Posts tagged ideas

Ghosts of blogging future

August 27, 2010 · Filed under Posts · Tagged , , , ,

On Inside PR #2.17, Gini Dietrich and I talked about ghost blogging, a subject that has been haunting the blogosphere for a long time.  Much has been written about the ethics surrounding it. It’s a debate about authorship and authority. If your name appears on a blog, you should be the person who writes it.  Of course there are exceptions, like clearly identified guest posts, but other than that, the ‘rules’ are pretty rigid.

At the risk of unleashing the ire of ghost busters, I wonder if this approach has become too simplistic.

Blogs have moved beyond digital journals to become an effective publishing format. Seth Godin’s recent views on shifting from traditional to electronic publishing tie into this. Social media newsrooms are essentially blog platforms designed to distribute and share content and news without a single author’s point of view. With the confluence of portable digital devices, all-access Wi-Fi and the need to conserve scarce resources (i.e. trees), it’s easy to see how ‘blogger’ could become synonymous with ‘publisher’. A blog house could be the 21st century version of publishing house, home to commercial and non-commercial fiction, non-fiction, humour, travel, cooking, business, text books, anything really – even nameless instruction manuals. Now imagine we add video and real-time conversation to the mix…

I’m not saying we should abandon personal voices and ideas. Far from it. That’s where innovation begins before heading on its circuitous path from indie to establishment.

We should all strive for transparency and authenticity, yet maybe the blog-of-old has outgrown its initial framework and ghost blogging is no longer the issue it once was. Like the printing press, blogs could evolve into the catalyst that reshapes and redefines publishing. Now that’s a bestseller I wouldn’t want to miss!

What do you think?

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Is speed slowing down original thought?

April 21, 2010 · Filed under Posts · Tagged ,

I was recently thinking about some of the great 20th century authors and the volumes they created using a typewriter to bang out their prose (or maybe a pen…). Starting with a finite blank page, typing, x-ing things out, reading it over, scribbling edits by hand, retyping and repeating till they felt their stories were complete. It was a long, solitary and arduous journey. And it produced works of genius.

And I wonder if the passion for immediacy in our web 2.0 world is running counter to that process.  I’m not saying we should hang onto the past. I am saying it sometimes feels like we’re trading speed for reflection.

Yes, we can spew out words and ideas on a keyboard (much like this), quickly read it over, spell check (hopefully), link and publish.  But how much time are we spending rewriting? Looking at our ideas from a different angle, a fresh perspective, the benefit of time; and then revising or maybe starting anew.

These days, I’m getting a lot of  mini aha moments; that is idea-bursts from blogs, tweets, articles and observations online.  And while these are energizing kernels of thought, sometimes they’re not enough. And I crave the brilliance I still get from certain authors or a great, sprawling conversation.

Perhaps we need the equivalent of writerly speed limits, i.e. slow down our prose, choose words more selectively, be a bit less prolific and take that extra time to consider before we hit publish or press send.

Sure we can all be writers. Maybe we need to become reflectors too.

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My.sxsw – a recap

April 5, 2010 · Filed under Posts · Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Now that the tweets have settled and FourSquare’s down to a dull roar (i.e. most days you’ll find me checked into my office), I thought I’d recap my experiences at this year’s South by Southwest Interactive Festival.

First the highlights:

I guess I’m a Panel Nerd at heart. I go to conferences to listen to people I wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to hear, learn things and hopefully open my mind.

Among the sessions that stood out for me were Christie Nicholson’s overview of the interface between human brains and computers. I wanted to try the EEG shower cap that non-invasively reads impulses outside the brain, especially when I saw the video of a journalist who thought of letters and saw them materialize on a screen in front of him.

Danah Boyd offered a challenging keynote on privacy and publicity in a world where we have become our own big brothers: ‘Now social media makes conversations public by default, private through effort. This is a complete shift in the way we used to act.’

