How to handle mistakes as a leader

by Joe Domaleski | Mar 4, 2024 | Blog, Business, Columnists, Community, Front Page, News Center, Opinion, Top News

So you’ve made a mistake, now what? You’re not alone, although you may feel that way. I’ve made many mistakes and blunders over the years. No one is perfect. Leaders are often criticized by “armchair quarterbacks” who are not privy to the complete details of a situation. Entrepreneurs are especially vulnerable to mistakes because they’re usually “all in” financially, which makes mistakes extra painful. Unlike a large organization where one may be spending someone else’s money, the small business owner or nonprofit executive is totally at risk when making decisions. Here are some common mistakes that leaders, including myself, have made:

• Failure to communicate effectively: This is probably the source of more mistakes than anything else. Whether you’re communicating with your team or with a client, it’s essential to have clear communications. Although verbal communication is often the most effective way to collaborate with people, if you’re running a business, it really needs to be followed up with written documentation to ensure clarity. Memories tend to be selective, especially when dealing with complex issues.
• Avoiding tough decisions: I’m guilty of this, and it’s something I work on constantly. I tend to be optimistic and hold on to things longer than I should. A leader doesn’t need to be reckless, but they do need to be decisive. Doing so inspires confidence and clarity. Not doing so can lead to problems down the line. Once you have all the facts you need, make the decision. I’m not alone in this regard. I know a lot of leaders struggle with procrastination.
• Inflexibility and lack of adaptability: Most leaders tend to be older and have experiences which helped them to get where they are, but may not be enough to get to where they need to be. The world is a rapidly changing place, and what worked yesterday may not work tomorrow. A lack of adaptability can hinder company growth, stifle emerging leadership within an organization, and cause problems with clients who need newer solutions.
• Delegating too much or too little: I’ve written previously about delegation, and it’s one of the hardest things to get right. If you delegate too much, your team may not have enough guidance to go in the direction you want. On the other hand, too little delegation will run the leader ragged and stunt the growth of a high-powered team. Improper delegation can lead to all kinds of errors and mistakes internally and externally.
• Moving too quickly or too slowly: Pacing is an important concept when working with other people. Moving too fast on something may leave people behind or expend resources wastefully on a market opportunity that’s not quite ready. Moving too slowly can cause an organization to “miss the boat” on profitable and beneficial opportunities. When working with a team or a client, it’s important to make sure everyone is “on board.”
• Failing to give and receive feedback: When something isn’t quite right, it’s important to speak up so that a situation doesn’t get worse. Most people don’t try to make mistakes, but if one is being made, it’s important to say something in the spirit of improvement. This helps people improve non-optimal circumstances. Maybe more importantly for the leader is to have the ability to receive proper feedback. A wise leader seeks counsel from trusted advisors and input from people at all levels of an organization. When giving or receiving feedback, it’s important not to get into a “blame game”. We all know people who are never wrong, like to spread rumors, and are very quick to point fingers at others. Avoid those people.
• Misallocating resources: Doing the right things, at the right times, for the right reasons, with the right resources is not easy. Just about everything a business does involves time, money, and people. Knowing how much time to spend on things, how much money to invest in projects, and knowing which people to assign to tasks is both an art and a science. For a small business or nonprofit, cash flow management in particular is extremely tough (this is true in many households as well). Usually, no one but the accountant and the business owner knows the big picture. Even with good intentions, sometimes a leader doesn’t get it quite right with resourcing.

The author Joe Domaleski leading a recent company meeting where challenges from the prior year were acknowledged with a plan for making things better in the new year. Photo/Mary Catherine Domaleski

I won’t go into details, but last year, I made some mistakes with my business. Lessons have been learned, changes have been made, and we’re moving forward in this new year. What follows are suggestions that I try to follow on how to fix mistakes and move on:

1. Accept responsibility for the mistake: A true leader acknowledges and takes responsibility for mistakes they or their team make. Accepting responsibility should be done clearly and without deflecting blame. Unfortunately, many so-called leaders in society do the opposite and blame everyone but themselves. That’s not leadership. Although it’s rare, there is one exception to this rule – if you’ve been advised by an attorney not to admit fault because a legal issue is at stake. That should be the only exception.
2. Understand the impact of the mistake: Most mistakes have consequences. Quickly and completely assess how the mistake has impacted your team, your customers, and your organization. Doing this will help you determine what needs to be done to fix the situation.
3. Apologize for the mistake: Mistakes often impact other people. If that’s the case, an apology shows respect to those affected as well as a commitment that amends will be made. Not everyone will accept your apology. If that happens, it’s on them – not you.
4. Fix the mistake: Taking appropriate corrective action demonstrates that you are willing to “right the wrong.” This may involve a refund or discount to an affected customer, a proper allocation of company resources to a project, or a reassignment of team members to better maximize everyone’s strengths. It could also mean that company policies and procedures need to be adjusted to avoid a recurrence of the problem.
5. Learn from the mistake: Non-lethal mistakes are learning experiences. People rarely learn from wins, in fact quite the opposite often happens. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to win, but there’s a downside. Constant winning can lead to complacency and stagnation. Nothing lasts forever, especially not in the business world. Think of all the failed businesses who thought they were immune from losing. Most learning and improvements come from mistakes. Determine the root cause of the mistake and gain insights from it to make you and your organization more resilient in the future.
6. Forgive yourself for the mistake: This is the hardest thing to do. No one likes to make mistakes, but we all do. Yes, because you’re the leader, there will be some who are quick to criticize your mistakes, and that makes it hurt even more. Forgive them, but especially forgive yourself. Once you’ve accepted responsibility, apologized, and fixed the mistake, it’s time to move on with new knowledge and a clear conscience. Don’t let the past weigh you down; allow it to fortify your list of experiences to better prepare you for what’s ahead.

