Archive: August 2008

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You Say "Freakin," I Say "Freaking"

  I’ve been thinking about the headline of the Scoble post I addressed last week: “What do the freaking tech bloggers want?” Specifically, does the periodic cuss word (or derivative) enhance storytelling or at the very least command attention? I think the power of a cuss word can come from the element of surprise. If Martha Stewart drops …more

In Pursuit Of Bloggers: Disconnect Between Storytelling And PR

Robert Scoble, the poster child for escaping corporate cubedom for the virtual pulpit, penned a post titled “What do the freaking tech bloggers want?” It’s a convincing view. A bit longwinded perhaps, but if “Scobleizer” is etched in your masthead, you get a pass to periodically pontificate. An earlier Scoble quasi-rant emphasized that through customers, not the PR function, is the …more

Even A Niche Small-Biz Trade Can Go For A Chuckle

You don’t think B2B trade publications have a sense of humor? Think again. SmallBusinessComputing recently covered a new storage device from Fabrik with the following photo and caption: Pass the Wasabi: What looks like an elegant way to serve sushi is, in fact, Fabrik’s eco-friendly, bamboo-encased external drive. The juxtaposition of the wasabi and a hard …more

China Olympics: Let The Storytelling Begin

Forget the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. The China Olympics will essentially offer up a Petri dish for stories that transcend sports. I was in Hong Kong back in 2001 when China was officially awarded the Olympics. I managed to snag a copy of the Beijing Youth Daily newspaper commemorating the milestone, which was …more

Deviating From The Status Quo (In The News Release)

  The typical news release offers less drama than watching Aunt Bee on a rerun of The Andy Griffith Show.  For those under 50 not familiar with the sitcom just listening to the show’s theme song tells you all you need to know. Of course, I recognize that companies need to announce products and other types of …more

The Story Within The Story … Missed

With the fervor surrounding the Beijing Olympics close to its apex, any story tied to China gains some extra juice. That’s why you see announcements like the one by IODA (the Independent Online Distribution Alliance) launching the largest digital music store in China timed to lead into the Olympics opening ceremonies on August 8. Timing aside, IODA paints the classic contrarian story with …more