Tag Archives: communication

Media and Truth: A Mutually Exclusive Relationship?

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It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a rant. So, if you want kindness or technical assistance this is not the post for you (use the search box to find a less angsty post on the topic of your choice.)

If you like a good rant… you are in luck!

I have my roots in media. One of my most enjoyable, challenging and rewarding professional stints was as a reporter and later as a managing editor of a small newspaper. I ponder that time of my life fondly now (in my dotage) and wonder at the amount of energy I had to do all that way back when. Gee what I wouldn’t give for some… even just a little of that now!

Today, the written word is my favorite tool and past time and passion. I think it always will be.

But what I see in the media now absolutely curls my toes (and not in a good way!) There is no relationship between truth and what is written in the mainstream publications. Particular offenders are local newspapers and television newscasts.

Larger papers, assumed to be more reserved with stories more carefully crafted and with a team of fact-checkers on staff, are now slinging sensationalism too. It used to be that I avoided even looking at the “weekly” rags at the checkout line at the grocery store. I’ve NEVER purchased one (nor do I ever intend to). But today, even the local papers use those same reporting “techniques.”

If I had been the editor when some of the recent news stories were submitted, some reporting “heads” would have rolled. I would have benched them or fired them. Period. There’s not even a half-hearted attempt to get facts right in “news” stories…even to the point of the basics (who, what, where, when, how)… even THESE they get wrong.

As far as reporting voice and tone — it’s more like a Stephen King novel than a report. A reporter, people, is supposed to REPORT — hence the name. Capture the reader with your headline, sure, but tell the facts in an unbiased and well researched way in the body.

There, I said it.

A writer of FICTION gets to make it up and “fill in the blanks” between the missing bits of reality strung together for entertainment purposes. This type of writing is not reporting. See the difference?  If you have an opinion, it belongs on the OP/ED page — not on the front page.

If you must create stories (which isn’t a bad thing… at all… so long as you don’t try to pass it off as truth) — then write fiction. As a fiction writer, you can play free and easy with the facts as much as you like. It hurts no one. It’s not unethical or immoral then. Then, it’s properly seen as entertainment. Then it’s fun.

And if you are an news editor, and you are letting this half-baked crap be sent to the press you should be ashamed. Where are the Publishers, to fire the editors who don’t fire the reporters for this shameful work product?

Does life not have enough real drama? Must more be created by our “news” outlets? Are the traditional, once respectable, news venues so desperate to hang on financially that they have sold out their rightful role as the watchdog of our society just to sell a few more papers? Are the continuing education classes for journalists now being sponsored by The Enquirer?

How disgusting I find it all.

Review of Kall 8 service: Problems with 800# fax function

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I just switched over from Accessline to Kall8 for my 800 number. I wanted to save a few bucks and I read all their online materials. It looked like a good move. Since 1-800-WICKED-8 is one I’ve had for forever, I wanted to retain it. I like it. It’s cool. So, it was worth trouble to fill out and fax the forms and wait for the transfer to retain it.

Now I have Kall8 and today, I try to get my first fax. Uh-oh…

After five calls (all of which charged me, of course) I discovered that unlike the previous service, Kall 8 doesn’t differentiate between a fax and a voice call. Result? I get fax calls forwarded to my main line, which then forwards to my cell.

I try to log on, using my welcome email. It says to save it, since it has the login information I’ll need. Only problem is… it doesn’t have it. It’s not on there anywhere!

So, I call support.

I’m cut off after ten minutes of hold time… TWICE. (Now, I’m agitated.)

They do call back fairly quickly, however, and tell me that the only way to make that work is to set the account to zero settings… meaning I get no voice calls either. She tells me if I need both, I should get a second 800 number. (Kinda negates the whole “all-in-one” concept, doesn’t it?) *sigh*

I had looked through the website and saw nothing indicating this little issue. So, I asked where that information was listed online, or in any correspondence I’d received. She confirmed that it wasn’t on the website. (Isn’t that nice?) I sent her the email I’d received. She couldn’t find my login info on there either, so she gave it to me.

I request to be transferred to a supervisor and (of course) had to leave a message.

Assistant Manager, Craig Becker, calls me back late that afternoon. I explain my concerns and tell him how inconvenient it is to have to log into the website, move my rings to zero seconds, wait for a fax, then log back in and bump it back up so I can get voice calls.

He says I can try setting it to 10 seconds and just don’t pick up the phone when I’m expecting a fax. I told him that I would not have switched to this service if I’d had this, very important, information beforehand. He said there was no way for them to know what every user might need and to cover that in the marketing materials.

I feel that this is rather important since his competition offers this automatically. He also said that he had no idea what his competitors were offering. I said, “You don’t keep up with what features your competition offers?” (this seems incredible to me, but what do I know?) He said no.

Hmmm…

And it’s not exactly false advertising, since you can have voice and fax on the same number, just as long as you don’t expect it to be handled like other services handle it. Theirs is a manual system. I miss not having to even think about the difference, much less juggle the two call types and determine if I need to answer the phone or check the caller ID to determine if it’s a client or a fax.

The settings are now changed to 10 seconds on my account. This might work, might not, since it’s forwarded to my main number. We shall see. I’ll give it a little while to see if it’s worth the hassle to switch back. I never had a problem with Accessline, BTW. Great customer support too… but a stiffer cost per month.

