LannyCardow.com

I’m not much for the political angle people attach to Earth Day, but I think we can all agree on the value of basic energy conservation.

Here’s a list of 100 things you can do to save energy courtesy of the OPA.

Canadian Olympic athletes and their fans have something in common: we all want Canada to “own” the podium.

It’s a terrific idea, and it’s a completely understandable goal (if you’re not aiming for first, then why not?). Consequently, it’s a fine idea for the big Canadian sports organizations come together to support an organization whose first stated goal is to “Place first in the total medal count at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.”

But I have a problem with the organization’s name, “Own the Podium”.

It’s sets them up for a bit of a Catch-22: If Canada wins the most medals or not, it sounds smug. That’s not our style. If we come up short (as is looking likely), then the name begins to become work against the organization, and it becomes a joke to disgruntled fans. Don’t believe me? Just look at this quick Twitter search and see what people are saying about “Own the Podium”.

The Vancouver Sun today tries to defend OTP’s name, saying there’s nothing wrong with wanting to own the podium. As I said earlier, I agree. But the Sun editorial fails to separate the mission of the organization from its name (see especially the last couple of paragraphs) and 500 words later still doesn’t give a convincing reason why the name itself shouldn’t change.

I believe that words matter, and great care must be exercised when raising expectations — there is a very fine line between generating excitement and burdening oneself. We wouldn’t advise a political party to say publicly that it will “own the ballot box” or a retailer to advertise that it’s going to “own the Christmas sales rush”.

Why not just cheer on our amazing athletes (who always do their very best) without creating monster expectations with wordplay.

Just giving a quick shout-out to friend Ethan Rabidoux for creating and co-authoring the excellent In the Bullpen sports blog.

Ethan and his colleagues have been updating it frequently (thus giving it an advantage over LC.com). They have some interesting takes on the NFL next season. Even though they picked the Colts to win on Sunday (but who didn’t?!), It’s a thoughtful, insightful blog. Check it out. Also: Ethan’s other blog.

FedEx Kinkos offers one day of free resume printing as a service to jobseekers affected by the economic downturn.   Brilliant PR move and will be great for earned media, I’m sure.