Blog posts and articles about the craft of writing, blogging, writer's block, content marketing, how to start a blog and how to write a book

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Social media for social good (24 days left for Parade Magazine / Case Foundation Giving Challenge)

It’s no surprise in this election year that we’re realizing how powerful social media can be for making things happen — whether it’s support for a candidate, the launch…

The controversial issue of ‘‘data portability” (or what we used to call “privacy”)

A brouhaha involving the temporary shutdown of the Facebook account of popular tech blogger Robert Scoble sparked discussion recently of a new issue for 2008: data…

Top 8 Tips for Corporate Blogging in 2008

Blogging is a key piece of Web 2.0 or the Social Web, as it’s called. The Social Web means crowdsourcing: looking to your customers and fans for knowledge and smarts. It means that painstaking creation of static, stuffy, stilted Web pages is out. Blogs (interactive)…

Q. & A. on social media in China

Thanks to Geoff Livingston for prompting a bit of reflection on what it all meant in Debbie Weil Discusses Social Media in China.

China Blogging Tour chronicles my two weeks in China in October 2007 during which I spoke to a…

Communications & Web 2.0 – New York

Presentation to execs and marketing managers of state CPA associations and members of AICPA. More info.

December 21, 2007

Best Top Ten Lists

I’ve compiled a handful I thought you’d find useful (or funny): Top 14 trends from Seth Godin’s new book, Meatball Sundae; 10 tips for new bloggers from Jorn Barger who coined the term “Weblog” 10 years ago; Pete Blackshaw’s Official 2008 Web 2.0 Buzzword Forecast; the best of Harvard Business…

Free download: How to Write a Great Business Blog

My holiday gift to you, dear reader, is dressed up in a smartly packaged PDF. It's an enhanced transcript of the teleconference I did for the Personal Branding Telesummit marking the 10th anniversary of Tom Peters' now iconic article: The…

Forget Facebook and Twitter… you can still turn yourself into a dancing elf

Office Max is at it (meaning viral marketing) again this season with a microsite, elfyourself.com, where you can turn yourself into a dancing elf. (New this year: you can add three…

Where is your “white space” for getting real work done?

Loved this article in the New York Times: You Won’t Find Me In My Office, I’m Working. It’s about those of us who choose anywhere except our desk or office to get “real”…

Write Like a Journalist: Bulldog Reporter audio conference

Audio conference for Bulldog Reporter's PR University: Write Like a Journalist: Newsroom Vets and PR Wordsmiths Reveal How to Write Compelling, Credible Copy That Sells.

Other panelists are Joan Stewart of Publicity Hound fame, Paul Furiga of Wordwrite Communications and Sandra Allen of Columbia…

You know you’re living a Web 2.0 life when… you get your Happy Birthdays via Facebook

Today happens to be my birthday (nope, not telling my age). How do I know? Well, Dec. 11th* is part of my Facebook profile and some of my Facebook “friends” are sending me Happy…

Continuing the meme: thanks to the journalism prof who truly inspired me

Paul Gillin just tagged me, following Kami Watson Huyse’s Thanksgiving meme. This one struck a chord so I took a crack at it. I’m taggng Karen Christensen of Berkshire Publishing fame; she’s currently in Shanghai; Karen Wickre, the force behind Google’s corporate blog and Shel…

Stellar ‘Unreview’ of Geoff Livingston’s new book: Now Is Gone

I just got back from lunch with Washington’s PR and social media impresario, Geoff Livingston, who’s a pretty funny guy. He is also author of…

Mitch Joel & Twist Image win the first ever Canadian Marketing Association award for digital innovat

I don’t normally write about awards but can’t resist pointing out that Mitch Joel and his team at Twist Image last night won an award for Digital Innovation from the Canadian Marketing Association.

I hung out with Mitch and other bloggerati in Montréal [my…

Keynoting Webcom Montréal: Corporate blogging in a Web 2.0 world

I’m heading to Montreal to give the keynote at Webcom Montréal on Wednesday morning (Nov. 14, 2007). If you’re in Montreal, give me a holler. Title of my speech: Corporate Blogging…

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Flippin’ video at BlogWorld: Toby, Liz, Robyn and Steve

Got a bit enthusiastic with my Flip video recorder at BlogWorld Expo. Here’s another clip starring power women bloggers (see the W List) Toby Bloomberg, Liz Strauss and Robyn Tippins. Along with Steve Broback and his Flip.