Why doesn’t my daughter want me to read her a story at bedtime? Oh, cause mommy exists. Ah.

Being in the PR business has embedded a few things into my every day life that I hope will stick with my kids. These are simple things like good communication skills, the ability to write coherently and most importantly, dealing with multiple personalities without fail. One embedded nano-trait is the ability to see messaging a [...]

I am turning 40 years old in November and I need to lose the massive tire wrapped around my torso. It’s something I need to do for my health and my well-being. Me and my fat are done. I’ve had enough and our relationship has to end.

As the Director of Social Media at tax giant H&R Block, Scott Gulbransen recently returned to the tax business after previously spending 1o years at rival Intuit working on the TurboTax & Quicken brands. He brings 16 years as a marketing communications professional, and 11 tax seasons, with him to H&R Block and was responsible for the launch of many key social initiatives at Intuit before leaving in 2010. A strategic thinker and business problem solver, Gulbransen has worked for some of the world’s top brands including TurboTax, Sony Online Entertainment, and Applebee’s. In 2010, Gulbransen became the first Director of Social Media & Digital Content for Applebee’s, creating the first-ever social media strategy for the world’s largest casual dining chain. While at Applebee’s, Gulbransen lead a small but nimble team responsible for creating a robust and far-reaching social engagement channel for Applebee’s and its franchise community. In addition to his professional accomplishments at the corporate level, Gulbransen is also a prolific blogger recently named as one of the Top 50 Daddy Bloggers in the US by Cision. Gulbransen was ranked #21. As a member of the TurboTax communications and social media team for 10 years, Scott helped the TurboTax team launch and sustain the brand’s social media platform. He also drove and was responsible for the launch of TurboTax’s successful content strategy, including the launch of the TurboTax Blog. Recently, he launched one of the most significant social media campaigns in the brand’s history with the @TeamTurboTax Twitter project. Gulbransen was instrumental in reinvigorating the Quicken brand almost entirely through the use of social media and, particularly, Twitter. By engaging with customers and influencers who talk about personal finance on Twitter, he and his team helped Quicken Online grow from just 200,000 users in October 2008 to over 1.4 Million in just 10 months. This led to a more focused look at the personal finance space for Intuit and, ultimately, the acquisition of Mint.com. A former print journalist, who, after realizing his paychecks from the newspaper industry weren’t going to get much bigger, turned to the Dark Side – public relations. After working in both college athletics and inside mid-size agencies, he joined Intuit in 2000 and Applebee’s in 2010. He is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and is the married father of five kids. Despite his busy personal and professional life, Scott is a digital native who never strays far from social networking. To hassle Scott, or to tell him how great you think he is (or not!), email him at scott@scottgulbransen.com, add him to your Circles on Google+, or ping him on Twitter at @sdgully. Scott also is an editor and writer for Technorati.com.

I just arrived at the Type A Mom Conference in Asheville, NC, for three days of networking, listening, speaking and connecting. Because I’m a frequent traveler, being a Gold Elite member on several airlines means I usually get to pick my seat, bypass the lines and get a little extra leg room. I get to [...]

David is a Partner at Large Media and the proud father of three boys. He's a guy's guy that's into sports, the Catskills, raunchy comedy, beer and gaming.

Those that know me will tell you that I rarely stress over anything and live by a saying of, “you can control only what you can control.” To me it’s really that simple. As a parent, you’ll eventually experience a severe breakdown by one of your kids. For the most part, these breakdowns are caused [...]

As a father, and youth coach, I am tired of the “everyone wins” mentality born from the 1980s movement to repair low self-esteem.

As the Director of Social Media at tax giant H&R Block, Scott Gulbransen recently returned to the tax business after previously spending 1o years at rival Intuit working on the TurboTax & Quicken brands. He brings 16 years as a marketing communications professional, and 11 tax seasons, with him to H&R Block and was responsible for the launch of many key social initiatives at Intuit before leaving in 2010. A strategic thinker and business problem solver, Gulbransen has worked for some of the world’s top brands including TurboTax, Sony Online Entertainment, and Applebee’s. In 2010, Gulbransen became the first Director of Social Media & Digital Content for Applebee’s, creating the first-ever social media strategy for the world’s largest casual dining chain. While at Applebee’s, Gulbransen lead a small but nimble team responsible for creating a robust and far-reaching social engagement channel for Applebee’s and its franchise community. In addition to his professional accomplishments at the corporate level, Gulbransen is also a prolific blogger recently named as one of the Top 50 Daddy Bloggers in the US by Cision. Gulbransen was ranked #21. As a member of the TurboTax communications and social media team for 10 years, Scott helped the TurboTax team launch and sustain the brand’s social media platform. He also drove and was responsible for the launch of TurboTax’s successful content strategy, including the launch of the TurboTax Blog. Recently, he launched one of the most significant social media campaigns in the brand’s history with the @TeamTurboTax Twitter project. Gulbransen was instrumental in reinvigorating the Quicken brand almost entirely through the use of social media and, particularly, Twitter. By engaging with customers and influencers who talk about personal finance on Twitter, he and his team helped Quicken Online grow from just 200,000 users in October 2008 to over 1.4 Million in just 10 months. This led to a more focused look at the personal finance space for Intuit and, ultimately, the acquisition of Mint.com. A former print journalist, who, after realizing his paychecks from the newspaper industry weren’t going to get much bigger, turned to the Dark Side – public relations. After working in both college athletics and inside mid-size agencies, he joined Intuit in 2000 and Applebee’s in 2010. He is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and is the married father of five kids. Despite his busy personal and professional life, Scott is a digital native who never strays far from social networking. To hassle Scott, or to tell him how great you think he is (or not!), email him at scott@scottgulbransen.com, add him to your Circles on Google+, or ping him on Twitter at @sdgully. Scott also is an editor and writer for Technorati.com.

I wrote over at my regular blog the other day about my oldest daughter’s first day of Kindergarten. A couple of weeks have past since then and she’s gotten to know her classmates and has amassed a few buddies. One such “buddy” is some dude named Anthony. I don’t like Anthony and here’s why. Prior [...]

A little more than 11 years ago, my wife Amy and I were excited about starting our family. We weren’t going to find out if “it” was boy or a girl – we wanted to be surprised. After a long labor — like 27 hours — and an emergency C-Section, Amy & I were parents [...]

We live in a business climate where burning the mid-night oil is expected, which can be perceived as an attribute of success. The other edge of the sword dictates that we dads need to be home at a decent time in order to chill out with the kids(and not just for the hour before they [...]

Sep
22
Glory Days

Every so often those of us getting older think back to the time when we could run a little faster, jump a little higher and keep up with the guys. Ah, the glory days. The days when you could play ball all day in the sun and still have the energy to shower up and grab beers until 2 AM with the boys. A few pounds and gray hairs later and the next thing you know one workout or game of softball makes you pay for days on end.

David is a Partner at Large Media and the proud father of three boys. He's a guy's guy that's into sports, the Catskills, raunchy comedy, beer and gaming.
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