Meet Brooke: Popular, powerful and hating every minute of it, she’s the “It” girl at Douglas High in Lake Champion, Minnesota. Her real ambition? Using her operatic mezzo as a ticket back to NYC, where her family lived before her dad ran off with an up and coming male movie star.
Now meet Kathryn: An overachieving soprano with an underachieving savings account, she’s been a leper ever since Brooke punched her at a party junior year. For Kath, music is the key to a much-needed college scholarship.
The stage is set for a high-stakes duet between the two seniors as they prepare for the prestigious Blackmore competition. Brooke and Kathryn work toward the Blackmore with eyes not just on first prize but on one another, each still stinging from a past that started with friendship and ended in betrayal. With competition day nearing, Brooke dreams of escaping the in-crowd for life as a professional singer, but her scheming BFF Chloe has other plans. And when Kathryn gets an unlikely invitation to Homecoming, she suspects Brooke of trying to sabotage her with one last public humiliation.
As pressures mount, Brooke starts to sense that the person she hates most might just be the best friend she ever had. But Kathryn has a decision to make. Can she forgive? Or are some rivalries for life?
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According to Campus Technology, Buena Vista University conducted a pilot program with the iPad and liked it enough so that every one of the 1,100 students at the university will receive an iPad 2 along with a laptop.
The institution said that the pilot, begun this spring, has affirmed the iPad’s usefulness in the students’ academic experience and that they found the devices simple to use and versatile. They also registered higher levels of engagement and found the iPad interface well suited for digital textbooks.
According to David Evans, vice president for academic affairs, “if [the iPad] develops over the next several years on the trajectory that appears most likely, it may eventually replace laptops for most applications on campus.” …
Along with device deployment, students will be given the option to use either printed or digital textbooks with their coursework.
Thanks to Michael von Glahn for the heads up.
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Five words from the blurb: Messiah, New York, healing, enraged, controversial
James Frey is clearly courting controversy with this book. The title and Bible-like lay-out of the text will cause offense to some people before they’ve read a single word. Frey ensures that this outrage is continued by filling the first chapter with an unusually high density swear words - the concentration of which isn’t repeated anywhere else in the book.
I had no plans to read this book, but a copy popped through my letter box from the publishers and once I started reading it I couldn’t put it down. The basic premise is that the Messiah is alive and living in New York. I found the concept interesting as anyone in our society who claims that they can perform miracles or speak to God is generally not taken very seriously.
Each chapter is written from the perspective of a person who comes into contact with Ben Zion (the supposed son of God). Initially the narrators know little about the man, but as the book progresses we hear from those who are closer to him and so more information is revealed.
I loved the first half of this book – it was fast paced and entertaining. In many ways it reminded me of a Dan Brown book, but with better structure and less historical research.
The text was initially a lot less controversial than I had expected from the cover. Whenever a potentially controversial statement was made it was balanced by another character expressing the opposing view, or by one so charming that few could disagree with it:
Biblical stories were written decades, and sometimes centuries, after the events they supposedly depict, events for which there is absolutely no historical evidence. There is no such thing as God’s word on earth. Or if there is, it is not to be found in books.
Then where is it to be found?
In love. In the laughter of children. In a gift given. In a life saved. In the quiet of morning. In the dead of night. In the sound of the ocean, or the sound of a car. It can be found in anything, anywhere. It is the fabric of our lives, our feelings, the people we live with, things we know to be real.
Unfortunately the book went downhill towards the end. We started to see the ways in which Ben Zion ‘loved’ everyone and I felt that James Frey was just trying to throw as many controversial scenes into the text as possible. It wasn’t necessary for him to sleep with everyone (male and female) and I was inwardly groaning as he made a girl pregnant and then took her for an abortion. It wasn’t necessary and just undermined what could have been a good book.
I also struggled with the writing style in the last 100 pages – it became overly sentimental and more like something written by Mitch Albom than the faster pace of the first section.
I found much of the book entertaining, but ultimately I was disappointed by the way in which controversial scenes were added to the text for no good reason. This book is guaranteed to start a conversation, but unfortunately it isn’t going to be a very intelligent one.
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We’ve discussed, many times, the importance of the ongoing trend towards the integration of various communications forms in social media – the fact that you can’t just put “social” in a bubble and expect it to perform without support from other media. Awareness of this is slowly growing as social media activities mature within organizations
In the same vein, this maturity will soon manifest in increased integration between business functions. Chief among them will be a growing realization that customer support is a key communications function online.
Marketing and public relations departments have taken the spotlight for many people (setting aside the Dells, Comcasts and Zapposes (fine, whatever, you try pluralizing Zappos) of the world).
