I responded that today, after an awesome win, I think everyone in NYC considers the Giants “theirs,” and more importantly, is that really the most important thing for them to worry about in their busy day?

To which I get this vitriolic reply, stating that I’m completely full of shit, and that I’m nothing but a braggart, who should learn to be nicer to people. Me. I should learn to be nicer to other people. The guy who invites anyone to ask me any question, anytime, about anything. Me. I should be nicer to people because some idiot told me that I’m a terrible person for calling them “My Giants.” OK.

Funny thing was, that didn’t bother me so much as the way the person framed his reply. He started with this: “Well, I have two degrees in Psychology, and I can tell you that…”

That right there pretty much caused me to tune him out. (Well that and two other things: His AOL address (I know it shouldn’t matter, but we all know it does,) and his signature file, which included his mobile number, and next to it, the words “Don’t ever text me.”) That’s fine. Between your “no texting” rule and your AOL address, 1991 called, they want you back. Go hang out with C+C Music Factory while you’re at it.

Look – I usually spend most my time explaining that our lives should be primarily about helping other people. More specifically, I suggest that if we help other people, then any self-promotion we do becomes more about “helping” and less about “self-promotion, and that’s beneficial to us. And I stand by that.

But – The problem comes when someone tries to use “help” as a way to just start shit, which is exactly what Mr. “2 degrees and don’t text me” did. His whole email to me was based on him “helping me” “I’m trying to help you better yourself.” Specifically, he informed me that (his words now) no one who reads the HARO cares where you are or that you’re wiping your ass.” So in his 2-degree mind, he probably honestly believed that he was doing me a benefit by insulting me and telling me that every way I run the HARO was in fact, wrong. Never mind the fact that I’ve built HARO into a multi-million dollar business, helped thousands of businesses grow, and made thousands of friends, colleagues, and acquaintances along the way – Because 2-degree man thought I was pompous, then of course, I must be, and every single one of you who consider yourselves my friend, is 100% wrong. Shame on you.

So I offer you this: Help, when asked for, is a benefit, a great thing, and can allow you to not only grow your business, but increase your positive brand, increase your revenues, bring you new clients, and yes, even help friends out. But – When it’s not asked for, and you present it like the way our friend did above, chances are pretty high that you’re going to look like a douche.

You’ll look like a douche if you offer non-asked for help in a douchey way, as well. Tell me that “no one cares when I wipe my ass” is something reserved for my wife to say to me, and maybe not even then. Want to help? Don’t be a douche. Be nice. Or, if someone really pisses you off that much, simply ignore them! What could you possibly expect to get out of “helping” me the way you did this morning? Did you think I’d thank you for your attempt, after telling me how much I piss you off? If we were friends for years? Sure – Go for it. Tell me to change – I’d appreciate that. But here’s the thing: I have no idea who this guy is. For that matter, I don’t know if he’s male or female, because he has an AOL address (one name, no first or last name) and the signature file was too busy telling me “DON’T TEXT ME” for me to care.

I guess my point here is this: Wanting to help isn’t the same as criticizing. Until you know the difference, perhaps you shouldn’t offer? You’d think after two psychology degrees, one would – But hey… What do I know? I just spend all my time helping people the right way – Usually via text – And from a real email account.

Thoughts?

Cats, goals, dogs, fails, Lindsay Lohan, cats again, Gawker, coffee, coffee makers, naked women, and finally, Wikipedia, where I somehow wound up reading about hobos.

But the interesting thing about hobos was this – Not only did they have their own code, (as made popular in the Mad Men episode of the same name), but they also had their own ethical code.

That’s right – Hobos had a code of ethical conduct, one to which they tried to always adhere.

Pretty amazing, huh? They rode the rails, took work where they could get it, ate when they could, yet they tethered to a strong sense of ethical balance. When you think about it, that’s a lot more than most of our so called “pillars of society” are doing nowadays. (How’s your jail cell, Mr. Madoff? How about yours, Mr. Blagojevich?)

With that said, here’s my recommendation for 2012: Follow the code of ethics set out by the Hobos well over a hundred years ago. If you do, chances are, you’ll do better, won’t get into trouble, and more than likely will have a good year, personally, professionally, and financially.

I’m going to try it in 2012. Will you join me? And are there any additional codes that should be added? Leave them in the comments.

