- ARCHIVE / communications
- rebranding baltimore
We’ve tried for years to explain our fair city. The answer was here all along.
Baltimore has long been searching for the right tagline.
Back in the day we tried The City That Reads, which has to stand as the strangest city motto of all time (the fact that it was easily manipulated into “The City That [...] - deleting the gatekeepers
Or, what to do when signal becomes noise.
When I first discovered RSS feeds a couple of years ago, my initial reaction was “so?” The technology seemed daunting.
Once I got it, though, I seriously got it, and before long my reader swelled to well over fifty feeds. I was getting constant updates on everything that [...] - finally on twitter
It took me long enough, but…
I’m finally active on Twitter. And I have to say — it’s pretty much as advertised. I’m enjoying it so far.
You’re invited to follow me, and if you do so I’ll follow you: click here - new work: “stepped out for a smoke”
A creative response to the new reality created by indoor smoking bans.
I’m pleased to announce the launch of Slant Six’s most recent project, Stepped Out For a Smoke (click the image at left for a larger version).
As more and more cities and states adopt indoor smoking bans, more and more folks are put in [...] - fresh link roundup
A tour through some of the Internet nooks and crannies that have grabbed my interest over the past few weeks…
* Over at BLDGBLOG there’s a fascinating article called “the mathematics of preservation and the future of urban ruins.” It’s way more interesting than the title makes it sound.
* Kluster is an online project collaboration and [...] - the trust conundrum
Figuring out who — and when — to trust is the biggest challenge when choosing who to work with.
Now that my Copyblogger guest post is up, it’s time to present the companion piece that’s been kicking around in my brain.
When I argued on Copyblogger that one’s rates should be dictated as much by value [...] - stop taking advice
There’s a ton of expertise out there. Trying to follow all of it will drive you crazy.
Do a quick search for your your area of interest or expertise and you’ll find site after site offering potent advice designed to help you do it better. I personally check Seth Godin, Copyblogger, American Copywriter, Signal vs. Noise, [...] - (not so new) work: new media distribution channels
Digging into the archives for a look at future thinking.
A few years ago my publishers at Oni Press invited me to contribute a column to their website.
While archiving old documents the other day I stumbled upon a piece from May, 2004. In it, I used David Mamet’s Spartan (recently released at the time) to [...] - the power and responsibility of editing
A good editor might make your writing. A bad editor will ruin it.
Raymond Carver has long been one of my favorite writers. His terse, emotionally complex prose isn’t to everyone’s taste, but I’ve found it to mine. Recent revelations about his relationship with his editor, Gordon Lish, make me wonder just who it is I’ve [...] - what obama vs. clinton means for creative folks
It’s the message and the medium.
As Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama spar over issues like leadership, the economy, and war, there’s another, less obvious ideological battle taking place. It doesn’t carry the weight of the usual big issues, but it’s arguably more interesting.
Simply put: Obama vs. Clinton represents the first large-scale test of whether or [...] - remember: search isn’t perfect
Google is the leader in search for a reason, but that doesn’t mean they’re perfect.
Try as they might, they can’t overcome human ingenuity. Witness this anecdote from BusinessWeek’s Bruce Nussbaum:
And this PR firm is very successful at manipulating search, he said. All the PR firms are successful at creating “independent” blogs and sites that spin [...] - social media dos and don’ts
There’s no rulebook, and what works for you might not work for me. But it can help to keep a few basic points in mind.
I recently ghost-wrote an article for a client about how businesses in a particular industry can — and should — use social media to enhance their overall marketing and branding efforts. [...]