I’ve avoided clickbait for nearly nine years and 1,096 posts … until now. The headline for this post definitely qualifies as clickbait. You’re not going to find a video on Kim Kardashian dissing her mom. With that said, watching my mom share her unfiltered insights on the business of public relations does offer …more
I’ve written 1,009 posts including this one. I don’t know if my Mom has read all of them — suspect she took a pass on my tirade about the city of Middleton’s proclamation of “Mustard Day” — but she’s been an avid reader of the blog. She claims that the blog is an extension of …more
A few years ago BuzzFeed proved what everyone has always believed in theory. If you stretch enough rubber bands around a watermelon, it will eventually succumb to the pressure in one glorious Kodak moment. Not exactly the journalism practiced by Cronkite or Woodward and Bernstein. Still, Seedgate attracted almost a million people who …more
I came across a video by David Shiyang Liu that plays off an Ira Glass riff on the creative process. David, who is a filmmaker and director at the Melbourne studio Kick Kick Punch (no Kaboom), married typography with Glass’s verbal narrative to produce the video below. Sure, Ira Glass’s voice by itself gives power …more
We posted our infographic called “Storytelling vs. Corporate Speak” last week. In brainstorming a communications push behind the infogrpaphic with social media guru Steve Farnsworth, he suggested developing supporting assets like a video. Rather than put me on video pontificating about the infographic – not good TV, to be kind – we decided to take a …more
I was honored that Kathy Hansen invited me to participate in her Q&A series. She asked me to share one piece of advice or wisdom on storytelling. My response – The story is always there. I truly believe this. Every company has something compelling to say. But like discovery in the legal sphere, it can …more
No one would mistake conducting an energy audit as a glamorous activity. That’s why GE’s approach to telling this story caught my attention. As part of its Ecomagination campaign, GE has conducted 200+ energy audits at its own facilities and at customer sites. But they don’t call them energy audits. Instead, the company packages the exercises as “Treasure Hunts.” Yes, it’s a …more
The headline comes from a Canal+ video (brought to my attention by one of our vice presidents, John Radewagen). Our protagonist in this story cheats death four times by his recollection in the space of 74 seconds: Bullets Cut-down tree Waterfall Lumber mill blades Of course, the real twist comes at the end when he …more
I stumbled across a compelling three-and-a-half-minute video with NPR’s Scott Simon sharing his perspective on how to tell a story (video below). It’s captivating, as reflected in the 43,000+ views. Before going further, let’s acknowledge that Scott Simon’s voice by itself is captivating. He could explain a recipe for nouveau meatloaf and I’d listen. Plus, anyone …more
