As our fingers fly across our smartphones, we’ve developed a shorthand way to dash off messages without spending too much time on the finer points of spelling and grammar. “C U later” and “gr8” substitute for actual language when we’re communicating via the small screen. Makes you wonder what the great writers would have done [...]
Archive for November, 2010
Dear Santa Redux
We all love our holiday traditions, be they Black Friday sales, polishing up the menorah, or, as in my household, trudging into the Bureau of Land Management forest up in the foothills to find the perfect tree, only to forget the tree-cutting permit and get the truck stuck in the icy mud. As dedicated traditionalists, [...]
How to Write a Great Wiki
If your writers have ever written a wiki, they’ve probably done battle with the wiki editors. I’m convinced they post their objections gleefully. Writing wikis for a company or a product is particularly tricky—if your writers don’t tread carefully, they’ll likely get whapped with “This article is written like an advertisement. Please help rewrite this [...]
A Little SEO Goes a Long Way
While doing research, I found myself perusing the websites of a number of B2B startups. Some sites were lovely, well written, and easy to navigate. Many weren’t. That didn’t surprise me. Some early stage startups aren’t ready to invest in a slick website and professional copywriting. But what did surprise me was how many startups [...]
How I Poisoned My Family
The rains have come to Northern California—and that means mushroom season. It means stealthy dawn hunts along promising trails. Squinting through first light at the prizes that came up in the night. Getting ‘em fresh and new—because mushrooms grow incredibly fast, and they get old, slimy, maggoty, dried up, or just plain picked by somebody [...]
Storytelling is the New Black
Have you noticed how many recent Chanel couture campaigns were shot in exotic locations? Fashion has long been about storytelling, but what about B2B marcomm? Ask yourself: how would you prefer to receive information about a gadget you’re considering buying? Via a clever video clip that shows attractive people like you using the gadget, or a PowerPoint full of charts and graphs?
How to Write a Great Executive Tweet
Like it or not, the 140-character tweet is today’s version of the boardroom speech. Read about execs who have mastered the art of Twitter.
