Citizen Journalism: The Experiment Continues

Much has been made about “citizen journalists” on the ground in Mumbai typing 140-character dispatches over Twitter and snapping images with their Nikons or cellphones.
Social media, no doubt, has changed how we receive information and watch stories unfold. Om Malik watched Twitter and yearned for context. 
The volume of words sent over a “Twitter #Mumbai” feed the [...]

Help You Can Believe In…

Last year, wildfires ripped through San Diego and destroyed many homes and dreams. With the economy hurting, it’s difficult to ask people to donate to every cause. The simple effort below on the part of President-elect Barack Obama shows that we need each other more than ever in times of crisis. The page links directly [...]

When Photographs Speak

Sometimes words can’t adequately describe photographs. The images simply speak to you through your eyes.
This set of nine images by professional shooter Joe McNally fits the category. And Joe includes words to describe how he did them.
Hint: use the light.
A bit of inspiration is all we need.

A Real Earth Day

What was once attacked as fringe is now mainstream.
Tomorrow’s Earth Day, much like the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving, shouldn’t be a once-a-year moment. Acts, thoughts and beliefs that benefit the globe can be a daily part of life — just like giving thanks.
Yes, Whole Foods Market picked the right day to end the use of [...]

Kindle Keeps Us Guessing

This AP story highlights the lack of sales data for the Amazon Kindle. Amazon, meanwhile, talks up its digital strategy in Monday’s NYT.
There’s still a wait to get one. I haven’t broken down yet to buy a Kindle on ebay (fastest way, according to those in the know). I have placed a handful of orders [...]

Ghost-Written: Can You Trust Blogs?

I’m not a big reader of the Tim Ferriss 4-hour workweek blog.
I think thought I know knew why.
For the past year, it wasn’t really written by him. With two ghost writers paid very little, Tim Ferriss fooled a lot of readers. Imagine if the New York Times was really published by the Chicago Tribune. When your name [...]

Microbrand Monday: SightSpeed

Oil is over $100 a barrel. Reducing your carbon footprint is good. Google went dark to support Earth Hour.
So why not use video conferencing more and save travel for the only the most crucial business? 
SightSpeed is a Berkeley, California-based company that provides VoIP communications for reasonable rates. The company serves everyday folks at home, as well as businesses large and [...]

Signal-to-Noise Ratio: Dialing the Right Message

If you work in marketing, PR or journalism, you’re reading constantly. Email. Websites. Text messages. Blogs. Project briefs. Ad copy. Scripts. Court filings. Government documents. Speeches. Talking points. Press releases. White papers. Case studies. 
Time permitting, you probably read books and magazines. Possibly you groom your screenplay or novel (the most ambitious of you out there).
Words come at us through pixels, [...]

What the Girl Scouts Taught Me About Customer Conversations

Marketers talk a lot about engaging conversations with customers. But short of focus groups and customer satisfaction surveys, do many marketers talk (in the same room) with customers? I mean themselves (not a hired firm) spending time one-on-one and face-to-face to hear and see customers’ likes and dislikes? There’s nothing like being criticism in person.
Here’s where Pareto’s principle of 80/20 comes in. When I’m in the [...]

Aerosmith and Slacker Logos: Coincidence?

One’s been around since roughly 1970 and hails from Boston. The other came onto the scene at SXSW via San Diego.
Aerosmith’s logo led the way and remains iconic in the rock world. Slacker’s logo was born last year to herald a new type of digital music experience.
Both work well.
Logo development can be tricky. So much [...]