Inevitably, when I have to work with a truly untalented writer, that person will make a point of explaining to me how they don't have the "time" or the "interest" to bother with things like punctuation and grammar. Sometimes these people will tell me that "the copy editors will catch" their errors. Sometimes they tell me that worrying about style rules and semicolons blocks their "flow." Sometimes they argue that their clichés and mixed metaphors are how they show their "creativity."
I try...and often fail...to convince such people that in order to write well, one must write with precision.
There's an example of this phenomenon on ABM's new blog.
Check out this indecipherable post about "strategic clarity."
Then read the comment section. You'll see my attempt to point out that clarity is required when writing about strategic clarity. You'll see my complaint that BECAUSE the writing was unclear, I have no idea what the writer was trying to get across.
Then read Saturday's post, in which the ABM says it doesn't want to use the blog to talk about writing, because it wants to talk about "valuable stuff" such as "strategic stuff."
Sigh.
There are two things I want to say about that:
1) I, too, like to talk about strategy. (Of the three other posts today to this blog, one is about VOD strategy). The problem is that the ABM blogger didn't write about strategy; he wrote gibberish. He only thought he was writing about strategy.
2) There are few industries in the world where writing is as valuable as strategy. B2B publishing is one of them.
Monday, May 16, 2005
New debate over new journalism
The New York Times calls "The Chronicle of Higher Education" a "usually staid academic magazine." I call it a B2B publication that serves college teachers and administrators.
Writer Tom Wolfe is calling it all sorts of nasty things.
Take a look at this piece that tells the story of how the Chronicle found itself in the middle of an argument about the history of "new journalism."
A NOTE TO B2B JOURNALISTS: Please do not read this post or the Times article or any of the material mentioned therein as a call to practice "new journalism." First-person reporting can make for glorious writing. But let's be frank. We journalists are a self-absorbed lot. And putting ourselves in the story is almost always a mistake that leads to pretentious, unreadable prose. In the B2B world in particular, "new journalism" tends to lead to that total nightmare of writing:
the I-just-flew-in-from-the-tradeshow-in-Vegas-and-boy-are-my-arms tired Reporter's Notebook.
If you want to emulate someone, then read up on the literary journalists instead. Get a copy of John McPhee's "Oranges." No one has ever written anything more lovely about an industry. Make note of what makes McPhee's work so interesting: enormous amounts of facts and anecdotes. In other words, think of yourself as a reporter, not as a writer.
Writer Tom Wolfe is calling it all sorts of nasty things.
Take a look at this piece that tells the story of how the Chronicle found itself in the middle of an argument about the history of "new journalism."
A NOTE TO B2B JOURNALISTS: Please do not read this post or the Times article or any of the material mentioned therein as a call to practice "new journalism." First-person reporting can make for glorious writing. But let's be frank. We journalists are a self-absorbed lot. And putting ourselves in the story is almost always a mistake that leads to pretentious, unreadable prose. In the B2B world in particular, "new journalism" tends to lead to that total nightmare of writing:
the I-just-flew-in-from-the-tradeshow-in-Vegas-and-boy-are-my-arms tired Reporter's Notebook.
If you want to emulate someone, then read up on the literary journalists instead. Get a copy of John McPhee's "Oranges." No one has ever written anything more lovely about an industry. Make note of what makes McPhee's work so interesting: enormous amounts of facts and anecdotes. In other words, think of yourself as a reporter, not as a writer.
B2B video possibilities
I hate it when the B2C media seems to move faster than B2B.
Yet in this article by the Associated Press, it seems that our brothers in the consumer press are well ahead of us in the fast-growing world of downloadable video.
I've written about this subject before, and wondered when someone in B2B would make a move. I still haven't seen anything interesting. And that surprises me. It would seem to me that this new, do-it-yourself TV distribution is perfect for B2B. Industrial training, continuing education, professional certifications --- all these are well suited for downloadable video on demand.
For example, Primedia already operates Interactive Medical Networks, which provides continuing-education courses on DVDs and by Web broadcast. But IMN does not yet offer video-on-demand services.
I'm looking forward to hearing about new VOD offerings from the B2B world soon.
Yet in this article by the Associated Press, it seems that our brothers in the consumer press are well ahead of us in the fast-growing world of downloadable video.
I've written about this subject before, and wondered when someone in B2B would make a move. I still haven't seen anything interesting. And that surprises me. It would seem to me that this new, do-it-yourself TV distribution is perfect for B2B. Industrial training, continuing education, professional certifications --- all these are well suited for downloadable video on demand.
