WWW: Let The Three W's Work For You

Today I provided some copy-editing recommendations to a client who had mentioned his website, but without the "www." part, in an advertisement.

Fact: you need not type "www" into the Internet address bar to trek from one website to another.

Reality: that fact notwithstanding, if you want to catch the reader's eye, include "www." in your writing, whether it's an advertisement, business card or news release. The three Ws help the web location stand out; they also brace the reader to the fact that a URL is about to come his or her way.

Remember, too, that we live in a world of hyperlinks.

So while typing "DogWedding.info" into your address bar will get you to the I Do, Doggone It! mass dog wedding site that I developed and maintain for Downtown Oak Park, if you're hyperlinking someone there you still need some http and www. action so you don't leave your audience scratching fruitlessly at the cyber-door.

By the way, in case this is the first you're learning of the mass dog wedding, it's a Guinness World Record attempt that's happening on Saturday, Nov. 8th, in Oak Park, Illinois. Just click on the links above to learn more.

Hey, Joe The Plumber: It's Just The Start!

The moment I saw my brother's text message last night, I suspected that we had the latest media sensation on our hands.

"Joe the plumber making waves in debate," Andy wrote.

At first, I thought some guy named Joe had commandeered a microphone at last night's third and final Presidential Debate and blasted Barack Obama or John McCain, or both. Instead, as I later learned, McCain had simply referred to this fellow named Joe, oh, about 4,000 times. "Joe the plumber" became a mantra as McCain sought to connect with the nation's beleaguered middle-class.

Now comes news that Joe is not actually a licensed plumber. Horrors! What next?

Of course, that's just one detail among hundreds that have already emerged about the suddenly famous 34-year-old from the Wurzelbacher clan. Typing "Joe the plumber" into Google nets 900,000 hits, easily outdistancing "Joe sh*t the rag man," one of my mom's favorite expressions.

Mark my words: in 2012, 2016, 2020, and every four years thereafter, Joe the Plumber (the "p" will be capitalized by then) will be sought out for his views of that year's Presidential race. That is, if the Ohio man can live through all the nutty media scrutiny.

By the way, a certain Amarillo, Texas plumber with a fortunately named website and a hilarious Dan Aykroyd-in-Saturday Night Life style illustration on the home page is bound to see an uptick in business.

And a certain Houston plumber must be getting some increased web traffic, too.

Can a "Joe the Plumber" political party be far behind?

No, Not Again!! It's The Silly Season!!!

"I don't normally pass these types of e-mails along, but..."

The "Silly Season" is upon us and so, too, are e-mail chains that begin with phrases along the lines of the one that started this post.

Growing up, I learned about Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. I even enjoyed the music of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons.

But it was only when I started covering political races, in the early-1990s, that I was schooled in the Silly Season, also known as the final stages of an election campaign.

This phase was filled with all manner of dubious accusations, insinuations, and no-holds-barred mud-slinging. Along with my colleagues at The Courier News of Elgin, Ill., I would navigate this terrain with mounting skepticism of "breaking news" as Election Day approached.

Three or four days before the election, we'd halt any kind of "he said, she said" sniping and provide just-the-facts coverage reminding readers who was running, their basic positions, and where voters could cast their ballots.

Now here we are, three weeks away from choosing John McCain or Barack Obama as our next U.S. President, and the national dialogue (OK, "cacophony" is more apt) resembles a fast-paced contest of Ping Pong. Only the white ball has been immersed in so much cow dung.


So next time you get an e-mail that purports to bear actual news (you know, that stuff known as information that we haven't sifted through time and again for the past two years), be extremely leery of its contents.

By the way, one of the most effective ways to spread an untruth is to make it just credible enough, with names, phone numbers, email addresses and ancillary information that "check out" on the surface so that it disarms our skepticism.

Often, a trip to Snopes is all you need to screen a tale's veracity. Be careful, though: Snopes can't do it all, or report on it all.

If you want to help, not harm, the cause of truth, then it often takes time, effort and discernment to weed out the facts from the fiction. Sadly, all three commodities are in short supply, especially during the Silly Season.

Alphabet Soup: Consume With Caution

We live in the USA--the United States of Acronymia.

What's your initial reaction to that twist on our country's name? LOL?

See, only two sentences into this post, and I've dropped two acronyms on you. Lost yet? (LOL is "laugh out loud," by the way.)

One of the biggest enemies of clarity in communication is this overuse of acronyms. This comes to mind a day after Chicago's WBBM 780 radio broadcast of the Chicago Marathon.

In my half-hour of listening, Josh Liss must have used the term "PR" at least 10 times in connection with various runners' efforts. Not once did I hear him offer the words attached to each letter.

Serious runners certainly would know what he meant, but what proportion of the radio station's listeners are casual fans (like me) and therefore may have been hazy on what "PR" stands for?

As I listened to the broadcast, I was scrubbing the bathtub and performing other cleaning tasks. In that moment, to me, PR meant "persisent rinsing." I am also a publicist, so in that realm "PR" represents "public relations."

Actually, what Liss meant was "personal record": an individual's best-ever marathon time. I suspected that was the case, then looked it up just now online to be sure.

If a true pro like Liss can fall prey to this tendency--I've heard him for years, and he's usually an excellent communicator--then we all need to be vigilant about steering clear of exclusively using abbreviated jargon.

I'm not advocating an outright ban on alphabet soup, but every once in a while we ought to intersperse acronyms with their complete phrasing, particularly when we are speaking to an audience that may not be so familiar with the jargon.

Text messaging has spawned numerous acronyms, of course, such as the LOL noted above. You can see many more here.

And while we're on the subject of the Chicago Marathon, if you know someone who ran--or even if you don't--you can see how they fared. I see another Matthew Baron, a 37-year-old from Los Angeles, ran the 26.2 miles in about 5 hours.

Kudos, namesake! Even if that time was not your PR, I hope that you appreciate this little bit of PR.

Take It From Me: See `Taking the Wheel'

One of the most rewarding aspects of my work is helping get the word out about newsworthy, interesting subjects, whether they are a client or not.

So it was a thrill this morning to get word from a longtime friend, David Ackerman, about prominent mention that MSNBC.com gave a brilliant 10-minute film that he wrote and directed, "Taking The Wheel."

Last Friday, when I saw the query "Getting Grandma Off The Road" on Help A Reporter Out, I immediately thought of David and connected him with the writer, Harriet Baskas.

She produced this thoughtful story.

It's even more gratifying to know that the story--as David's film has done since its release in 2002--will assuredly play a key role in saving lives.

Among other successes, the California Highway Patrol regularly shows the movie as part of its Driving Safety Education Outreach Program. "Taking the Wheel has certainly helped to save many lives," the CHP has stated, "and we intend to make sure that it continues to do so."