Over the next couple of years, as we continue to see companies invest more and more into social media activities, we’re going to see three forces driving the adoption of social customer support – case studies; customer demand and crises.
Force #1: Watching other companies succeed at social support
The Dells and Comcasts have set the bar high, but we’re seeing a proliferation of companies supporting customers effectively through social media.
Rogers (a client of mine in my last job) engaged over 20,000 times with customers through a variety of social channels last year, and is able to measure the results of this engagement. Freshbooks has built an army of advocates through its personable and responsive support team.
There are many other examples, and companies will increasingly look to replicate that success.
Force #2: Consumers demanding social support
While public relations drove an initial wave of social media adoption, and while ad agencies are getting into the game too, their activities will continue to inadvertently shine a spotlight on the need for online support.
Why?
Because they’re using two-way channels. And when you’re using two-way channels, people talk back… not just about what you want to talk about, but about what they want to talk about.
Nestle found this out the hard way, as did Etsy late last year (BTW, Etsy, removing posts “for negativity” is not a good issues management strategy).
So, the more companies engage in two-way channels (even if they want them to be one-way), the more people will demand responsiveness and interaction from those companies.
Force #3: Increased frequency of online issues
The Etsy case is just one example of an issue that blew up online and escalated into traditional media. I continue to see more and more, which leads to the third force driving social support – the desire to avoid becoming a crisis communications case study.
By listening and responding to issues online, companies can nip those issues in the bud. It’s important to remember, though, that if you want your online support to help you avoid issues then (a) you can’t pick and choose which issues you respond to (although there are a variety of ways to avoid having to respond to each and every person 1:1 – more on this tomorrow) and (b) if you don’t fix issues that people identify then listening isn’t enough.
So, there you have it – three forces that are driving the adoption of social customer support. Do you agree? Do you see other forces also at play? Let me know what you think in the comments.
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Whenever crime-fiction fans discuss the outstanding Matt Scudder series by longtime master Lawrence Block, one title in particular is singled out: 1986′s WHEN THE SACRED GINMILL CLOSES. Chief among its distinctive features is its narrative structure. Rather than taking place entirely in the present, the now-sober Matt Scudder reflects upon a case form his past, when drinking was still a major part of his life.
A DROP OF THE HARD STUFF, Block’s new work, and the first Scudder novel since 2005’s ALL THE FLOWERS ARE DYING, repeats this technique. This time, however, Scudder recalls when he first began cautiously working his way toward full-time sobriety.
A late-night conversation with an old friend about the choices we make in life causes Scudder to recall a man he once knew, Jack Ellery. They first met each other as kids from the Bronx. Now, many years later, Scudder is slowly putting his life back together after resigning from the NYPD detective squad and retreating into a bottle.
Ellery is also an alcoholic, but chose a career as a petty thief and a reputation as “High-Low Jack.” The two meet at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, where Ellery reveals that he is contacting people from his past in order to make amends, per dictates of one of AA’s 12 steps. Shortly thereafter, Scudder learns that Ellery has been murdered.
He connects with Ellery’s AA sponsor, who fears that the murderer might be among those Ellery was reconnecting with in order to make amends. The sponsor hires Scudder to investigate the list of former contacts Ellery drew up. As he interviews each person on the list, Scudder learns more about Ellery’s dead-end life and those he wronged, but none seems likely to have been the killer. Then, as Scudder formerly closes the case, more people Ellery once knew turn up dead.
Like converts to a new religion, Scudder is deeply involved with AA meetings and its steps as he slowly regains sobriety. At times, this seems to dominate the story and we seem to learn more about the 12 steps than we do the murder itself. But Block is far too seasoned a storyteller to allow this to happen, and steers us back to the mystery.
The eventual reveal, and indeed, the entire resolution of the story, are unexpected and would be impossible to accept coming from a less-skilled author. But Block manages not only to make it work, but fit perfectly within the lonely ambience of the story.
A DROP OF THE HARD STUFF, like many of the earlier titles in the series, is somber and downbeat. But it is also surprisingly touching and — again, like most of its predecessors — resonates long after the story ends.
In recent interviews, Block has hinted that he may no longer write new novels. Thus, much of what has recently been published under his name has been reissues from his vast inventory, including works previously published under a variety of pen names. That’s all the more reason why A DROP OF THE HARD STUFF should be on the top of every “must-read” pile. —Alan Cranis
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We live in a golden age of comic reissues. I mean, who would have though that Marvel would put out a CAPTAIN AMERICA OMNIBUS from Jack Kirby’s 1970s run? Or better yet, that Dark House would have a shelf’s worth of CREEPY and EERIE hardcovers? This column actually goes even deeper with two series from Gold Key and one from Warren Publishing, but the one thing everyone should take home is that these comics are fun. And that’s what comics should be.
