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Read more about the article Hanging with the Estefans on Ellis Island

Hanging with the Estefans on Ellis Island

Ellis Island 096 by glecharles
Ellis Island 096 by glecharles

One of the best things about working for a publisher based out in the Midwest is that I sometimes get to play Peter Parker at events in New York City when no one from a particular magazine can attend. A few weeks back, it was the NY Round Table Writers Conference thanks to Writer’s Digest, and yesterday, I went to the 2009 Ellis Island Family Heritage Awards on behalf of Family Tree Magazine, and took a bunch of photos and wrote up a brief post for them that’s now on their blog:

Ellis Island Hosts Stars, Expands Museum

Emilio and Gloria Estefan accepted the inaugural B.C. Forbes Peopling of America Award in a star-studded 8th Annual Ellis Island Family Heritage Awards ceremony yesterday, hosted by actress Candice Bergen in the historic Great Hall on Ellis Island.

The awards celebrate the lives and work of individuals who immigrated to America and their descendants; with the Forbes honor going to those who arrived through a port other than Ellis Island. It reminds us that America continues to be the destination for those seeking freedom, hope and opportunity.

I’ve never had any particular connection to Ellis Island since none of my ancestors came through there — and despite growing up here in New York, I had never visited, and still haven’t been to the Statue of Liberty — so I was a bit perplexed when I saw the Estefans were being honored considering their very non-Ellis Cuban heritage.

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Read more about the article Starbucks, I Done You Wrong! #smwin

Starbucks, I Done You Wrong! #smwin

Starbucks is more socially responsible than I thought.
Starbucks is more socially responsible than I thought.

One of the great things about “social media” is the ability to engage in conversations with a variety of people, anywhere in the world, on pretty much any topic of interest, no matter how obscure or inane. Thanks to forums, blogs and Facebook, I’ve connected with poets, writers, comic book fans and creators, and re-connected with friends and family, past and present, most of whom I don’t get to see nearly as often as I used to. My.BarackObama.com pulled me deeper into a political campaign than I’d ever been.

On Twitter, the shiny objet du jour, I’ve connected with insightful marketing and publishing professionals with whom I’ve had many interesting conversations and from whom I’ve learned a lot.

From a marketing perspective, new social media tools offer an incredible opportunity for companies to engage with customers (and potential customers) on a level that old-school interruption advertising and media relations simply can’t come close to. While some choose to avoid them completely or approach them tactically for preemptive damage control, I prefer to see them enabling proactive engagement, joining the community and participating in the conversation, no matter which direction it goes… and sometimes it can go in unfortunate directions, as Amazon found out a few weeks ago.

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Read more about the article What New Media Can Learn From Slam Poetry

What New Media Can Learn From Slam Poetry

"I have just read the immortal poems of the ages and come away dull. I don't know who's at fault; maybe it's the weather, but I sense a lot of pretense and poesy footwork: I am writing a poem, they seem to say, look at me! Poetry must be forgotten; we must get down to raw paint, splatter." Charles Bukowski Confession: I loathe most formal poetry. Sestinas, sonnets, terza rimas, oh my! While I appreciate the exercise of writing in a particular form, the end result is usually a self-indulgent bit of forgettable wordplay rarely worth reading, never mind hearing…

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Read more about the article Marketing Should be Fun(damental)

Marketing Should be Fun(damental)

For the love of the game.
For the love of the game.

Marketers have spammed, lied, deceived, cluttered
and ripped us off for so long, we’re sick of it.

–Seth Godin

I love coaching Little League baseball.

This is my son’s third year playing and I’ve been fortunate enough to coach his team each year, experiencing first-hand the beauty of playing baseball for no other reason than because it’s fun. When the kids have fun, their parents have fun, and I get to have fun — as a result, I tend to go above and beyond, doing things like writing team newsletters; buying extra training equipment; and organizing a team picnic at the end of the season.

Last year, our first year out of tee ball, with runs and outs being counted and every game having a winner and a loser, our team wasn’t very good, winning only two games while getting blown out badly in several losses. As a team, we had many Bad News Bears moments — including a couple of my own with one particular umpire and one opposing coach — but despite all of that, we always had fun playing, the parents had a good time, and I slept well after every game knowing that we were achieving our primary goal of learning how to play baseball.

