Comments for The Communicator

Comment on The cost of spelling mistakes by Chris Gough

Chris Gough — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 07:27:03 +0000

I couldn’t agree more. I’m a business copywriter and consultant, and I find it really depressing that even quite senior managers these days are not only poor spellers, but entirely unable to write clear, simple English. I think what is most worrying is that if someone is unable to string two or three sentences together coherently, it really calls into question their ability to think clearly.

Poor writing is lazy writing, it’s as simple as that.

Comment on The death of innovation by Steven Laird

Steven Laird — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:19:43 +0000

And not just “at the end of the day” either. Most of the day through, in fact Could be someone’s full-time job, just trying to turn corporate marketspeak into something the company can actually distinguish itself with.

Comment on The Weary Communicator: In Pursuit of a Work-Life Balance by Karla

Karla — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 17:12:42 +0000

Thanks so much for this post. I currently hold the position of marketing and communications manager, and other than the graphic design associate, am the single staff member responsible for getting it all done. On several occasions I have taken a couple of work days off for vacation, with a backup in place, only to get interrupted and asked to respond to some client crisis that could very well have been avoided. I’ve made a pact with myself that the work-life balance is very important to me and how I interact with my family, colleagues and others. I’ve had to set boundaries; however, those boundaries are flexed on a regular basis. Your post above helps me to re-invest time with myself in order to be a more productive and pleasant person. I still eat at my desk and will add that to my list of techniques to find some “Me” time.

Comment on Managing social media cynicism by Yvonne Swiderek

Yvonne Swiderek — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 00:12:00 +0000

Cutting to the core of it, thanks Peter. Love going to the edge of the abyss and peeking over…to prepare. If we could only bottle that cynicism, and harness its energy! How do you move through the medium and keep it pure, unsullied by brand tweets and covert seeding of communities? Our audiences are now born with a sixth sense…they won’t tolerate the manipulation. wordbone.wordpress.com

Comment on Managing social media cynicism by Marianne Nouwens

Marianne Nouwens — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 08:07:17 +0000

Hi Peter, I do agree with your analysis on this, however I fear nurturing ones communities depend very much that special social media ambassadors within the organisation….they are frequent social media users anyway. Once they leave the company, they leave an empty spot and no ones knows how they kept these communities alive,,,except for the old postings on it. Dón’t you agree that the quality of the social media conversation depends very much on the intrinsic empathy the person has with the topic..? How to capture that within your communications strategy? And maintain that lively interaction once a person leaves?
These are some of the questions I have.

Comment on 5 steps to formalizing roles and defining responsibilities by Chuck Byers

Chuck Byers — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:56:54 +0000

I teach an IMC class at Santa Clara University (CA) and one of this week’s lectures is on organizing for communications. This material is great and I will incorporate it into my lecture.

chuck byers

Comment on How Rudolph won the PR games: A Christmas lesson by Tru

Tru — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 19:17:07 +0000

Pretty funny, but one small detail–it was Gene Autry Rudy partnered with in 1949, not Bing Crosby in 1950. Of course, after that, as you explain, Rudy took his talents to television, where there was simply a bigger market (he anticipated media trends very well). He realized that a red nose belongs on a primarily visual medium where it can be seen.

I do think he’s been a little behind in exploiting social media, though. Wouldn’t it be great to see him tweeting his whole world trip this Christmas Eve? “@RudolphRed” could keep us up to date all night long: “Just left Germany. Sleigh much lighter w/o all that marzipan!”…”Pulling into Australia. Wish we could stay & enjoy the beach. Oh well!” “Hitting Canada. Back to BRRRR!” “Hang on, USA! We’re on our way!”

Rudy’s pretty up on this stuff, though. He’s a swift reindeer, or he wouldn’t be working for Santa. I expect he’ll soon be up to speed.

Comment on How Rudolph won the PR games: A Christmas lesson by Jann Mirchandani

Jann Mirchandani — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 19:17:00 +0000

Clearly, this is a case study worthy of closer attention! Thanks for sharing!

Comment on The Value of Confidence by Corina

Corina — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 23:27:51 +0000

This is a great reminder, especially for a new PR professionals trying to establish themselves in a new workplace or a new role.

Comment on Making the most of your vacation by Helen Hammond

Helen Hammond — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:41:41 +0000

I think this is one of the least used tools out there! I’m so pleased to see your comment (and rather ashamed I didn’t think to make it for myself). I always try to test mine against the following test:

1. Does it sound like it’s spoken – who wants to read an out of office that reads like a stuffy letter or sales flyer
2. Is it personal to you – does it share a bit of information about who you are or what you’re off doing? Give people something to hang on to – have they been where’re you’re going? Will it make them laugh?
3. Does it tell them what to do whilst you’re away? And when you’re back…
4. Does it give a low level suggestion for relationship building – don’t waste the time or space… put some reference to your work in there (or at least get them think about your brand in a way that works for you), just in case it pushes a button at the right time… but don’t sell, sell, sell… because you aren’t there to respond, respond, respond!

This blog post from John Jantsch is rather enlightening

http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/2007/08/22/a-branded-out-of-office-note/