I swear the universe is upside down this week. And, as I was telling Joey Strawn, that’s not a good thing!

Never mind the completely psychotic week I’ve had, there have been some crazy happenings.

First, major filings for bankruptcies – Borders, Giordano’s, and the restaurant that used to bear Walter Payton’s name.

Then the Red Cross had a stray tweet (that was handled extraordinarily well).

And Charlie Sheen called into Dan Patrick’s show not once, but twice, to talk about how he doesn’t need to get help because he’s been clean for three weeks and also giving Lindsay Lohan some advice on partying and also contributing to society. Oy.

Seriously. It’s a full moon and the universe is upside down.

And the above stories aren’t even part of Gin and Topics this week! Those are below.

5. Google Starts One Pass Digital Subscription Service. It’s here! Google is now giving content creators a way to publish and monetize through sites and apps. While it’s only available for publishers, at the moment, it’ll be interesting to watch and see if they ever open it up to businesses, too. Thanks to Nick Harrison for sending this link to me!

4. House Votes to Block FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules. Hooray! It’s one step closer to not requiring us to pay for access to the web or allowing wireless companies to block certain content. It has to go to the Senate next, but this is a step in the right direction.

3. PR Measurement Formula Fails? This is EXACTLY why we’re holding a webinar on Tuesday about financials for PR and marketing professionals. We are right-brained. We have liberal arts degrees. We’re not taught how our efforts affect the bottom line. We’re seen as an expense, not an investment. Todd Defren explores measuring our efforts in this blog post.

2. Community Management: Marketing Discipline of the Future? It’s time to start moving your job description to one of community management. According to this article, all marketers will be community managers in the future. For those of us doing this for three years now, that’s a big duh. For the rest of the world not in the social media bubble, be prepared! It’s coming!

1. Most Innovative Companies: Groupon. I’m not sure I can’t get past the photo to read the story. You’ll see what I mean. Thanks to Todd Lyden for bringing it to my attention. I believe my response was, “OMG! That photo!”

Don’t forget!

Three things:

1. The financial webinar for PR and marketing professionals is on Tuesday at 11 CT.

2. The HAPPO live event is being held at our offices on Thursday from 5-7. We have a panel of Karen Bloom, Catherine Merritt, and myself to discuss networking, interviewing, and using new tools to find a job.

3. The deadline for submitting your entry in The Now Revolution contest is tonight!

Have a great weekend!

Thanks to Jennifer Hallowes for the awesome photo!

Gini Dietrich

Gini Dietrich is the founder, CEO, and author of Spin Sucks, host of the Spin Sucks podcast, and author of Spin Sucks (the book). She is the creator of the PESO Model and has crafted a certification for it in partnership with Syracuse University. She has run and grown an agency for the past 15 years. She is co-author of Marketing in the Round, co-host of Inside PR, and co-host of The Agency Leadership podcast.

View all posts by Gini Dietrich