This should have been the title for my session on corporate blogging at SoCon11 on Saturday. That’s the greatest frustration for bloggers. Forget getting people to care and engage. The question on everyone’s mind: How do I simply attract a meaningful audience? Here’s the deck that framed the SoCon11 session on blogging. The words “Content …more
I write a column on Silicon Valley for a tech publication in Korea called The Electronics Times. The editor asked me to take a shot at predicting what will happen in Silicon Valley in 2011. Here’s what got edited out of the column (apparently storytelling techniques with a touch of levity don’t resonate overseas): The …more
Blogging is the new black at corporations. Everyone is doing it. And it’s not just large companies that fall under the technology umbrella. Want to know what’s on the mind of Bill Marriott and the “wacky” world of hotels – latest post titled “Honesty Is The Best Policy” – no problem. It makes sense. After …more
Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal included an article that caught my attention. Titled “New Google Hire Takes Aim at Apple,” the piece – can’t bring myself to call it a story – recounts how a Google employee ( Tim Bray) recently poached from Sun used his personal blog to say nasty things about Apple’s mobile phone …more
When we last addressed Mr. Jobs he was taking a pass on Macworld. More recently, unless you’ve spent the last week in the proverbial cave, you’ve seen the cavalcade of stories on Steve Jobs taking a leave of absence from Apple. The common denominator in the stories revolves around understanding his replacement, Tim Cook. It’s revealing …more
Oprah is a good storyteller who’s even better at facilitating a story. More than any single element, Oprah has turned tapping into the emotional reservoir of her viewing audience into an art form. That’s why when Oprah came forward on Friday and proclaimed Amazon’s Kindle (e-reader) as life-changing people paid attention. In fact, Oprah’s revelation created more noise in the blogosphere …more
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
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
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