For example, Primedia already operates Interactive Medical Networks, which provides continuing-education courses on DVDs and by Web broadcast. But IMN does not yet offer video-on-demand services.
I'm looking forward to hearing about new VOD offerings from the B2B world soon.
Access Intelligence does some hiring
Things are pretty stressful these days at the properties owned by VSS. Most everything is for sale. And as Folio has reported, at least one sale isn't going smoothly.
But it's worth noting that at least one VSS-owned property -- Access Intelligence, formerly known as PBI -- is in hiring mode. The company's Satellite Group has added an editor, a marketing person and an events coordinator.
But it's worth noting that at least one VSS-owned property -- Access Intelligence, formerly known as PBI -- is in hiring mode. The company's Satellite Group has added an editor, a marketing person and an events coordinator.
Friday, May 13, 2005
Open for comment
Never underestimate the power of a well-crafted phrase. Never compromise in the search for the right words to make your point.
Yesterday I read a post on my friend David Shaw's blog in which he quoted Steve Smith's description of the community discussions on agriculture.com. This line captured my attention: "These days, a Web site is less a magazine than it is a quilting bee."
That's how a good writer uses metaphor! That is the simple, lovely writing that I adore.
Smith was talking about how "AgOnline leverages the natural tendencies of the ag-world to swap stories and trust one another's experience in the field, and it should be a model to other b2bs that talk at, rather than with, their customers."
Reading that piece has convinced me to change my position and to reopen the comment function on this blog. Back when I started this venture, I allowed comments. At first, there were none. And I was saddened. Then, some appeared. And I was pleased.
But I continued to worry about the problems we encountered at About.com in the old days, when discussion groups and chat rooms were often dumping grounds for nastiness and ad hominem attacks.
And I pulled the plug on comments when I came across the first inappropriate posting to this blog.
I am still worried, and I may change my mind yet again. There are downsides to opening a conversation. And blog comment functions can be misused, sometimes in surprising ways.
But if I believe in the spirit of community journalism -- and I do -- then it's time to talk less and to listen more.
Yesterday I read a post on my friend David Shaw's blog in which he quoted Steve Smith's description of the community discussions on agriculture.com. This line captured my attention: "These days, a Web site is less a magazine than it is a quilting bee."
That's how a good writer uses metaphor! That is the simple, lovely writing that I adore.
Smith was talking about how "AgOnline leverages the natural tendencies of the ag-world to swap stories and trust one another's experience in the field, and it should be a model to other b2bs that talk at, rather than with, their customers."
Reading that piece has convinced me to change my position and to reopen the comment function on this blog. Back when I started this venture, I allowed comments. At first, there were none. And I was saddened. Then, some appeared. And I was pleased.
But I continued to worry about the problems we encountered at About.com in the old days, when discussion groups and chat rooms were often dumping grounds for nastiness and ad hominem attacks.
And I pulled the plug on comments when I came across the first inappropriate posting to this blog.
I am still worried, and I may change my mind yet again. There are downsides to opening a conversation. And blog comment functions can be misused, sometimes in surprising ways.
But if I believe in the spirit of community journalism -- and I do -- then it's time to talk less and to listen more.
Students, podcasts and journalism
I've said before that journalism students of today need to embrace the changes of participatory journalism and the converged newsroom. The tools of community journalism have opened opportunities that were unimaginable when I was starting out in this game.
And in today's Wall Street Journal, there's an interesting piece about a student who landed a gig podcasting on behalf of the Denver Post.
Let me be clear -- I don't think anyone needs the help of the mainstream press to do this sort of work. The beauty of community journalism is that there are few barriers to entry.
The Journal piece also discusses some other podcasting efforts by mainstream B2C publications. It's worth a read.
In the meantime, I'm still waiting to see something truly interesting podcasts emerge in the B2B world. I trust that sooner, and not later, some entry-level reporter at some trade pub is going to impress me.
And in today's Wall Street Journal, there's an interesting piece about a student who landed a gig podcasting on behalf of the Denver Post.
Let me be clear -- I don't think anyone needs the help of the mainstream press to do this sort of work. The beauty of community journalism is that there are few barriers to entry.
The Journal piece also discusses some other podcasting efforts by mainstream B2C publications. It's worth a read.
In the meantime, I'm still waiting to see something truly interesting podcasts emerge in the B2B world. I trust that sooner, and not later, some entry-level reporter at some trade pub is going to impress me.
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