The Hobo Code of Ethics:

Decide your own life, don’t let another person run or rule you.
When in town, always respect the local law and officials, and try to be a gentleman at all times.
Don’t take advantage of someone who is in a vulnerable situation, locals or other hobos.
Always try to find work, even if temporary, and always seek out jobs nobody wants. By doing so you not only help a business along, but ensure employment should you return to that town again.
When no employment is available, make your own work by using your added talents at crafts.
Do not allow yourself to become a stupid drunk and set a bad example for locals’ treatment of other hobos.
When jungling in town, respect handouts, do not wear them out, another hobo will be coming along who will need them as bad, if not worse than you.
Always respect nature, do not leave garbage where you are jungling.
If in a community jungle, always pitch in and help.
Try to stay clean, and boil up wherever possible.
When traveling, ride your train respectfully, take no personal chances, cause no problems with the operating crew or host railroad, act like an extra crew member.
Do not cause problems in a train yard, another hobo will be coming along who will need passage through that yard.
Do not allow other hobos to molest children, expose all molesters to authorities, they are the worst garbage to infest any society.
Help all runaway children, and try to induce them to return home.
Help your fellow hobos whenever and wherever needed, you may need their help someday.
If present at a hobo court and you have testimony, give it. Whether for or against the accused, your voice counts!

I’d like to give mega-props to Pete Czech, founder of the New Possibilities Group, for the incredible job he and his team have done on this rebuild. If you ever find yourself in need of some amazing technical work, you can’t do any better

Welcome and enjoy!

-Peter Shankman

Today, I get to give away a Winter Jacket (just in time) at ScotteVest. Like the kind I have. Want to win A Fleece 5.0? ScotteVest? Perfect for winter?

Here’s all you have to do:

Someone tweeted me this morning with a speaking opportunity – But they did it to @peter. When they didn’t get a response, they tweeted to @shankman. By this point, I was notified by more than one person that this tweeter thought I just wasn’t replying. *Facepalm.* So it occurred to me that I might want to do a better job branding my Twitter name. That’s where you come in:

Here’s the contest: Write down my Twitter handle: @petershankman – Then, put it somewhere visible, and take a photo of it. Tweet the photo to me (@petershankman) or leave it on my Facebook page.

The craziest location I see my Twitter name wins the jacket. It’s that simple. Contest ends November 1, 2011.

And by the way…  It’s an awesome jacket.

Have fun!

Some great personal news below this awesome George Michael video.

Last June, 2010, HARO was acquired by Vocus, Inc. It was a great day, and the perfect culmination to an amazing three years of building the best PR repository in the entire world. In just under 30 months, HARO turned from something I’d send to friends into a game changer – something that thousands upon thousands of people relied on each day to get publicity, exposure, and grow their businesses. It was massive.

Over time, I noticed that the number of PR firms using HARO peaked at “all of them,” and the number of small businesses using HARO kept growing at a rapid, rapid pace. And it occurred to me – small businesses really have two choices when it comes to growing their company from a marketing perspective. Do it themselves, where they may or may not succeed, or hire an agency, and hope for the best.

Both those options have their own benefits. I’ve worked with some of the best agencies in the world, as well as some of the smartest internal marketing teams known to man.

However, on the flip side, I’ve also consulted with companies who have come to me beyond angry, for they’ve found themselves having spent lots and lots of money, either for no deliverables, or for deliverables so far off the mark, that they’ve actually hurt the company in the long run.

I’ve been thinking long and hard about what can be done to help the small businesses of the world with marketing. It’s easy to help large businesses. When Saudi Aramco wants marketing help, they throw me on a plane to Saudi Arabia, and I help them.

When a mom and pop bakery want to grow their small, three person business, or want to dip their toe into social media, or figure out how to reach the media, it’s a bit harder. How do they find the right person to help them? How do they know whether or not to trust that person? And finally, how do they know they’re doing it right?

End result? Small businesses, which make up what, something like 97% of the United States economy, need some serious marketing help.

That time has come.

As you can read in this release issued this morning, I’m happy to announce that I’m joining Vocus as Vice President and Small Business Evangelist. In this newly created position, I’ll be helping the more than 30,000 small businesses around the world who utilize Vocus in any capacity, how to grow their business through smart marketing, smart use of PR, advertising, and yes, even social media.

From a bigger perspective: I’ll still be consulting, speaking all over the world, blogging, tweeting, bothering Meagan on a daily basis, and doing all the other fun things I do. I’ll still be writing the HARO, five days a week. I’ll still be based in New York City, and still have NASA the Wonder Cat by my side.

But – Now I’ll have the power of a huge, publicly traded company behind me. I’ll have hundreds of brilliant Vocus employees to whom I can turn, and as important, I’ll have the spectacular suite of tools from Vocus to offer clients around the world. These include PRWeb, HARO, NorthSocial, Engine 140, and a host of other tools and products designed to simplify, enhance, and grow any company’s marketing presence.

It’s going to be a fun, fun ride. Keep watching. We’re going to have a bunch of new and exciting news coming down the pike in future weeks and months. I for one, am excited as anything for this new change. I hope you are, too.

As always, thanks for reading. Thoughts? I want to hear them below.