Maine Creative Services

Random thought while reading Seth Godin’s latest, who’s there:

Freedom of the press, they used to say, was restricted to those who owned one. Now, every blogger has one, and anyone can become a blogger/publisher. As Seth puts it:

Today, all printing presses are created equal. And everyone owns one. Which means that a good idea on a little blog has a very good chance of spreading.

Back in colonial times, rabble-rousers, crackpots and patriots (it was soooo hard to tell the difference) spread their (literally) revolutionary ideas by printing one-sheet “broadsides” decrying King George or the Stamp Act or the latest indignity imposed on colonists by the Crown.

Today, blogs give each of us the same freedom. We can rant whenever we want, about anything we want. And we don’t even get printer’s ink all over our hands…

The revolution has indeed begun.

Maybe it’s because it’s a separate reality — or just seems like one — but advertising seems to have its own set of rules. So says writer John Camm via BBC News Online via BoingBoing. Among his observations:

1. Men are obsessed with sex but will forego sex in order to watch football or drink beer.

2. Women are locked in a constant battle with their weight/body shape/hairstyle.

3. Career success is entirely based on your ability to impress your boss.

5. Any act of male stupidity (e.g. walking across a clean floor in muddy boots, putting the dog in the dishwasher, etc.) will be met with a wry smile, not genuine annoyance/anger.

7. Anyone with a scientific career will have a bad haircut and dreadful clothes.

10. Scandinavians are, without exception, blonde and beautiful.

12. Children will not eat fruit or vegetables. Ever.

13. Both men and women find driving deeply pleasurable, never boring or stressful.

Gosh, you mean they’re not true?

Or do too many CEOs just engineer deals that fatten their own wallets?

If anyone wonders why many people are cynical of all the merger activity going on again, this item from GMSV (see below) will provide some insight:

Capellas donates new wing to Golden Parachute Museum

When he left HP in 2002, he received $14.4 million in severance, plus a $1.9 million incentive payment and $9.6 million to cover his taxes on the payments. When he took over MCI, he received a $2 million signing bonus. Now comes word that Capellas is entitled to a $39.2 million payout when leaves MCI after its pending $8.4 billion merger with Verizon. According to an MCI proxy statement filed Thursday, Capellas will receive $11.3 million for three years’ worth of salary and bonus; $18.5 million from a previously disclosed restricted stock grant; and $9.4 million in payments to cover the taxes on his exit package.

I wonder how many of his millions Capellas is donating to the victims of Katrina?

As a business writer myself, I love anyone who can write about business, especially technology which I love, with wit and insight. So one column/blog I read almost daily is Good Morning Silicon Valley.

First launched in July 1996, GMSV is one of the longest running technology Web logs around. Written by John Paczkowski with John Murrell, “it looks askance at the technology news of the day with an authoritative eye and irreverent wit,” according to its “About” page.

Yesterday’s lead headline was typically hilarious. It came on the heels of Massachussetts’ announcement that the state is migrating to open file formats — thus abandoning proprietary formats like MS Ofice, Lotus Notes and WordPerfect. The headline:

Ballmer, get your butt out to Boston, and for heaven’s sake stay away from the beans

Read the entire thing here.

Rich Brooks of flyteblog and Business Blog Consulting posted about how difficult it is for clients to write the content for the Web sites Rich’s company designs for them. The post was titled: News Flash: Web Sites Are a Lot of Work!

One of Rich’s clients wrote him, “I am amazed at how time consuming the writing and organization is.” No kidding. As a full-time freelance copywriter, I’m not surprised or amazed. As I noted in a comment on Rich’s blog, writing is by far the hardest work I’ve ever done.

I then offered a few suggestions that might make writing a little easier. I’d like to repeat them here:

First, research, organize, and outline your material before you start writing. It really helps to know where you’re going before you start.

Second, write quickly. Listen to the voice in your head (the one who did all that research) and just take dictation. Don’t worry about typos or bad spelling. You’ll fix all that later.

Don’t try to “think it up”. Just get it down. Be clear, not fancy. If you don’t know a fact, type (insert fact here) or something similar. Try not to interrupt the flow.

Give yourself permission to write a lousy first draft. Even for professional writers, perfect sentences usually do not flow easily. Just try to get your basic ideas down, even if they’re awkward and ill-formed at first. Later, you can (and must) go back, edit and rewrite, and rewrite, and rewrite, etc.

Oh, and rewrite some more.

What part of writing is most difficult for you? I’m collecting a series of writing tips that I hope to release before the end of the year (sorry, other projects are due first) and your input would be valuable.

If you’d like a copy when it’s ready, post a comment below or ask for it at my Web site.

Here’s another writing tip for your next PowerPoint presentation:

Create slide titles that convey a sense of urgency, news, importance.

How? One way is to write them like a headline you’d see in a newspaper. For example, instead of using the obvious (and boring) slide title “Q4 Sales Report,” try this instead:

“Q4 Sales Soar” or “Q4 Sales Sag” or “Q4 Sales Inch Higher”

Maybe even :

“Sales, Revenues Skyrocket in Q4”

I’m not talking about changing the message or hiding facts — just finding a more dynamic and interesting way to convey your message. It might seem like a small thing. But using action words to add a sense of urgency is another subtle way to increase the power and importance of your entire presentation. It’s more fun for your audience, too.

PS: The same principle can be applied to the headings and subheads in memos and reports, too.

Agree? Disagree? What do you think?

I’ve changed the name of this blog to better reflect what it’s all about: attracting clients and customers to your small business, professional firm or consulting practice.

Sharing your expert knowledge and experience with prospective clients, in an appealing and informative way, is one of the most effective and least expensive ways to build your business — without yelling or selling.

What do you think?