The Adventures of Accordion Guy in the 21st Century

Moment of silence, free mini-muffins for a half-hour…what’s the difference? This image was tweeted by “Drink and Fight” (@Electrica), who reports that he took the photo at the Mission Valley Marriott Hotel in San Diego:

What pic.twitter.com/L35ytAtCWP

— Drink and Fight (@eclectrica) September 11, 2013

 
Marriott International has since released a statement:

We are aware of the picture that was tweeted. It shows an offer that was made independently by the hotel and not the Marriott Hotels brand. As far as we know, it was limited to one property. While the hotel was making a sympathetic gesture to its guests in remembrance of 9/11, we apologize and understand why some people may have misunderstood the intent of the offer. We are reminding our hotels to use discretion and be sensitive when remembering major events such as 9/11.

You know what I hate? The “we’re sorry you were offended” type of non-apology that attempts to reflect the blame back onto the party being apologized to. The “we apologize and understand why some people may have misunderstood the intent of the offer” part of Marriott’s statement smacks of that.

This article also appears in Global Nerdy.

This article also appears in Global Nerdy.

[ insert your own joke about some great stories ending with someone tossing a salad here ]

…they had an election, but don’t look to their TV if you want to find out who won.

I love this comic that depicts Marvel Comics’ biggest bad guy, Thanos (you saw him in the post-credits scene in the Avengers movie), and DC comics’ second-biggest bad guy*, Darkseid, as guys who carpool to work.

(* In case you were wondering, DC Comics’ biggest bad guy is Orson Scott Card.)

Justin Kozuch is one of the better-known people in Toronto’s startup/indie tech scene, and he comes by his notoriety honestly. As a digital marketer par excellence, he’s worked on a number of notable projects, including:

• Hailo, the smartphone app that connects taxis with people who need them, quickly and conveniently. Justin was their social media marketer and community manager, growing the brand from a virtual unknown to one of the go-to apps for Torontonians on the go.
• Pixel to Product, a Canada-wide research project of his own creation that covered the country’s digital media industry. He won the Mesh Prize to fund the project, and its output was the comprehensive 2011 Canadian Digital Media Economy Report.
• Community management for Radar DDB and OSL Marketing.
• Social Media Week Toronto, where he was the lead events coordinator.
• The TTC’s Customer Liaison Panel, where he gives Toronto’s transit system some much-needed advice on improving their customer service from the angle of technology and social media.

In a just world, Justin wouldn’t be looking for work. But it’s not a perfect world, and looking for work is exactly what he’s doing right now. If you need someone who truly gets digital marketing, social media, and PR, and who comes with my highest recommendations, go talk to Justin! Give him the opportunity, and he’ll take your company to great heights with his social media/marketing/community management savvy.

If you don’t need his services, please help spread the word! Send people to and use the Twitter hashtag #hirejustin:

This article also appears in Global Nerdy.