I rarely check out videos because chances are high that it won’t have captions or subtitles. But I bit on this Lenovo-produced video comparing its ThinkPad X300 to the MacBook Air [link: Dave Winer]. It presents a powerful visual message without using words. But not one to let commercials sway me without research, I wondered … Read more
Noticing another (the first being the gray text on white background) trend and it ain’t good. More and more newsletters require you to click a link for the full newsletter. To make the situation worse, some of these are in — ack! — Acrobat pdf format! I like Acrobat files, but not for e-mail newsletters. … Read more
For freelancers and solopreneurs, making a mistake on a task compares to a corporate employee receiving bad performance review. Facing mistakes — no matter how small — as a freelancer comes harder than those made as a corporate employee — and I’ve worked on the other side. The other side includes working for the U.S. … Read more
When people say they don’t get Twitter — it’s because they need to be more proactive. Twitter doesn’t work if you lurk, post updates, and do nothing else. What I’ve learned after using Twitter for a month: Follow unto others as you would have them do unto you. @comment others to make the most of … Read more
I have a few clients in which the engagements are open-ended. This means helping them with their ongoing content work. As a result, it’s easy to let something drag on without completing it. For example, a client may ask me to revise the Help documentation and write entries for blogs. Rather than just letting it … Read more
Here’s a great example I ran into that proves audience matters when writing content and designing Web sites. Audio expert Penny Haynes asked: Is the term “Technically Challenged” a positive, negative or neutral marketing term? I’d really like to hear from people who are NOT comfortable with technology to ascertain if using that term to … Read more
Read an interesting tidbit in cairril.com’s Sparks newsletter, which references a Post-it(R) Note Persuasion: A Sticky Influence study [pdf file] at Social Science Research Network. Sending out a survey or business solicitation letter? Research shows that including a yellow sticky note with what looks like a personal greeting increases response rates. And it’s not enough … Read more
The wizard in The Wizard of Oz and the guy behind the curtain pretending to be him have different personalities. Which one would you rather listen to? The wizard who comes across as larger than life and unreachable, or the guy hiding behind the giant green face, a person like us? Companies that publish newsletters … Read more
The following books that I read this year are my favorites — they didn’t necessarily come out this year. Fiction: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Cliche’, but it was a great book and I was happy with the way Rowling finished the series. It was nervewracking because we didn’t want her to be too … Read more
Smart marketers and bloggers watch for articles and blog entries that use their keywords so they can read the content and leave comments. It’s a great way to connect and network in the blogosphere/Internetsphere. But they also make a mistake. No question — participating the blogosphere helps people and their businesses… when done right. If … Read more