Making mistakes is no fun, but it’s part of the journey. Over the years, I’ve made many mistakes, and I’ll probably make more in the years ahead. Handling mistakes as a leader requires maturity, accountability, and commitment. When everything is going right, it’s easy for people to take credit. When things go wrong, most people like to point fingers and ascribe blame. Unlike what we often see in today’s “me first” society, a true leader gives credit to their team for the wins but accepts responsibility for the mistakes and losses. Once a leader accepts responsibility and apologizes, it’s time to fix the problem and move on. I think the hardest part of righting a wrong is forgiving yourself. Don’t carry the baggage of guilt into the future; it’ll only hold you back from improvement. Let mistakes toughen you up and prepare you for what’s ahead. We need more accountable leaders who lead with head, hands, and heart. Will you join me in being that type of leader?

[Joe Domaleski, a Fayette County resident for 25 years, is the owner of Country Fried Creative – an award-winning digital marketing agency located in Peachtree City. His company was the Fayette Chamber’s 2021 Small Business of the Year.  Joe is a husband, father of three grown children, and proud Army veteran.  He has an MBA from Georgia State University and enjoys sharing his perspectives drawing from thirty years of business leadership experience. Sign up for the Country Fried Creative newsletter to get marketing and business articles directly in your inbox. ]

My recommendations on top news sources for staying informed

by Joe Domaleski | Feb 26, 2024 | Blog, Business, Columnists, Community, Front Page, News Center, Opinion, Top News

Every Friday morning, a group of our friends gets together at 7am to have breakfast and chat at a local restaurant. We talk about a lot of different things, but last Friday (2/23/24), many of us decided to talk about the massive AT&T cellular network failure that occurred the previous day. We noted that it was hard to get news about what was going on. Indeed, AT&T wouldn’t even acknowledge the issue until it was almost resolved six hours later. What little news that was being reported was inaccurate and incomplete. That discussion led to a more general discussion about how and where each of us reads the news. The discussion we had inspired this article.

Some of my friends gathered for breakfast and conversation at Thumbs Up Diner – Trilith/Fayetteville. Photo/Joe Domaleski

Before getting into specific news sources, it’s important to put my recommendations into context by addressing the topic of bias. News reporting always has some kind of inherent bias, even if it’s unintentional (which is rarely the case). Reporters and editors are people who are influenced by their own experiences, perspectives, culture, beliefs, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Besides the people reporting the news, the organizations that publish or broadcast the news also have to cater to their target audience and advertisers.

Be on the lookout for specific types of fake news and bias, including:

• Clickbait – designed to grab attention and get clicks. Most social media news falls in this category.
• Propaganda – created to mislead audiences. This is increasingly becoming a problem with the influence of foreign agents.
• Satire/Parody – unfortunately, I think modern society has a hard time distinguishing between parody and truth. Satire is a dying art.
• Sloppy journalism – in which incomplete stories are published without fact-checking. Be advised that most generative AI models don’t know how to fact-check and many reporters don’t either.
• Misleading headlines – there’s a fine line between a proper headline that brings attention to something and one designed to mislead people.
• Biased/Slanted News – people are often drawn to stories that confirm their own beliefs or biases (called confirmation bias), and fake news can prey on that predisposition.
• Unreliable/False Sources – stories that rely on questionable sources, rumor, or hearsay. ALWAYS check cited sources when reading a news story.

Traditionally, news outlets selected what stories to publish and how to frame them, as is done with this website you’re reading right now. With the advent of AI, algorithms largely determine what we see in most online news outlets. Algorithms are designed to promote popularity. These computer-generated publishing agents assume that if something is popular and fits your profile, then you want to see more of it. Doing so reinforces echo chambers, confirmation bias, and causes a general lack of perspective. That’s not universally true, and just the opposite situation occurred last week. Google’s new Gemini AI ran into problems by doing the opposite and pushed false diversity narratives with a black George Washington and other historical falsehoods.

Recognizing and understanding bias is important. Here’s my own bias when it comes to the news:

I believe it’s important to use discernment and consult a variety of news sources to get a broader perspective, even those sources that don’t line up with my worldview.

Okay, with that out of the way, here’s my recommendations on top news sources for staying informed.

