22 12 2015
Explaining New Media to My Dad
More than a few times over the past year, in the midst of going down an Internet rabbit hole, I’ve wondered what my dad would make of all this. A world of information at my fingertips; searches that beget endless questions. He still had dial-up when he died. The pixelated outer space sound would ping through his small condo while he would wait to check the messages in his AOL account.
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Somewhere in the mid-1950s, a revolution in advertising took place. While previous business models relied primarily on supply side economics, the new age of advertising saw opportunities to generate demand through innovative marketing practices. The behavioral sciences slowly started to work their way into advertising agencies and businesses began to devote substantial portions of their budgets to product promotion.
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03 11 2015
Timing Your Social Media Posts
As they say, timing is everything. The second hand of an increasingly anachronistic analog clock ticks through each moment of our lives and stops for no one. There are the occasions where we wish we could will time to move faster and just as many that leave us wondering in dismay where it all went.
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29 09 2015
Blogging For Profit
Blogging can be an insanely powerful tool in the business world today. As a human face for a company, a blogger, armed with a unique and engaging voice, brings a built-in customer base who are already in love with the brand.
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08 09 2015
Can the Clichés!
They’re tried-and-true, but they’ve been around the block a few times. They’re shopworn, threadbare, and coming apart at the seams. It’s time to put them out to pasture.
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03 09 2015
A Checklist for Your Small Business
We all know that starting your own business isn’t always wine and roses. There will be tough times, some of which may seem to last forever. The better prepared you are to manage your own business, the easier it will be to weather the bad times and the quicker you can get into the good.
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21 07 2015
Goldfish vs. Humans
Last week I was riding the 7 train uptown from Grand Central a few hours after the morning rush. There were no strap-hangers, but most of the seats were occupied. I couldn’t help but observe my fellow riders, the majority of whom were engaged with the small screen before them. A car full of necks craned downward might be a chiropractor’s nightmare, yet it’s a revealing snapshot of our digital age.
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16 06 2015
The Dream of a Common Language
It may be a familiar trope in crime stories, but having a dead body in the trunk is a lousy selling point for an automobile. When Ford launched its ad campaign in Belgium, they wanted buyers to appreciate their excellent manufacturing and came up with the slogan “Every car has a high-quality body.” However translated into Dutch, one of Belgium’s three official languages, the ad became “Every car has a high-quality corpse,” which was less than persuasive. Thanks to a translation error, Ford’s new model sounded as if it was an accessory to a crime rather than something you’d willingly drive off the lot.
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02 06 2015
How to Use (and Avoid) Obscure Words
If you are someone who enjoys writing, you probably take pride in using your skill and knowledge of the language to craft a message that communicates exactly the intended point. The raw materials at your disposal—words—are not unlike those of a sculptor; some are easier to work with than others. So when you can master the harder materials—more obscure words—you might feel a special satisfaction.
