That early-in-the-calendar holiday always feels great, huh? I hope you all enjoyed a nice, long, Presidents’ Day weekend.

But alas, it’s back to the grind, and there are some interesting developments in the hopper—especially for the tech industry. Most notably, Snap Inc., Snapchat’s parent company (and bane of Mark Zuckerberg’s existence), is expected to go public next week. Following in the footsteps of other social media mega-platforms Facebook and Twitter, Snap Inc. is preparing to debut its IPO.

If you’ve been following this blog—or social media business news—for any length of time, you’ll know that there are potentially rough waters ahead. Facebook and Twitter both famously struggled when adapting their business models toward revenue generation through advertising—the latter still seeking a friendly port in the shareholder storm.

Snapchat presents an interesting case, however. Attempting to establish its longevity and shed its reputation as more social media fad than mainstay. Its unique model has been co-opted by Zuckerberg’s Instagram. There’s been some fierce competition between Facebook and Snapchat, which should provide some anecdotal insight into the value of Snap’s product and platform.

The key, as always, will be to present stability, profitability, and endurance.

On the calendar for next Thursday, Snap Inc.’s IPO will be one worth watching. With other tech companies considering going public in 2017, Snap will set an intriguing benchmark for organizations looking to follow suit and cash in.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all you lovebirds out there! I hope you enjoy the day with that special someone. And if you’re coasting through another February 14^th solo like a certain blogger: Chinese takeout is always the ticket. I also believe Rain Man is on HBO.

If you’re one with a tendency to wallow on Valentine’s Day, I recommend a bottle of wine and a solid listening session of Nothing’s “Tired of Tomorrow.” You can thank me later.

But regardless of your relationship status, you’re probably not having as bad of a V-Day as national security adviser Mike Flynn. Well, former national security adviser Mike Flynn. After a mere 24 days on the job, General Flynn resigned from his post in the Trump administration amid revelations of phone calls with Russian Ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak, prior to the inauguration.

While a bit odd, the conversations themselves don’t appear to be what sank Mr. Flynn. It was the content of the calls, which reportedly contained details of recent sanctions against Russia—the particulars of which were flatly denied on national television by Vice President Mike Pence.

An inauspicious start, to say the least.

The average tenure of national security advisor is around 2.6 years. Flynn bested that average by about 29 months. It will be a wild news day, for sure.

When touching on the election season, it was apparent that we were in uncharted territory. With the first ouster in the administration coming less than a month in, that fact has never been clearer.

Russell was featured on an NSA Webinar last week! Follow the link below and listen as Russell explains how to Get the Written Word to Speak for You!

Download the Webinar.

Well…that happened. Super Bowl LI. Biggest choke job in sports history.

Folks: don’t raise your kids to be Atlanta sports fans. It virtually ensures a lifetime of letdowns, resentment, and ultimately, an earlier departure from this mortal coil due to sports-induced stress. My life expectancy definitely went down a few years on Sunday evening. It comes with the territory. Turn back while you still can.

But alas…enough about that.

Not at all connected to the desire to create maximum physical distance between me and my Falcons Flu, Russell is gearing up for the National Speakers Association Winter Conference. San Francisco is playing host city this year, and the conference will be held at the San Francisco Marriott Airport Waterfront, Friday, February 24^th – Sunday, February 26^th.

PR/PR is a Silver Sponsor of the event, and if you’re attending, you’ll find Russell holding court at our booth. Make sure you swing by, say hello, and grab some on-the-fly PR tips.

See you in San Franciso!

Elon Musk, mega-billionaire, mad scientist and godhead of gadgetry wants to save the world.

No, not from the inevitable heat death of the universe, or a rogue comet rocketing into our atmosphere. Elon Musk wants to save us from the perils and “soul-crushing” snares of traffic.

Revered for his ingenuity; his innovative accomplishments including PayPal, Tesla, SpaceX, and the embryonic travel mechanism Hyperloop, Musk suddenly has his sights on more pressing matters than Mars.

Lamenting the glacial lurch of Los Angeles traffic, Elon has decided to fight back against the bumper-to-bumper nature of LA freeways. Instead of allowing them to beat him into submission—he’s going subterranean.

Starting as a series of seemingly innocuous tweets bemoaning a city known for Carmageddon as much as its film industry, Musk is once again turning words into action. He has founded the aptly named, “Boring Company,” and has begun tunneling underneath the city. His aim is to alleviate the snarling congestion that plagues Los Angeles, starting at SpaceX HQ to allow his employees safe and quick travel across the campus. The apparent end goal appears to be a network of complex tunnels beneath LA, providing a medium for pedestrian travel—and ultimately getting folks out of their cars.

Elon Musk has endless resources, and a mind that appears to never stop searching for science fiction solutions to real world problems. We’ll see where this idea heads, but it’s safe to say that Mr. Musk is the ultimate Good Guy for even attempting to save the residents of LA from its awful traffic.