1. WSB Radio morning news show – Broadcasting on FM 95.5 / AM 750, this excellent news program has it all – news, weather, traffic, and short interviews. It’s very convenient for Mary Catherine and me to get caught up on the news while we’re drinking coffee and getting ready for the day. Later in the day, WSB Radio has politically opinionated radio shows, but the morning news program is excellent and non-political. Highly recommended investment of five minutes of your time daily.
2. BBC World News – with a variety of free digital and broadcast formats, the BBC is a great source of world news. It’s so good that many US-based NPR radio stations license their content and rebroadcast it for a US audience. I don’t always have time to review the world news, but when I do, I start with the BBC.
3. USA Today – with its easy-to-read graphics, short articles, and emphasis on news over opinion, this is about as centrist as it gets when it comes to news (unless you consult a newswire like Reuters). When I skim USA Today, I feel like I get a good overview of what’s going on in our nation.
4. New York Times – Yes, it’s very well known that the New York Times tends to display a left-leaning, liberal bias. Yet, it’s also well known that the “old gray lady” of news still has some of the best writing, features, and content. They also have cool puzzles like Wordle and the famous New York Times Crossword (any fellow cruciverbalists out there?). I pay for a subscription to this so I can read it on my iPad. Reading the Sunday edition is a tradition I’ve kept for many decades.
   

   Starting my day by reading the online edition of the New York Times on my iPad. Photo/Joe Domaleski

5. Wall Street Journal (WSJ) – The absolute best source of business news and features is the WSJ. The stock market data isn’t as useful as it once was because there are so many other sources for that, but everything else is relevant and useful. The opinion pieces definitely lean to the right, with well-reasoned conservative viewpoints. The technology column is especially good. If you’re a business leader like me, then the features about leadership and management are also excellent.
6. Local government / School system – All of our local municipalities, including the school system, have excellent websites, newsletters, and social media channels. The Sheriff’s Office has an excellent app for your smartphone to alert you to situations, like the shutdown of Hwy 314, which occurred on Saturday. They also echo NWS weather alerts. Sign up for your free, tax-dollar-supported news. With the exception of the Sheriff’s Office, most of the other entities tend to report on events and updates, not necessarily controversial or breaking news. Honestly, that’s not really their job, and they leave that to the next recommended news source.
7. TheCitizen.com online – yes, this newspaper website right here is one of your best sources of local news. Totally owned, operated, and funded by people in Fayette County, this is truly an institution not beholden to any particular special interest. The paper makes a clear distinction between news and opinion columns. Because the publisher of this paper believes in free speech, the opinion section can get a little heated at times. Truth is, anyone can write in, and it remains the most popular section. I don’t agree with many of the things published in the opinion section, nor am I required to do so. My own weekly columns are purposely non-political, and I appreciate everyone who takes the time to read them. There’s also the Fayette News, which is owned and operated from Thomaston.

Sometimes breaking news will show up in a questionable location, which inspires me to consult one of the trusted news sources above. I wouldn’t totally rely on the following sources, but they may alert you to something that may warrant further research.

• Twitter / X – probably the best source of breaking or emerging news on the national or international level. When the AT&T network went down last week, this was the first place that reported on it. There’s a lot of misinformation, parody, satire, and bias on Twitter / X – so use with caution.
• Facebook – not my favorite social media platform and definitely not my primary source of news, but often times the source of local, breaking news. Many people in our community hang out in one of the popular county and city Facebook groups. When folks aren’t griping about something, you’ll occasionally hear about something newsworthy pending confirmation from a trusted source. Our local government organizations, school system, and public safety all put out news on their Facebook groups. Besides keeping up with your friends and neighbors, it’s also a decent place to find out about community events.
• Traditional TV / Cable media – Before the rise of Internet news, many of us middle-aged people (and older) watched the news on local TV stations and larger cable networks such as CNN, CNBC, and Fox News. The cable news outlets are well-known for bias, but that’s not the reason I don’t watch them anymore – it’s just not convenient. Being able to pull out my iPhone and skim the news – or – have it read to me using a text-to-audio app just makes it more convenient.
• NPR / GPB News – I really want to like NPR and will listen from time to time. Because they’re trying so hard to be diverse in their programming, it often means that the news they’re reporting on isn’t relevant to me. Market Watch is pretty good for business news. GPB news has excellent state-level news coverage, and I should probably listen to that more often.
• RSS Feeds – I also periodically use an RSS news feed reader called Feedly. It aggregates and pulls news from different online sources via RSS feeds or web scraping. There are other systems out there like Reeder, Apple News, Flipboard, and Readwise who work similarly. Systems like these are very useful, but can be overwhelming. The main advantage is that they can list the headlines in a very useful way so that you can click on them to explore further.

On the subject of news, I’d also encourage everyone to sign up for free NWS weather alerts. Whenever there’s a bad storm, I normally get three alerts at a minimum – a text message, audible siren outside, and my weather radio will signal an alert. Staying informed about the weather could save your life. You can get more information about weather alerts from the NWS Peachtree City / Atlanta website.

It’s more important than ever to stay informed about what’s going on in our local community and beyond. I’d encourage you not to rely solely on algorithms to serve up what they think is important or trendy. Take charge of what you see, read, or hear. Seek out reputable information and news by using a wide variety of sources and formats. For me, that means starting the day with good, old-fashioned radio news. Reading online news and information sites from different sources (and perspectives) helps me gather information to make better decisions. I like to form my own opinions about what’s going on in the world around me. An informed society contributes to a healthier democracy.