To learn more about the movie, which stars Patience Cleveland and John Cleese of "Monty Python" fame, you can check it out here. Then make a point of watching the movie--and sharing it with your loved ones, young and not-so-young!

Cubs, Sox Out: Bye-Bye, By The Numbers

Last week, I offered this equation: October + Baseball=By the Numbers, as I reprised my research-and-writing role for the Daily Herald.

I was hoping for a month filled with Chicago baseball. With both the Cubs and White Sox in the post-season, and the Cubs sporting the best record in the National League during the regular season, I figured I'd be wearing out my calculator.

Alas, both teams flopped--especially the Cubbies, who were swept for the second straight year. You know it doesn't bode well when I'm spending an inordinate amount of time researching Chicago players' errors, strikeouts at the plate, and streaks such as the last time a certain slugger (yeah, you, Alfonso Soriano) had homered.

For the By the Numbers' body of evidence of Chicago baseball woes, see:

White Sox, Game 1 preview

White Sox, Game 1

White Sox, Game 2

White Sox, Game 3

Cubs, Game 1

Cubs, Game 2

Cubs, preview Game 3

Just Who or What Is `Mainstream Media'?

Lately, there has been much discussion and debate on my Medill School of Journalism alumni list-serv about what constitutes "mainstream media."

Of course, the phrase is often used in the context of claims that the aforementioned nebulous institution is biased, out-of-touch and worthy of tongue-lashings from all quarters.

On a related note, someone recently got huffy with Peter Shankman's Help A Reporter Out source-and-storyteller matching service. The reason they unsubscribed from his so-called HARO: he was including too many source requests from bloggers in his thrice-daily (Monday-Friday) outreach.

To me, much of it shakes out thusly: what influence and impact does a given entity--whether it's a person, a website, an organization, or whatever--have on your target audience?

In some cases, a blog with a relatively small, but intensely interested, passionate and motivated following, can represent a much better and more relevant "hit" than a national publication with a huge, but diffuse, reach.


Anyone seeking to increase their sales, their profile, or otherwise attain a goal needs to intelligently assess the entire landscape of communications outlets--and it's growing bigger and murkier by the hour--and then make thoughtful decisions about where to devote its story-telling resources.

Today's mainstream may well be tomorrow's footnote, and today's alternative media may well be tomorrow's mainstream.

Terminology aside, if you're a publicist, this is my bottom line: If your media outreach list isn't constantly evolving, then you're not paying nearly enough attention.

Tennis Player Outreach Nets Coverage

I had a post on Friday regarding my media outreach about a 12-year-old tennis player named Jordan Belga who trains at Five Seasons Sports Club in Northbrook, Ill.

On Saturday came this Daily Herald feature, which included an interview with Jordan's coach, Five Seasons tennis pro Jacek Dabrowski.

It doesn't always work out so nicely. In this case, fortunately, the Daily Herald opted to devote some attention to the club where Jordan has developed his game to the point of being rated No. 1 in the nation. Of course, it helped that when the reporter spoke with Jordan, he talked about Jacek--among other things, sharing that he texted his coach upon learning he'd gained the top spot.

One last note, and something that publicist Peter Shankman taught me through his book, Can We Do That?: Sharing Jacek's number with the media is important, but sources must be coached to be responsive.

When Jacek tipped me off to Jordan's No. 1 ranking on Thursday, I reminded him to be ready for phone calls from unfamiliar phone numbers (the media)--and to pick 'em up, if at all possible.

Courting Media With Tennis Phenom News

For nearly two years, starting with George Hood's two 2007 Guinness World Record attempts at marathon spin cycling, I've enjoyed getting the word out about Five Seasons Sports Clubs in Burr Ridge and Northbrook.

Yesterday morning came the latest chapter: a phone call from Jacek Dabrowski, a top tennis pro at the Northbrook site. He had some exciting news: a 12-year-old he is coaching, Jordan Belga, moved up to the No. 1 spot in the United States Tennis Association (USTA) rankings for his age group.

Seeking to capture the freshness of the news (Jordan's ranking had been published on the USTA website late Wednesday night), I pushed my other work aside and gathered information and photos from Jacek and from Jordan's mom, Kelly. I quickly wrote a news release and began contacting Chicago-area media in the early afternoon.

You can see the release as it appears on the Chicago Tribune's user-generated website, Triblocal. And soon, I hope, you will find it in other media.

(Photo credit: Lloyd Clayton, YourGameFace.com)

October + Baseball=By the Numbers

It's October and Chicago playoff baseball is under way, so that means my statistical hat is fit snugly atop my head.

Allowing my numerical passions to run wild again is Daily Herald sports editor Tom Quinlan, who began publishing my "By The Numbers" baseball blurbs on the Cubs and White Sox in today's newspaper.

My numbers-related writing dates back to August 1997, toward the end of my eight years at The Courier News in Elgin, Ill., when I began writing a weekly "By the Numbers" column. It was later syndicated by Copley News Service, and served as the springboard for my numeracy training program called "Go Figure: Making Numbers Count."

Along the way, I had a stats column for Sports Illustrated For Kids and developed the Home Run Power Ratio, an inflation index for home runs.

This is the fourth time over the past six Octobers that the Daily Herald has allowed me to be a part of their baseball post-season coverage.

On the Herald's website, you can read the first round of figures I came up with in connection with the Chicago Cubs and their Game 1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, as well as previewing the Chicago White Sox's Game 1 clash with the Tampa Bay Rays this afternoon.

"Results Through Relationships" Author Talks His Walk in New Business Book

When my wife recently embarked on a top-secret mission to solicit letters from relatives, friends and work colleagues for my 40th birthday, she wasn't sure how to categorize a few people as she assembled the letters.

Were they friends or work colleagues? One such individual was Joe Takash, who undoubtedly is a friend first, and a colleague second.

That's because Joe is so committed to developing meaningful, transparent, fully engaged relationships that go beyond "getting the job done." And as a result, when there is a job to get done, it is accomplished far more effectively than if our connection were business first and relationship a distant second.

Joe is president of Victory Consulting, a performance management firm based in the Chicago area that specializes in the areas of leadership, customer/client service excellence, presentation skills and employee motivation. For more than 20 years and over the course of more than 3,000 speaking programs, Joe has been on the frontlines of personal and professional development.

So it's only fitting that I readily agreed, at Joe's request, to help get the word out about his recently published book, Results Through Relationships: Building Trust, Performance, and Profit Through People. (Wiley, Sept. 2008)

Our relationship began seven years ago, after I e-mailed Joe to compliment him on the practical, humorous truths he was sharing in "A Kick In the Attitude," the business/motivational column he would go on to write for six years for Star Newspapers in suburban Chicago.