MIGHTY SAMSON ARCHIVES: VOLUME 1 and VOLUME TWO by Otto Binder, Jack Sparling and Frank Thorne — What’s the best way to describe this series. Oh, I know: bat-shit insane. Imagine a comic where the most bizarre monsters come into being. MIGHTY SAMSON is a peaceful strongman living in a radioactive future in a city called N’Yark, aka New York.
Each issue feels like an epic tale, and what’s even better is what you see on the cover actually happens in the comic. The stories find Samson teaming up with a scientist of sorts and his daughter. The first issue tells all the backstory we need, and from that point on, it’s full-on nuttiness, all in a good way: Samson and company travel to a new location, and either fight a group of people or some new monster, like a gorilla with tentacles or a many-headed shark. I’m not making this up at all.
These books are pure fun, plain and simple. These were the days when comics weren’t bogged down by sheer continuity and history — take that, X-MEN fans. There are some recurring characters, but you will be about as lost as standing on your street in front of your house.
Included are some fantastic introductions; in the second volume, Paul Tobin’s sums it up perfectly: If they ever make this into movie, it better be over-the-top, in 3-D and maybe even a musical. These collections are great for the whole family, so if you have a small one who loves monsters, this is some perfect reading. And just think: These came out years before Kirby would take this type of idea and turn it into KAMANDI.
THE OCCULT FILES OF DOCTOR SPEKTOR ARCHIVES: VOLUME ONE and VOLUME TWO by Donald Glut and Jesse Santos — Long before THE X-FILES, there was Dr. Adam Spektor, a monster hunter and occult detective. He originally was just supposed to be the host of a comic book series, but writer Donald Glut figured he had full reign and gave the doc his own comic. SPEKTOR is unlike other horror comics, since the main character would break the fourth wall throughout the run. His stories deal with a wide variety of ghost-like entities and other legendary monsters. We get tales of mummies, cults, vampires and even a tale that is a take on DORIAN GRAY.
What is funny is some of the changes that you see happen as the series progressed — namely, that of Spektor’s young, female assistant, who magically changed skin color. Their relationship seems subversive for the day. How many assistants sleep over at the boss’ house? (Hmmm … wonder what was going on there.)
These stories are pure fun with enough goosebumps to go around. Glut provides introductions to both volumes (with two more to come), going into great detail about the development of the series and his creative process. Please note the introduction in the second volume is spoiler-heavy and should be read after the actual issues. These collections also have some of the greatest endpapers ever.
VAMPIRELLA ARCHIVES: VOLUME 1 and VOLUME TWO — Let me be honest: When Dynamite Entertainment announced it was collecting the VAMPIRELLA magazines in ARCHIVE editions akin to the Dark Horse Warren books, I laughed and said, “They won’t even get past VOLUME ONE.” Well, as I write this, VOLUME THREE should be on its way next month (fingers crossed).
Vamperilla, the sexy space vampire in the revealing red suit, plays not only host to terror tales, but in later issues, is the star of some of the stories. These comic magazines are from the same people who also wrote EERIE and CREEPY, and it’s just amazing to see the list of creatives involved. It’s a who’s who of comic talent.
Each book contains seven issues, including the covers and ads. The reproduction is fine — just a notch or two below Dark Horse’s titles. Of course, the main selling point of the series is its host. Hell, a certain Oscar-winning director proclaims his love for the comic on the back cover — hint: He directed AVATAR — and says the main reason he bought all those issues in his youth was because of the cover girl.
Vampi plays only the host role in the first book, but in the second volume, we get a continuing storyline with her in a central role, being hunted down by vampire killers. These books are so much fun, I’m hopeful Dynamite continues with both the quality and schedule of putting these out quickly, because now I’m hooked. My only real complaint is that their logo is super-distracting on the spine. —Bruce Grossman
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By: Tinku
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According to the Library Journal, OverDrive has submitted a contract renewal proposal to the state librarian of Kansas that increases administrative fees by nearly 700% in 2014. The librarian has rejected the proposal. Here’s a snippet from the article.
The state librarian of Kansas is playing country hardball with ebook vendor OverDrive, rejecting contract renewal proposals that, in one case, would have increased administrative fees nearly 700 percent by 2014.