Clay Shirky is as engaging and intellectually challenging in person as he is in his book. Here are two nuggets he shared: ‘Abundance is a bigger challenge to society than scarcity’ and ‘behaviour is motivation filtered through opportunity’.

I also enjoyed the networking and the opportunity to get to know new people and exchange ideas with them, as well as actually meeting some of the folks I’ve been reading/following for a while.  That said, you soon realize the stars of SXSWi can only been seen from the planetarium that is the Ausin Convention Centre and not from a middle-American night sky…

Now my.downside:

SXSW is a big party scene – I know that shouldn’t be news – and some people place a premium on VIP lists, jumping the cue and hoarse throats. Now, I went to a few soirees (hey, I am social), but honestly I preferred the ones where you could actually talk to people instead of screaming at the top of your lungs at someone who can’t hear you and who you know is nodding out of politeness. (Or maybe my age is showing.)

Evan William’s keynote was a  major disappointment. We were there to hear the Oracle of Tweet but what we got was a pompous interviewer and little insight. The two convention halls were overflowing at the start of the session and overflowing with people leaving halfway through.  It’s too bad. I’m sure with better questions, Williams would have had something to say.

The quality of the panels was definitely mixed.  I think there should be better curation and guidelines as to who can present on what topic in order to set higher standards. Maybe there should be fewer sessions, with presenters doing their talk more than once.  Also, every room should have had AV so you can hear what people have to say.

For me, the two worst sessions were: A guy who took us through a deck you knew he used to pitch new business – complete with client testimonials; and the panel where one woman extolled the virtues of ‘ads that look like content’ and then rushed out to catch a flight before answering questions, followed by a guy who was so hung-over he looked dumbfounded by every slide he incoherently presented.

If you want to hear more, have a listen to Inside PR #197 where Robert Scoble answers the 4Qs.  I also had an opportunity to interview Brian Solis and Chris Barger, who will be featured on upcoming episodes.

My good friend Gini Dietrich blogged about her decision not to go and makes some valid points.

Special thanks to Keith McArthur and Michelle Kostya for being my panel/social buddies.

Will I make the pilgrimage next year?  I think so – it’s hard to match the overall calibre and energy of the event and the fact that you have thousands of social media practitioners in one place at one time – all trying to figure out the next big social thing.

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Tips for creating and distributing viral videos – sxsw

March 13, 2010 · Filed under Posts · Tagged , , , ,

Surprise, have a big reveal, be positive, know your audience.

These are some of the tips presented in the SXSW panel: How to Create a Viral Video, featuring Margaret Gould Stewart from YouTube/Google, Damian Kulas from the band OK Go and Jason Wishnow from TED.  The SXSW hashtag is: # howtocreateviral.

The group began with definitions of what makes a video viral:

Damian: A video is viral if a significant part of the viewership wants to distribute it. Or if it has anything to do with with ‘boobs and kittens’.

Margaret:  It’s all about showing something human, love, laughter, sex…  Lots of videos go viral by accident.

Content matters
Jason: TED Talks tries to spread ideas and its videos – essentially taped lectures – have been viewed 230 million times.  He attributes TED’s success to the fact that they begin all the videos with a bang and incorporate professional, high production values; HD video shot from multiple angles with many cameras.

Damian: Know your audience and what they’re looking for – sometimes ‘homemade’ or rough works best.  Do something impossible and bring it to life; create sense of wonder using the most appropriate production values for each video.  As an example, he showed this backyard dance parody his band made using a static camera.

Margaret: Agrees production values should match content. She mentions research that shows positive content seems to go viral more often than negative videos.  Incorporate elements of surprise and juxtapose the unexpected, as they do in this video of Cookie Monster and a German metal band.

Tips for promoting videos
1. Build a subscriber base/audience and connect with your community.  Get them involved by encouraging them to be creative with you.

