January 9, 2013 · 11:09 am

Ghost Writers In The Sky

OK, first off, I know that the title of the screed today is NOT the name of the song – as you’ll see it’s an attempt at humor.  Second, it really isn’t “in the sky” – more like “in the cloud” given the subject today, which is content creation.

Words have a power all their own

(Photo credit: Lynne Hand)

When you spend a minute or two here on the screed, you’re getting something produced by me.  I write every word (OK, other than those I grab from press releases but I usually let you know when I’m doing that).  That hands-on approach isn’t necessarily the norm, and as the strategy of content marketing has become a bigger deal, ghost writing – specifically ghost blogging – has grown with it.

You might think that as someone who spends some time each work day trying to produce content that I might have an issue with those folks who hire ghost bloggers.  You’d be wrong if you thought that – I believe it’s an excellent thing for many companies to do.  I can spend a few hundred words here writing about content marketing but if you really want an explanation contact me and I’m happy to spend a few minutes explaining it.  Better yet –  hire me to do it for you! In any event, not everyone can write well and very few can create content on a regular basis (try to blog 300-500 words every day for a few weeks and let me know if you can).  Along with it being great content the piece needs to be written in a way that’s SEO-friendly so it’s discoverable by the audience you’re trying to reach.

Here is the caveat – you can’t lose authenticity   When I do content for someone, I have  a conversation with them about the topic we’re trying to cover.  That topic can be generated by something going on at the company – a new product, for example – or it can be based on a discovery in the web analytics – the brand is getting a lot of traffic from people searching for “X” so let’s write about that.  It’s their thinking and their ideas – I’m just putting their words down on paper.  That’s why I don’t really have an issue with ghost writers – the good ones are doing transcription more than they’re putting words into people’s (or brands’) mouths.  Besides, how many books written by CEOs, sports figures, or politicians are ghost written?  Nearly all.

What do you think?  Let me know – or hire someone to write the comment for you!

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January 7, 2013 · 11:15 am

Take My Money…PLEASE!

Another week, another horror tale from the world of stupid online corporate tricks.

att-003

(Photo credit: wuji9981)

Today we bring you the sad and somewhat horrifying story of the phone company that won’t take your money.  Trust me – I wish I could report that it was out of some philanthropic urge it had to give us all a break.  Not so.  Instead, it’s (yet another) example of how letting programmers, lawyers, and designers do things without input from the real world can spell disaster.

Here at Ritter Media World Headquarters we have a land line as our primary business phone.  It’s from AT&T (yep, them again) and on the bill is also my internet service.  Generally I send them an electronic check once a month but that takes a couple of days to get to them from the bank (a great topic for another post – why the hell should they hold the money for two business days?).  As sometimes happens, the bill got buried in a pile of paper and rather than be late I thought I’d go right to the ATT website and pay the bill directly via credit card.

That was what I thought I’d do.  Unfortunately, after spending 20 minutes on the website, I still couldn’t figure out how to link primary account (it’s the only landline account) to my email and I couldn’t pay the bill.  I tried linking it my ATT Wireless accounts – neither of those worked.  I tried the ATT email they assigned me (but never use) – that didn’t work.  I finally gave up and called them – no time on hold, one layer of menus, type in the credit card, done.

Obviously ATT is a lot more experienced with phones than they are with websites.  Paying via the telephone was a snap.  If someone like me – who is on the web almost 12 hours a day and breathes digital – can’t figure out how to use the web service portal, imagine how someone who can barely send a text will feel.  There are a couple of points here.  First, I wonder how many “civilians” ATT put on the site to test navigation and usability?  Did they give them 3 or 4 tasks – like pay your bill! – and observe them?  Second, stories such as this are why there is still a long way to go with a large segment of the population with respect to making them accept technology into their lives.

Have a horror story to share?  We’re listening!

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January 4, 2013 · 10:55 am

The Equipment

For our first Foodie Friday post of the year let’s talk about kitchen equipment.

VIKING STOVE

(Photo credit: CRYROLFE)

I’m very fortunate to cook in a kitchen that’s equipped with just about every tool for which a cook can ask. Some of these things are designed for a specific purpose (boning knife), some are improvements over an existing tool (a Microplane vs. a box grater) and some are just silly (cherry pitter).  The appliances are the highest grade of equipment available to a home cook.  When friends or family come over I can usually serve them something which they enjoy and of which I’m proud.

Sometimes, however, I cook elsewhere.  The stove is usually electric, the oven temp is often off, the knives may be dull or only serrated and small, the pans might be flimsy.  The expectation from those folks whom I’ve served before and for whom I’m cooking now is that they’ll get the same sort of meal they received from my own kitchen.  Frankly, that’s the expectation I have too.  Which is the business point.

We can’t blame the equipment.  How many writers don’t write because they lack screenplay software?  How many times have you heard a budding director say they’ll make their movie when they get better equipment?  Can’t exercise because there’s no gym?  What about in business – would you accept a subordinate’s excuse that they couldn’t complete an assignment because their computer failed?  As a consumer, are you mollified when a restaurant fails to honor your reservation because “the system is down?”

Part of being good at what we do in business is accepting responsibility and not allowing impediments to become excuses.  I’m embarrassed when I serve what I deem to be less than my best meal even if I’m cooking in a strange kitchen with rudimentary tools.  I’m sure most of you feel the same way.  Yet we often don’t translate that into our business lives nor enforce it as a standard on our teams.  We can’t blame the equipment – we play the hand we’re dealt.  The test is to see who can produce consistently great work in any environment.  Even if it lacks a cherry pitter!

You with me on this?

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