Since then, our friendship and burgeoning business partnership has been a microcosm of what Joe lays out so well in his excellent book. At the heart of what Joe preaches--and it stems from what he practices and so commandingly guides his clients to practice--is transparency and an obsession with adding value to others' lives.

Three months ago, I wrote "The Art of Effective Confrontation," detailing Joe's mentorship of me. The post was sparked by my reading of The Five Dysfunctions of A Team, a bestselling business book by Patrick Lencioni, who (fittingly enough) endorsed Results Through Relationships. (See how it all comes full circle?)

By now, people who have come across my LinkedIn account have read the glowing recommendation that I wrote about Joe. But what they haven't seen is the longer version, which I edited because it was so gushing that I was concerned it may come across more like a eulogy.

I am pleased to confirm that Joe Takash is very much alive and beyond that, Results Through Relationships is an engagingly written, practical guide to helping people individually and organizations overall to infuse their days with greater effectiveness.

Unmistakably, the book is geared toward helping people get more out of their work relationships. But the principles and how-tos that Joe spells out will benefit those who mine the precious gems sprinkled throughout its pages and apply the recommendations in their day-to-day lives.

Among Medill Journalism Graduate Students: Barack Obama & Chicago Cubs Both Reign

Yesterday, I had the privilege of speaking to 55 graduate students at my alma mater, the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

The topic was “Journalism By the Numbers,” so I shared some pointers on numeracy—using numbers with common sense and context in story telling.

As part of my presentation, I coordinated with adjunct lecturer Desiree Hanford to conduct a survey that asked students about Chicago’s two Major League Baseball teams’ playoff chances and their current preference in the national presidential election.

Considering the students' ages (with a few exceptions, they were born in the early-to mid-1980s) and the Democratic Party bent of most journalists, I didn't think Barack Obama would face much of a challenge from John McCain in this gathering.

But the overwhelming nature of the landslide somewhat surprised me: Obama routed McCain, 47-2.

(Three said they are undecided, two said they are unable to vote because they are international students, and one declined to answer: “a journalist never tells,” the student wrote, doodling a smiley face.)

If I were to commit one of the numeracy no-nos that I rail against—settling for percentage claims without digging into the raw data—I could claim that journalism grad students who plan to vote for McCain possess a much more optimistic outlook about the Cubbies (100 percent all the way!) than those who plan to pick Obama (only 60 percent say the team will win it all).

That's because both McCain supporters (sample size: a whopping two) think the Cubs will win the World Series. Among the 47 Obama backers, 38 predict the Cubs will advance to the World Series, with 28 projecting a Cubs’ title.

White Sox fans (and that includes the South Side-residing Obama, reportedly): These students don't give your team much hope. Only 17 Obama supporters predicted a World Series appearance, with a mere two in that group forecasting a World Series victory.

Meanwhile, McCain's two backers don't see the White Sox making it to the Series at all. This is likely a clear-eyed assessment, since the team hasn't even made the playoffs yet, with a one-game showdown with the Minnesota Twins scheduled for tonight.

Chicago Tribune Has Designs On New Era

Today marks a new era for the Chicago Tribune, with a radically new layout and design.

I'm still wading through it, and it's going to take some time to adjust to it and give this re-invention a full assessment. Clearly, the Internet has wielded a major influence on the design and sensibility of the latest incarnation. Its graphics, splashes of color and layout include a quasi-navigation bar to guide readers throughout the various sections, for example.

Years ago, as newspapers were taking baby steps online, they often limited their cyber-layout with the print-edition construct in mind. This new Trib reflects editors' awareness that readers often are coming to their pages with a web-surfing mindset.

It's no coincidence that Jane Hirt (right) was at the helm of the paper's graphics-heavy, short-attention-span-friendly RedEye edition before her August appointment as the Tribune's managing editor.

It's easy to look at the Tribune today and dismiss it as a superficial and shallow product. But that would be a superficial, shallow judgment.

The truth as to the Trib's relative commitment to hard-hitting, public-service journalism lies in the content between and amidst the colorful layout. And if the layout can more effectively lure a new generation of readers to those stories, then the redesign will have been a success.

Full disclosure: I was a freelance writer for the Tribune most heavily from 1999 to 2005, largely covering local governments. I continue to maintain a freelance relationship with the paper, though I have not had a byline in the Trib this year.

Red Flag: Palin's Math Inflation Problem

Opinions are one thing. You and I can disagree, and neither one of us is right or wrong necessarily. Or maybe there's some truth in both of our stances.

But when it comes to two plus two equaling anything other than four, that's where we should draw the line. Through my Go Figure: Making Numbers Count training, I am a major advocate of clarity and accuracy in using statistics responsibly. It's a song I sing every chance I get.

So it got my attention when Andrew Sullivan of The Atlantic pointed to GOP VP candidate Sarah Palin's inflated claim about Alaska's contribution to the nation's oil and gas production (she stated "nearly 20 percent" when it's actually 7.4 percent, says the
Energy Information Administration.)

As Sullivan goes on to note:

"According to authoritative EIA data, Alaska accounted for 7.4 percent of total U.S. oil and gas production in 2005. It is not even correct for Palin to claim that her state is responsible for "nearly 20 percent" of U.S. oil production. Oil production has fallen sharply in Alaska during her governorship. The state's share of total U.S. oil production fell from 18 percent in 2005 to 13 percent this year, according to the EIA."


Sullivan spells out 11 other discrepancies between what Palin has said on other matters, and other, credible accounts.

Some are more substantive than others, but taken in total, it adds up to serious questions--and doubts--about Palin's qualification to lead with integrity.

And don't even get me started on how she has been "keeping an eye" on Russia from her bedroom window.

Obama's PR Problem: Endorsing A Hack

Here in Cook County, the second-largest county in the nation, there is a population of more than 5 million, which exceeds that of 30 states.

It's a hugely significant place, with Chicago at its epicenter and a County Board President by the name of Todd Stroger. In case you're not familiar with him, Stroger isn't equipped to lead a county of five people, let alone 5-plus million. To put it as clearly as I can, Stroger is a political hack.

Yet two years ago, Barack Obama, along with fellow Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, endorsed Stroger in his race against Republican Tony Peraica. Of course, it would be naive to suggest they should have endorsed Peraica. But they had the option of simply steering clear of making any endorsement.

Instead, they must have had to hold their noses as they read the glowing letter that some staffer undoubtedly penned. You can see the letter right here, as part of Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn's archives.

The endorsement letter, which may well have been instrumental in tipping the narrow race in Stroger's favor, concluded:

"On Tuesday Todd Stroger is the only choice. You can make the difference. You can raise your voice. You can choose Todd Stroger, and let him lead us into a new era of Cook County government."

