single lecher) has their own dysfunction. There is a great deal of slapstick and tons of breast and potty jokes. And of course there is the warm message at the end as each family learns to appreciate its members more. Kevin James steals the show with his physical comedy; Chris Rock is surprisingly mild; and David Spade is funnier than expected. Adam Sandler is the rare mega-celebrity who comes from New Hampshire, my home state. Every couple of years Sandler comes back to his old high school in Manchester to goof around with the students. New Hampshire has featured in many of his films. While Grown Ups takes place in a generic New England community, people who spend any time around Lake Winnipesaukee will recognize many scenery shots from the film. Grown Ups is a fun film to enjoy this July 4th weekend and throughout the summer. It will remind you not to take life or yourself too seriously and to appreciate your loved ones and your friends. After watching it you’ll probably find yourself e-mailing your own childhood buddies to recount your own breast and potty jokes. 2010-07-02T15:55:18+00:00 http://www.hynescommunications.com/index.php/blog/article/taste_of_chicago_goes_social_media/ http://www.hynescommunications.com/index.php/blog/article/taste_of_chicago_goes_social_media/#When:21:05:18Z This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Taste of Chicago: a city-wide celebration of awesome eats, music and summer culminating in a Fourth of July fireworks celebration. Each year, 50-60 of Chicago’s best restaurants set up outdoor booths at Grant Park and serve millions of tasters bite-sized portions, allowing them to experience Chicago’s culinary gamut. The event is the city’s second largest attraction second only to Navy Pier and trust me, you’d rather visit the Taste of Chicago than Navy Pier…just make sure you bring an empty stomach. And, starting this year, your iPhone. In celebration of the 30th birthday of the city’s annual Eatfest, foodies, beginning Monday, will be able to download an iPhone application deciphering the vast array of food and entertainment offerings at this year’s Taste of Chicago, Mayor Daley announced at a Taste of Chicago Preview at a South Loop Dominick’s Saturday. It’s just one of the many new features at this year’s event that kicks off Friday, and has 11 new restaurants joining the more than 50 that will be offering dishes representing just about all of the city’s ethnic communities, the mayor said. Since most of the visitors to the Taste are tourists and suburbanites who make a yearly trip into the city, having a functional application that catalogues the offerings and maps out the Taste in a convenient manner is a fantastic idea. By the middle of the day, the Taste is usually crowded and hot, and you can find yourself settling for half of a cheeseburger when you were really looking for a meatball drowning in Sweet Baby Ray’s spicy barbecue sauce or a dripping Original Rainbow Cone. The application has an interactive map with vendor locations, bathroom locations and links to a comprehensive directory of restaurants listing their menus, websites and where you can find them after the Taste is over. And lest we forget the second most important part of the Taste - the music - the app has a real-time schedule of acts and stages. You can download the app here. Happy tasting! 2010-06-24T21:05:18+00:00 http://www.hynescommunications.com/index.php/blog/article/mair_at_blogher_men_in_skirts/ http://www.hynescommunications.com/index.php/blog/article/mair_at_blogher_men_in_skirts/#When:11:46:55Z At BlogHer, an online community whose readership reaches upward of 20 million a month (and majority of whom are, as the name indicates, women), I had an editorial Sunday on the paradigm of a powerful woman—and how the media and her opponents regard her. About two weeks ago, following June 8 primary night, the big meme in political media was “The Year of the (Republican) Woman.”  Primary victories by the likes of Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina in California, and a strong performance by Nikki Haley in South Carolina, followed on the back of victory the week prior by Susana Martinez in New Mexico. But since then, another narrative seems to be taking hold in some quarters—that these women aren’t really women, they’re men in skirts.  That is so because they a) didn’t emphasize their gender at every turn in the course of their respective primary races or b) don’t focus, or toe the line, on “women’s issues”—or both.  In particular, objections have been raised that these women either are not pro-choice or are insufficiently vocal about being pro-choice, and therefore—the subtext seems to be—they’re more akin to men in skirts than “real women.” It’s a sort of modern, through-the-looking-glass version of the critique leveled by a few on the distinct, definite right wing of American politics regarding Hillary Clinton back in the day: She wears pantsuits, therefore she’s not a “real woman.”   