2. Enable embedding. Let bloggers embed your videos onto their site.  This is key to building word of mouth. Then, once you’ve achieved a tipping point, people start viewing the original – provided they can find you, which leads to…

3. Meta data – Good titles and tags are essential. But don’t be misleading as that will eventually go against you.  Damian acknowledges sponsors in tags. He likens them to modern day patrons of the arts, or, as he calls them – ‘Metaci’. Sure doing this may spawn some criticism, but it’s better to be transparent.

4. And finally, make sure you distribute your video on multiple sites so more people can find it.

What’s next? Lights, camera, action…

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Here comes a great read… Clay Shirky book review

March 11, 2010 · Filed under Posts · Tagged , , , ,

Every once in a while you read a book with such fresh ideas, clarity, crisp writing and aha moments that it literally jumps off the page.

I recently had that experience with Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky.

For anyone who hasn’t read the book, it’s an essential text that examines social networks from a historical, theoretical and practical perspective; seamlessly interweaving present and past. The author provides a context to better understand the ch-ch-changes unfolding all around us.

Shirky, a consultant and adjunct professor in the graduate Interactive Telecommunications Program at NYU, has a deep grasp of social media and a straightforward way of articulating complex ideas.  He contends we’re in the midst of a communications revolution, akin to the creation of Gutenberg’s printing press. And because we’re enmeshed in it, no one can predict exactly where we’re heading and what new developments we will see.  As an example, he cites the publishing industry and the fact that when the printing press was invented, few could predict it would spawn a bookselling industry and portability of shared knowledge – the parallels with smart phones are not hard to see.

He also talks about professions like journalism and how they’re based on a scarcity of resources. This makes sense. Not too long ago (last year?), all journalists were specialists in their field, employed by media companies (another scarce resource) to present and interpret news.  Along comes social networking and all of a sudden anyone can report news – and does.  We’re not talking about quality or talent or editorial integrity – just the act of reporting.

According to Shirky, the ‘management’ function of the industry has changed. In the past, editors would hear about a story and send a reporter to cover it. These days, it’s hard to find breaking news that citizen journalists haven’t uncovered because they happen to be there and have the technology at hand.

These are just a few of the topics Clay Shirky covers in a book that’s hard to put down, poses questions and challenges us to imagine the future that’s just around the corner.

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New Canadian communications journal coming soon

March 9, 2010 · Filed under Posts · Tagged , , ,

A hallmark of any profession is its body of knowledge, something we have been lacking in PR.  That may change with the launch of a new publication, the Journal of Professional Communication (announced at the Canadian PR Leadership Summit).

Edited by professors Alex Sevigny and Terry Flynn and based at McMaster University’s Department of Communication Studies and Multimedia, the Journal will be a digital publication that ‘explores the intersections between public relations practice, communication and new media theory, communication management, as well as digital arts and design. (Disclosure: I sometimes teach at McMaster.)

It will feature case studies, interviews, peer-reviewed articles and commentary on current communications trends and our evolving profession.  Of course, the content is contingent on the quality of the contributors, but I’m looking forward to a thought-provoking discussion and debate.

For anyone familiar with the inner workings of academe, starting a new publication is no easy task and I want to congratulate Terry and Alex on this worthwhile endeavour. While there’s no website or start date yet, I’ll continue to share details as they become available.

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How are you reading?

January 11, 2010 · Filed under Posts · Tagged , , , , ,

Normally, the question we’d ask is: what are you reading? As in content you’ll hopefully share. And, of course, that’s key.

But with the recent announcement that Canada’s largest newspaper chain put itself in bankruptcy protection and with all the drastic  changes to MSM in the past year or so, I wonder if media, and publishers in general, should also be asking the question: how.

It’s common knowledge we’re in a state of print transition. And, while it’s certainly a different order of magnitude, it reminds me of the switch from professional typesetters to DIY typesetting on computers. There’s a large empty building on Dupont Street in Toronto that stands as a somewhat bleak monument to that change.

