Stealth Marketing

On April 19th The NY Daily News reported that Blackberry had launched a stealth marketing campaign whereby young women would flirt with men at bars to get them to use the new Blackberry model. The women would hesitate at taking a stranger’s number before acquiescing – I never usually do this – and handing over the device so the man could input his digits.

Glossing over what dark and ooky path this takes us down with regard to the kind of society that sets up unwitting bystanders to be disappointed, does this kind of stealth tactic work? If I had been hit-upon by a handsome man I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t remember the kind of phone he handed me, whether he ever called me or not. Well, that’s not exactly true. If it was pink and covered in rhinestones then I would remember but would likely fake-number him.

Maybe this kind of marketing wouldn’t work on me because I’m a woman. Even though I know there are women out there who love gadgets, I can’t see this ever playing out in reverse. But Blackberry must have had confidence that despite being given attention by a beautiful, young woman, men would not only notice but remember what a fabulous phone she had, otherwise they wouldn’t have bothered, right? Maybe not. With much chagrin I admit that the campaign has certainly created a lot of buzz and maybe that was the ultimate goal. Not to get a handful of men in a bar excited about the new Blackberry model, but for us, the offended masses, to sit up and pay attention, and once our indignation abated – which it would – to think “ooh, there’s a new Blackberry?”

Reunited and it feels so good ♫

It’s official – we are now in business. We finally sent out an introduction of our company to all our friends and family. Most of them had a vague idea what we were doing over here, but now, everyone is well-informed and ready to call on us in a writing emergency.

While we were starting up our business, we heard over and over that we should be spreading the word to everyone we know. We admit, we were shy about it. We didn’t want to be pushy or sales-y. But we learned you don’t have to be.

Our communication of choice was an email newsletter. It slipped into email boxes around the world during the night. It greeted our friends first thing in the morning as they checked email. Their choice to read it or delete it. It was not a forceful introduction – it was a friendly one.

Our intentions were pure. We really just wanted to share our news with all the great people in our lives, to keep the relationships going. My litmus test was, “how would I feel if I received the same kind of email from them?” If it brought a smile quicker than a shrug, that person made the list.

The response has been overwhelming. Such positive thoughts, such supportive words. It’s really a confidence booster. That’s a good enough reason to put yourself out there. We all need compliments and love to keep us going. And these great people in your life are happy to give it.

So if you’re shying away from of the “tell everyone you know” theory, please don’t. Sharing that piece of yourself, something that personal, will have a hugely positive impact on your relationships. It’s scary, but worth it.


~ Of course, a special thank you to all our friends and family for your support and goodness. We could not have done it without you!

Writing Tip: Reread

One of the most helpful tools for writing a good piece is to reread it. Out loud. That last part is important. Whisper it to yourself or make it performance art, it doesn't matter as long as you are hearing the words. What may be glossed over in your head will be striking in speech. An awkward sentence, overall flow of the piece, unusual words or phrases – all will pop out. And of course, typos.

A quick reread is good for any document, including technical or legal documents. Even these suffer from the problems above and sometimes can cause chaos with unclear writing. Leaving out the word “not” or a whole sentence when pasting in routine text is bad. You're not doing yourself any favors by being sloppy and your clients certainly will be pleased. Wait, no, they will NOT be pleased. Quite a different meaning.

You really owe it to yourself to take a second look at any of your writing. Think of how much you pour of yourself into your business every day. Any writing you put out there on behalf of your business is defining your business. This is obvious with marketing materials, but what about emails? These, too, define the tone, the message, the personality of your company. Don't sell yourself short with a smll typo or badly worded sentence with awkwardness just to save a minute of reading. (See, it does seem ridiculous, doesn't it?)

Bottom line, if you don't even want to read it a second time, why would your audience want to read it a first time?

The Science of Cooking

Last night I watched the movie Julie & Julia. For those of you who don’t know it, a quick summary – it's the story of Julia Child, the famed American cook, intertwined with that of Julie Powell, a woman who in 2002 New York decides to cook her way through Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year and blog about her experiences: 524 recipes in 365 days. That is a lot of butter.