The argument went then, real women wear skirts, and the items at the top of their priorities list are kids, husband, and housework, not kids, husband, and career.  It continued: Have a career and want to pursue it, even if it means making some sacrifices like not being a stay-at-home-mom?  Pro-choice?  You’re a feminazi who is destroying America—and you certainly shouldn’t be elected to high office, where you might serve as a role model. The 2010 version, as I’ve heard it expressed and as seems to be implied in some stories discussing this new “Year of the Woman” from some on the distinct, definite left wing of American politics goes like this: Real women prioritize advocacy surrounding “women’s issues” and their careers, not advocacy on the issues that matter most to them personally and their careers—let alone their kids or their husbands.  Pro-life (or not vocally pro-choice)?  You’re a 1950s throwback who should never be allowed into a position where young women might listen to you or look up to you. Read the article in its entirety at BlogHer.com. 2010-06-22T11:46:55+00:00 http://www.hynescommunications.com/index.php/blog/article/richardson_at_human_events_unions_big_loser_in_arkansas_primary/ http://www.hynescommunications.com/index.php/blog/article/richardson_at_human_events_unions_big_loser_in_arkansas_primary/#When:01:05:12Z At Human Events, I have an editorial today on the multi-million dollar gamble organized labor made on Bill Halter’s ill-fated primary challenge to Blue Dog Senator Blanche Lincoln: For Sen. Blanche Lincoln, Tuesday’s victory was bittersweet: She narrowly secured her party’s nomination, though head-to-head polls indicate she will lose six of every ten general election voters to her Republican challenger in November. But for organized labor, who invested upwards of $10 million backing Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter’s ill-fated primary challenge of Lincoln, it is all bitter. From the outset of Halter’s bid, public employee unions and progressive groups rallied at the prospect of defeating Lincoln, whose opposition to labor mainstays like the Employee Free Choice Act and the public health insurance option were observed as mortal sins. The White House and Democratic establishment—most notably Arkansas’ favorite son, former President Bill Clinton—instead endorsed Lincoln. The divergent paths of the White House and labor groups in the Arkansas nominating contest is symptomatic of a long-developing schism in the Democratic Party-organized labor coalition. For all the talk of a Tea Party-induced conservative schism, the movement has, largely, coalesced behind the Republican Party. The case is not so with frustrated labor organizers, as even loyal Democrats have difficulty swallowing the 21st Century union agenda. But Republicans—and even moderate Democrats who stand in opposition to the union agenda—should not rest on their laurels. Unions organizers are, if anything, innovative agitators: They tried securing establishment goodwill by subsidizing a presidential bid; they sought to establish their own party; and they attempted infiltrating another. It should be no secret now—labor is an agile beast. And as union organizers’ previous moves show, Halter’s defeat was only a minor obstacle in their greater campaign. What is most disconcerting here, though, is the labor movement’s dynamic, imaginative tactics. We won’t know just what they’re planning next until we’ve already been broadsided. Read the article in its entirety at Human Events. Follow James on Twitter. 2010-06-15T01:05:12+00:00 http://www.hynescommunications.com/index.php/blog/article/the_portsmouth_herald_profiles_patrick_hynes_and_hynes_communications/ http://www.hynescommunications.com/index.php/blog/article/the_portsmouth_herald_profiles_patrick_hynes_and_hynes_communications/#When:18:11:36Z Hynes Communications President Patrick Hynes was profiled in the weekend edition of The Portsmouth Herald this Sunday. See below for the exclusive by Michael McCord… The exploding PR frontier of social networking Hynes: The Social media revolution is now a permanent revolution By Michael McCord of The Portsmouth Herald, February 21, 2010 PORTSMOUTH — Patrick Hynes didn’t invent one of the social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube that have become so ubiquitous — but Hynes Communications has become a pioneer in fully utilizing social media communication for corporations, nonprofits and political campaigns. Founded by Hynes in 2006, the company was a spin off from Portsmouth-based Calypso Communications and it has grown into one of the nation’s