The stalled negotiations have also raised concerns among Kansas librarians because they have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars licensing content from OverDrive since the contract went into effect in 2006, and they fear they will lose access to all that content if an agreement is not reached. The current contract (though not the newer proposals) appears to oblige OverDrive to transfer content to another service provider if the contract is terminated, but it is unclear what that would entail.
OverDrive spokesperson Dan Stasiewski told LJ that the increase in fees under the first proposal was necessitated by the ten-fold increase in circulation that Kansas’s digital collection has had since 2006, even as fees have remained flat.
“This utilizes additional hosting, bandwidth, network and support services,” he said, which OverDrive has been absorbing the cost of. “In the end that seven times increase [detailed below] is coming down to around $200 a library in 2014,” he said.
The Kansas State Library’s contract with OverDrive expires this December. In September 2010, the library’s director, Jo Budler, received an initial renewal proposal from OverDrive that would have raised the annual administrative fee from its current $10,800 to $25,000 in 2012, $50,000 in 2013, and $75,000 in 2014 and 2015, a 694 percent increase in just three years.
“My own budget has been cut 26 percent and to expect that kind of increase is unreasonable. This is unsustainable pricing,” Budler told LJ, saying she refused to accept the proposal, which she called “astronomical.”
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Ever have one of those frustrating conversations with your colleagues during an emerging issue, where you’re trying to figure out whether acknowledging an issue online will defuse it or spread it?
You know, the one that goes something like:
A: “Have you seen all the chatter about this issue online? We should get out there and let people know what’s going on.”
B: “No – it’s only a few people – if we post about it more people will know there’s a problem.”
People have a natural reluctance to admit something is wrong. That’s all the more so online, where people can talk back and potentially ask uncomfortable questions. So, unless there’s someone with enough authority to stick-handle a response through the objections, this is often where a stalemate is reached.
Even if you do manage to convince people of the need to communicate, the time it takes to do the convincing often means that you miss the boat on getting your response out there in time for people to see it.
That’s why I was really interested to see a note from Shashi Bellamkonda of Network Solutions on the Social CRM Pioneers group, pointing to some interesting research by Microsoft and Psychster on the effect of companies acknowledging issues via Twitter on the actions and perceptions of customers.
The white paper, entitled “Using Twitter to Reassure Users During a Site Outage,” looks into the effects of a company informing people – or not – of an outage via Twitter, and the varying effectiveness of different approaches to doing so.
The conclusions provide some useful ammunition for those who advocate for a more proactive approach to managing issues via Twitter:
- Any kind of acknowledgement online will result in lowered negativity and improved perceptions, and may lead to fewer people calling your call centre
- Companies need to think about who posts the information, not just what is posted – a trusted community manager may be better than an executive or an anonymous company account
- Companies can improve the effectiveness of their acknowledgements by explaining the nature and cause of the issue
It’s particularly interesting that the study identified that the acknowledgements do more than just change perceptions; they also decrease the likelihood of people calling your call centre.
During a panel on online support at SxSW this year, Frank Eliason explained that he was able to calculate the tangible benefit from his team at Comcast by looking at the cost of their team, the number of people they helped and comparing that to the cost of those people calling their call centre.
Even the most math-averse person can tell that if you reduce the number of people calling you for information, and do it in a cost-effective way, it should be an easy sell.
What’s more, this is a two-pronged benefit – communicating via Twitter can lower your support costs while simultaneously improving peoples’ perception of your company. So, you’re not only lowering costs, you’re also potentially generating revenue in the long-term.
Win-win.
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This is a tough time to be launching a new print periodical, especially one that caters to a niche market. While many print magazines and newspapers are struggling to stay in business, there are many that are simply closing up shop (R.I.P. WIZARD) or going to a strictly online publication format.
Or, as in the case of THE COMICS JOURNAL, are doing regular online publishing with an annual print edition. Even the webzines are struggling; R.I.P ThugLit … although it did last five years, which is damn good stamina in a market dominated by YA fiction and paranormal romance.
TALES OF BLOOD AND ROSES from publisher/editor Jeffrey L. Shipley basically says to hell with the doomsayers. Shipley has launched a horror zine in a publishing world that resembles piranha-infested waters and an ever-decreasing number of lifeboats.
It takes more than money and a vision to launch a horror zine that is equal parts short stories, flash fiction and poetry. It takes chutzpah. It takes … well, picture the scene in GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS when Alec Baldwin removes the pair of brass balls from his briefcase and shows it to the salesmen. That’s what it takes in today’s market.
Confession: I was prepared to hate it.
