I shared the first half of my best 2013 posts on Monday.
Again, “best” doesn’t mean most viewed. The algorithm that determines “best” puts a premium on personal amusement.
With that as the backdrop, here’s the rest of the list:
Voice is tricky. It’s always there. Yet, it can be tougher to find than Waldo in bad lighting. I had fun with this post, which included experimenting for the first time with an illustration.
Life used to be simple. Write the news release. Get the document to journalists. Watch the headlines roll in. Even if you don’t buy into Nicholas Carr’s article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?,” there’s no denying that people have shorter attention spans today as more information rains down on them. Effectiveness in such a world depends on visuals as well as words.
What can I say. I’m easily amused. If you believe all the advice out there on writing a headline that stops the reader, then at some point we end up here.
As a student of storytelling, the classic story arc shows the way. But how do communicators apply this concept when our storytelling must take place within the confined space of chimney sweep? In a word, contrast.
This might have been the first time my advocacy for storytelling entered the political arena. Pathetic is the word that comes to mind when I think about the NRA’s response to the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. I used parody as an outlet, recreating the behind-closed-doors dialogue at the NRA before its press conference.
In his book, “Outliers,” Malcom Gladwell makes the argument that true expertise requires 10,000 hours focused on the task at hand.
If that’s the case, I’m getting closer.