leading public affairs agencies with a popular niche in social networking and new media outreach. “I had been blogging for quite some time at that point and I began to recognize that there was this need for large organizations to communicate with opinion leaders online,” said Hynes, who was online outreach coordinator for the 2008 presidential campaign of Republican Sen. John McCain. The company now has offices in Portsmouth and Washington, D.C., and it recently hired a social media expert to expand operations in the southeastern part of the country. Hynes started the company with a deliberate plan to transcend traditional corporate public relations practices. “We want to help these organizations expand and adapt their communications strategies to maximize the reach of the social Web,” he said. “I didn’t see anyone else out there doing it the way I thought it ought to be done.” Hynes now has five full-time employees with most working out of the Washington office. While many of the firm’s clients remain secret because of non-disclosure agreements, Hynes said others include the Freedom First PAC of Minnesota Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, the U.S. Senate campaign of former Hewlett Packard Chairwoman Carly Fiorina in California, the Workforce Fairness Institute, AARP, Mayo Clinic, and the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease. Befitting the frenetic, 24/7 pace of social media, Hynes said his day starts at 4 a.m. by collecting as much newsworthy information as possible that impacts his clients and the work doesn’t stop. “I live in a permanent state of news consumption. We sometimes need to monitor developments online on a minute-to-minute basis,” he said. It’s work that requires creative problem solving in real time, said Hynes who admits “perhaps to the detriment of my business model, there is nothing formulaic in what we do.” The firm calculates what information is valuable to users of different social networks, the problems and challenges that need to be overcome and begins working its database of contacts. “I try to package that information up in appealing and compelling ways for people,” Hynes said. “We need to be prepared to insert our clients’ points of view on a moment’s notice. And that means we spend a lot of time researching issues and preparing for various scenarios. Getting caught unprepared in my world is death.” One of the most effective things the firm has done, he explained, was to put Sen. McCain on regular conference calls with bloggers during the 2008 campaign. “It helped to give the bloggers access to a major national figure and it allowed Sen. McCain to drive his message outside the filter of the mainstream media,” Hynes said. The explosive growth of social media communications has changed news coverage and how people get information — and it has altered the boundaries of public relations. “The Internet has extraordinary power,” Hynes said. “Almost 80 percent of reporters say they get story ideas from things they read or see on the Web. In some cases, reporters are writing first draft material for their event coverage on Twitter. “Just as important, the Internet gives a large organization the ability to communicate directly to its constituents without passing through the media filter. This is a complicated process that rewards only the most imaginative and adventurous organizations, but people can establish their own communications pipelines outside of the traditional media.” Despite success in the political arena, Hynes said he wants the firm to maintain its ratio of 75 percent corporate and nonprofit clients and 25 percent political assignments. “Politics pays less and it requires a great deal work beyond the scope of a contract,” Hynes said. “Because of the huge time commitment, we will limit what we are doing (politically) to large impact races with national implications.” One of those races will be the anticipated U. S. Senate race in California between Fiorina and incumbent Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer. Hynes believes the firm will triple in size in the next five years and become “the first choice for large organizations” who need social networking methods of communication to get the word out. The firm is already doing sub-contracting work for larger and more traditional public relations agencies. “The social media revolution is actually in a fairly advanced state. I’m still a young man, but the communications world of my youth would not be recognizable to a person just entering the workforce today,” said the 37-year-old Hynes. “This is not to say there aren’t more innovations coming down the pike. In fact, the social media revolution really needs to be understood as a permanent revolution.” At a Glance: Who: Patrick Hynes What: President and founder, Hynes Communications Business: Social media public affairs Where: Offices in Portsmouth and Washington, D.C. Web: http://www.hynescommunications.com 2010-02-23T18:11:36+00:00 http://www.hynescommunications.com/index.php/blog/article/happy_6th_birthday_facebook/ http://www.hynescommunications.com/index.php/blog/article/happy_6th_birthday_facebook/#When:18:34:34Z February 4, 2004, Facebook was born.  