On Words and Business

One of the reasons I enjoy traveling so much is that I delight in experiencing local media–what stories lead the t.v. news reports or are above the fold on the newspaper; what kinds of ads are in the local magazines, on buses, or posters. Other than basic French, I only speak and read English, though, so I imagine my own meanings based on the word or two I may know, the graphics, or the product itself.

It’s fabulous to visit other cultures and see what works for them. I have vivid memories of t.v. news reports and free magazines in Japan, and of CNN Europe reporting the 2004 tsunami, and French variety t.v. show honoring Johnny Hallyday. I like to think that these experiences make me better able to consider my audience and communicate more effectively.

Do you find this is a side effect of your travels, too?

If you are like me, you read everything critically, even if you aren’t trying. Once I read something that doesn’t make sense, the rest of the article or whatever it is I’m reading isn’t worth the paper or bytes it’s printed on. Which is why I get so upset when I make a mistake–even after double and triple-checking.

It isn’t too much to ask that words be spelled correctly, are not their own homonyms, that grammar is basically correct, and that the piece flow logically from start to finish. Unless, it’s obviously a play on words or a deliberate mangling of the grammar.
Do you read things this critically? Does an apparent mistake negate the message?

We should all be so lucky as Netflix, and other services like it. By getting customers to rate likes and dislikes, they know exactly what we want and don’t want.

At first, I was concerned that as the number of movies I rated went up, the number of movies Netflix recommended for me went down. More choice is always better, right? Until I realized the beauty of the system. While the number of recommendations decreased, their relevance to what I like increased. And let’s face it, 209 movies will still take quite a while to watch.

If only this model could be co-opted for the rest of us so easily. Or is there a way for marketers and communicators to do this, and I just don’t know about it?

Why does blogging work in the corporate world?

After all, a blog is an online diary and, until recently, keeping a diary has been mostly a personal indulgence. The concept of a corporate diary is unusual in history.

So how does it work for the corporate world? Or maybe the proper question is…does it work?

I’m looking forward to cracking open a copy of Strategies and Tools for Corporate Blogging by John Cass. I wonder if the answer is in there.