But while it took down an industry, it didn’t alter the fact that we need (and enjoy) text.

It’s human nature to like and stay loyal to the familiar ways of doing things: poring over the morning paper, appreciating the visual textures of magazines, the pleasure of reading a book that seems to be speaking directly to you.

I love to do all of these. But more important is the fact that I just plain love to read.

These days I almost never read the print edition of a newspaper for news anymore – I get that from different sources, mostly online. But I do read the paper for more in-depth stories, opinion and because I don’t yet have a reader that I can take to the kitchen table (it’s on my list…).

I think media and publishers have to take some big chances, accept that the printed page has faded and act accordingly. Only then will they be able to start thinking creatively about the ‘how’; as in how are they going to provide us with a fresh and innovative way to read, share and engage with their content. And yes, make some money, too.

They need to get out of their comfort zone; we need to get out of ours.

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Putting off the Ritz

September 22, 2008 · Filed under Posts · Tagged , , , ,

There’s a Canadian federal election in full swing. Or should I say in full baby swing – as in fun if you’re in it, but other than that quite dull.

It’s the same old posturing, spinning and name calling we remember in the past – only this time the ties are off. I guess our political leaders want to appear ‘political casual’. Me, I miss the formality.

One thing for certain, elections help take our generally full dose of political correctness to a higher level.

This past week there was a brouhaha over Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz’s private remarks. Why? He did something no politician should ever do: he made a funny joke.

I’m not talking about a pre-written ice breaker, I mean two one-liners of relatively high comedic calibre, in my humble opinion.

Now, were the jokes in question tasteless and mean? Absolutely. But where I come from, some of the best humour is rarely in the best of taste. It’s often crass and edgy. It says things that we may not want to admit or hear, but does so in such a way that enables us to laugh at them; and then, when the joke is over, shake our heads at the horror.

That’s why so many people have walked out of Yuk Yuk’s over the years. It’s also why Yuk Yuk’s is one of the funniest, most unpredictable and entertaining places in the country. (Disclosure: Yuk Yuk’s is a client and Mark Breslin is a close friend).

Have a look at Christie Blatchford’s Saturday column in the Globe and Mail. She’s written what many of us have been thinking about one-liner-gate and she did it in her usual acerbic, honest and stylish way.

Did this slip of the tongue warrant all the news coverage? I don’t think so. But I’m sure many of the country’s comedians wish their jokes would get this kind of attention.

It’s just another example of a country that’s taken politeness to a sad, new extreme.

And, Christie, I happen to be one of those people who’s allergic to nuts. But I want to tell you that I have no problem if airlines serve them. I just wish they’d provide an alternative to those of us who can’t enjoy the good taste.

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Speed trap

August 14, 2008 · Filed under Posts · Tagged , , , , ,

Our 24/7 communications world sometimes seems a lot like the Autobahn: no limits to speed.

But I think we’d be a whole lot smarter if we if we took our foot off the accelerator and paid more attention to the road ahead. (Watch our for that pothole!) We could even enjoy some of the picturesque scenery along the way.

Now I’m not referring to a bucolic, Green Acres type of existence. Far from it: As they sing so eloquently in the show: ‘New York is where I’d rather stay.’

However, I am talking about situations where we, as communicators, feel that high sense of urgency (anxiety?) and instantly react.

It happens most often in emails. We press send and there’s a typo, a missed word, an undeveloped idea or – a mistake. We’re all guilty of this. But it’s an easy fix.

Instead of speeding through your to-do list, take an extra few moments – that all – to reflect, consider, think.

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My stories

August 1, 2008 · Filed under Posts · Tagged ,

We all have stories we tell people. And it feels like they fall into several categories:
- memories
- gossip
- news or information
- recent personal experiences or observations

Well, lately I’ve been using my recent personal experiences/observations as fodder for my blog. And I’ve noticed that I retell these blog entry stories in much the same way I did before I posted them; revising, embellishing and repeating (ad infinitum).