It looks like something some Goth fans would print up and hand out at a concert venue or give away for free outside a Charlaine Harris book signing. It’s 16 pages of (admittedly) good quality copier paper, stapled in the middle and folded over. It’s more of a booklet than a magazine, something that makes you think high school students with access to Mom and Dad’s printer cartridges rather than a professional publication.
Looks can be deceiving, however, and we all know the old adage about not judging a book by its cover. Of course, all of us have been fooled by a book cover at some point. Right?
So despite my initial misgivings, I decided to give TALES OF BLOOD AND ROSES the benefit of the doubt and judge it by its contents. Not bad. There’s some really good stuff, some okay stuff, some mediocre stuff and … well, some stuff that needed to gestate for a bit longer.
Do the math: 16 pages folded in half with writing and/or photos on both sides; eliminate the front and back cover; eliminate the inside front cover, as it’s a table of contents; eliminate the last two pages, as they are a list of the contributors. That leaves 59 pages to cram in stories, poems and a few photos. Shipley and poetry editor Jannabelle Lee do their best to utilize every square inch of space to get in as much as possible. With those odds, you’re bound to read some gems, and some clunkers.
Much of the stories and poems deal with the staples of the horror genre: vampires, werewolves, ghosts and zombies. There are a few pieces that transcend those limitations, but the majority keeps their roots close to home. The photos serve little purpose; they serve as atmosphere, perhaps, or as visual aids such as in the extremely short piece “An Unlikely Conversation,” about the exchange between an angel and a demon. Sometimes they seemed out of place, for instance when they are simply shots of a model in Gothic wear or fetishistic bondage poses.
My favorite stories in this issue are the ones that transcend the genre:
• “That Time of the Month” by Jennifer Yousfi, about a woman who discovers that her husband is a werewolf. She suffers for her discovery, and endures in order to keep her family together. But is the story really about a woman married to a lycanthrope? Or is the deeper meaning about domestic violence?
• “Halliegh” by R.A. Boyd, about a dead little girl and a dangerous swimming pool.
• “All for Lucy” by the editor himself, about a man willing to murder for love, and the unfortunate circumstances that arise when he’s unable to get exactly what he wants.
• “Shelia” by Rebecca Urban, a dense, two-paragraph piece that is more a hate-filled rant against men than a story. But it’s a story as well, and it’s my personal fave of the bunch. How can you not love a piece that starts off with, “Passions resemble dead-end roses run over by my drunk ass boyfriend at 2 AM when he can’t find his dick anymore?” And it just gets better from there.
Genre poetry is a tough balancing act. Poe did it well; Lovecraft did it adequately. Robert E. Howard did it badly (and I’m a huge fan of Howard’s stories, but honestly, his poetry was just painful to read). The poetry contained in this issue was at either ends of the spectrum. They were either good and told a story (“Zombie Love,” “Lycanthrope,” “Clipped Wings,” “Vampyr”) or they appeared to be collections of random and nonsensical words (“Dead Run,” “Splatterpunk Retreat,” “Drip Tray Enchantress”). I loved “Chronic Overtouch: Canto 1” by C.M. Sidwell, mainly because it starts off with the line, “My tongue navigates a rhythm in your pussy-purse.”
The rest of the stories and poems get a passing grade, although I found “The Yellow House” by Elizabeth Riggs to be highly derivative with an ending that was old back when it first aired on THE TWILIGHT ZONE. The real head-scratchers were “Soundtrack to a Love Gone Wrong,” an essay about music, and a cartoon by someone named Darkman. Both seemed as if they were meant for another publication entirely. But maybe that’s just me.
TALES OF BLOOD AND ROSES may, I hope, evolve into something quite extraordinary. I’ll be curious to see what future issues are like. —Slade Grayson
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Persia Walker returns again to the fabled Harlem of the 1920s in her third novel, BLACK ORCHID BLUES, and revives Lanie Price, the protagonist first introduced in DARKNESS AND THE DEVIL BEHIND ME. This time, however, she goes deeper behind the scenes of giddy high life with a story brimming over with deceit, family secrets and murder.
Society columnist Lanie Price finally shows up at the Cinnamon Club in Harlem to see and hear Queenie Lovetree, the gravel-voiced singer that everyone in town is talking about. She is not disappointed. In fact, Queenie Lovetree — with her bawdy patter, sexy lyrics and ritzy frock — is everything Lanie expected, and then some. Because Lanie knows that Queenie Lovetree is, in reality, a man in drag.
That’s only one of the many items in Queenie’s mysterious past that Lanie hopes to learn. But just as Queenie sits down to begin an interview for Lanie’s column, an armed man barges into the club and opens fire on the audience while kidnapping Queenie.