What are some of your favorite sources of news and information?

[Joe Domaleski, a Fayette County resident for 25 years, is the owner of Country Fried Creative – an award-winning digital marketing agency located in Peachtree City. His company was the Fayette Chamber’s 2021 Small Business of the Year.  Joe is a husband, father of three grown children, and proud Army veteran.  He has an MBA from Georgia State University and enjoys sharing his perspectives drawing from thirty years of business leadership experience. Sign up for the Country Fried Creative newsletter to get marketing and business articles directly in your inbox. ]

Ten common marketing mistakes made by local, small business owners

by Joe Domaleski | Feb 19, 2024 | Blog, Business, Columnists, Community, Front Page, News Center, Opinion, Top News

Recently, my company had the pleasure of speaking about marketing at the third annual Coweta County Nonprofit Summit. After the presentation, one of the attendees approached me to ask some questions. She was a volunteer board member attending the conference to get information for her nonprofit but told me that her “real job” was operating a small business in Newnan. She had been struggling with marketing her business to get new customers and wondered what could be done. Instead of answering the question outright, our dialogue just kind of naturally developed into a chat about marketing mistakes that I had seen people (including myself) make over the years. I thought the dialogue we had might make for a good article.

What is marketing? Here’s the most straightforward definition I have:

Marketing = Promotion.

Typically, marketing is directed at promoting activities that lead to the exchange of money, such as the sales of products or services. If you’re a nonprofit, then marketing might be used to solicit donors and sponsors. I used the word “typically” on purpose because marketing doesn’t always involve a sale or donation. Marketing may be used to promote free community events, foster general awareness of an idea, or recruit volunteers. When I was in graduate school 30 years ago, I learned there was a Marketing Mix called the “Five P’s of Marketing” – Product (or Service), Place, Price, Promotion, and People. Some experts have expanded it to “Seven P’s,” including Packaging and Positioning. I’ve heard others refer to only “Four P’s.” Regardless of how many P’s are added to the mix, let’s just stick with “Promotion” for simplicity.

The author Joe Domaleski (on the right) with Southern Conservation Trust Community Relations Coordinator Josie Saunders at the 2024 Coweta Nonprofit Summit. Photo/Joe Domaleski

As a society, we need good marketing. It’s what allows us to find things of interest like household goods, restaurants, service providers, Churches, community activities, volunteer opportunities, entertainment options, and even community news. If you are a business owner or nonprofit leader, then you need marketing to create awareness so that people can find you. One of the reasons I started a marketing agency twenty years ago is so that I could help foster better community dialogue between businesses, nonprofits, and residents. This became especially important during COVID. As people were hunkered down at home in front of their computers, online marketing became a lifeline for both businesses and consumers so that people could see what was open.

The best forms of marketing are natural and relevant. No one likes creepy marketing that stalks you online. You can overdo marketing. It’s also true that most all businesses are marketing even when they think they aren’t. My all-time favorite phrase I sometimes hear from fellow business owners is, “I don’t believe in marketing. We’ve got more than enough business.” That’s wrong on so many levels. Do you have a sign outside your business? Do you have a logo, business cards, and letterhead? If so, then you’re marketing – but probably not enough.

The author promoting his business Country Fried Creative with signage at the 2024 Coweta Nonprofit Summit. Photo/Joe Domaleski

Now that we know what marketing is and why we need it, let’s examine ten of the most common marketing mistakes made by local, small business owners (and nonprofits). As a local business owner, I have made most of these mistakes myself.

