Author Archives: debmcalister

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About debmcalister

I'm a Dallas-based marketing consultant and writer, who specializes in helping start-up technology companies grow. I write (books, articles, and blogs) about marketing, technology, and social media. This blog is about all of those -- and the funny ways in which they interesect with everyday life. It's also the place where I publish general articles on topics that interest me -- including commentary about the acting and film communities, since I have both a son and grandson who are performers.

Lessons I Learned from a Saguro Cactus and a Friend

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I met Beverlee Carlson LaBonte on the day when my 19-year-old son and her 17-year-old daughter informed us that we were going to become grandmothers. I wasn’t happy about it. She was.  The first complete sentence I heard from the … Continue reading

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How Google Killed the Cult — but Can’t Kill the Scam

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A couple of months ago, a Facebook friend posed the question, “Why don’t kids join cults anymore?” My reply to the inquiry wound up in an article in the Jewish Daily Foward titled, Jewish Parents Once Feared Kids Joining Cults — … Continue reading

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Proper Passwords Protect Your Pictures (and Your Reputation)

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Once again, the tabloids are having a field day with stories about nude photos of celebrities stolen by hackers and spread across the Internet. Despite what some B-list celebrities are saying, it isn’t blaming the victim to remind young women … Continue reading

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Google Reads Email, Turns Houston Gmail User In to Police

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KHOU television reports that police arrested a Houston man on child pornography charges after Google spotted a sexually explicit picture of a young girl in his email, and turned him in to a not-for-profit organization which passed his identify along to … Continue reading

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Crowd Funding: Three Issues to Consider Before You Post Your Request — Or Contribute to a Campaign

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Nobody is against free money, right? So crowd funding can seem like a panacea for a wide range of problems.  And everybody is doing it.  Just write a good story that explains why people should send you a few bucks, … Continue reading

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A Fresh Look at Copyright & Fan Fiction

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As a non-lawyer who writes often about legal topics, the last thing I want to see in my email inbox is a message from a nationally recognized legal expert who is pointing out a mistake in something I wrote. That’s … Continue reading

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Study Says Online Social Norms Create Copyright Violations


A new study from Georgia Tech says that mash ups, fan fiction and content sharing have created new complexities in copyright that have effectively turned the legal concept of “fair use” on its ear. Research into fan fiction and other types … Continue reading

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What I Learned from the Worst Employee Ever

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Recently, a reporter asked me to describe the employee who haunts my nightmares. I’ve been supervising employees for more than 33 years now, and I’ve a managed thousands of employees in my career. But it didn’t take me long to come … Continue reading

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Planning Ahead: Bastille on Bishop July 14!

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If you’ve never been to the annual Bastille on Bishop festival in Dallas’s Oak Cliff neighborhood, plan now to make it to the 5th annual event. It will take place on July 14, from 6-10 p.m. Go Oak Cliff, one … Continue reading

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Six Things I Wish I’d Learned When I Was Younger

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Today is my 61st birthday — I think. It may be my 62nd birthday, since I’m not really sure when or where I was born. (I have one birth certificate that places my birth in Illinois, and one that says … Continue reading

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