So now, in addition to an oral history, there’s a written/published/public version.

A virtual ‘textbook’ of my life.

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Bang, bang, my baby shot me down…*

July 31, 2008 · Filed under Posts · Tagged , ,

I was walking home today and happened to pass a Norman Rockwell-esque family moment: a hot and hazy mid-summer evening; a young boy (around five or six) is playfully chasing his slightly older sister; her mock screams, a sound like enjoyment.

What makes this scene a touch disturbing (to me, at least) is the fact that the boy is holding a cap gun and firing off rounds at his sister. Bang, bang.

It’s something I almost never see anymore.

And so I was a bit surprised that it made me feel mildly anxious. As if the image I saw was no longer fun or safe. (And I have to admit, I gave the gun more than a sideways glance.)

Now, this scenario is something I should have recognized from my own youth – related to. I had lots of cap guns. And I used them. Everybody did. So why my reaction?

Times change. So do acceptable mores. My own kids weren’t allowed to play with guns so overtly (so they made up games with weapons of their own invention). We thought that was OK.

The stories of my childhood are no longer the norm. We have a different approach; a different standard.

We look at life from another side now (with apologies to Joni Mitchell).

It’s a sobering thought – especially for communicators – when you consider that what you deem acceptable one day can become an anathema the next.

*BTW, here’s a link to the Nancy Sinatra song alluded to in the headline.

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The next best thing

July 28, 2008 · Filed under Posts · Tagged , , ,

I remember an ad campaign from many years ago that used to proclaim long distance as ‘the next best thing to being there’ – pre-fibre optics.

I think the same epithet could be used to describe blogging and social media (except without the exhorbitant rates and busy signals).

For instance, you don’t have to call someone, wait for them to get back, wonder if enough time has elapsed so you can try again. You just start writing/talking and see who jumps in.

You can discover interesting tidbits of gossip and news (especially who’s feuding with whom).

You can add your two-cents and, by rewriting, make sure you’re saying exactly what you want to.

And your ear doesn’t get too hot (unless someone slags you in an unfavourable post).

I actually do think one of blogging’s greatest benefits is being able to tune in and keep track of what friends and colleagues are thinking about whenever and where ever you are and take part in an entropic, provocative and entertaining long-distance dialogue.

I also like the element of surprise: and you never know who might find you… or when.

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Dispatch from the front lines

July 4, 2008 · Filed under Posts · Tagged , ,

Yesterday, I was trying to call a former business associate who had recently changed jobs. So I went to his new company’s website, dialed the contact number and instead of the usual if-you-know-the-extension-press-it-now greeting, I reached the customer help line.

The woman was effusively polite and requested my name; and I was happy to oblige.

She then asked me what the problem was and I said I don’t have a problem, I’m just trying to reach John Hancock (minor reference for anyone who’s seen the movie), who works at the company. It was then I realized I’d made an error and asked if she could please connect me with the corporate office.

‘Oh no’, the perky woman replied. ‘We can’t do that.’

‘You can’t give me the number?’

‘No, I’m afraid not.’

I felt myself getting a little hot under the collar, as my dad used to say. And I realized this was not worth an argument or even more of a challenge. I told her I would find the number another way, went to online directory assistance and had it in under two minutes.

My point is that here’s a bit of public information and the customer help line folks aren’t able/allowed/inclined to give it out.

That’s not much help at all.

I’ve been to a number of business sessions lately where customer service has been identified as a company’s best shot at making a positive first impression with customers. As a way of building strong relationships. But to do that you need to talk openly to people, offer useful suggestions, communicate.

Some businesses – certain cell phone companies that ask for your phone number after you’ve already entered it spring to mind – still have a long way to go.