Lanie narrowly escapes with her life, but her instincts as a former crime reporter kick in and she immediately begins an investigation into Queenie’s abduction. Suspects include the owner of a rival club who failed to lure Queenie away from her current boss, as well as the Cinnamon Club’s former featured singer who lost his job when Queenie became the star attraction. Hours pass, but the anticipated ransom demand from the kidnappers never arrives.
Then a package containing gruesome proof of the kidnappers’ intention arrives at Lanie’s door. But when she opens the package, she discovers that it was not intended for her, but rather for the respected and well-to-do family that lives near Lanie in the residential section known as Strivers’ Row. What possible connection could there be between the nightclub singer and this quiet family? That’s the question that puts Lanie on a twisted path strewn with dangerous lies, double-crossings and ultimately murder.
The period and locale are so well-known to Walker, after two previous novels that she presents them effortlessly yet effectively. She is informative when it suites her narrative purpose, but her detailing is never intrusive. After a few pages this long-past era feels as familiar as our contemporary world.
The same holds true for Walker’s characters. Even the most outrageous of the bunch — like the denizens of Harlem’s gay nightlife who cautiously confide in Lanie — are as easily believable as the Irish cop who leads the police investigation into the kidnapping, or Sam Delany, Lanie’s protective editor and sometime lover. Then there is Lanie herself, whose first-person narration is as intimate about her own personal insecurities as it is about her beloved Harlem.
The only drawback in all of this is the multilayered complications of Walker’s antagonist, and thus, the novel’s driving conflict. Several scenes of drawn-out explanations are inevitably needed to tie everything together. This would otherwise be the kiss of death to a novel’s pacing. But Walker manages to keep us so involved with the story that we willingly plunge through all this exposition, even when it sometimes stains credibility. The payoff is that BLACK ORCHID BLUES often has the wonderful ambience of a classic, pulp-era serial.
Advance reviews have favorably compared this work to the period novels of Walter Mosley and James Ellory. Yet Walker is well on her way to establishing a distinctive voice of her own. With a character like Lanie Price helping her, that time won’t be too far off. —Alan Cranis
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She’s back each Tuesday, pimpin’ out notable new releases to place on your radar, so let the tempting plot descriptions begin!
A THOUSAND TIMES MORE FAIR: WHAT SHAKESPEARE’S PLAYS TEACH US ABOUT JUSTICE by Kenji Yoshino — Yoshino turns his attention to the broad question of what makes a fair and just society, and he delves deep into a surprising source to answer it: Shakespeare’s greatest plays. The book addresses fundamental questions we ask about our world today: Why is the rule of law better than revenge? How much mercy should we show a wrongdoer? What does it mean to “prove” guilt or innocence? As Yoshino argues, a searching examination of Shakespeare’s plays — and the many advocates, judges, criminals and vigilantes who populate them — can elucidate some of the most troubling issues in contemporary life.
KABOOM: EMBRACING THE SUCK IN A SAVAGE LITTLE WAR by Matt Gallagher — When Lt. Matt Gallagher began his blog with the aim of keeping his family and friends apprised of his experiences, he didn’t anticipate that it would resonate far beyond his intended audience. His subjects ranged from mission details to immortality, grim stories about Bon Jovi cassettes mistaken for IEDs, and the daily experiences of his platoon. When the blog was shut down in June 2008 by the U.S. Army, there were more than 25 congressional inquiries regarding the matter as well as reports through the military grapevine that many high-ranking officials and officers at the Pentagon were disappointed that the blog had been ordered closed.
I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING: KATHARINE HEPBURN, A PERSONAL BIOGRAPHY by Charlotte Chandler — Introduced by director George Cukor, the author socialized with Hepburn at the Cukor estate, where the star was then living in a cottage on the grounds. Hepburn allowed Chandler to tape their conversations, during which she spoke candidly about her personal and professional lives. She described finding the body of her adored older brother, an apparent suicide at 15, and assuming his birthday as her own. She told intimate details of her marriage and divorce from Ludlow Ogden Smith, who remained a friend, and of her affair with Howard Hughes. Her warmest recollections were of her 27-year affair with Spencer Tracy.
THE GATHERING by Kelley Armstrong — Strange things are happening in Maya’s tiny Vancouver Island town. First, her friend Serena, the captain of the swim team, drowns mysteriously in the middle of a calm lake. Then, one year later, mountain lions are spotted rather frequently around Maya’s home — and her reactions to them are somewhat … unexpected. Her best friend, Daniel, has also been experiencing unexplainable premonitions about certain people and situations. It doesn’t help that the new bad boy in town, Rafe, has a dangerous secret, and he’s interested in one special part of Maya’s anatomy: her paw-print birthmark.
