Hi, I'm Cortland. Thanks for visiting.
Over the past 12 years, I've developed an expertise in public relations, communications and social media.
I have proven results working with print, Web-based and broadcast media outlets while serving businesses, nonprofit organizations and government agencies.
If you're looking for someone with in-the-trenches experience, documented results & specialized communications expertise, then you just found him.
I hope you'll contact me.
Want to talk to me right now? Call: (215) 701-9083
What Others Say About Me
"Cortland is a 'can-do' guy who knows the ins and outs of communication."
-Brian Davidson
"He has high standards."
"He works to achieve the best goal, it's not about him getting all the credit."
-Phil Amorosi
"...well prepared and well spoken."
"...excelled in bringing attention to important issues."
-Rich Hyjack
"He is responsive, creative and someone you can rely on."
-Jay Spector
"Cortland leads by example."
"He is always poised, positive and professional. He is one of the best leaders I have worked with."
-Laura Newman
"...best public information officer in Arizona state government."
"He was extremely well organized in his information presentation, timely, professional and easy to get along with."
-Mark Shaffer
"He cared about getting factual information out to media in a timely way, he had a very strong knowledge of Web-based communications and the value of the Internet as a means to promote our agency."
-Kurt Maurer
"In addition to being very hard-working and conscientious, Cortland was a lot of fun to work with."
-Tom Marcinko
A Record of Firsts
* World's first binding, public election held over the Web
* America's first air quality permit issued in over twenty years for a new oil refinery
* Arizona's first recycling program at a pro sports stadium
Wednesday, May 27 How your organization talks to itself about itself will impact how the organization talks about itself to the outside world. Yes, internal communications directly impact external communications, stakeholder buy-in and, ultimately, business development and survival. So, how are you communicating to your people within your organization?
Sunday, April 12 I hope you're having a happy Easter and a wonderful weekend. Spring is in the air and it's time to be excited about the possibilities, opportunities and challenges ahead of us.
Sent via BlackBerry
Monday, March 9 This weekend's Asbury Park Press featured an editorial with a very practical, workable long-term approach to affordable housing in New Jersey. Political stunts to kill the Council, in the end, are meaningless and useless to the disussion, the challenges that lie ahead or how New Jersey ultimately resolves this very important issue.
Saturday, February 28 Star Ledger columnist Mark DiIonno doesn't get social media. That's not terribly surprising. Many dead-tree media industry insiders still can't grasp the tectonic shift happening beneath their feet. But what's dissapointing is DiIonno's misguided attempt to criticize social networking web sites and knock 'em down a few pegs. DiIonno doesn't understand the function, value and point of social networking sites so he atttempts to belittle them and their users. However, the truth is that sites like twitter and Facebook are providing huge value to users, investors and media members willing to take the time to understand them and embrace their usage, like the folks below.
A college student found himself locked in an Egyptian jail until his word twitter post, or tweet, "Arrested," sparked a movement to secure his freedom. To DiIonno, such tweets are "dumb" and a "diversion" from a spending time with our own thoughts. One can only imagine how much time the student, James Karl Buck, would've had with his own thoughts if he didn't use twitter to broadcast what had happened to him.
Another person who's happy he won't have more time to spend with his private thoughts is David Murray. David used twitter to land himself a job late last year. Yes, a job late last year. While the economy was in free fall, David was tweeting his way to gainful employment. As the recession deapens and tougher times hit people and communities across the country, more people are looking to twitter and other social media sites for job leads, references and carrer-related help.
The top priority in the lives of the American people are their homes. So when wildfires threatened southern California communities, the TV news, local fire station and neighbors started tweeting fire updates so their neighbors could keep up with the latest news about the fires, including whether or not they had a home to come back to.
Sites like twitter are developing and deploying cutting edge technologies with large, private investments from venture capitalists. Entrepreneurs driving technological innovation via private invesment in smart management teams, 21st centurty technology and the future of communications? Sounds like just the thing our country needs right now.
Mark, you owe your readers an apology. Staying connected and sharing thoughts, links, information and news is increasingly how people across all age groups are communicating today. To deny that truth and call the sites "dumb" and make fun of their names is to completely miss the point, underestimate their value and cheapen the discourse. You're better than that, I hope.
New Jersey, News, Tech, Twitter, Web Saturday, February 21
Saturday, February 21
Wednesday, February 18 We're not even 30 days into the Obama adminstration and already the local newspaper is publishing letters calling President Obama everything from traitor to socialist and predicting the end of the American dream and, essentially, the complete breakdown of our society if he continues governing. The letter writers are ridiculous, ignorant and sad. The President has been in office for less than a month and they are already predicting the end of this country as we know it?!?!?! It's pathetic and desperate, and it needs to stop. Remember what your mother taught you: if you don't have anything nice to say...hopefully, you know the rest.
Monday, February 16 
Pat's Run 2007 - Tempe, AZI'm seriously considering signing up for the Asbury Park Half Marathon. I've been running on and off for a few years and have run primarily 5K and 10K races, mostly in Arizona. Now that we've settled into our new house, I've been hitting the pavement more frequently (when weather permits) and while I have a long way to go, I think I can do the half marathon coming up in just over 60 days. There are plenty of Web-based training programs available, but with my schedule and sporadic running history, none are tailored very well to me. I've calculated that if I add about a mile per week to my regimen, then I should be able to run the 13.1 miles which comprise a half marathon in two months. I'm not signed-up yet, but with my runs feeling better and better and an increasing number of public declarations like these, I feel myself inching closer. Stay tuned for an announcement soon...or maybe not.
Sunday, February 15 Straight from the they-just-don't-get-it department, MTV has decided to shut down the ability to embed videos via their API. The ability to easily and quickly share embeddable video has been a huge factor in the rise of video on the Web. Pulling the plug on the simple ability to embed a video on your Web site, an ability offered by almost all serious video players on the Web, is short-sighted and counterproductive. MTV should reconsider their announcement and continue to allow embeddable video via their API.
Here's a small sample of the feedback MTV is getting regarding their change of course.
"Not to be a stickler or anything; but just about every other video provider out there that has an API lets their community of developers retrieve and use the actual videos in their applications." -kwiclick
"Jeez, that's just great. Congratulations, you've now just made your API totally worthless to anyone. I should have known better than to spend so much time developing anything with this. Leave it to some suits to come along and mess everything up and make everyone's time spent on this worth nothing. Good going MTV." -rickr
"Wow. MTV just shut down the only useful feature of this API / service." -Sam Beckett
Saturday, February 14 Below is the Open Space Plan for the town where I live, Point Pleasant, NJ.