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Something to gloss over

June 21, 2008 · Filed under Posts · Tagged , , ,

One thing I really like about the blogosphere is how much constant learning I need to do, just to keep up. The ever-evolving nature of social media is one of its best and most daunting characteristics. I can’t begin to tell you how many times my head starts spinning and I feel like I’m in a fog trying to digest all the new tools and developments.

For example, do you know what a SERP* is? I use them all the time (and likely so do you).

I just learned the definition on Daily Blog Tips’ The Bloggers Glossary. Check it out. It’s a clearly written, comprehensive and all-round useful resource.

There, school’s done for today.

*SERP – search engine results page, i.e. what you see when you do a Google search.

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When a good word loses its shine

June 15, 2008 · Filed under Posts · Tagged , , ,

We’ve all seen this many times. A perfectly good word gets noticed by a group of people, who grab it and seemingly hold on for dear life.

The poor word. It has so many hangers-on that its coattails start to fray. It becomes overburdened. Overused. It keeps creeping up on you.

It becomes a vapid cliche.

We all have examples. But right now, the word I’m referring to is: conversation.

Thanks in part to the convergence (another example) of marketing and social media, conversation is as sought after as the latest tabloid teen star.

Everyone wants to have a piece of one. Are you having one? If not, you should be. I just started one. How many have you had lately? Was it good? You wouldn’t believe how many of them I’ve had today. I just started another one. I don’t know what I did without them.

Now, I’m not saying words shouldn’t evolve. They should. Language is ever-changing and that’s what makes it a beautifully flawed living organism.

I’m also not advocating a vow of silence (as opposed to the Cone of Silence which I always like).

However, when I hear a word used in business 10 times a day or more, it starts to lose its meaning and context; its sense of self.

So what’s the solution (yet another word that lost its way when it became synonymous with products and services)?

I think we should embrace the concept, not the cliche. Keep the lines of communication open. That’s one of the best aspects of social media. But maybe we should stop boasting about all the so-called conversations we claim we’re having.

Or to borrow a page from Joan Rivers, I’d like to ask you, ‘Can we talk?’.

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A perfect sentence

May 11, 2008 · Filed under Posts · Tagged ,

Every once in a while, I’ll come across one.

Like the opening to Garrison Keillor’s hilarious novel Pontoon, which I’m currently reading:

“Evelyn was an insomniac, so when they say she died in her sleep, you had to question that.”

It’s an exquisite piece of writing; funny, smart, a little mind-bending and right to the point.

It’s the latest in Keillor’s ‘Lake Wobegon’ series of novels, which present life in Midwestern small-town America like no one else. Besides, where else can you read about goings-on in Bemidji, Fargo-Moorhead, St. Cloud and of course the longed-for mecca that is Minneapolis?

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Are we there yet? Are we there yet?

May 4, 2008 · Filed under Posts · Tagged , , ,

Anyone with kids, who remembers being a kid, or who watches the Simpsons will recognize that oft-grating phrase.

It’s usually repeated ad infinitum until Homer relents.

But today I’m asking the question about social media.*

I’ve been a follower for nearly three years. I’ve been blogging for 16 months. I began as a reluctant blogger and have since moved closer to the centre (if such a thing exists).

It feels like blogging has gained some mainstream acceptance (the New York Times seems to write about it fairly regularly; Roots has two blogs on its website). As an agency owner, we now do targeted blogger outreach as part of media relations and we recommend social media strategies when appropriate to a project.

But the blogosphere still seems entropic; with an ‘anything can happen, so why not hang out’ type of attitude (and maybe that’s part of its charm). It can also be clique-ish and at times like a high school popularity contest (e.g. who’s linking who).

So all this got me wondering:
1) if we’re there; and
2) where in blazes there might be?

And the truth is: I don’t know.

DOES ANYONE HAVE AN IDEA?

(Sorry for the caps, but I’m trying to be emphatic.)

Sometimes it seems like a never-ending road movie; more episode than story. Other times, it’s like being at a crossroads: which link do you choose, where will it lead you and will it take your breath away?