Today it is the largest social networking site in the world, acquiring new users daily. Founded by Mark Zuckerberg, and his college roomies Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. It was originally intended to be a network for Harvard students, and was formerly known as theFacebook. However in the course of six years, and some fine tuning, Facebook is bigger and better than ever. Today Facebook has opened its doors to everyone from relatives and high schoolers, to Businesses and Mom and Dad. It gives you a wide array of things to do, from games like MafiaWars to Jetman, or creating groups about practically anything. Heck you can even throw a sheep at someone to get their attention by using the Superpoke application. Facebook’s popularity has increased since its adoption, and has given people around the world the ability to stay in touch with loved ones everywhere.  Six years strong and counting. It’s amazing how a simple idea can become a phenomenon with a little entrepreneurship and some hard work. So for everyone, I invite you to say happy birthday to Facebook, if you haven’t already.  Maybe post it on your live feed!? 2010-02-04T18:34:34+00:00 http://www.hynescommunications.com/index.php/blog/article/hynes_57_consultant_candid_with_patrick_hynes1/ http://www.hynescommunications.com/index.php/blog/article/hynes_57_consultant_candid_with_patrick_hynes1/#When:18:56:41Z Originally published by the “National Journal’s Hotline” (subscription may be required) Patrick Hynes is the president of Hynes Communications, a national social media communications agency with offices in DC and Portsmouth, NH. Hynes served as the online outreach consultant for Sen. John McCain’s WH ‘08 camp. Hynes is also the author of the book In Defense of the Religious Right. But today, he is our Consultant Candid. What was your first job? The Weirs Beach Water Slide in Laconia, NH, baby. What is your proudest moment professionally? Helping Sen. John McCain win the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. If you could be in any other line of work, what would it be? Well, I would be a stay-at-home dad with my three kids. Of what political campaign (past, present or future) would you most like to be a part? I would love to have run online strategy and communications for Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign (if such a thing had existed.) What individual who does your kind of work for the other party do you respect the most, and why? Peter Daou, who was Sec. Hillary Clinton’s Internet Director. Daou is a straight shooter and an extremely bright guy. Negative campaigning—good or bad? A good thing. What is your favorite restaurant to meet clients? Rasika on 6th Street in Penn Quarter What is the first section of the newspaper you read? Wall Street Journal editorial page. A question from the previous participant: If you could be any vegetable in the White House garden, what would it be and who would you like to pick you? A red pepper picked by President Obama himself, I suppose. Please pose a question for the next interviewee. Who would win a fantasy presidential match-up between Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama? 2010-02-03T18:56:41+00:00 http://www.hynescommunications.com/index.php/blog/article/something_phishy_is_happening_at_twitter/ http://www.hynescommunications.com/index.php/blog/article/something_phishy_is_happening_at_twitter/#When:20:51:30Z Recently, some Twitter users may have been asked to change their passwords out of the blue following receipt of curious emails explaining that their accounts have been victim to phishing attacks. This may sound like deja vu as similar attacks occurred back in November. While the alert e-mail itself looks like a phishing attack, tweets from a plethora of users are proclaiming that the email is in fact 100% true.  To be safe, if you receive this email, go to Twitter via your web browser and try to log in. If you can’t access your account then the email was legitimate and you should change your password as instructed.  Twitter is reportedly working to better understand this latest attack, but they have yet to make a public comment on the incident. Rest assured though fellow Twitter fanatics, don’t be alarmed.  Change your password and keep on tweeting because we all want to read about that movie you saw last night ... and what you’re having for dinner. 2010-02-02T20:51:30+00:00