It's a new era, all right. A new, increasingly tax-happy, incompetent era that has made the county--and Stroger, in particular--a laughingstock. Except, in my household, nobody's laughing at being squeezed out of even more of our hard-earned money. And that's just the tip of a bumbling, unprofessional iceberg.

Type "Todd Stroger patronage" into Google and feast your eyes on the ways in which he's confirmed our worst fears--and raised new ones.

In the person of Todd Stroger, Barack Obama has one serious PR problem on his hands.

I covered local government in Illinois for some 15 years, about half of that time for the Chicago Tribune. One 2 1/2-year beat was the town of Cicero, shortly after its president, Betty Loren-Maltese, and six others went to prison for stealing millions in taxpayer money. So I have seen plenty of good, bad and ugly elected officials.

Time will tell how much the Stroger debacle will cost Obama. He's part of the Chicago Democratic Machine that Tribune columnist John Kass writes about so persistently.

I have followed Obama's career closely the past five years, ever since I first encountered an uncommon zeal in the voices of those who supported his burgeoning U.S. Senate campaign in my town of Oak Park, Illinois.

I am reading his first book, Dreams From My Father, and last year I read an excellent, and balanced, book (Obama: From Promise to Power) that Chicago Tribune reporter David Mendell wrote--a book that moved me to write a feature story about Mendell's journey.

And lately, even with the Stroger support nagging at me, I have wanted to believe that Obama is sincere when he lays claim to the mantle of reformer and bringing "change" to the political process. He's bright, he's charming, he talks a very, very good game.

But in this one crucial moment two years ago--when he held significant sway over an election of such import--Obama's actions sharply contradicted his lofty words.

The PR Benefits of Kindergarten Curiosity

I just got off the phone with a new client, from an industry that is largely foreign to me. I'm getting up to speed on terminology and context. When it comes to understanding the field, frankly, I am like a kindergartner on his first day of school.

There are more than a few publicists out there who have much more insight into the history and nuance of this industry than I currently possess. So why in the world did I get hired?

It helps that they respect my track record, including my long time in journalism. And I had a terrific advocate, whom they respect, going to bat for me. But beyond those ingredients, another key stems from something I have in common with my twin children (whose first day of kindergarten was all of four weeks ago): they ask an awful lot of questions. And, of course, my answers lead to still more questions.

I've never counted, but I wouldn't be surprised if I answer a few hundred queries a day (I can only guess how many my wife, who spends more time with them, answers.)

Sometimes my children ask silly questions. Sometimes they ask the same question over and over again. And sometimes they ask absolutely amazing questions that make me pause, really reflect, and then venture the best answer I can muster at the moment.

My journalism career was filled with thousands of assignments in which I was literally learning a topic on deadline. So it doesn't faze me when a prospective client, far afield from my own background, comes along.

A look at the wide-ranging list of my current and past clients underscores that point. With each new client, I apply the same fundamentals of identifying, developing and then sharing compelling stories across a variety of communications channels.

And each time, as long as I continue to ask questions as relentlessly as my children, I bring that much more insight to the next client.

In Dogged Pursuit of Chicago Columnist

John Kass, the Chicago Tribune columnist and a diehard Chicago White Sox fan, is dogging Chicago Cubs loyalists by nominating his brother's pooch, Little Wrigley, to be the Cubbies' mascot as they near the playoffs.

Previously, I've tried to entice Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown to make his mutt a part of I Do, Doggone It!, a Guinness Word Record "mass dog wedding" attempt that the Downtown Oak Park organization is waging.

Brown hasn't said "no," but neither has he done backflips over the idea.

But now Kass has opened wide the doghouse door for me to approach him--or, at least, his brother. I Do, Doggone It! already has its "first couple" selected, but who knows, maybe we could designate Wrigley as one-half of the record-clinching 179th canine couple.

Stay tuned as I embark on a dogged doggie-recruitment campaign.

Faith & Finances: Recommended Reading

Most of the time, this blog is devoted to PR topics. But on occasion, I'll read something so on-target, so timely, that I feel compelled to pass it along.

A commentary in today's Chicago Tribune, by Sojourners Magazine founder and editor Jim Wallis, is the latest example, as Wallis holds up the elements that led to our nation's troubled financial state against the backdrop of faith-based morality.

An excerpt:

"The behavior of too many on Wall Street is a violation of biblical ethics; the teachings of Christianity, Judaism and other faiths condemn the greed, selfishness and cheating that have been revealed in corporate behavior over decades now and denounce their callous mistreatment of employees. Read your Bible."

Amen.

Don't Mess With Forgettable Web Names

About a month ago, I received my first offer to buy a website name that I secured. Somebody out there wants www.dogwedding.info.

They'll have to wait until at least Nov. 8, when one of my clients, the Downtown Oak Park organization, tries to break the Guinness World Record for a mass dog wedding. Even then, I suspect I'll hold onto it awhile for post-event publicity purposes.

The overture underscores the wisdom of grabbing a memorable website name (or URL, as techies call 'em). Being memorable, of course, is one of the basic functions of public relations.

You may not be shocked to learn that nobody was clamoring to buy the behind-the-cyber-scenes online home for DogWedding.info: http://idodoggoneit.blogspot.com/. It's simply too long and clunky to even consider depositing into your memory bank.

Some other messy-to-memorable moves I've made in recent months:

Messy: http://300nkenilworth.blogspot.com/
Memorable: www.filmshootlocation.info/

Messy: http://www.scheckandsiress.blogspot.com/
Memorable: www.scheckblog.com

Messy: http://insideedgepr.blogspot.com/
Memorable: www.ieblogger.com (Look familiar?)

What inspired this spate of activity was this Mother of All URL Forwarding Coups that my wife, Bridgett, pulled off over a year ago for one of her online shopping portals:

Messy: http://bbaron.ordermygift.com/default.aspx
Memorable: www.realsimplegifts.com/

By the way, in most instances, you are able to "mask" the messy website name, so that all any visitor sees is your memorable one.

The moral of this post: if you've got a blog or another spot on the web that could use some sprucing up, you ought to consider going to GoDaddy or some other service and investing $10 (or less) so that you can have an easier, more catchy name to share with the world.

Partnering With The Illinois Association of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine

One of my new clients this month is the Illinois Association of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine (ILaaom). Until a few days ago, I had met only a few of the board members of the thriving, 150-member group.

Then, on Sunday, ILaaom invited me to address members and their guests (see photo on right) at their Asian Moon Festival celebration at Furama restaurant in Chicago.

With a national conference coming to Chicago in mid-October, board members (some of whom are pictured below) figured the time was right to bring me onboard and see what I could do to help promote awareness of the association, as well as their members.

