by bruce colthart on June 26, 2009
Who let you people in here!?
This is in reply to a blog post by Judy Dunn at Cat’s Eye Marketing regarding the folly of spam as a marketing tool for small business – or most businesses for that matter. You won’t find any controversy between us though; I agree with her. I’m just building on her position.
Spam in sheep’s clothing is still spam.
Many many small businesses and micro-businesses are naively or knowingly generators of uninvited and unwelcome e-marketing and e-sales “content”. Lured by the extremely low cost of email marketing, these stressed out, downsized (and desperate?) businesses assume that more is better! “Send our message, pitch, special-of-the-week or news out to anyone and everyone!”
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by bruce colthart on February 22, 2009
With a little bit of effort, you can create or improve your online image.
Regardless of which networking sites you frequent, your avatar or profile photo says something about you. We both know how you get when you choose your clothing prior to meeting a client or a heading out for a date – you may have pulled out the killer shirt or blouse, but if it’s been wrinkled or is missing a button, you’re not going to just throw it on, right? This calls for sprucing-up, repairing… or even tossing in favor of a better option. Same process applies to your virtual self, the face you present to the online world.
Obviously, you’re a good-looking person – there’s no disputing that you’re a unique and one-in-a-million personality. Hey, there’s been no violent backlash to your picture, so you know you’re doing something right.
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by bruce colthart on December 31, 2008
Are you a non-profit, not-for-profit, charity, community organization or cause that desires more exposure, new outreach ideas and more networking opportunities? You may or may not be aware of so-called social media, where you have the opportunity to make your voice heard, reach new people, and learn from a larger community.
One such social media outlet, growing by huge numbers of new participants each day, is Twitter, the “microblogging” platform. Forgive me if you’re already an active and savvy user, but the truth is that many worthwhile organizations are not using it. To get started, there is nothing to download – just sign up with a catchy name, a brief profile, a password and join the conversation and meet new people.
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by bruce colthart on December 28, 2008
This year, this Christmas, cash flow is a problem. But that’s another story, and shortage of cash is just one aspect of a less-than-ideal Christmas for us. The other is that we never quite feel relaxed around the holidays. Speaking for myself, there’s always anxiety about gift-giving. An avid non-shopper (living in Paramus, NJ, the retail capital of the U.S.) I have no idea what’s fashionable, or a good value or is well-made or highly regarded, with the possible exception of Mac-related peripherals which no one else in my households cares to receive. The other theory, or excuse, is that I just don’t care about most “stuff.” My wife has much better taste in jewelry, accessories and home furnishings than me so I feel rather unqualified to recommend, let alone purchase such items.
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by bruce colthart on October 16, 2008
Posterous.com is (from my lack of real research) a very new blogging-like platform that I can email into, and I like that. Perhaps something similar can be done with WordPress? I dunno. But there’s something about it I like, perhaps the spontaneity and simplicity and that I don’t have to host it and update it from time to time. Maybe it’s just a scratch pad for me to warm up to writing more regularly again. Most likely I’m buying time til I come up with a better plan and design for this blog. Whatever it takes to keep words coming out.
Only a few Posterous posts so far. The latest is What I learned from emptying my dishwasher, which I almost didn’t publicize. But thanks to a few keen Twitterers who I shared it with, it grew a couple of legs and showed up on at least one site. Anyway, perhaps it’s just a more informal version of this blog. Perhaps it’s just a “fat Twitter post.” It feels a little different, and that’s good enough. For now anyway.
by bruce colthart on July 20, 2008
“Don’t “Bury The Lead”
Don’t bury the key information of a story somewhere in the body of the article — put it first. Newspaper reporters learn quickly not to ‘bury the lead’ and it’s at least equally important for bloggers.” – bloggingforbusinessbook.com
[Caution: buried lead ahead...]
Saturday, 7:55 am.
Ratchet down the baseball cap below the eye line. Take a mildly cleansing breath and breach the thin veneer separating you from the morning sun’s gentle wash. Casually glance in either direction and receive reassuring optical-neural confirmation. The maiden steps forward seem mildly wobbled…or is that just the overstretched sweatpants in centrifugal motion? With hands jammed deeply in pockets, gaze locked onto the twinkling wisps of sand that separate the warming asphalt from the lazy sea grass, your egress appears successful. Considering your coffee-deprived state, the bipedaling is remarkably smooth. As the seaside bungalow recedes in your virtual rear view, your morning fix, housed in a bay side convenience store, reassuringly approaches.
“But wait…cash. Did I forget the godda… ooh, good…a loose twenty! Oops, dropped a quarter…” [click to continue…]
by bruce colthart on June 19, 2008
I’ve been quoted on this page (along with 25 other people) regarding networking advice. This results from a LinkedIn question for which I was one of many respondents. Julius at EventManagerBlog, who originally posted the question, then published his favorites pretty much all of them. Mine was one of the shortest, non-bulleted answers, and reflects my philosophy that your network is only as good as what you contribute to it. There’s lots of good general and tactical advice in the answers (although many pieces of advice seem too elementary to me: “be approachable;” “don’t be the only one talking,” etc. Although it’s good to remember “don’t drink and drive,” especially important if you find yourself feeling uninteresting or uninterested, alone at the bar wondering why you’re even there (that was me early on in my networking days).
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by bruce colthart on June 10, 2008
If you know what he’s doing, I may be able to guess your profession and even your age…
by bruce colthart on June 1, 2008
Thanks to a mention in Graphic Design USA, I just enjoyed a few short web films from the reel of production company Superfad. Turns out I’ve seen at least one of their 3D animated tv commercials, for Playstation, in the last year. These three are quite different, are for Sprint, and really have me infatuated with their style and substance.
Months ago, I posted this about an animated infographic video I’d come across. That was nearly one hundred percent infographic! While still an excellent specimen in its own right, these 3 web films from Superfad seem to breathe life into data and successfully layer data onto a story. The net result is a helpful, welcome, humanistic and accessible message that’s perfectly stylized and visually branded for Sprint.
See all three here (this is the link I got when searching by client for “Sprint;” you can always conduct the same easy search if this link fails). [click to continue…]
by bruce colthart on May 24, 2008
First of all, thanks for visiting. We both know there’s lots to read on the web, lots of outstanding and very focused blogs, and all sorts of valuable web content – articles, white papers, case studies, press releases… and let’s not forget good old-fashioned news. So you honor me with your attention.
I’m here to say I’m a little frustrated with blogging. But it’s not what you might expect. I really don’t have expectations of readers being drawn to my ramblings like flies to… well, you know. I don’t even assume that anything I write will even be read. I’m just unhappy that I haven’t yet found a niche, a reason for this blog to exist.
I started this thing late last year, with the confidence that I’d matriculate from stories of my kids and my dog to useful or at least relevant observations that were worthy of your review. I suppose there is evidence of evolution, with some downright entertaining content there for a little while. But while I do like to write, (or as humor writer Carol Band said in a blurb, that I have “a real affinity for words”) it’s hard work. [click to continue…]
