The totem of chat: The lowest, that would be Facebook, followed by Gchat, then texting, then email, then phone. Face to face would be ideal, but it’s not of this time. -- Lena Dunham of HBO's "Girls" … [Read more...] about The Totem of Chat
Email for Power Users
A wise project manager once gave me a short course on using email that I've been passing along to my teams ever since. The central idea is that the recipient should instantly be able to determine the following three things at a glance: Is this email time-sensitive? Does this email require a … [Read more...] about Email for Power Users
Listening to Users: “Go Away Pig, What Do You Know About Bacon?”
In an essay entitled "The Age of Criticism," Randall Jarrell said that most critics' attitudes toward living poets was, "Go away, pig! What do you know about bacon?" When you plan new projects, launch new products or market your site, how much do you listen to your users? … [Read more...] about Listening to Users: “Go Away Pig, What Do You Know About Bacon?”
Google Launches Content Experiments Tools for Publishers
Constant experimentation and improvement is the heart of any digital strategy -- especially for media properties. As part of their world-domination plan, Google has integrated A/B and multi-variate testing tools in the Analytics suite. With Content Experiments, you can develop several versions of a … [Read more...] about Google Launches Content Experiments Tools for Publishers
Audience Development, Weight-Loss, and ‘The Power of Habit’
According to New York Times reporter Charles Duhigg, almost 40 percent of our daily behavior isn't intentional. We don't think about it. We get up, have breakfast, go to work, attend meetings, write email, surf the web, make plans, all without being particularly aware of we are doing. It's just … [Read more...] about Audience Development, Weight-Loss, and ‘The Power of Habit’
The Atlantic’s One Sentence Traffic Growth Secret
With one sentence, The Atlantic Wire changed their editorial direction and, in the last six months, their traffic has exploded. According to digital director, Bob Cohn, this is the secret: "No More Stories That No One Will Read." Simple. Bob Cohn via MediaBistro … [Read more...] about The Atlantic’s One Sentence Traffic Growth Secret
Scary Great Ideas
A few months ago, Paul Graham, founder of the startup incubator YCombinator, wrote that most really big ideas are frightening. He believes that you can tell if you are on the scent of something really ground-breaking by how much anxiety it produces personally and institutionally. This phenomenon is … [Read more...] about Scary Great Ideas
Guidelines for Content Aggregation and Curation
In this week's New York Times, David Carr reports on a new committee to formulate standards for content aggregation. The committee, created by Ad Age columnist Simon Dumenco, has the support of some of the major media websites, but few prominent bloggers. Dumenco decided to form the committee after … [Read more...] about Guidelines for Content Aggregation and Curation