May
01
Written by Richard Ketchen, a Vancouver-based corporate writer that I’ve had the pleasure of working with. Click here to subscribe to his monthly newsletter.
Woodrow Wilson once said, “If I am to speak for ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if for fifteen minutes, three days; if half an hour two days; if an hour, I am ready now.”
In many ways, the same is true for business writing. It simply takes longer to write short. Brevity, however, is one of the keys to reaching and connecting with your audience. Unfortunately, most writers just don’t know when to quit writing or how to cut unneeded copy.
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Apr
28
Peter Reek over at the Smart Savvy blog wrote recently about the Swine Flu & Twitter. He picked up on something I’ve heard some murmurs about — that people were using Twitter to pass along misinformation about the disease. But Peter also goes on to point out:
Twitter’s biggest weakness is also its biggest strength, however.
Think of the tweets from the Hudson River plane crash, or the earthquakes in China. These examples weren’t just noise, they were real time news providing valuable insight into the calamities.
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Apr
17
Alright, here’s something a little less serious, but for those of you involved with Social Media, I think you’ll get a chuckle out of it.
Facebook Etiquette
PS I do think that etiquette is one of those words — no matter how much I stare at it, it still looks like its spelled wrong!
Apr
15
Quite some time ago, a question about social media was posted on Linked In regarding the type of person who would make the best Social Media Evangelist. Ever since then, I’ve been thinking a great deal about the risks involved in having this “Evangelist” position.
While I do think having a social media person (whether its their main position or not, really depends on the scope of the company) is a good idea for many companies, I wonder how these companies will cope with staff turnover. If one person becomes the draw to the blog or Twitter account, what happens when that person leaves? Will the effectiveness of the strategy be maintained when someone else steps into that position? Does the Twitter account remain with the company, or with the individual? (This will be clear if the account is CompanyABC vs. Bob_Smith).
I think this is something that companies may run into over the next few years unless they’ve approached the account carefully from the beginning. If all parties understand from the onset, some of these hurdles can be side stepped.
At the risk of being a broken record — plan for it!
I recommend having a look at the original question and just what some people had to say — some of the answers are truly great.
Mar
05
I ran across a TED talk featuring Evan Williams, co-founder of Twitter. Given the last few posts on Twitter, I wanted to point it out. Although, I did find him to be a bit stiff in presenting.
For anyone not familiar with TED talks, here’s what Wikipedia has to say:
TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an annual conference that defines its mission as “ideas worth spreading”. The lectures, also called TED Talks, cover a broad set of topics including science, arts and design, politics, culture, business, global issues, technology and development, and entertainment.
I strongly recommend them, they’re absolutely fabulous and are often wonderful speakers presenting on topics that they are passionate about.
Feb
24
If someone asked me for career advice, the first thing I would recommend is to join a professional association. No other opportunity presents the same chance to network, learn, mentor and grow. For me, when I first started out, I joined IABC/BC and it was a turning point in my career.
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Feb
19
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about companies and advertising during this current economic downturn. The idea really started festering today when I emailed a newspaper, on behalf of a client, to request a media kit with the latest prices. This client has often advertised with this particular newspaper and, as such, often receives discounts. My request was partly because I didn’t have the current media kit, but also a feeler to see if I could get preferential pricing. The response back? “Last time we gave you a half page ad at a significant discount. I’m willing to give you the same thing at a 50% discount to that price.”
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