PRSA’s campaign to redefine public relations, #prdefined, has its detractors, but the public relations industry has to give the organization some credit. After 30 years, the world has changed, and revising the definition to reflect technological and structural changes only makes sense. Each option is an improvement over the old definition: “Public relations helps an [...]

I try to check in on the HARO (Help a Reporter Out) emails at least once a day, and last night there was a request for “professional” (sure) advice about managing emails and making the emails you send more effective. I sent my thoughts and share them below. Do include a descriptive, appropriate subject line. [...]

I will preface this by saying that Stevenson’s publications are ones that I truly look forward to reading each month. I don’t remember how I discovered them, but I am grateful that I did. Here is a screenshot from an article a few years ago where I was cited in a short piece from Stevenson, [...]

While I wouldn’t characterize the presence of my smart phone in my life as transformative, it has changed the way I approach working with data and documents. I’ve long since abandoned using CDs or DVDs for anything but a backup for irreplaceable pictures and video. And flash drives are too unreliable and too easy to [...]

@FakeElsevier: a voice of reason in the debate over open access to scientific publications. Discovering your superpowers from @redcaperev via @IABC A tip from @your_say: A key to being good at SocialMedia is the ability to Be Social. Don’t just talk to yourself… Interact! If you’re serious about improving your writing, can you write three pages each day? Try 750words.com [...]

Publicity for a planning/informational meeting for IABC in Buffalo is ramping up, slowly but surely. I had a very productive chat with Cheryl Carr of Carr Marketing Communications, another at-large IABC member and previous chapter president. She gave me great leads on former members and I have already started to reach out to them. I [...]

A few months ago, I started looking in the usual spaces for freelance writers. Despite a request for published examples of work, far too many talked about how they were “really good writers,” but “hadn’t had anything published yet.” That’s malarkey. Even bad writers can get articles published (though if your writing skills need improvement, [...]

An online service that calculates the readability of your text Remember to always write for your audience. A.P. Style Book’s Ask the Editor Write or Die Fake AP Style Book’s Twitter account Grammar Docs: based in Ariz.; produces a steady stream of useful writing advice.

In December, I contacted the International Association of Business Communicators to investigate the possibility of forming a chapter in the Buffalo or upstate NY region. I think it’s an idea worth exploring; I am working with Katie Krawczyk (@katiekraw), another IABC at-large member, to host an informational/exploratory/ad hoc meeting on Tuesday, March 6 to gauge [...]

My third contribution to the Agency Post, Hitching Your Brand’s Wagon to Pinterest’s Rising Star, went live today. I submitted it about two weeks ago, and already I know the basic research I did into the site is outdated. Pinterest represents the Interweb’s Wild West at the moment, at least among the female/under-60 crowd. I [...]