As I told the roughly 75 who gathered for the Asian Moon Festival dinner, I look forward to helping the group as a whole, and members individually, because I know they have numerous stories of how they are improving patients' quality of life. And by spreading the word about those stories, I am confident that more people will seek treatment and be glad that they did.

I've written features on acupuncturists' good work in the past, have been treated with great results by one, and my mother and sister both have extensive, positive experiences with acupuncture--my mom so much so that she worked for an acupuncturist in Massachusetts for nearly a decade.
It's always a bonus when you have such a positive first-hand experience with a client, and in the weeks and months to come, stay tuned for more good news about the Illinois Association of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine.

Blog A Vital Cog in Paralympian Coverage

How important are blogs?

Sometimes, they can provide essential information and help spur on media coverage. A recent case in point was Chicago Sun-Times reporter Andrew Herrmann's story on U.S. Paralympian Melissa Stockwell, the first female U.S. amputee in the Iraq War.

Over the past nine months, Herrmann wrote two fine stories about Stockwell.

The first time, last December, he interviewed her in person at the Oak Park location for Scheck & Siress, the region's top private prosthetic and orthotic provider and where Stockwell is interning. The second time, Herrmann caught up with her by phone while she was the Olympic Training facility in Colorado--no easy feat, given her jammed schedule after she qualified for the Paralympics.

But this time around, she was half a world away, in China, and essentially unreachable by traditional means. On Friday, keeping the media posted on Stockwell's efforts, I passed along her most recent blog update.

Three days later, Herrmann resourcefully tapped into the blog in filing this piece. And I believe the blog will continue to serve as a valuable resource for other media outlets that will consider profiling her journey upon her return to the Chicago area.

On a related note, to see a moving tribute about her amazing qualification for the Paralympic Games--she was a longshot to make the team--check out this 4 1/2-minute New York Times video.

Respect: It's About (Valuing Others') Time

It's been a while since I referred to something written by author-entrepreneur-marketing guru Seth Godin.

Well, today it's about time.

Specifically, about respecting others' time. With all of the communication tools at our disposal, there is little excuse for failing to alert someone when you are running late, or when you need to re-schedule, or otherwise convey that plans have changed.

A relevant excerpt from the Principles & Procedures manual that I provide to subcontractors before they begin working for Inside Edge PR:

“Over-Communicate”

Between two emails that are redundant and none at all, I’ll take the two redundant ones any day. Err on the side of over-communication. That means: keep in close touch with me, especially because we are typically working in our separate silos somewhere in the universe.

If you are going to be out of touch for a half-hour because something just came up, shoot me an email. If you think I may have overlooked an email you sent, call me.

The Missing LinkedIn: Personalization

I've written about LinkedIn a time or two.

Here's another ditty, which dates back to two weeks ago, when a woman asked me to connect via LinkedIn. Problem is, I had no idea who she was. Then I did some cursory searching online and discovered that she and I share an alma mater.

One would think that would have been a relevant shred of information for her to mention when she tendered the invitation. Wait a second--scratch that. She didn't do anything that resembles a legitimate invitation. Instead, she clicked on a few buttons and triggered an automated message.

She's yet to follow up with me, and I've yet to respond to her.

So, here's a tip for anyone looking to add value to your LinkedIn experience: take a few moments and actually personalize the greeting. Maybe you can indicate why you think the linkage would be mutually beneficial. Or perhaps you can simply refer to some common ground. Or the weather.

Or anything, so long as it shows you are investing some thought into the process.

It's a nice start to the LinkedIn liaison, and it shows professionalism and personability.

I do it every time I make a LinkedIn invitation--even with people I know very well and interact with daily. Heck, I did it when I invited my own brother into my LinkedIn network. (Of course, he's not yet approved the invitation. "Yo, Andy, it's me, your brother!")

One final note: A recent LinkedIn partner of mine has some other worthwhile remarks you may want to check out.

Seven Years Later: "Type Headline Here"

Unlike most Americans, I didn't have a television on Sept. 11, 2001. So, unlike most Americans, I learned about the 9/11 attacks via another medium: e-mail alerts from the New York Times.

When I checked my e-mail that morning, this missive from the newspaper was my first inkling of the terrible events that had begun to unfold on that day:

Tuesday, September 11, 2001 -- 8:50 AM EST
------------------------------------------------------------
Plane Crashes Into World Trade Center

A plane crashed into Manhattan's World Trade Center this
morning, causing heavy damage and fire to several floors.

I envisioned a single-engine plane and a tragedy that was nowhere near the scope of what had occurred.

Then this e-mail arrived:

Tuesday, September 11, 2001 -- 9:04 AM EST
------------------------------------------------------------
Type headline here

A second plane has crashed into the World Trade Center
towers, according to the Associated Press.

It may seem peculiar to some, but to me, the biggest tip-off of the horrible magnitude of events wasn't that a second plane had crashed--after all, there's still no detail about the size of either plane.

Instead, I couldn't help but note that a Times editor had been so frantic that he or she failed to insert a headline before clicking "send."

I have many memories from that traumatic day: breaking the news to my wife through a prayer at breakfast, visiting her grandparents, reporting for Time magazine (the collective story was called "Day of Bombing") and talking to a college friend who was 100 yards away when the plane crashed into the Pentagon.

But my first memory from Sept. 11, 2001 is perhaps the eeriest:

When my eyes opened that morning, the digital alarm clock-radio read 7:47. "Like a 747 plane," I thought, then drifted back to sleep for a few minutes longer.

As I later learned, Flight 11 had crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center about a minute earlier.

Show Your Value, Don't Just Talk About It

In story-telling, a key principle is showing, not telling.

In other words, rather than say someone was nervous, you would want to convey, via telling details, behaviors that illustrated the nervousness.

When it comes to offering a glimpse at my business value, I like to take the same approach: show it, don't just talk about it. That's why, typically, I prepare at least 10 tailored questions before meeting with a prospective client--and supply it to him/her/them before we meet.

By doing this advance work, I heighten the likelihood of a mutually beneficial initial meeting. This proactive bent has also given me an edge over competitors, many of whom, I am sure, focus on telling their own wonderful story rather than drawing out the prospective client.

On a related note, yesterday I invested about a half-hour to take it upon myself to edit a top business consultant's biography.

We know each other, and are LinkedIn with one another. But we're not especially close and he is not very familiar with my work. So I figured the best way to bring him up to speed was by simply doing something constructive, rather than merely talking about it.

Who knows where it will lead, but at least one thing is certain: his new bio, should he implement even only a few of my suggestions, will be markedly more compelling than the one that's been online for more than a year now.

What about you? What kind of service can you provide to someone else today--without asking, or even expecting, anything in return? What can you show someone?

A Burgeoning Blog: Scheck It Out!

