Cash Mobs: Get Social, Spend Local

Most of us relate to social media in terms of electronic interaction among friends, family, fans and followers. But supporting small businesses?

Recently, cash mobs have been in the news about the positive impact they are having in support of local businesses. For those who don't know, a cash mob is similar to a flash mob, except people converge on one local store at a set period of time, specifically to buy things... with a $20 spend per person. 

National Poetry Month: Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson

This is the last day of April and, therefore, the final day of National Poetry Month for 2012. Today's poet: Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson (1875-1935).

 By Michele Hush

National Poetry Month: Brenda Cárdenas

It’s National Poetry Month and, thanks to wonderful iPhone apps from The Poetry Foundation and Poetry Daily, I’ve been reading heaps of work by poets who are new to me. Brenda Cárdenas is one of them. 

 By Michele Hush

Technology: Connecting us with Tupac and the World

Technology can do amazing things. Days ago, Tupac, dead since 1996, gave a "live" performance via hologram to thousands of stunned music fans at Coachella. Light beam technology and voiceovers brought Tupac's image to life alongside Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. Fans were shocked and amazed, and many would have loved for Tupac hologram to go on tour. 

Women’s History Month: Bella Abzug

As the War on Women rages all around us, with attacks lobbed at everything from our reputations to our reproductive systems, I often find myself wishing Bella Abzug were here to rally women to the barricades with her big, bold voice. 

— by Michele Hush 

Lessons Learned from Mad Men

We've remained patient these past 17 months for a new episode of "Mad Men" and this Sunday, the wait is over. Millions will tune to see what will happen at the office of Sterling, Cooper, Draper, Pryce.

In many ways, the world of "Mad Men" is a far cry from the advertising industry we know today. A three martini lunch is no longer standard practice (we hope!) and because of women like Peggy Olsen, the male-female imbalance has improved since the '60s. 

Women’s History Month profile: Elizabeth Hawes

If you haven’t heard of author and fashion designer Elizabeth Hawes, it’s probably because she was blacklisted for her allegedly “Communist” work with American labor unions. J. Edgar Hoover opened up an FBI file on Hawes in 1940, years earlier than the thousands of other files that were opened during the Cold War.

By Giuliana Lonigro

Invisible Children

Invisible Children, a movement seeking to end the conflict in Uganda and to stop the abduction of children for use as child soldiers, created and released a 30 minute film, "KONY 2012." The video aims to raise awareness, leading to the arrest of Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), who is accused of crimes against humanity, kidnapping, enslaving and killing Uganda's youth for almost thirty years.

Women's History Month: Lily Renee Wilhelm — From Holocaust Survivor to Comic Book Pioneer

March is Women’s History Month and March 8 is International Women’s Day. We can think of no better way to commemorate both than with Linda Levi's profile of an international woman who succeeded in a field dominated by men: Lily Renee Wilhelm.

 By Linda Levi 

Linda, VP of Communications for the New York Women in Communications Foundation Board, is Managing Director of LSL Strategic Communications

The Business of the Red Carpet

The 84th Annual Academy Awards will be viewed by millions of people all over the world this Sunday. Awards will be given, speeches will be made and the champagne will flow. However, winning the little gold man statue is not the only coveted trophy of the night - not by a long shot.