Author Archives: Bob Wells

Back in the game

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I’ve been very busy lately with helping a major client, with traveling in France, and with resolving two health issues: prostate cancer (cured by magic slivers of radiation!) and sciatica (almost there). I continue to provide editing and computer support to Wells Communications. But I have some time now.

The “Back in the game” headline refers to my availability for editing and writing and consulting about communications strategy. Those businesses can be large or small, established or startups, but they must be businesslike. As my past clients know, I come armed with some pretty cool tools for getting jobs done quickly and accurately.

During my semi-silence on these pages, I’ve never been far from the media world and its rapid evolution. The plan is for this blog to come to life again, mostly to point you towards meaningful content that tells a story about media today. Please stay tuned. Continue reading →

Can you imagine writing for The Economist?

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A friend gave me a subscription to The Economist and I’ve been reading it. After a couple of issues, I wrote this imaginary letter from an Economist reporter.

Hello, my name is Leonard Smerdly. I’m a reporter-editor for The Economist, though you’ll never see my name in it. When I’m assigned a topic, my editors want me to touch briefly on all the problems and challenges associated with that topic. But, I’m under orders to always conclude that these problems aren’t anything the Ruling Class can’t keep juggling successfully, however daunting they may seem when listed. Also, I’m ordered not to write about really big systemic problems the world faces, such as U.S. militarism or the fact that the form of government in the U.S. can hardly be regarded as a democracy anymore. I’m also told not to point fingers at major corporate malefactors, such as companies who produce weapons or GMO foods, inasmuch as a lot of those guys who run those companies are friends of our editors and owners, and many are advertisers too. And, oh yes, I’m not supposed to write anything that sounds at all sympathetic to leftist politicians, leftist activists, leftist writers, trade unions, or Julian Assange. Aside from these constraints, it’s a pretty good job. I’m quite well paid and my editors appreciate my ability to research and write succinctly and artfully within the constraints they have set for me. Well, that’s all for now.

Your friend,
Leonard

Publishing via apps versus websites

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There’s a provocative debate on the website Paid Content about whether publishers should focus on delivering their content via websites or iPad apps. In the latest installment, author Ashley Norris opines, in part:

The price of producing iPad mags is falling so quickly that very soon a whole slew of indie publishers will have iPad mags ready to roll and once again the mainstream publishers will have missed the boat.

And…

I don’t think people will be paying for iPad magazines in two years time, so, like the web, ad revenue will become crucial. That means magazine publishers have a shortish window of time to establish themselves as iPad magazine brands.

Interesting. In my opinion, publishing’s future is all very much in flux. Apps are much like magazines; you enter them and you’re in that publisher’s world. And you develop strong loyalties to certain apps (they’re “sticky”), unlike the typical website-cruiser, who can flit off to another site at any second.

Business idea: a tool for stringing together one’s various prized Bookmarks and iPad apps into sort of a slideshow that you could easily be escorted through. As it is, the two formats aka platforms (websites and apps) are getting confusing. I have maybe 30 places I tend to visit via a group of Bookmarks I maintain that I call my “Morning News” and about 10 apps (“CBS Evening News” et al) I get to when I remember to — two different (un)walled gardens.

I recently heard a publisher opining on a blog to the effect of, “Why would I do an iPad app when it only reaches a tiny portion of my target audience? I’m better to stick with a website. It can reach everyone, at least if it’s standards-compliant (i.e., no Flash, etc.).” True, the 5 million iPad users are an engaged and affluent bunch. But they’re still a subculture, for now. The rest of the year should tell us a lot about the spreading ubiquity (or not) of tablets in general (the iPad and all the Android tablets). I’ve believed all along that they will become the dominant publishing platform for former newspapers and magazines, with the only wild card being the timing. Still, the tension between publishing on a website and on an app will remain. I think a standards-compliant website, viewable on an iPad and other tablets, is the best strategy, at least for the next few years. For that matter, a reader can use the iPad’s “Add to home screen” option to create an icon for a favorite website. Most users would view and use this icon as the functional equivalent of an app anyway. I know I do.

Don’t forget the content!

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Acclaimed British web designer Paul Boag, creative director of the firm Headscape, writes about a funny phenomenon: how often companies redo their websites, spending lots on design and development, and all but overlook content. The headlines, the text. Funny, isn’t it. Unless you’re paying the bill and not getting the payoff. He writes, in part:

Next time you redesign your website don’t think it is enough just to employ a web design agency. You also need to consider your own responsibilities. … Ask any web designer and they will tell you that the single biggest point of weakness in any redesign project is late delivery of content. As a website owner it is easy to forget that although your web designer can create you a new website they cannot populate it with content.

Rewriting all of the content on your existing site is a major undertaking and without adequate resources it will simply not happen. What happens instead is that content is copied and pasted from your website, printed material or any other ad hoc source that can be found. This not only leads to a horrible Frankenstein mix of content, it also makes relaunching the website pointless.

Read the rest of his very interesting post here. I’m such a fan . . . gush! And I especially like the emphasis he puts on content, since we consider it our strong suit at Lennox: thinking through, organizing and writing the content that really works for clients and for our own projects.

Figuring out Generation Y: the too-quiet generation?

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For some of us with more than a few gray hairs, insights into younger people can be extremely useful, both in navigating life and in our marketing and business activities. Rebecca Thorman, writing in the blog modite.com, shares insights in her post, “Generation Y is too quiet, too conservative.” Source of her insight? She is one. Excerpt: “Generation Y is so overly focused on the yin of consensus that we’ve lost its yang of conflict.” Read story.

Social media can be a “next step” in courting customers

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No, social media isn’t the quick cure to marketing ailments, but it can invite prospective customers and clients to get to know you better, writes Jay Baer in his interesting blog, Convince&Convert. I particularly liked this point:

Social media is the perfect conversion half-step. Not sure whether you’re ready to buy a Toyota? Visit us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter, or read our blog, or watch our videos. Each of them will show you what our brand is REALLY like, and you won’t have to wade through all this pesky navigation and flash movies to get what you need.

You may find value in reading the whole post.