In this blog-eat-blog world, increasingly I am guiding various clients as they develop an ongoing web presence. Among them is Scheck & Siress, a highly respected orthotic and prosthetic company for which I'm working as a senior associate of Plunkett & Associates, a leading Chicago strategic communications company.

To see some recent work I've helped facilitate, prosthetist David Rotter's trip to the Paralympic Games in Beijing, China, you can Scheck It Out.

PR Update: Five Seasons/Athletes For Life

This afternoon, as was my hope yesterday, I finished the news release on the Five Seasons Sports Club in Burr Ridge hosting the Athletes For Life mobile Cardiac Screening Facility, starting Sept. 16-17, taking a day off, and wrapping up on Sept. 19-20.

In all, I contacted about 15 media outlets, encompassing newspapers, regional magazines, television and radio, and offered slight modifications depending on whether the outlet was closer to Burr Ridge or Northbrook. Especially with weekly newspapers, it's vital to provide at least 10 days' advance notice. Depending on the timing of an event, even 10 days' notice sometimes provides only one pre-event placement opportunity.

As I often do, I also placed the release on the user-generated websites for the Chicago Tribune (Triblocal) and the Sun-Times News Group (Neighborhood Circle).

Marlene Karman, a part-time employee at Five Seasons, has been tremendous in providing me with information and photographs, including the one posted in this missive as well as the post from yesterday.

The one above shows the 48-foot trailer, aka the mobile Cardiac Screening Facility, and the other, on yesterday's blog post, is of Marlene with retired NFL player Willie Gault, co-founder of the AFL Foundation, from an event held at the Karman residence a month ago.

PR That Goes To The Heart of the Matter

The past few days I have been working on a news release about Athletes For Life, and that organization's efforts, among other initiatives, to provide, at no charge, early detection of heart problems.

There are some major names associated with the group, starting with co-founder and former pro football star Willie Gault (pictured, with Marlene Karman--more on her in a moment). I sense that they just need a little PR support to reap exponential results, at least in terms of awareness.

I'm tying in the group's upcoming stops with one of my clients, the Five Seasons Sports Clubs in Burr Ridge and Northbrook. It's always fun when a win-win scenario emerges--by promoting Athletes For Life, in this instance, I am simultaneously promoting Five Seasons.

As so often happens with Five Seasons, it was the initiative of employees that tipped me off to the story. In fact, one of them is Marlene (pictured, with Willie Gault). She is a key volunteer for Athletes For Life. I've identified her as a focal point of the story, and some media may be interested in profiling her as much, and maybe even more so, than any of the more prominent names affiliated with the AFL.

First, though, I've got to finalize the release and gather photos from Marlene, who has been a joy to work with because she is so passionate about the cause. I'm hoping to wrap up the release by Friday, which would give 11 days' lead time before the first stop, Sept. 16-17, in Burr Ridge.

Stay tuned!

Video Persuades, Supports Media

Today there is a nice human-interest profile on Keeli Mickus (pictured with son, Hank) in the Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest.

In addition to reporter Terry Dean's story, on its web site the Wednesday Journal prominently displayed three videos that I shot during an appointment that Keeli, a patient of Scheck & Siress, had about a month ago.
Posting those videos complements the writing, and not enough media take advantage of the opportunity. Fortunately, the WJ has some progressive, 21st-century minds at the helm.

Passing along links to supporting videos, as I did in this instance, carries a two-fold purpose: to persuade and to support.

First, videos more fully explain whatever story suggestion I'm making. The initial audience is the media member I'm trying to persuade to pursue the story.

Second, if a news outlet decides to pursue the story, the videos provide a relevant, supportive resource that it can share with its audience.

There's still another advantage to shooting, and uploading, videos: in doing so, you are not putting all of your eggs in the traditional media basket. Instead, you create a direct communication link to your audience--in this case, prospective patients of Scheck & Siress. If and when media coverage occurs, that's a welcome development but hardly the only barometer of success.

For example, before the story on Keeli appeared today, one of the videos now linked from the WJ website had attracted more than 220 views. And other videos I've shot for Scheck & Siress and other clients, dating back to May, have drawn thousands upon thousands of views.

The Importance Of Being Like Ernest

William Faulkner, overly fond of overly long sentences, or Ernest Hemingway: which novelist would thrive in today’s Twitter-y 140-character-or-less, attention-span-challenged world?

Hemingway. No doubt. Mr. Brevity himself.

Besides having a realistic view of how much time your audience will devote to any given subject-word-predicate combination, “writing tight” helps aid comprehension. (At 23 words, that last sentence was pushing the limit, for example.)

If someone knows what the heck you are actually saying, then there’s an exponentially greater chance they will take the action that you are, directly or indirectly, recommending they take. A pretty notable trait, that, for marketers and publicists, among others.

These ruminations flow after I just read a Los Angeles publicist’s bio. His 43-word opening sentence spans so much tundra that by the time I reached the period, I had forgotten the stuff that came before the first of his seven (no kidding!) commas.

And it’s hardly an aberration. Two sentences later, he lays a 42-word whopper on readers.

Now, that's how he crafts his bio, which (you would think) would prompt some painstaking attention on his part. How clearly and cogently do you suspect he is conveying his clients’ stories?

(Of course, I checked out my website to see if I’m practicing what I’m preaching. On a per-sentence basis, the greeting page checks in at 19 words, my company profile at 20 words, and my bio at a relatively long-winded 28 words. Hmm, the prose behind that last stat is something to examine for my next site update. )

Make no mistake: effective storytelling is not about merely hewing to an oppressive word-count limit. Bathroom-wall scribblings tend to be brief, but that doesn’t mean they are worthy of anything other than a good scrubbing.

Next time you come across a powerfully told story, though, pay heed to the rhythm and flow. Amid the longer sentences, I would predict, are a liberal sprinkling of quick bursts of thought that pack a hefty punch.

Media Free-For-All Presents Opportunity

Some thoughts spring to mind on the heels of the Democratic National Convention, where bloggers played an increasingly influential role.

In 2000, when I began working a four-year stretch as a freelance reporter for Time magazine's Chicago bureau, I was amused by the speed with which sources returned my calls.

If I had called those same people less than a year earlier, toward the end of my eight-year stint at a relatively small daily newspaper (see my newspaper photo, circa 1998), the response rate would not have been nearly the same.


Back then, sources could pretty well gauge the reach and clout of a given media outlet and respond--or not--accordingly. Nowadays, as communication channels have expanded exponentially, the landscape has changed. Today's media titan may well be on the outs tomorrow, and vice versa.

This presents a major opportunity for any professional communicator, whether they wear the hat of blogger, journalist, publicist or beyond, to jump into the fray and distinguish themselves as a first-class story-teller.

That is something that will never go out of vogue--the ability to tell stories in a clear, engaging way that informs and/or entertains your audience.

