Blog
Check out my posts (206 and counting) about communications, information, motivation, writing, branding, creativity, media, marketing, persuasion, messages, learning, etc.
Read a banned book today
In 212 B.C., the Chinese emperor Shih Huang Ti burned almost all of the books in his kingdom, keeping only single copies for the royal library. Those too were destroyed before he died, so that history could be seen to start with him. Previously, Shih Huang Ti is...
Having a chat with ChatGPT about my future
Will artificial intelligence (AI) take my job? Or yours? In a recent survey, a quarter of workers feared that AI will make their job obsolete. That includes people in creative pursuits, like illustrators, photographers, musicians and designers. And writers. AI is one...
Why did Rick Rubin cry about a board game?
Rick Rubin doesn’t write music. Or lyrics. He says he can “barely” play an instrument. When it comes to recording, “I have no technical ability,” he told an interviewer. Which is remarkable considering he has won nine Grammy Awards, founded Def Jam Recordings,...
X-ing out the bird
It was the early days of a platform that was designed to share short messages with groups, similar to texts. The people building the system were brainstorming company names. They thought of how your phone would react when you received a message, which prompted two...
How one portmanteau fueled double-feature excitement
Have you heard about Barbenheimer? The films Barbie and Oppenheimer open the same day, July 21. Barbie is the first live-action movie based on the Mattel doll, crafted as a comedy-fantasy/journey of self-discovery. Oppenheimer is a dramatic biopic from director...
Tourists, resist the urge to make your mark
The “I was here” impulse can be intense when you travel. Sometimes memories, photos or a journal entry aren’t enough. That was apparently so last week for a 17-year-old Canadian, who etched his name onto a pillar at 1,200-year-old Toshodaiji Kondo temple complex in...
Do marketers need a reminder to not mock the dead?
You’d think the Subway chain – whose former spokesperson, Jared Fogle, is serving 15 years in prison for child pornography – would take greater care when it comes to their marketing decisions. Yet days ago a Subway restaurant in Rincon, Georgia used their billboard to...
Could a better sign have prevented the loss of 20 years and $1 million of research?
Ever walk through a building where the floors were just mopped, something spilled or there has been a leak? Then you’ve probably seen this bright yellow sign: Caution Wet Floor, with an icon of a stick figure going flying. That’s solid communications. With just three...
Why do we watch the Oscars?
The Oscars are coming. For the people up for them, and the corporate entities behind the nominees, awards can make a difference. They can be an ego boost, feel like a career reward, and bring material benefits in exposure and dollars. But why should the Oscars matter...
Why do some people think Barney the dinosaur, the Super Bowl and Coke are too woke?
In Toronto, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health notes that their address on Queen Street West was once home to what in 1850 was called the Provincial Lunatic Asylum. In 1905, it was renamed the Hospital for the Insane. And that was probably seen as enlightened....