1. Marketing without a plan. This is the most common problem I see, and it’s still amazing to me that many organizations sort of stumble around with an outdated website, sporadic advertising, inconsistent branding, and no plan whatsoever. This wastes time and money. At a minimum, an organization needs to have a written plan to define their marketing target, goals, activities, budget, and performance measures. I’ve seen great one-page marketing plans, although most tend to have a little more detail. What I hear a lot of the time is, “We don’t want to be bothered with a plan. Just make us #1 on Google and get us leads.” You can’t do it without a plan.
2. Getting sales confused with marketing. Marketing is not the same thing as sales. You can fight me on that one. We’ve established that marketing is promotion and it helps create the conditions for a sale. The sale happens when someone actually buys something, which could be in person or online. Many companies mistake the two terms and over rely on marketing to make up for bad sales practices. You need both marketing and sales. Great marketing helps create conditions for a sale, but it’s not the sale itself. In a previous article, I said that sales is the most important function of a business, and I stand by that statement, but sales is not marketing.
3. Putting too much reliance on referrals. Make no mistake, referrals are often the best source of marketing for a small, local business. Even as a marketing agency, about 80% of our prospects come from referrals. However, referrals aren’t enough to sustain a business. Good marketing helps convert referrals into potential customers. Almost all referrals will look at a website to gain insight into a company’s quality, authenticity, and relevance. What happens when the referrals stop coming in? Businesses should promote themselves using a wide range of marketing channels such as social media, newsletters, advertisements, and signage to name a few. Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.
4. Underestimating the importance of quality. Your target market will form an immediate impression about your organization based on the quality of what they see. Avoid the temptation to scrimp with AI-generated written content, poor quality images, pixelated logos, and outdated information. When I see things like “Free website by Wix” in a website footer or “Get your free 50 business cards by Vistaprint” printed on the back of business cards, then that tells me that the business is not serious enough to invest in themselves. You only get one first impression. Strive for quality so that you stand out in a noisy world.
5. Failing to keep online information accurate. I know this is a pet peeve for anyone trying to find information online. It’s essential to keep your contact information, hours of operation, location, and company information consistent on your website, social media, business directory listings, and signage. People won’t come to your restaurant if the website says you’re open at 7am for breakfast, but your Facebook page says 8am. Make it a regular habit to audit your online “points of presence” to make sure they’re consistent.
6. Missing out on opportunities for free marketing. Yes, there really are ways to market inexpensively and sometimes free. Asking people to refer your business, claiming your Google business listing, volunteering in the community, and creating ways for people to find you are all great ways for marketing on a shoestring budget. Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive, but it does have to be consistent. Networking in the community is one of the best free ways to market your business, and it’s how I built my company.
7. Over relying on free/cheap marketing. Free is good, but it’s not enough. There’s no getting around investing money and resources to make sure your business has customers. Set a monthly budget and invest a fixed amount each month to promote your business. From time to time, you may want to spend a little more for special events and promotions, but consistently spend and see what works best for you. You’ll be invisible if you don’t spend something on marketing because your competitors will.
8. Avoiding advertising and paid promotions. One of the most effective ways to get your message out to your target market is to invest in advertising, especially digital advertising. With digital advertising, you can be very specific about who sees your message and how much you want to spend on it. Better yet, you can actually track how many people take action, so you can measure the return on your investment. That’s harder to do with traditional print advertising. The key to advertising is consistency and relevance. Advertising in this online newspaper is a great way to reach a local audience.
9. Neglecting brand consistency. Don’t be that business or nonprofit that has different versions of your logo on your signs, shirts, website, and print material. Quality is important, but don’t fall into the trap of merely “elevating your brand” by prioritizing style over substance. Yes, style is important, but make sure it’s sustainable with consistency. Inconsistent branding will confuse your target market. Consistency in high-quality visuals, tone, and messaging reinforces brand recognition and loyalty.
10. Ignoring analytics and attribution. It’s still amazing to me that many business leaders have no idea how many visitors they have on their website or what their marketing return on investment is. You can’t manage what you can’t measure. “Well, they said they heard about me online” is not analytics. Use analytics to track the effectiveness of your marketing activities so that you can focus on what works and eliminate those activities that aren’t working.

Intern Zavion Green, a senior at Sandy Creek HS, works on a promotional video for the Fayette Schools Work-based Learning program and Country Fried Creative. Photo/Joe Domaleski

We all need marketing! If you’re a business owner, you need marketing to help promote your products and services to the right target audience. If you’re a nonprofit leader, you need marketing to solicit donations and garner support for your cause. If you’re a consumer, you need marketing to help find what you’re looking for efficiently and effectively—and occasionally discover things you didn’t know you needed. Marketing is both an art and a science that promotes your organization in a creative and methodical manner. Be deliberate with your marketing activities, ensuring high-quality and consistent messaging that is both measurable and adjustable for optimal impact.

I look forward to seeing how your marketing efforts make an impact in our community.

[Joe Domaleski, a Fayette County resident for 25 years, is the owner of Country Fried Creative – an award-winning digital marketing agency located in Peachtree City. His company was the Fayette Chamber’s 2021 Small Business of the Year.  Joe is a husband, father of three grown children, and proud Army veteran.  He has an MBA from Georgia State University and enjoys sharing his perspectives drawing from thirty years of business leadership experience. Sign up for the Country Fried Creative newsletter to get marketing and business articles directly in your inbox. ]

In pursuit of the truth using data journalism and Taylor Swift’s carbon footprint

by Joe Domaleski | Feb 12, 2024 | Blog, Business, Columnists, Community, Front Page, News Center, Opinion, Top News

Much of the information we consume is fed to us algorithmically by computers in the form of memes, social media posts, brief video clips, and other short forms of media. (Editor’s note:Yes, that was Taylor Swift’s name in the article title.  That’s not click-bait. We will bring the subject of Taylor Swift a little further down into this article. Be patient and read along as we lay the foundations to make her carbon footprint relevant to this article).

When something goes “viral,” people register a “like” or comment and then pass it along to others without much thought, similar to a biological virus. Before you know it, whole segments of the population are potentially “infected” by misinformation. Although it’s not always intentional, misinformation is a real problem in today’s society. In a previous article, I wrote about a related concept called The Matthew Effect. With the rise of generative AI (artificial intelligence), the problem is likely to get worse. In fact, many media outlets are considering putting warning labels on AI-generated content.

We live in a noisy, data-drenched world, and yet truth is such a rare commodity. I’m reminded of that famous line, “Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink,” in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem, ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’. In the poem, those lines are spoken by a thirsty mariner who is adrift at sea but unable to drink from the saltwater sea. It conveys a sense of irony and despair of being surrounded by something in abundance yet being unable to use it. As a society, I think most of us thirst for the truth. Here’s my modern take on that famous poetic line:

Data, data everywhere,
yet seldom do we think.