She Ought To Be In (More) Pictures...

One of my favorite people, Gloria Onischuk, was featured in today's Oak Leaves.

With a story bearing the headline, "Local B & B's doors open to filmmakers," reporter Patrick Butler did a solid piece on Gloria's work over the years with Chicago-area film crews, commercial crews and other visual arts projects.

I'm so happy for Gloria. She's a certifiable hoot who is as generous and kind as she is funny. In April, I began creating an online presence for her at http://www.filmshootlocation.info/. The site has eight videos that are akin to an audition for Gloria, and her beautiful Oak Park home, for anyone seeking a production location.

In addition to developing material for the media, I've done direct outreach to location managers and other decision-makers. It's meant getting back in touch with folks I've been acquainted with over the years: my wife worked for more than 15 years on Chicago-based TV shows and movies, and her sister was a location manager, among other positions, for nearly 20 years locally.

Having Gloria as a client is a family affair in another way: I have done extensive PR for her daughter, Pamela Polvere. She's a top kitchen and bath designer who resides in Oak Park, has a studio in Elmwood Park and serves clients throughout the region.

Pam's online at http://www.pamelapolveredesigns.com/ and you can see a case study of my work with her on the Inside Edge PR website.

XS Gold Product Launch: Art of the Tease

On the look-out for an insightful overview of XS Gold: Energy Plus?

Then go here.

How do you announce a new product launch?

A. Through a fun--and maybe even funky--video.
B. Through a thoughtfully written news release.
C. What's this either/or business? Create both a video and a written news release.

The answer, of course, is plain to C.

XS Energy Drinks has begun handling the visual part of that equation to tease the debut of its latest drink variety, XS Gold.

So check out this video clip, which, like any self-respecting world-class miler, checks in with a sub-four-minute time:

Anatomy of A LinkedIn Recommendation

In a recent Inside Edge PR post, I outlined my philosophy of why I write recommendations for as many of my LinkedIn contacts as possible.

In this post, I share some of the how.

My approach to writing recommendations:

1. I do it whenever I feel I have enough knowledge and interaction with someone to write an endorsement with conviction and authenticity.

2. Periodically, I review the list to see if there is anyone whom I've not yet recommended but whose horn I could toot without thinking twice.

3. I try to do it in batches, getting myself in a recommendation-writing mode.

4. I try to provide enough detail that will be useful to both the person I'm writing about as well as those who are seeking to learn more about them.

5. I try, sometimes less successfully than others, to avoid cliches, fawning praise, and long-winded opuses.

6. Where and when appropriate, I like to interject some humor.

7. Here's a new step: I just began to offer to put my words in writing, on my company letterhead, if someone wants it. I also ask if there's anything they'd like me to revise, or add, that may be of particular help (as long as I believe in the change).

8. I do it without asking for a recommendation in return. If someone decides to reciprocate, I appreciate it. But this isn't about obligating others to gush about how wonderful I am.

For a look at the recommendations I've made on LinkedIn, go here.

Barack Blunders By Biden His Time

What was Barack Obama doing on Friday night? Was he simply Biden his time before pressing "send" on the Text Message Heard 'Round the World?

Sorry, couldn't resist the wordplay with Sen. Joe Biden's presumptive vice-presidential nomination.

Cyber-memo to Barack's handlers: next time you pull a text-stunt, have the common sense to actually pull it off! Millions of non-text subscribers already had the news before you bothered to alert the non-press.

Besides, providing a 3 p.m. alert on Friday would have been so much better, in so many ways, than the 3 a.m. Saturday wake-up call. It would have created a buzz that lasted from the end of the workweek all the way into everyone's early-weekend activities.

While I noted in a recent post that Mary Schmich of the Chicago Tribune said she was "using" Obama, that wee-hour notification was nothing short of abuse!

My Recommended LinkedIn Route

At this writing, I have 94 connections on LinkedIn, the professional online networking site.

But the figure that I'm more focused on is 35.

That's the number of my connections for whom I've written recommendations. In my observation, most folks have a recommendation rate of less than 10 percent, some recommend maybe 1 out of 100 contacts, and still others have monumental lists of people, into the hundreds, with nary a recommendation in sight.

What makes those lists any better than a glorified address book?

Over the past two years, I've decided to take a markedly different approach and emphasize quality over quantity in my LinkedIn world. My reasoning is simple: I want to share honest praise about people whom I respect and value. After all, that's often why I want to Link-In with them in the first place.

There are some potential benefits in the process.

First, because recommendations are relatively scarce, they stand out and visitors are more apt to read them and click on the recommender's name to learn more about his or her background.

Second, as a writer, recommendations are an opportunity to showcase my ability to communicate. And, it shouldn't be overlooked, you need not be a writer for that skill to be deemed a relevant professional asset.

By the way, here's the door to my LinkedIn profile.

Trib's Text-ellent Obama VP Column

Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich today shares an on-target, tongue-in-cheek perspective of Barack Obama's VP-announcement-by-texting maneuver.

Her hilarious, and honest, headline: "Barack's using me, but I'm in it for the text"

Unlike Mary, as I noted in a post last week, I've opted to get that news flash at some point shortly after the Text Read 'Round The World.

We live in a different era than, say, the one in which Jimmy Carter selected Walter Mondale as his vice president. That pick certainly came with about 1/1,000,000th the anticipation of Obama's running-mate.

In related non-news, John McCain has not yet picked his VP, either.

$100K Mistake Gets Wallet-Popped!

The Udelsons' garage saga in Riverside, Illinois made it onto WalletPop today, with a piece by Geoff Williams.

Bearing the headline "You CAN Fight City Hall...with the right blog," the post offers praise to the online advocacy approach.

Williams begins the post with these words:

"It's always interesting to see how people use the internet in creative ways for their own benefit. The latest in the hey, why didn't I think of that category may be a web site in which a married couple calls out their government officials on the carpet and lets everyone know how they've been doing, or not doing, their jobs."

Barack Obama's PR Machine At It Again

Breathlessly, Barack Obama's PR machine is offering to let Joe and Josephine Lunchbucket be the first to know of Obama's VP choice. In a recent e-mail to supporters, David Plouffe, his campaign manager, wrote:

"You are the ones who built this campaign, and Barack wants you to be the first to know who will join him in leading our movement for change.

So, if you haven't signed up to receive an email or a text message, sign up now. Or you can text VP to 62262 from your mobile phone.

Make sure to forward this message to your friends and let them know about this special opportunity."

It's yet another sign that Obama's campaign is seeking to break new ground this political season by leveraging all the media options at their disposal. Call me jaded, but I think I'll just wait those extra 52 seconds to get word from a 'second-hand source,' such as the Associated Press.