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David Rothman, the founder of TeleRead, and librarian Tom Peters, have started a new blog called LibraryCity. Here’s what they say about it:
For now, see our introductory post. We are seeking to enrich the Harvard/Berkman discussion of the national digital library issue, but are not a Harvard blog (even though a LibraryCity cofounder attended a Berkman workshop on March 1). Nor are we a competitor of the Harvard initiative. Rather we simply are offering a grassroots perspective on the issue for Harvard, the Library of Congress, the ALA, and others. See Contact for information on Tom Peters and David Rothman, LibraryCity’s organizers.
It’s been around for a while, but I just found it today. In one post David talks about a dual-track library system:
Might the right set of fences be one way to keep the Harvard-hosted Digital Public Library of America from unwittingly weakening the franchise and branding of America’s public libraries in their online incarnation—while we still promoted neighborliness between and among institutions? That’s the solution I’m mulling over right now. Perhaps a National Digital Library of America could serve the public in general and a Scholarly Digital Library of America could enrich the campus community. Both “civilians” and academics could use each other’s library systems for free, at least when copyright and licensing agreement allowed; and the two could pick up the other system’s exportable content and share a common infrastructure and standards. Searching for books simultaneously in both systems would be Kindle-seamless. But fences between the pair could exist on acquisitions issues and practices, interface priorities, most staffing matters, and in various other respects. Hence, the purchases of monographs on Henry James wouldn’t be pitted so directly against, for example, shorter wait times for Stephen King novels, assuming that patron wait times were necessary.
Filed under Social marketing ebooks by on Apr 11th, 2011. Comment.
This post was meant to be a regular “Monday Morning Reads” post, but then I found myself writing something a little more in-depth on one piece so I scrapped the rest. Enjoy…
A colleague of mine recently drew my attention to a TED Talk by Morgan Spurlock (you know, the guy behind Super Size Me and a host of other films). The talk is entitled, “The Greatest TED Talk Ever Sold.” If you have a spare 20 minutes, check it out:
So, here’s why I got a little… animated… then scrapped the rest of the Monday Morning Reads post and focused on this video:
- On one hand: Spurlock’s talk is entertaining, interesting and, well, funny. There’s a reason we know his name – he’s good at what he does.
- On the other hand: The talk is replete with broad, unsubstantiated false assumptions about the subject matter at the heart of the talk, i.e. marketing
Here’s my take…
The “Opportunity”
Spurlock lays out a host of reasons why companies wouldn’t want to get involved in his project, and then attacks them for not wanting to get involved. He even describes his TED Talk, which he invited companies to sponsor, as:
“My TED Talk that you have no idea what the subject is and depending on the content could ultimately blow up in your face especially if I make you or your company look stupid for doing it – that being said, it’s a very good media opportunity.”
He then suggests that the reason companies didn’t want to get involved was “transparency.” Umm… how about because it actually WASN’T a good “opportunity” for the companies? You giving them a bad offer doesn’t make them bad guys for not taking it.
“Reach” doesn’t cut it
The idea that this was a “very good media opportunity” depends on you only considering the reach of the movie, not the tone or content towards the people involved.
To say that this is a “good opportunity” would be like saying that the NRA should sponsor a Michael Moore movie. Sure, they’d be all over the footage, but you can be damn sure no-one would see them in a good light at the end of it.
Spurlock again displays that mis-perception towards the end of his talk, where he talks about the reach of coverage about his movie apparently 900 million impressions at the time. He suggests that that reach shows that agencies were wrong to avoid jumping on-board.
Here’s the thing: how many of those impressions would have benefited the (transparent) sponsors? How many of them would have delivered a benefit to those companies – how many talked about them or showed their products in any kind of way that would encourage purchase?
The “reach” of un-qualified coverage is useless. It’s like saying “guys, every newspaper in the world mentioned us. They all hated everything we do and recommended no-one ever buy our product, but who cares? They talked about us, so let’s pat ourselves on the back.”
Actually, my guess is that it was even less valuable than that. My guess (yes, just a guess) is that most company mentions in that coverage would be in passing, with no substance towards the companies other than to mention that they were involved within the broader context of the film (I’m sure there were exceptions, but suspect they were few).
It’s Paid Media, not Earned
I’ve written before about the transition that people need to understand when they ask for money from companies in return for coverage. When you do that, you move from “earned” media to “paid” media.
