Google CEO Larry Page’s reorg announcement — about creating a new parent company called Alphabet — is clear, direct, and personal. It’s way better than any press release. You should learn to write like this. Frankly, I had just been reading all the articles attempting to “clarify” this announcement until I finally read Larry Page’s post…
No topic has more bullshit than people writing about diets and nutrition. I learned that from my favorite food expert, Kerri Hawkins. Today, I interview her about the way diet companies, food companies, restaurants, and media bullshit us about food. Kerri is the the past president of the Massachusetts Dietetic Association and has helped people to lose…
Today, I unveil the plan for my book. I’ll be pitching it to publishers soon. Here’s the title, subtitle, and table of contents. I took a shot at the flap copy, too. I’m avidly interested in your reaction. (I wrote the title, subtitle, and flap copy as they would appear on the book. I enhanced the…
Trying to figure out what you’re building? Figure out first how you’re going to sell it. Write that. Then you’ll know what to build. When Charlene Li and I sat down to plan our book, we needed to start somewhere. She had a lot of great ideas about social media, but we didn’t know which of those…
Jon Stewart inspires me. In my moments of absolute fantasy I imagine I am in some small way contributing to the work he began. So it gives me great pleasure that he devoted the final moments of his final show to the theme “Bullshit is everywhere.” He cites, for example: The bullshit of infinite possibility:…
YouTube video producer Hank Green says Facebook cheats, lies, and steals. Facebook product manager Matt Pakes responds that everything is fine. He’s not willing to admit that Facebook is the Borg. The question here is simple: If you have a popular video, are you better off uploading and embedding it in Facebook or just linking to it YouTube?…
Twitter is boring. It’s a random stream of content, mostly promotional. It’s great for celebrities broadcasting to their fans, but for the rest of us, it needs help. And with the CEO gone and the company disappointing investors, it’s time for a change. I’m not talking about financial engineering, CEO candidates, or “sell it to Google.”…
Here’s what I’ve learned: for great writing, you need minds that don’t think alike. They have to think similarly, but there must be a bit of space between them. People come to me to find the right words. I especially like working with leaders of small organizations. They know who they are (or think they do). They’re…
Avaya put out an amusing video (embedded below) that pokes fun at all the buzzwords we use around the office (“disruptor,” “hit the ground running,” “seamless”). It’s embarrassing, since we all use these buzzwords. Including, unfortunately, Avaya. Here’s an excerpt of what it says on Avaya’s “Company Overview” page (I’ve highlighted the buzzwords and meaningless claims…