We are literally surrounded by data. When you are born, you get a social security number that’s a form of data to establish your identity and track you for the rest of your life. In school, you have report cards, test scores, and grades that go into your academic transcript. Everything you do online is tracked. Everywhere you go is tracked by GPS or a roadside camera. Organizations and governments capture data. Medical providers keep data on patient care. Insurance companies keep data on claims. Stores keep data on sales transactions. Banks and credit agencies use data to assess risk and account for financial transactions. Your personal preferences are noted and captured by social media, streaming music outlets, and video services. In short, there’s no shortage of data everywhere about everything. The abundance of data has advantages and disadvantages to society. We can examine the disadvantages and concerns in a future article.

In our quest for the truth, let’s turn our attention to the advantages of having so much data. A quality, original source of data has the potential to provide indisputable, unfiltered truth. Most of us rely on traditional forms of news information in which a human author (or AI) attempts to summarize, explain, or elaborate on something that we assume started as facts from an original data source. Conventional journalism often relies on interviews, observation, and qualitative analysis. This is very helpful when done correctly. It’s not always easy or straightforward to get insight from raw data. On the other hand, the potential for abuse and bias increases as layer upon layer of commentary drifts away from the original, underlying truth.

Data journalism is a relatively new term that flips the story-writing process upside down to start with the data, not the human commentary on the data. It adds a quantitative dimension to stories, research, and investigation. Although the term is new, the concept isn’t. Data journalism was inspired by investigative reporting based on open records requests, meeting minutes, transcripts, data charts, budgets, and other forms of data. Specifically, data journalism is concerned with mostly numerical data since numbers tend to be less nuanced and most objective than words. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the publisher of this paper used data journalism by reporting on the numbers such as those discussed towards the end of the pandemic.

Data driven journalism process graphic. Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) Source/Mirko Lorenz

So what is data journalism? One commonly accepted academic definition suggests the practice of data journalism is “a way of enhancing reporting and news writing with the use and examination of statistics in order to provide a deeper insight into a news story and to highlight relevant data. One trend in the digital era of journalism has been to disseminate information to the public via interactive online content through data visualization tools such as tables, graphs, maps, infographics, microsites, and visual worlds.” (Antonopoulos, Nikos; Karyotakis, Minos-Athanasios (2020). The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Society. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. p. 440).

As someone who’s been working with data most of my professional career, my own definition of the term is that data journalism is the use of computer technology, statistics, and data visualizations to help tell a story. Whereas traditional journalism may include a graph or chart, data journalism makes that a central feature. Data journalist Mirko Lorenz says that “data-driven journalism is primarily a workflow that consists of the following elements: digging deep into data by scraping, cleansing, and structuring it; filtering by mining for specific information; visualizing and making a story.” Here’s an example from the Atlanta Regional Commission.

Source: Atlanta Regional Commission – 21-County Data Dashboard

This approach to reporting relies on three activities: accessing a quality data source, analyzing (aka “interrogating”) the data to understand it, and visualizing the data into a graphical format that tells a story. Examples of data visualizations include infographics, database listings, data-enriched maps (like Google Maps), dashboards, interactive graphics, charts, and even 3D virtual reality explorations. Data journalism tends to rely less on words and more on pictures – but pictures based on original data sources.

There are many advantages to data journalism:

• Enhanced Objectivity: Data visualizations based on original sources tend to be less susceptible to personal bias.
• Greater Depth and Context: It’s been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Visual storytelling allows the reader to explore information in a deeper, more meaningful way than traditional word-based media.
• Higher engagement: The ability to see and explore data “hands-on” is more fun and engaging for the audience. Take a child to a science museum with interactive exhibits and compare that to a science textbook to see what I mean.
• Increased comprehension: Data presented in an interactive format encourages readers to explore the information themselves, leading to greater insights and understanding. Instead of being told what to think, the reader has to use their own brain to draw conclusions.
• Uncovering new insights: Data visualizations often uncover patterns, trends, and knowledge that’s not obvious in a traditional written story.

There are some disadvantages to this approach to journalism as well:

• Increased complexity: Even though a visual approach to storytelling has the potential to be more user-friendly, it does require the target audience to use their eyes and brains. Some people like to be told what to think, so data journalism wouldn’t be appropriate for them.
• Risk of Misuse: Statistics and graphs can be misused to skew or distort the truth. Correlation is not the same as causation. Look that one up.
• Risk of misinterpretation: Even if the visualization is sound, the target audience may be confused and make improper interpretations contrary to the facts. This problem isn’t unique to data journalism; all forms of communication are subject to misinterpretation.
• Bad data: Proper data journalism requires accurate and available data. Beware of data visualizations that are based on incomplete, outdated, or biased information. Always look for the original data source citation and avoid homemade infographics with no citation.
• Privacy: The right to privacy and the right to know are two, often conflicting societal goals. On one hand, the proliferation of data has made life easier. On the other, it’s made it harder than ever to live a private life. Most data-driven stories avoid personal data unless it involves a public figure.