Brands don’t (and, in most cases, can’t) control earned media. That gives it greater credibility because the author can write whatever they want. Paid media (you know, when companies pay for inclusion) is different. If you pay to be part of something, you’re going to want control over how you’re portrayed. Do you think Audi paid to be part of the movie Ronin (an old reference, but a goodie) without knowing the storyline or that their car would be portrayed in a good light?
This isn’t about transparency – I bet that if movies needed a disclaimer about who sponsored them, there wouldn’t be too many concerns – it’s about the value of the offer that’s given to them in return for the commitment. You want to take my money and then have the option of making me look ridiculous? Right. Let me get right on that.
</rant>
Ok, I’m done. The ironic part here is that I actually enjoyed the talk. However, the broad misperceptions in the presentation just begged to be corrected. I get that Spurlock’s films are out to provoke a reaction – he’s good at achieving that, and I think he’s good at what he does. Still, I thought it worth adding my two cents to this conversation, setting the record straight on a couple of things and doing it… y’know… transparently.
What do you think?
(Oh, BTW, Mr. Spurlock, you can count this post as about 50,000 “impressions” towards that reach number of yours. Just don’t consider the tone.)
Disclaimer: While my employer is mentioned in the talk (although it’s lumped into the “ad agency” descriptor… again, do your homework, please), I had no input into, or knowledge of, this discussion. This is my perception and not that of the people involved at the time.
Filed under Social marketing ebooks by on Apr 11th, 2011. Comment.
To borrow a line from George Costanza: He’s back, baby!
Richard Matheson is back with a new novel, and although I panned his last collection due to the fact that it was comprised of unfinished works and stories that were better off lost in the now-defunct pulps that originally published them, I was excited to see a new, original work from an author who ranks up there with the best of Bradbury.
I was also hesitant about reading this new novel, worried he had lost his creative touch and writing voice, as so many of the older authors tend to do over time. But I was pleased with OTHER KINGDOMS … for the most part.
It begins with an introduction from the narrator, Arthur Black, a writer of schlocky suspense novels, as he reflects back on his life when he was 18 and a soldier in the Great War. Now an old man, he has a story to tell and has waited decades to tell it. He doesn’t take long to get to it, either.
Arthur Black used to be Alex White, a young man who enlisted in the Army in order to get away from his oppressive and domineering father. This part of the story is brief, but suffice it to say, Alex’s dad makes the Great Santini look warm and cuddly.
Alex goes off to war, and Matheson really shines through here. Although this section is also brief, his description of what life was like for the enlisted men during the World War I made me wish for a novel-length treatment of the subject. But this is all setup.
After Alex is wounded, rather than return to his tyrannical father, he decides to retire to the quaint English village of Gatford, a town steeped in strange traditions and curious superstitions. The forest, for example, is home to “the wee folk” — faeries — and not the giggling, flittering Walt Disney kind. These faeries have vast magical abilities and can shapeshift into any form. Some like to play pranks on the humans, while others are far less friendly.
Alex is warned to stay away from their land, lest he fall into the hands of one of the faeries who hate humans. But he finds himself drawn to one in particular: Ruthana, a beautiful, spritely faerie who claims to be in love with him. But can he trust that she’s telling the truth? The faerie race is known to be masters of deception, and someone or something appears to be out for Alex’s blood.
At the same time, Alex enters into a relationship with Magda, a striking older woman whom the townspeople claim to be a witch. Magda casts a spell on Alex, but with her sexuality rather than any hocus pocus. She helps him to heal from his war wounds (both the physical and mental kind), but is she really as benevolent as she appears? Here’s a hint: When William Congreve said, and I paraphrase, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” he should have added, “Also, never piss off a witch.”
Matheson works in lots of interesting tidbits about faeries and witches, and the plot takes several unexpected turns. Minor complaint: The narrative is entirely in the voice of the main character, now an 82-year-old man, and much like an 82-year-old man, it tends to ramble. Sometimes this is amusing, and sometimes it’s annoying.
At times, I felt like I was listening to a story from Grandpa Simpson and wanted to shout, “Just get on with it!” But those times were infrequent and shouldn’t dissuade anyone from enjoying the story Matheson tells. Also, the ending felt very similar to Matheson’s SOMEWHERE IN TIME, but maybe that was just my impression.
So where does this latest book rank within Matheson’s body of work? It’s a solid, entertaining story. Although it doesn’t reach the heights of I AM LEGEND, it’s more enjoyable than WHAT DREAMS MAY COME. —Slade Grayson
Filed under Social marketing ebooks by on Apr 11th, 2011. Comment.