I didn’t grow up in the US so I’m only somewhat familiar with Julia Child. I know she is large and that she sounds British, albeit far posher than me. I’m not even much of a cook, but this movie, among other things, is changing that. My feminist back-brain used to scoff at cooking as a hobby for being too stereotypical. Instead I would do things like fly gliders and become a reserve firefighter (both of these are true by the way) - that I loved makeup and shoes was by the by. My other, far less ideological reason for not cooking was that until recently I had been living in a 250 square foot apartment with only a kitchenette, also known as an efficiency kitchen. The suffix ‘ette’ doesn’t make something cute and deficiency kitchen is probably more apt. It isn’t efficient or fun to make a pumpkin pie in a toaster oven.

I’ve since moved out of what was really a glorified closet and have been finding my feet in a grown-up kitchen with a stove and, glory be, counter space. I’m finally admitting to myself that I enjoy being in the kitchen. But rather than simply wanting to work out some rage issues by whisking ingredients into a frenzy or beating them into submission – as you can see below, Karen wouldn’t let me succumb to such clichés anyway – it’s the science behind cooking that I find fascinating. Call me a fool but I’d never considered that there was a science to it. I just thought that my Nana was really good at cooking and I was mediocre. Julia Child knew that the best bowl for beating egg whites is a copper one. I doubt she knew this was due to copper ions from the bowl forming a complex with a protein in the egg whites, conalbumin, making them much less likely to denature. I bet she didn’t care, but to me it's interesting. So, I shall proceed to cook as if it were a laboratory experiment for it has already taught me two new things – how to make meringue, which I need to know for a pot-luck on Tuesday, and the word ‘denature.’ A contender for next week’s Word of the Week?

Clichés, or How to be Uncreative

This is an actual phone conversation I overheard:

“Hi, Bob, this is Lisa. I'm doing well. How are you? Oh, that's good. Well, I was calling to pick your brain about the company event coming up next month. We’re adding some teambuilding activities to promote the theme of ‘Working as One,’ and we’d like to have some staff members lead the activities. We’re looking for individuals who are outgoing, who embody the corporate initiatives, who get along with their peers. Off the top of your head, do you have any staff that fit the bill? Oh really? That would be great. Would you mind asking her if she would lend a hand with this? We’re getting close to the zero hour so we’d need a decision ASAP. You’re a lifesaver. And please keep it in the back of your mind, as we’ll need a few more people. Ha, ha. Right? Easier said than done. Thanks again, Bob. Talk with you soon.”

I kid you not. That was the conversation. Every office cliché was used in the span of two minutes. It made me sad, and even a little angry.

Clichés are leeches. They seem harmless but they suck the life out of your conversation. They show a lack of creativity, and really, you're smarter than that. Think of clichés as saying “um” over and over again between real thoughts. They add no value.

You cannot convince me otherwise. Please do not argue that clichés are useful because people automatically know what you mean. Baloney. There are a lot of concise, basic words between clichés and Roget’s that are common enough to use in every day language. So use them. The goal is not to recreate Shakespeare with every phrase - the goal is to get your message across in the simplest way.

It’s easy to confuse simple with easy. Let’s think about it in terms of shopping. The simple way is to focus on your favorite clothing stores, looking for your size and buying things in your price range. Done, and you look fabulous. The easy way is grabbing clothes off the nearest rack and immediately buying them without checking the size or choosing the color. This would lead to a wardrobe of stuff you would never wear because nothing fits well and does not present you at your best. Same goes for your words.

It will take time and will take some effort. The best thing you can do is read more. It's true – reading any kind of medium will introduce fresh phrasing and words. Also pay attention to word patterns used by interesting speakers. Most of all, remember that just because certain phrases are used in the workplace does not mean they are good. Corporate offices are ripe with jargon and limp communication – don't buy into it. The English language is so rich, holds so many possibilities, that you're really cheating yourself if you don't express your thoughts in your own words.