Taylor Swift at the 2024 Golden Globes on 2/7/24. Attribution 3.0 Generic (CC BY 3.0) Source/iHeartRadioCA

Here’s a recent situation regarding data journalism. Does the public have a right to know where Taylor Swift travels in her private jet? A young data journalist has been using publicly available data to publish information about her travels.

Taylor Swift launches legal salvo at student who tracks private jets via public data
(Source – ABC News website, 2/7/24)

Does the public have a right to know, or does Taylor have a right to fly in privacy? Some have even correlated the flights with the carbon footprint it leaves behind, noting the potential hypocrisy in Swift’s public comments related to global warming.

Why Taylor Swift’s globe-trotting in private jets is getting scrutinized
(Source – AP News website, 2/7/24)

By the way, as I was writing this story, there’s been some breaking news that Taylor Swift sold her jet amid the uproar. Regardless of how you may personally feel about the story, this is a great example of the impact made by data journalism.

My intention isn’t to pick on Taylor Swift. Quite the contrary, I don’t mind admitting that I enjoy her music and think she’s quite talented. In fact, congratulations to Taylor Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce on the Kansas City Chief’s win at the Super Bowl. What a game!

Anyway, back to the main article theme. By using data journalism many things we assume are true based on a single headline just don’t stand up to scrutiny. In the broader discussion about carbon emissions, one would think the United States is the worst offender based on the news. Consider the following data visualization.

Not only is it not true that the US is the worse offender, carbon emissions in the US are on the decline. China is the worst offender and their carbon emissions are growing. The data speaks for itself. I’ll leave it to the reader to put their own interpretation of what this signifies.

So, what does all of this mean for you and the readers of this newspaper? In the upcoming weeks, I will be working with the publisher to create and publish some new features that use data journalism methodology. Some of these features will start as simple data aggregation features, but over time we hope to create some fun and compelling data visualizations based on real and relevant data. In all cases, we will cite the data sources (just like it’s done in traditional news stories) and when possible provide a direct link to those sources.

Our goal? To provide the discerning reader more opportunities to discover the truth for themselves. There is a wealth of publicly available data produced by our local, state, and national governments. At the local level, both of our two largest municipalities have gone to great lengths to provide more data and communications to the citizens – that’s good, and I have personally thanked both mayors for their efforts in communicating with the public using different methods. Yet, we all know that a free press is a good thing for a community. The online edition of this newspaper was one of the original news sites that goes all the way back to the late ’90s. An online strategy has always been an integral part of the operation at The Citizen. We aim to take that to the next level by adding quality data journalism to the mix.

So, what would you like to see? Let us know, and we’ll look into it.

[Joe Domaleski, a Fayette County resident for 25 years, is the owner of Country Fried Creative – an award-winning digital marketing agency located in Peachtree City. His company was the Fayette Chamber’s 2021 Small Business of the Year.  Joe is a husband, father of three grown children, and proud Army veteran.  He has an MBA from Georgia State University and enjoys sharing his perspectives drawing from thirty years of business leadership experience. Sign up for the Country Fried Creative newsletter to get marketing and business articles directly in your inbox. ]

If the grid goes down, amateur (ham) radio works when all else fails

by Joe Domaleski | Jan 29, 2024 | Blog, Business, Columnists, Community, Front Page, News Center, Opinion, Top News

Idon’t necessarily consider myself a “prepper,” but I do like to be prepared in case of emergencies. When I was a Boy Scout, I was taught to “Be Prepared.” We often think of emergency preparedness as having supplies and plans in place for first aid, food, water, battery power, shelter, important documents, and money. Those are all good and necessary preparations, but how about communications? Instant communications with cellphones and the internet have spoiled us. What happens if those forms of communication fail? It’s admittedly old-school technology, but amateur (ham) radio works when other forms of communication fail.

Before there were cellphones, the internet, or even television, if you don’t count smoke signals and signal flags, the world’s first form of wireless communication was radio. The ability to hear voices, music, and news through thin air was (and still is to me) somewhat magical. I’ve always had a personal interest in radio. As a middle-schooler, I enjoyed building crystal radio kits that allowed me to hear distant radio stations from around the world without batteries! Shortwave radio stations allowed me to hear news and music from faraway places like London through the BBC World Service, the Soviet Union (now Russia) through Radio Moscow, and obscure Pacific islands whose primary connection to the world was radio.

Joe (KI4ASK) & Mary Catherine (KI4HHI) Domaleski at the 2023 Fayette County Amateur Radio Club field day event in Brooks, GA. Photo/Bryan Macera

Closer to home, I enjoyed listening to scanners – not the type of scanner you hook up to a computer to make copies of documents, but radio scanners that gave me the ability to listen to our police, fire, airport traffic, and more. Radio opened up a whole new world to me, and I remained fascinated with it all through high school. Yes, Radio Shack was one of my favorite stores at the mall.

My first exposure to two-way radio (meaning that I could listen and talk) was probably a set of GI Joe walkie-talkies that my brother and I got for Christmas one year. We had fun riding around the neighborhood on our bikes, talking on the radio about “secret missions.” Go watch “Stranger Things” – Dustin was me in high school (although I was a little skinnier). During the CB radio craze of the late 70s, my father put one in his truck, and I enjoyed talking to people as we traveled down the highway, saying things like, “Breaker One-Nine, this is the Little Polack.” Yes, my CB handle was “Little Polack,” and my dad was the “Georgia Polack.”

