You Can’t Manage What You Don’t Measure: On Social Media & Publishing
For the third consecutive year, I had the pleasure of doing a presentation on social media for my friend Peter Costanzo’s M.S. in Publishing: Digital and Print Media class at NYU last night, and while preparing for it, I was surprised by how much has changed since the first time, and how much hasn’t. Pinterest and Tumblr are bigger deals now (or at least perceived as such), while Twitter is steadily maturing (from a business perspective), Facebook changes its approach every six months, and email is still the underrated king of the hill.
Do the Right Thing: Postpone the NY Marathon
During a week that’s seen NJ Gov. Chris Christie step up the to plate and impress a lot of people who’ve had few reasons to say anything nice about him in the past, myself included, Bloomberg manages to follow up a shining moment of his own—a nuanced and rational endorsement of Obama—with a bone-headed decision to put business interests ahead of the well-being and safety of his constituents.
Achievement Unlocked: Tough Mudder 2x
My second Tough Mudder couldn’t have been more different from the first time back in April, with a handful of new obstacles, a very different course layout, a smaller team, and almost perfect weather. Whereas the Poconos course was dominated by trails and nature (including ridiculously cold weather) with obstacles interspersed throughout, Tri-State took great advantage of its Raceway Park setting to deliver an arguably more challenging course that took its toll on our calves more than anything else, thanks to what seemed like 12 full miles of mud, mud, and more mud!
That Time Publishing Lost its Sense of Humor and Missed the Point
And that is ultimately the point I took from Biggs’ post. Again, it’s not new, but when so many outside observers feel the need to continually repeat it, maybe it’s because the message isn’t getting through to those who need to hear it?
The Unbearable Stiffness of Formal Poetry and Writing for the Page
Interestingly, Spiegelman nails the underlying problem with poetry in general, though he seems to imply it’s a flaw related more to a poet’s level of experience with form rather than an inherent flaw in poetry in general, but especially that written for the page. While formal poetry has never been my cup of tea, the vast majority of poetry — formal and free verse, written and oral — actually bores me to tears for the exact reasons Spiegelman notes.
Penguin’s Modest Self-Publishing Gamble
Being sold for only slightly more than the revenue you brought in the prior year isn’t exactly a signal that anyone believes the company has a lot of growth potential, especially not one whose roster theoretically covers the full gamut of shiny author services so many seem to believe are publishing’s revenue streams of the future. Plus, ASI was apparently on the block for a while with no buyer, so I find Penguin’s CEO John Makinson’s claim odd, as reported by Publisher’s Lunch, that he expects there will be a “new and growing category of professional authors who are going to gravitate towards the ASI solution rather than the free model.” So then, what’s the real angle here?
Achievement Unlocked: Warrior Dash
At just over 5k—my official time and pace: 42:43.30; 11:33/M; #894 overall for men, equaled 3.75 miles—the course was closer to what I imagine a good trail run is like, with a lot of hills, mud and water, and a bunch of moderately challenging obstacles peppered throughout.
Big Change for GOOD: When Publishing Content Isn’t Enough
A large part of GOOD’s appeal was its unique business model, its compelling mission, and its target audience: “For People Who Give a Damn.” While not replicable in any scalable way, it had a far more noble mission than the mercenary and fickle “connecting advertisers to eyeballs” model of most magazines, and it looks like that mission ultimately forced a complete and radical rethinking of the magazine itself.
Random Thoughts on a Summer Friday (In Which I’ve Buried the Lede)
That “Local First” angle is what disturbs me the most, latching on to a legitimate movement whose most compelling hook focuses on locally sourced goods and sustainability, to support booksellers whose primary focus is usually selling the products of multi-national corporations who treat them like second-class citizens. The bookstores that are true pillars of their communities don’t need hollow slogans and dreams of going viral on YouTube, because they prove on a daily basis why they matter to their communities.
Dear Hipsters: Please Don’t Ruin New Orleans For Me
If you’re eyeballing New Orleans, do so with the big picture in mind and think about the future. Their school system is a tangled mess of ill-conceived “reforms,” and since I suspect you’re going to love it there and some of you will end up living there and having kids, start paying attention now and look for ways to have a positive impact.