It does feel as if some of the novelty has worn off. People aren’t quite so bright-eyed as they were say six months ago. I personally love it, because I enjoy writing and it’s become a real outlet for me.

But if I look at the ‘big world’ of PR and communications, I’m not so sure if blogs and social media have truly arrived (in the way that websites arrived in the late ’90s). They’re here, make no mistake about it. And I think they’re important. But in many circles they remain a curiosity, an outsider… a little like a Canadian traveling abroad.

And perhaps, if I can continue stretching the metaphor, some folks are just not ready to cross the border into Canada and (to quote the old punchline) ‘get to the other side’.

Maybe they just need a bit more direction.

*For more on this topic, listen to Inside PR 110.

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Enter Philip Roth

April 28, 2008 · Filed under Posts · Tagged ,

I recently finished reading Philip Roth’s superb novel, Exit Ghost, the latest (and final?) Zukerman story. Nathan Zukerman, by the way, is Roth’s literary alter ego; a fictional author whose life has mirrored that of his creator’s. Or has it?

And what can you say about a Roth book that Roth himself doesn’t say better in his writing? How do you communicate his inimitable sense of style and the way in which his characters take on a life of their own? Should you paraphrase? Quote passages? What would you leave out? What essentials would you miss?

And the questions… Roth poses and answers so many questions that his fiction feels almost Talmudic in scope (including, in this case, some student acolytes).

Roth’s writing is entertaining, funny, rigorous. and completely and unabashedly original. He’s in a class unto himself (which, I would imagine might be a bit lonely at times).

If you haven’t read anything by Roth, I urge you to do so; if you have, read more.

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All we are saying…

April 5, 2008 · Filed under Posts · Tagged , ,

I read that the peace symbol turns 50 this year and was a bit taken aback by the news (it didn’t look a day over 40 to me).

Actually, I always thought the icon was a U.S. anti-Vietnam war invention and was surprised to find out it was created in 1958 by Gerald Holtorn, a British textile designer. He developed it for an anti-nuclear rally in the U.K. and based it on a stylized version of the semaphore letters for ‘N’ and ‘D’ – representing nuclear disarmament.

I did a search and noticed a lot has been written on the anniversary recently. The items started in February but most of the coverage (MSM and social) happened in the last week or so. A little more digging revealed the widespread interest is the result of a PR effort for a new National Geogaphic book entitled, Peace: The Biography of a Symbol by Ken Kolsbun and Michael Sweeny.

Having done book publicity in the past, I have to admire how the PR folks took the publisher’s story (‘new book on peace symbol’) and made it bigger and more relevant by tying it to an iconic anniversary. In the process they did what I always tried to do: get the coverage off the book pages.

They successfully generated much wider awareness for and interest in the title. Hopefully, this will translate into sales.

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Fixing the calendar

February 29, 2008 · Filed under Posts · Tagged

Since it’s February 29 and I don’t much care for leap years, it’s the ideal time to propose a fix for the oft inconsistent Gregorian calendar.

For starters, leap years ruin the simple symmetry of figuring out the day when your next year’s birthday’s going to fall (one day later or two?). Also, I’m not crazy about the whole ‘Thirty days hath September…’ mode of keeping track of the months.

If it were up to me, I’d steal one day each from December and January, make those 30-day months and add the remainder to February, so that it, too, would have 30 days. Then even those deemed not ‘smarter than a fifth grader’ could confidently recite the length of each month.

Sure, we’d have to get used to Christmas coming six days before New Year’s. And some people’s birthdays would suddenly disappear. (If that’s you, I apologize in advance.) Of course, there would be no major celebrities born on February 30th for at least 20 years.

But so what? I think all these obstacles could easily be overcome in favour of a greater scheduling consistency.

There you have it. I now leave it up to the astronomers and PDA programmers to sort out the details.

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