In the Army, we used radios a lot, but as an officer, I had a soldier assigned to me as my RTO (Radio Telephone Operator), so most of my radio communications went through him. While I was in the Army, I learned about something called MARS (Military Auxiliary Radio System), where a group of amateur (ham) radio operators helped relay information to/from home using radio and phone patches. Satellite phones were becoming a thing, but my dad said MARS actually helped him find out about my birth while he was in Vietnam.

The world changed dramatically on September 11, 2001. By then, cell phones were very prevalent, but it became clear to me that we had an overreliance on the internet and cell technology. I saw firsthand how many people in New York were literally cut off from the world, even as they were in the middle of the action. We knew more about what was going on by watching it on TV at home than the people directly involved in the situation. This was a wake-up call for me to become more individually prepared for communications. Remembering what I knew about the usefulness of ham radio, I decided to get my license the following year.

Jack Parks (KO4WBM) and Bryan Macera (K7CPT) operating a portable ham radio station during a club picnic. Photo/Joe Domaleski

Becoming a ham radio operator requires taking an FCC multiple-choice test administered by a group of certified Volunteer Examiners. It’s not a hard test. In fact, the questions and answers are made public. Most of the test questions pertain to some basic rules and radio knowledge. Once I got licensed, my wife Mary Catherine decided to get licensed, so she took the test. We found ham radio useful for keeping in touch around town. While she was driving the minivan around with our kids, I could talk to her on the radio and save precious cellphone minutes. Back then, you paid for cell phone calls by the minute. Ham radio was and still is free. My ham radio callsign is KI4ASK, and her callsign is KI4HHI, both of which were assigned to us by the FCC.

For the past twenty years, we’ve found ham radio to be both a fun and useful hobby. Here are some of the things we’ve done with our ham radio licenses:

• Maintaining contact with each other and friends on hiking trips, where cellphone coverage is spotty.
• Supporting local events like the Tri-PTC Triathlon, PTC Classic 15K, Run the Ridge 5K, and others with radio communications.
• Providing weather spotting assistance to the National Weather Service through their Skywarn program.
• Going on “fox hunts,” which are scavenger hunts for hidden radio transmitters.
• Talking to people around the world, which was especially fun during the sequestered COVID-era.
• Listening to what’s going on in Eastern Europe and the Middle East firsthand.
• Talking to astronauts aboard the International Space Station!
• Making friends right here in our community through the Fayette County Amateur Radio Club.
• Sending email over the radio without the internet using Winlink.
• Sending text messages over the radio without cellphones using APRS.
• Supporting our first responders with backup communications through ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service).
• Assisting Georgia Emergency Management (GEMA) / Homeland Security as volunteer auxiliary communicators through the AuxComm program.

If the grid goes down, we know what to do and how to stay in touch with each other and members of our community. In order to help people in our community learn about this fun and useful hobby, the Fayette County Amateur Radio Club and Fayette County Parks and Recreation have teamed up to offer a one-day “ham cram” class and testing session on Saturday, February 17th. I bet some of you reading this article have thought about getting a ham radio license. Now’s your chance.

For more information about the upcoming ham radio class, including registration, please go to the Parks & Rec registration site using this link.

Full disclosure – my wife Mary Catherine is the Assistant Director of Parks & Recreation. I’m a Past-President of the ham radio club. This was her idea to offer the class, but it’s one that I fully support. I’ll be one of the instructors, as will a team of others who are committed to helping you pass the test and earn your license on February 17th.

Members of the Fayette County Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) provided support to the 2023 Tri-PTC Triathlon. Pictured here with Tri-PTC President Allen Leonard (on left). Photo/Kim Bramblett

We have a very active ham radio community here in Fayette County. There’s a network of five radio repeaters that have the ability to provide communications across the county and even link with other communities for statewide coverage. If the towers go down, we have the ability to do simplex, point-to-point communication. Lots of people in our community have their license, including our 911 Director, Katye Vogt, and the Publisher of this paper, Cal Beverly. Among the ranks of our members, we have people of all walks of life including students, first responders, educators, business people, retirees, and young adults.

So many of us, myself included, spend a lot of time on the internet. You are reading this article through a web browser, and you’re probably active on one or more social media outlets. I am as well, but what if all of that goes down? How would you get the news, find out what’s going on, or talk to your family? Ham radio is a hobby that’s both fun and useful. It’ll work when all else fails.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to comment here or contact me directly.

[Joe Domaleski, a Fayette County resident for 25 years, is the owner of Country Fried Creative – an award-winning digital marketing agency located in Peachtree City. His company was the Fayette Chamber’s 2021 Small Business of the Year.  Joe is a husband, father of three grown children, and proud Army veteran.  He has an MBA from Georgia State University and enjoys sharing his perspectives drawing from thirty years of business leadership experience. Sign up for the Country Fried Creative newsletter to get marketing and business articles directly in your inbox. ]