I’m sitting at Starbucks, drinking my very masculine skim latte, overhearing a 30-something women pitching her financial planning services. I wanted to lean over and offer this tip: nobody cares about how your philosophy of life aligns with your approach to business. They care about what you can deliver. Just say that, simply.

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I’ve hurt my back. Thus far, the only thing that seems to help is whining incessantly about it. The good thing is, I really do think my wife finds a 49-year-old man who whines constantly to be sexy. Wouldn’t you think so?

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I’m realizing, safety is making it a lot harder to be a parent of a small child today than when my kids were little. For example, they just said you can’t give cold medicine to children under the age of four. What do you give them, brandy? How is a parent supposed to survive a sick infant or toddler if somebody can’t take drugs? And take booster car seats. Now they tell parents to have kids ride in booster seats until they are, like, 30. What a pain. I was so glad to get rid of kids’ car seats. You ever try to put those things in a car? Ever try to slam a toddler down into one, pull the strap over his head, and latch it without getting kicked somewhere sensitive? I guess, for my children, we were just the Years of Living Dangerously. Good.

This week’s recommended reading from your friends at Blogenberg focuses on what we feel is something central to the future of media and PR - citizen journalism:

• PBS provided this informative introduction to citizen journalism.
• The Poynter Institute offers two great resources for understanding citizen journalism: a fairly exhaustive (at least in our view) list of resources about and for citizen journalists and this writeup about the “11 Layers of Citizen Journalism” explaining how media can incorporate citizen reporting into their coverage.
• Business Week reports on the risks of citizen journalism. One contributor to CNN’s iReport section posted a false story about Apple CEO Steve Jobs having a heart attack. Apple’s stock tanked that day and the writer could face jail time.
• However, Chris Brogan and Matthew Ingram point out that citizen journalists aren’t actually evil, despite the Apple debacle
• Tim McGuire voices a common refrain that the code of ethics many journalists follow will set true journalists apart from citizen journalists. In a similar vein, Sarah in Tampa considers the ethics of citizen journalism.
• This Christian Science Monitor story is one among many that shows how citizen reporters are using technology to carve a rather substantial niche in the political reporting arena.
• Mainstream media. TV News Networks have adopted citizen journalism features to varying degrees: CNN, MSNBC, Fox News.
• Do it yourself. Check out some of these citizen journalism sites and social networks to see how it’s done: NowPublic, Newsvine, Current TV, Backfence.

Yesterday, I did something I’ve never done before. I gave a significant contribution to a Democratic presidential candidate. (Blogenberg is a Blogen-publican.) Last night, I explained to my wife and two 14-year-olds:

Me: Well, one, I know that you [my wife] and the two of you are strong supporters of Obama. And, look, while there are certainly things about a possible President Obama that concern me, as the head of this household, it is meaningful to me, and to you guys, that an African American has reached the point where he could become President.

My 14-year-old son [in all seriousness]: I didn’t know you were the head of this household.

(For my fellow Blogen-publicans — some of whom will be mad at me — don’t worry I continue to give money to our party.)

My teen daughter is bi-racial. (That’s how she identifies herself. Her twin brother identifies himself as black.)

She’s a big supporter of Barack Obama. She asked if I thought Obama could win, to actually become president. I said yes, that’s a real possibility.

She was excited.

And then she paused.

“Is he going to get assassinated?” she asked.

Still today, teens of color view America in that light.

This week’s recommended reading from your friends at Blogenberg:

• To be truly effective, leaders must understand and practice PR.
• TechRepublic offers a couple of reminders on how to improve your writing.
• This series of pictures from the Paralympics offers more than a little perspective and inspiration.
• A very timely bracket challenge for those of us missing March Madness.
• Business Week reports on how to make social networks profitable.
• A Cone survey finds that 93 percent of Americans expect companies to have a presence in social media.
• Chris Brogan suggests “50 ways to take your blog to the next level.”