Everyone has the same feeling about going to the RMV-pure and unadulterated dread. This is one brand whose equity has always been immersed in all things bleak and negative.

Like a well informed citizen who can’t tolerate waiting in lines, I checked the RMV Web site (a noble attempt to elevate the RMV brand but who’s kidding whom?) to determine how long the wait would be. Just like the certainty of death and taxes, there’s always a wait at the RMV.  The Web site said 42 minutes. Not bad, I thought, I can handle this.

I arrive ten minutes later and my ticket tells me the wait is 57 minutes.  I take a deep breath and feel brave as my eye surveys the filled benches, lines leaking outside the entrance and walls wallpapered with people from all ages and stages of life. My number is 287 and they are at 208. By the time the electronic voice bellows my number, one hour and 55 minutes have passed. I shake my head as I remind myself that I never expected a good experience at the RMV anyway. The clock of my emotions has advanced toward frustration and anger. As I walk toward the counter, I see a teenage boy jumping for joy and waving his licsense in the air while his proud father beams behind him. Everybody’s heads turned, smiling as the boy left. Now, that is joy at the RMV.

Recently, I had the opportunity to help judge the 14th annual MITX Interactive Awards. You can see the list of finalists here. The winners will be announced November 17 at an awards ceremony at the Boston Marriott Copley Place. The MITX Interactive Awards honor the best interactive work from New England’s digital marketing & media community.

Judging the awards was a great experience. It gave me more insight into how non-designers look at work — and that was refreshing. My experience as a judge contrasted sharply from my experience in the workplace in some ways, and mirrored my workplace experience in other ways.

You see, at Corey we look at every branding and design project holistically. Our end goal is never to build the best looking site or the one with the most bells and whistles, utilizing all of the latest technologies. The design and the technology are secondary. First and foremost, our goal is to create a positive and beneficial user experience for the intended audience. Everything else stems from that experience.  If we create an experience that speaks to the target, then we’ve succeeded.

So it was interesting for me to see so many of the judges evaluating individual elements of the award entrees. Some were fixated on the demos, others the technology. Still others were focused on individual design elements. Utlimately, they evaluated the total project, and that’s what really matters. What was especially refreshing was that all of the judges factored in the ROI when evaluating the work. After all the best looking design and the coolest technology are meaningless unless they deliver the intended results.

When David Letterman sat behind his famous desk, faced his viewers, and told them he had had confessed to having several affair with his female staff, the news media and blogosphere went wild. Media analysts, feminists, workplace experts –all weighed in with what this would mean for the late night fixture’s career. But those of us who practice and follow social media, could predict the outcome: the scandal would not hurt, the talk show star’s ratings.

This old media king took a page from a new media playbook. In admitting his transgressions, Letterman was following the new rules of social media:

Direct communication with your “followers”: Letterman did not hide behind an official statement issued by his spokespeople or the studio. He sat in front of the camera, made eye contact with the millions of people who, in essence, “follow” him every night and he told them what was happening. Direct communication is key in the new media world. Followers, fans, customers all expect direct interaction with the people and the brands with which they interact via social media. PR reps, intermediaries and corporate spokespeople don’t fly in this new world.

Transparency: the new rules require complete transparency. Customers know the brands they love have flaws and they can forgive them, IF, their brands come clean. Social media is not about hiding; it’s about honest dialogue. If there’s a problem with customer service, admit it, fix it and move on. That’s exactly what Letterman did on national television.

Trust: social media is all about building trust. Letterman inherently understands that. He cashed in on the trust he had built with his loyal viewers and it paid off.

Regardless of how you feel about Letterman’s behavior, there is no denying that his actions paid off. According to the ratings, the late night show has seen little to no effect on its ratings.