Two of the most reassuring moments were the time between the first and second season when my son, out of left field (metaphorically), told me I was a great coach and he loved playing baseball; and a couple of weeks ago, when the girl who earned the game ball asked me to sign it for her!

Working with seven and eight-year-olds who are learning the fundamentals of the game, my philosophy is pretty simple: Pay Attention; Always Hustle; Have Fun.

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Read more about the article 6Qs: Maria Schneider, Editor Unleashed

6Qs: Maria Schneider, Editor Unleashed

Maria Schneider, Editor Unleashed
Maria Schneider, Editor Unleashed

“I don’t know if there’s any light at the end of the tunnel for publishers, but I think the future for writers is bright.”

–Maria Schneider, Editor Unleashed

I had the pleasure of working with the Editor Unleashed herself, Maria Schneider, for about 18 months, back when we were both with Writer’s Digest — as Editor (her) and Ad Director (me) — and am happy to still call her a friend despite no longer being corporate colleagues and with more than 600 miles separating us.

Maria is a smart, savvy writer AND editor, who understands the difference between the two, and who fully grasps the integrated world publishing has become, able to speak fluently in print and digital. Her ability to brainstorm new ideas that work from multiple angles without ever compromising her editorial integrity made my job much easier, and her outspoken, engaging personality has always been refreshing.

Her openness to new ideas and engaging personality allowed her to hit the ground running when she left Writer’s Digest last year, immediately launching her own website on October 8, 2008 with a post entitled, “So here’s how I got here…“, adding a forum two weeks later, and never looking back. Since then, she’s been offering near-daily content, featuring inspiring writing prompts and invaluable resources; interviews with successful agents, editors, and authors; and sharing her own hard-won insights with an appreciative and steadily growing community of aspiring and professional writers.

I’m delighted to have her as the first in a new series of interviews with insightful publishing and marketing professionals — 6Qs: Maria Schneider, Editor Unleashed.

It’s been just over six months since you were “unleashed” and went freelance. What’s surprised you, in a positive way, and what hasn’t quite gone according to plan?
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Read more about the article Spindle: New Content for April

Spindle: New Content for April

Spindle Magazine: A New York State of Mind
Spindle Magazine: A New York State of Mind

Things were looking dicey for April — I’m still almost a week behind on NaPoWriMo, not to mention the craziness of the real world — but I managed to post some new content before the calendar turned, with great poetry from Erica Miriam Fabri and micro-fiction from James Bezerra and Dominic Preziosi.

Check them out at: http://spindlezine.com

Also, be sure to poke through the archives and revisit some great features like “Love, New York Style” and an interview with WORDS IN YOUR FACE author, Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz.

OTHER UPDATES:

You do know Spindle has a spanking new Facebook Page now, right?

Next month, I’m hoping to get our columnists back up and running again, as well as to start catching up on the growing backlog of 2009 submissions. (I’m finally completely caught up on everything Spindle-related from 2008, except for the columns.) I’m also going to have a great special feature that came out of the Acentos Writers Workshop I facilitated this past Sunday.
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Read more about the article Poem-A-Day Challenge: Days 20-22

Poem-A-Day Challenge: Days 20-22

I’m way behind again, the furthest yet, and am “cheating” a little bit to catch up by going with only one of the PAD prompts I missed (Day 21) and two from the Acentos Writers Workshop I facilitated today. I’m still commited to making 30/30 by the end of the month, but from here on they might not all be via the PAD prompts, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Prompt: Pick a place and an emotion; personify the former using the latter.

Prompt: Write a poem about a paradox.

Prompt: “Two for Tuesday”: Write a haiku, or write about the haiku.

YANKEE STADIUM CRIED

As its replacement evolved
from good intentions to boondoggle
the House that Ruth built and Dent furnished
looked across the street and shed
no tears, confident that its memory
would live on in the hearts
of the true fans who can’t afford
to embrace something new.

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