I’m planning a major piece on the problems with online advertising. And I want to hear from you. It feels to me like we’ve driven the digital world into a ditch. I don’t mind advertising that’s helping keep content free, or cheap. But I can’t figure out how these ads are supposed to be actually…
On my Facebook profile, under “religion,” it says “Red Sox fan.” So I cannot remain silent about the special set of uniforms that the Boston Red Sox and Nike unveiled for the team to wear on April 17-18. Here’s how they look. I apologize if this photo has made you come close to losing your…
It’s a truism in social media circles: brands should be more human. Of course, humans have a full range of emotions — they can be angry, not just nice or funny. Do we really want angry brands? Brands like Amazon that attack people on social media are going to find out they’re making a mistake….
Volkswagen posted, then withdrew, a press release about renaming the company as “Voltswagen” to reflect a commitment to electric cars. Apparently it was an April Fools joke — and very poorly executed at that. Here’s the timeline of how it went down: Monday, 29 March: Press release about the rebranding “accidentally” posted on VW Website,…
“I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” Wayne Gretzky “Do you really think we haven’t heard this a thousand times? Uggh.” Weary readers For the second time in the last year, I was editing a business book that cited this overused, stale, moth-eaten, clichéd Gretzky quote. In…
So, I’m lined up to do a consultation with this guy from Silicon Valley. He’s very well connected there, so he tells me. This is a pretty typical session for me — a 30-minute discussion of needs and publishing alternatives with an aspiring author. I typically do three of these a week. And they’re free…
Each of us builds up a valuable network of acquaintances over the years — former coworkers, people at clients, and people we met at corporate social occasions and events, for example. These folks can help you with a little free publicity, provided you don’t approach them as a selfish ass. Asking isn’t a problem if…
It’s already been a busy year already for me. To make a point about where freelance people like me spend their energy, here’s a look at my current project list, sorted by status of work: I’ve never had this many projects in process at the same time. I’m just one guy, so it makes me…
My prospects become clients quickly. They rarely choose a competing editor. This post is about how I do that . . . and what that might mean for you, if you freelance. This is typically what happens when an author is considering hiring me: They hear about me, from my blog or from another author….