Some of you may know Room 214 has recently sponsored iEmpathize, helping to back a fund raising event taking place here in Boulder next month. If you have ever taken the time to read our company page you will see we are vocal supporters of a couple social justice organizations.

Now we are blessed to have recently put some of our money where our "support" is. It's one thing to give a cause a thumbs-up, and another to actually contribute financially to it (consider the ratio of donation amounts to fans that you see for any given cause listed in Facebook, and you'll know what I mean).

With that in mind, please consider this cause as one you might contribute to. I know there are lots out there, but this one strikes a chord like no other - dealing with the most heinous crime of child sex trafficing. I've pasted a letter the founder, Brad Riley, wrote to help you gain some greater insight (if you dare). Thanks for your consideration:

In 2006, on a trip to SE Asia with the human rights organization Love 146, I witnessed gross human rights violations in the form of child prostitution. I witnessed first hand the atrocities of the commercial sex trade and it's exploitation of women and children. I met the children who are affected by this issue. I met children at risk in big cities and small villages. I visited with families and friends of families whose children had been abducted and sold into forced labor or child sex slavery. I met children in safe homes who are victims of this horrible abuse and are being beautifully restored. I met with survivors and heard their stories first hand. I also met the modern day heroes who fight for justice in the most innovative and impacting ways. I discovered the intricacies of this issue ranging from prevention and education to rescue and restoration.

Imagine being 12 years old. Imagine, if you can, being taken from your family and never seeing them again. Imagine being taken to a strange land and an even stranger underworld of gruesome reality. Imagine having all the fight that is in you being beaten out of you. Imagine being forced to spend every night, all night, having all forms of sex with stranger after stranger after stranger. Imagine being a boy and having everything honorable about growing into a man being ripped from your core. Imagine being a girl that has no inkling that one day a husband could virtuously love her and together they could have a beautiful family. Imagine your childhood and future being raped and pillaged away.  This is the nightmare that is a reality for countless children.

In the red-light district of Bangkok, my heart was broken as a 14-year-old boy propositioned me for oral sex. Soon after I gently turned him away, I watched him lead a westerner to the entrance of a brothel. I placed my hands on the exterior walls of these brothels knowing that children are being held captive and raped inches away from me and I felt utterly helpless. I had never known this kind of shame, leaving those walls and the children within them behind. That trip has tortured me emotionally, physically and spiritually ever since. I now welcome a personal nightmare of never forgetting the plight of these children. My nightmare is now blended with a dream. My dream is an ardent and compassionate movement of people who don't look away. A dream of powerfully integrous people who do what it takes to stop this injustice. An unrelenting force that says, "I empathize and I am deeply moved to action."

Upon my return to the states, I have been deeply moved to provide opportunities for those I influence, as well as the general public, to explore and engage in issues such as these. Together we can make a difference in the lives of those who are suffering.

Brad Riley

What breaks as news on major television networks is now anybody's new research project. Just ask my wife, Keely - who will tell you letting your fingers do the walking on Google is the practical man's (or woman's) way of getting the kind of information you just won't get via the TV or news paper.

Case in point: Over the labor day holiday, Keely casually decided to follow up on a few personal curiosities regarding Senator McCain's new VP elect, Sarah Palin.  While the latest media "dirt" was focusing on Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter, Bristol, Keely noted online comments suggesting Sarah's recent birth of Trig, may in fact have been her daughter Bristol's child (who was pulled out of school for five months due to "mono").

Now I know this may be starting to sound like a bad gossip trail on Extra or something, but bare with me. My intention is not to engage a political agenda, but instead demonstrate an "amateur's" ability to make a decision based on information found faster than the most well respected reporters can release it. On that note, I should also mention that I have not personally checked any of these sources myself. Believe it or not, the political subject matter is not the point of my post. Maybe the information simply isn't credible enough for a reporter to realease.

Inside of 30 minutes from the time she started digging, Keely found a blog post featuring a video interview of Sarah Palin in February of this year.  In this video, Sarah is supposed to be 7 months pregnant. My wife's conclusion, as one who has been 7 month's pregnant on two occasions, is there is no way she is pregnant.

So in our household, via the Internet connection coming into our kitchen on Monday, a suspicion was fully fueled. I have to admit I took a look at the video myself, and it kind of reminded me of all the "16-year old," female Chinese gymnasts we saw at the Olympics this summer. Who knows, though. She is certainly getting enough flack (and praise) without my commentary.

The exciting thing from my perspective is how the political climate has advanced yet another validation to the blogosphere.  Not that we can rely on blogs for definitive truths, but we can at least rely on them as points of opinion and evidence beyond what is served through the filter of entertainment-based media.

I've been spending more time posting on the Capture the Conversation blog lately (there is a juicy post on there today). With all the hype of the DNC, I thought I'd share a couple Clinton things that stuck in my mind:

1. Hillary Clinton said she was a proud daughter, a proud mother, a proud American and a proud Senator. Is it just me, or is something obvious missing... while Bill sits with that funny furled smirk... um, how about a proud wife? Evidently, not.

2. I like how Bill said people have always been more impressed by the power of America's example as oposed to the example of America's power. Wow, now that's a keeper.

I was having a quick conversation with the Captain today about how it is much preferable to work with clients who "get it" when it comes to the kind of services we (Room 214) provide.

I think a lot of companies in the SEO and SEM space enjoy taking refuge in the educational side of the business. They strike some success for a few clients, and suddenly are equipped to preach best practices for $200/hour and up.

The same thing is happening in the social media space. The anecdotal theories are seriously unending. "Experts" whore the speaking/conference circuit as a primary means of getting business. I don't fault them, really. The best way to learn, after all, is by doing.

What's really rewarding (and in line with my original point of this post) however, is when you get to work with a client who knows enough about what you do to hold your feet to the fire.

When James and I first started working with Strategic Media, we used to get irked by Brett Astor's needling of how and why we were approaching his search marketing efforts the way we were. He wanted this report, and that report, and what seemed to be an explanation at every turn.

The result of his actions, though annoying at first, proved to make us better service providers. We learned to embrace the nature of his kind of effect on our business. Today, we look to him as more of a friend than a client -- with no less expectation in terms of what we must continue to provide if we expect to keep his business.

For those of you participating in search engine marketing, specifically pay per click within Google Adwords, you understand the importance of doing it right to maximize ROI.

There are plenty of e-books, "definitive guides," seminars and tools to help support your efforts - but every once in a while you come across a (often simple) tool that becomes a permanent part of your marketing arsenal or process. Such is Microsoft's Commercial Intention tool.

 Why is this valuable? Fact is, most search marketers get overly focused on click through rates. The reality is good marketers are not as interested in click action as they are in conversion (i.e. download, register, buy) action.

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