The Sternberg Effect
Media
How I’m Becoming A Real Person
Last week, I participated in a Web 2.0 panel about trust and journalism with Dan Patterson of ABC News and Jen Nedeau of Air America. This was the first panel I’ve sat on and as I look at the past year or so, I’m starting to see a clearer picture of how I’M quickly becoming … Continue reading
Are Lists Good For Social Media?
Twitter has grown exponentially over the past two years and so has the culture that has blossomed around the communications tool. The Twitterverse, through the means of the user, has developed a currency based in thought capital, designated by the few to be spread through the many. As in other cultures, currencies develop and are … Continue reading
Helping Clients Off Their Deserted Island
There are some days I wish I were talented at something useful – like a scientist who understands the natural world or an engineer who understands the mechanical world. Because let’s face it, playing with words to build perception and influence audiences can only go so far. I mean, if I were stranded on a … Continue reading
Speak WITH us, not AT us
I watch a lot of TV. From 5pm until 2 am, my TV is on. It doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m sitting in front of the sleek monitor, but it does mean that I can warm my apartment with the heat that emanates from my LCD. With a lot TV watching comes a lot of … Continue reading
Communications Technology: power of good or cause of harm
I love technology. I love air conditioning and microwaves, refrigerators and electric blankets. I love being able to write this sentence over 6 times without wasting paper or ink or ribbons. However, technology has numerous negative effects we fail to see because we’re so amazed by the shiny objects in front of our eyes. (And … Continue reading
Companies cannot not communicate
One cannot not communicate. Communications theorist Paul Watzlawick deemed this as one of five axioms about communication between two individuals. He thought that since every behavior is a type of communication, and because behavior does not have an opposite, (anti-behavior? No.) it is not possible not to communicate. In other words, even when we don’t … Continue reading
The Great Debate…Or Not
Democracy is messy. It’s a truth that we usually ignore because democracy is usually wrapped up in red, white and blue balloons, tiny American flags and the occasional hanging chad. But as we see, night after night in some VFW hall or some community college classroom, making sure everyone has their voice heard is a … Continue reading
Evolution and Social Media
When I was about 4 or 5, I was at a family function and asked a question to my dad. This question would be the most important question I would ever ask, but it would take me 25 years to figure out why. As the 4 or 5 year-old me scanned the room, my eyes … Continue reading
Music Is Eternal: why we buy music when a musician dies
A musician dies, and people immediately rush to the store (brick and mortar or online) to purchase his/her catalog. As we’ve seen, with the passing of a musician, album sales spike tremendously. In the four days since the death of Michael Jackson, total album sales eclipsed the 400,000 mark. When an artist dies prematurely record … Continue reading
MJ -My Generation’s First American Idol
People die every minute of every day. It’s a sad, yet unavoidable fact of life. As a species we have developed coping mechanisms to honor and remember those in our lives who have touched us – emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, etc. And when someone famous dies, these coping mechanisms turn from private to public support. When … Continue reading
What Should Public Relations Be?
There is a growing conversation within the public relations profession about how to best define PR. Is it putting the “public” or the “relations” back in public relations? Either way, there seems to be some kind of disconnect, and according the proponents of each philosophy believe that social media is both the disrupting agent and … Continue reading
How To Be Better At Media Relations
Last month, I wrote an article for Mashable about Twitter and retweets. It was a fun experience, especially since I don’t fashion myself as a journalist or blogger. Typically, when I write, it’s for a client and the idea for a piece stems from discussion. Client X sees this trend in his/her field and wants … Continue reading
The Push-Pull of Media
Yesterday, while watching President Obama’s press conference, my mind started to wander right after the president’s curt response to Ed Henry. Maybe it was because the camera panned out over the White House Press Corp, those noblest of reporters, and I wondered what would happen if I was a journalist in that room and the … Continue reading
Judiciary 2.0?
With a nascent Obama presidency founded on the principles of transparency and a Congress who all of a sudden recognized that technology is a friend and not a foe, the term Government 2.0 has spread like wildfire these past few months. There’s just one flaw the people leading this charge are not discussing: where’s the … Continue reading
MLB and steroids: A Messaging Issue
I wrote this in January of ’08, right after the Mitchell Report (which we all know was a waste of time and money) was released, for a former employer (of which, I’m not sure it even was published). With new allegations of Alex Rodriguez’ apparent steroid use, I thought Major League Baseball and communications people … Continue reading
Unnecessary Journalism Phrases
- How about “lifeless body” when describing a dead person? Here’s a good (bad)...
- bobbymacReports: A growing number of stories with a growing number
- Alliterative Journalism Phrases
- Apologies on the lack of posts
- While not necessarily an unnecessary journalism phrase, friend...
- 50. Old Man Winter - 11/7/11
- Push The Envelope Submitted by unretrecissement and her...
- 49. A.M. in the Morning/P.M. in the Afternoon/Evening, at Night - 11/3/11
- 48. Emergency Situation - 11/2/11
- 47. Roll(ed)(ing) in his/her grave - 10/31/11
