How do you interview a celebrity who has passed away? The San Francisco Giants and star pitcher in his day Tim Lincecum shows the way. I’ve always admired the marketing efforts from the San Francisco Giants acknowledging that some might miss the mark. If you live in the Bay Area and follow the Giants, you’ll …more
I believe levity is the killer app in business storytelling. Levity lifts the narrative, especially in the B2B tech world where inserting an action verb is considered a win. For the B2B tech companies who say this is too hard, too risky, check out the use of levity by law enforcement agencies, starting with last …more
Here’s my second grab bag post of 2018, capturing vignettes that caught my attention, but don’t lend themselves to stand-alone posts. Broken Links, an Opportunity Most companies treat broken links as a functional challenge. The person has clicked to a wrong place (page doesn’t exist), bringing a 404 page to navigate the person back …more
I wrote about Zappos using levity as the killer app in its communications a few years ago. Before going further, it’s worth noting that levity has a lower bar than humor. We’re not trying to channel Jon Stewart or Conan O’Brian. Levity delivers a smile, a grin (bigger smile) or, at its best, a low-decibel …more
The Saudi Arabian government. Let’s give the Crown Prince a round of applause for the entry, “The gang that can’t talk straight.” Before going further, the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul was an act against humanity. I am by no means making light of it. As I followed the …more
As a form of self-torture, I cruised through the 800+ posts I’ve written since the blog went live July 10, 2008. Dipping into my Yiddish vocabulary, “Oy vey.” I’ve reflected on the blog’s 10-year anniversary and stuck a microphone in front of 10 suspecting individuals for their takes on the state of storytelling. Now, I’m …more
There’s no reason to rehash USA’s disastrous trip to Trinidad and Tobago and getting bounced from the 2018 World Cup. Taking that very American mentality of making lemonade out of lemons, I suggest that all of America rally behind Team Iceland at the World Cup. At this point you might be thinking, “Why the hell …more
The grab bag post makes its 2018 debut. For new readers, this is where I take three shards of content that by themselves can’t carry a story and bundle them together in one post. Here goes. Can a HK Daily Become an International Read? When Jack Ma and Alibaba plucked down $266M at the …more
The four-word stacked headline appeared in the print version of The Wall Street Journal last Wednesday: WPP’s Sorrell Faces Probe The online headline went for the jugular, “WPP Is Looking at CEO Martin Sorrell’s Possible Misuse of Assets and Allegations of Improper Behavior.” Before digging in, let’s get the disclosure out of the way. I …more