Writing with Intention

Today, we are all writers. For work or personal, we write more than 10 years ago. Phone calls have made way for emails, and anyone with an email address can create a blog. Information about the latest product or the newest addition to the family is passed around very quickly, and maybe even passed around again to another circle.

People with opinions can share them on public review sites. People with thoughts can write on their own blogs about any subject. People with knowledge can share it through electronic books, webinars and articles. People who like their own voices drone on in every medium. Everyone is writing. But not everyone is a writer.

I don't have a definition of what makes a writer, nor the formula for becoming one. Someone somewhere must, since some people win awards and others don't. It seems to be something you just feel when you read a really good piece. True, we all have personal preference but from comedy to editorial to sports writing, a good writer is obvious.

I am currently savoring the book On Writing Well by William Zinsser. My copy is now earmarked since I have found inspiration in so many passages throughout the entire book. But the excerpt for today responds to what makes a good writer, regardless of genre.

“Intention is what we wish to accomplish with our writing. Call it the writer's soul. We can write to affirm and to celebrate, or we can write to debunk and to destroy; the choice is ours. But nobody can make us write what we don't want to write. We get to keep intention. Nonfiction writers often forget that they are not required to acquiesce in tawdry work, to carry the trash for magazine editors who have an agenda of their own – to sell a commercial product.”

“Writing is related to character. If your values are sound, your writing will be sound. It all begins with intention. Figure out what you want to do and how you want to do it, and work your way with humanity and integrity to the completed article. Then you'll have something to sell.”

Most of us write with the end in mind at the start. The end being a commercial success. But we've got it wrong. Write something from the heart, something with deep meaning to you through comfortable words that reflect your meaning, and the rest will follow. Readers are looking for something real and recognize a hack from the first sentence.

When you write something you believe in, you not only make yourself happy but will find people who appreciate your style and subject. It may not be a few thousand who want to subscribe to your blog, but if that's your main goal, I probably lost you long ago anyways. In anything we write, including an email or a tweet, we have the choice of intention. It's powerful, something that should not be taken lightly. What are your words saying about you?

Scriptophobia? Not me.

Today’s news sources are reveling in the opportunity to report US representative Hank Johnson’s concern that Guam would eventually “tip over” into the ocean due to over population. He didn’t mean this literally, of course, and he later went on to explain that he was referring to the future of the island’s fragile eco-system rather than the island itself. Regardless, my thought process immediately veered away from the quite likely very important issues surrounding Guam and its growing US military population, to images of an island falling into the ocean.

This thought led me to tsunamis and that thought led me to those of an old friend who had a morbid fear of tsunamis. Now, bearing in mind I knew this person prior to the devastating Indonesian tsunami of 2004, I thought his fear quite ridiculous. He was from Britain, an island, yes, but an island with a risk of tsunamis, no, and he had never encountered one. It was fascinating to me that someone could have a fear, or even a phobia of something they were so unlikely to ever come across. His girlfriend and I made him watch The Day After Tomorrow with us and his panic was almost palpable, which I’m sorry to say we found hilarious - as I mentioned, prior to the Indonesian tsunami.

So thinking about my friend with the fear of tsunamis led me to thinking about other strange phobias. Now this is a topic I am quite enthralled by, not only because the fears themselves are so interesting (genuphobia for instance, is a fear of knees) but because they often gift us with the opportunity to use such meaty and playful words, if you ignore the fact that they all end in ‘phobia,’ of course. Here are some of my favorites:

~Stygiophobia: A fear of Hell, which is a perfectly reasonable fear if you ask me.
~Mnemophobia: A fear of memories, just because it seems so unfortunate.
~Spheksophobia: A fear of wasps, because I completely appreciate this one.
~Linonophobia: A fear of string, which to me is as ridiculous as fearing knees, and finally…
~Sesquipedalophobia or Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, both of which mean a fear of long words.

It’s a good job there isn’t such a thing as a fear of irony.