Archive
2009 Not So Bad For Journalism and Brands
- I.D. Magazine
- Adventure
- GIANT
- Metropolitan Home
- VIBE
- Blender
- Men’s Vogue
Now For Something Completely Different
This post has little to do with PR, social media or anything else I usually write about. Today is about pointing folks to a blog that I just can’t say enough about – The OCD Diaries written by Bill Brenner.
Some of you may know Bill as the IT security trade journalist (now with CSO and formerly of SearchSecurity). I read CSO (from time to time) and I follow Bill on Twitter because of my job as a high tech (security focused) PR hack. So, when he recently announced that he was launching his own blog about his Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), I was interested in the opportunity to learn more about a person I’ve worked with a handful of times, but can’t say that I know even the slightest.
In fact, based on my limited interaction with Bill and in following him on Twitter I would have described him as humorous and laid back, little did I know that he was suffering with a long line of illnesses.
I need to make this very clear that Bill’s blog is not about looking for pity or bragging about what he has overcome. It isn’t like that.
The more I read Bill’s blog and looked into his bio I was struck by the fact that he is about my age, lives in the same area, he was editor at a newspaper that I work at as a stringer / glorified intern and he went to the same college, listens to the same 80s era metal bands and there are a number of other similarities in our family life, but happily for me, the similarities end there. Read more…
Social Media and PR – Can’t We All Get Along?
Thanks to tweets from @Steveology I came to read ZAC’s (Zachary Adam Cohen) recent blog post PR Firms: Zombie Wasteland and I couldn’t type a reply quickly enough and in fact long before I started to type I realized that Jules Zunich had already posted a very thoughtful reply. So if you want a thoughtful reply see her piece. The below is a bit of a rant, but it will make me feel better. I actually thought twice about posting a reply at all when I realized that clearly Zac wants some attention for his piece – which is why he said he is: ‘totally expecting to get my head ripped off on some of my claims…so have at it’ but then I realized that this is an interesting topic and while I am not a head-ripper, there are a few points that can’t go unchallenged.
What Kind of Blogger are You?
Like a lot of people I get a bit reflective around this time of year. Recently I was looking back at several month of posts and I started to wonder what kind of blogger I am. Which quickly took me down the path of how does one define type of blogger. Here is my take.
Wannabe author: This blogger posts 2000 word manuscripts about once per week. Tell tale signs to spot this blogger includes a blog title that is about a paragraph long: This blog is about my personal experiences from childhood to my early years as a struggling journalism student to my current day occupation as a freelance writer, amateur jogger, occasional poet, commentators on all things everywhere, jack of all trades yet master of none…
Drive by blogger: This blogger is only capable of regurgitating recent news stories with insightful commentary like: “Sucks to be Tiger Woods today.” Tell tale signs include posting multiple times a day about things other people have already written. Sometimes referred to as The Repeater.
I, Me, My blogger: This blogger actually believes that people care what he / she thinks about everything. Tell tale signs include posting several times a week often leading off with:
“Sorry it has been so long between posts”OR “Hope you will forgive me for not posting in several hours.” Other distinguishing characteristics include referring to him / herself as “Me 2.0″ or “my brand identity.” Sometimes referred to as The Narcissist. Read more…