Peter Shankman, One HARO-ic PR Force

A quick public service/public relations service message today:

If you are in the PR business--or even if you're not--you should know about Peter Shankman.

You may recall a previous post in which I credited Shankman with inspiring my idea for the U.S. Department of XS Energy.

This year, in particular, Shankman has shown why he is a creative force to be reckoned with. Perhaps his biggest endeavor has been extending his reach with Help A Reporter Out, or HARO, a service that matches journalists with sources and has ProfNet quaking in its stale boots.

I recently wrote a review of Shankman's book, Can We Do That?! Outrageous PR Stunts That Work--And Why Your Company Needs Them.

Go here to check it out.

Paris Hilton: Late To the XS Energy Party

Less than a month after the Chicago Sun-Times featured XS Energy Drink's proposal to create the U.S. Department of XS Energy, the Chicago Tribune is getting in on the tongue-in-cheek act.
In an editorial headlined "A Cabinet job for Paris?" in today's edition, the Trib discusses Paris Hilton's mocking video response to John McCain's ad lumping Barack Obama into the Paris-Britney Spears celeb column.

The editorial concludes, "So, how about Paris Hilton for U.S. secretary of energy? She's tanned, she's rested, she's totally ready. And for the first time, we'd have an energy secretary every American could name."



With all due respect to Ms. Hilton, and the Trib's editorial board, I feel obliged to issue this reminder: David Vanderveen, the proposed secretary of the U.S. Department of XS Energy was tanned, rested and totally ready a full month ago.

Compare the competing videos here:

XS Energy

Paris Hilton

Hangin' Out With Helen

Yesterday, during a lull in Helen Karakoudas' deadline-packed day as managing editor of Wednesday Journal, Inc., I spent a few hours interviewing her for a story in Medill magazine.

Hers is a remarkable journalism journey. A highly coveted editor coming out of college 25 years ago, Helen worked for two years at the Charlotte Observer.

With a marriage in the offing, she left there in July 1985 and moved to Massachusetts, where she figured she'd find another editing job and continue along her career path. It wasn't until 18 years later, however, that re-entered the field when The Dallas Morning News had the wisdom to hire her.

To learn more, you'll have to read my profile, still in draft mode and coming out in the fall.

I first met Helen in March 2003, when she attended the American Copy Editors Society (ACES) conference in Chicago. She sat in on my session on numeracy (Go Figure: Making Numbers Count), introduced herself and, one way or another--I forget if she offered or if I asked--began voluntarily editing my Go Figure column to whip it into markedly better shape before I sent it to state press associatons across the country.

Helen, by far, is the most skillful, insightful and inspired editor I've ever had in my career. No word, punctuaction mark, sentence structure, transitional phrase--or any other element--is too trivial for her to cross-examine, re-work, or otherwise upgrade. Of this I am certain: Helen would have a field day with that last sentence. And this one.

It was no surprise to me, then, that the Morning News brought her aboard shortly after we met. In February, to my delight, she came to my neck of the woods by becoming m.e. of the Wednesday Journal, Inc., which produces nine weekly papers. She now oversees a staff of 15 full-timers and about 20 freelancers.

The one drawback to my writing about Helen for the alumni magazine: journalistic ethics prevent her from editing the piece!

Jilted By a Journalist? Get Over It!

Three weeks ago, I tipped off The Daily Chronicle in DeKalb, Ill. to what I feel is a compelling story: a 55-year-old woman named Joanne Schutt is enjoying greater mobility, thanks to a technological advance known as the WalkAide.

As an associate of Plunkett & Associates, I made the pitch on behalf of Scheck & Siress, an orthotic and prosthetic company that has been instrumental in helping Joanne (pictured here on this post) by fitting her with the WalkAide and providing follow-up care, largely through the efforts of prosthetist Dan Hasso.

I contacted The Daily Chronicle because Joanne resides in Sycamore, on the edge of their circulation area. An editor agreed that the story had merit, assigned a reporter to the story, and I connected her with Joanne. The result: this piece on Sunday, Aug. 3.

If you check it out, you'll see that there's nary a mention of Scheck & Siress, or Dan Hasso, in the story.

At this point, I can make one of two choices:

1. Get upset with the newspaper (aka The Short-Term, It's All Personal Entitlement Attitude).

After all, I'm the one that passed along the idea in the first place, set up the interview with Joanne, and made my client's connection to her progress abundantly clear. Where's mine?

2. Get over it--and get another story suggestion to the paper, whether for the same client, another one or no client at all. In short, I can strive to be a helpful resource once again. (aka The Long-Term, It's All Professional Attitude).

After all, the newspaper has 364 other editions annually, numerous other sections, with endless opportunities to pursue stories that I pitch.

My next move is simple: #2.

Besides, through its website and other communications, Scheck & Siress can still communicate its role in helping Joanne as it refers to The Daily Chronicle story.

And I suppose that's partly what this blog post is about. Same with this video of Dan Hasso talking about the impact that WalkAide has had on Joanne:

August: The Dog Days of Publicity

Quick note today: one of my clients, Downtown Oak Park, received nice coverage of the mass dog wedding slated for Oct. 4, in Neighbors magazine. The monthly publication gave the event front-page treatment, with a full-page story inside derived from the news release I developed in June.

For more detail, go here.

Repeat After Me: Less. Is. More.

More and more lately, I've found myself saying a simple phrase, over and over again.

"Less is more. Less is more. Less is more."

That's why I try--all too often in vain--to keep my blog posts brief. To edit text, in whatever context, so that it gets closer to its absolute essence. And why, recently, I asked my web designer, Sherri Lasko to take a gander at a colleague's website and offer feedback on what I perceived to be an all-too-cluttery design.

Her remarks were too insightful for me to relegate them solely to my e-mail "in" box. So, with Sherri's permission, I share some relevant excerpts here:

"...if the design doesn’t make sense with the flow of copy, neither will the reader’s eye. White space & organizational rules exist to prioritize & thus help the reader visually sort and quickly find what they need. This page is kind of the equivalent of a restaurant menu that isn’t separated into categories.

One should always think of their marketing (video and print) with the underlying rule:
You have 3 seconds to visually convey your message – what’s the most important thing someone should remember?

As I see it, there are 3 headlines (or headline areas) – NONE of which have the person’s name or business. THAT is the first thing you want people to see when they land on your page.

If you really MUST have that much copy at the head of your web page, the menu needs to be pulled to the side --- otherwise it’s lost.

Bottom line: one needs to respect the reader’s time and make it as clear, easy & quick as possible to find the info they are interested in. Readers are much more likely to click once or twice in a clear menu, than to scroll through lines of copy & elements that aren’t relevant to what they’re looking for..."

More or less, what Sherri is sharing so eloquently: less is more.