So, if you are planning to move to another service (not just Kall8) and expect that you will be able to use it for both your fax and voice (which you may be accustomed to doing), be sure to ask that question specifically.

If you don’t, you may be enjoying the same view I’m gazing over at the moment. *grimace*

It’s not so pretty from here.

(Note: Cool phonebooth photo courtesy of Grafixar on MorgueFile.com)

Web conversations: Writing with passion online

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A friend contacted me last night with a quandary…

He wanted to learn to write with a bit more passion. He felt his style was more journalistic than persuasive. He asked if I had any pointers.

So, at midnight, during a 15-minute-cross-country-guerrilla-approach-to-writing session, we covered the following basics:

Grab them with the title

If you don’t pique the audience’s interest with the title, they won’t read any more of your story. Tell them in a quick, pithy style why the rest of the story is something they need to know. Advertise what’s in it for them or intrigue them.

Example:
Change the boring title, “The Current Economy’s Downturn Impacts Designers and Fashion Entrepreneurs in New York”  to “NYC Designers Weather Economy With Style!”

Starting out

At the top you summarize what you are going to say and ask the “w” question that your writing teacher never told you “Who gives a …. a…. hang?” (*Yeah, that works*) Tell them first why it matters to them.

You can’t give away all the information at the top because all the information isn’t contained inside your story. Online, the tentacles and supporting information will go out to hook other webpages.

After the first “w” question, THEN you go on to the classic “Who, What, Where, When and How” of the story.

Break down paragraphs

In standard writing, meaty paragraphs are a good thing. Paper likes large chunks of gray space. The web doesn’t. Online you should:

  • Use short paragraphs
  • Trim up your sentences
  • Make your writing easy to scan

The shape of content to come

Forget what you learned in school and ditch the “reverse pyramid.” Writing is not a simple linear practice online. You don’t skip along from most important facts to least.

Think of your story structure more like an egg; less pointy, more rounded and appealing. The title is your hook, followed by a general statement that summarizes the story. Fill in the “yolk” with details and examples. Add links and sprinkle liberally with bullets to capsulize the essential points. Conclude with a summary.

On the web, content gains depth and dimension through diagrams, graphics, inter-textual links to related outside resources. This doesn’t happen in the lead paragraph. It happens in the middle.

Be conversational

Stilted, sterile language doesn’t work. Your visitors want a comfortable way to absorb information. If you don’t provide it, someone else will. Readers need clarity with warmth. They seek knowledgeable, easy-to-digest resources. Humor is worth bonus points.

The mantra in business used to be “keep it professional.” Internet trends have encouraged us to “keep it personal” online and find ways to bridge the geographic distance by decreasing the psychological and social distance between individuals.

So, speak to your audience the same way you would speak to a friend. Use natural word choices and tone. Let your personality shine through. After all, that’s what will keep them coming back.

When writing for the web, hook your reader with a title too interesting to ignore. Answer the first “w” question right away and tell them the gist of what you plan to say. Answer the five standard questions (who, what, where, when, why and how) and illustrate them with examples from additional resources. Then summarize the article and bid them farewell.

And, yes, amping up your web writing really can be this easy!

(photo courtesy of kesh of morguefile.com)

Symbolism and Meaning of the Bat

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I’ve always adored Halloween. That and St. Patrick’s Day have always been my favorite holidays. I know, I’m weird. I’m accustomed to getting that response. :)

My “wicked” business theme was launched back on October 31st, 2002. And, even though I have changed the business name, I managed to retain the “wicked.” I like it.  I like the double entendre of bad and good. I like that it was “born” in October. Despite the warnings I received on selecting that theme, it has served me well and continues to do so. So, even with my business I celebrate the Halloween holiday.

I’ve never really been into jack-o-lanterns or ghosts or most of the more traditional Halloween imagery… except for witches and bats. I think the witchy imagery is fun and bats… well, I find them to be intriguing animals.

This year, for Halloween, my son gave me a sterling silver bat charm. I collect sterling silver charms. (He knows I love them.) This one is amazing. It’s not a tiny little thing — it’s a full two inches long! It feels like it weighs a pound! It’s solid and three dimensional. (I’ve never liked those one-sided flat charms, I like cool ones — and this one is awesome.)

It’s in the sleeping position, all snugly wrapped up in wings and hanging upside down, shaped like a bullet. He picked it up at a Renaissance festival this summer. I’m currently wearing it on a long chain and I’m enjoying it more with each passing day.

Today, I starting wondering what attracted me to bats and decided to do a little research on symbolism. I thought I’d share my findings with you (just in case anyone else out there likes bats and isn’t sure why).

Holiday Symbolism

Bats are a common image because when this season’s bonfires are lit, it attracts the insects that, in turn, attract the bats for a feeding frenzy. Since this happens in the fall, bats are seen as a symbol of transition and change — in the season and in the human experience.

Bats represent: Social relationships, communication, motherhood

It is a symbol of communication. Native Americans observed bats to be highly social creatures with strong family ties. They are nurturing, exhibiting verbal communication, touching, and sensitivity to members of their group. Bats are sensitive to their surroundings and are seen as intuitive, with the ability to see through illusion and discern truth. Devotion of the Bat totem will never fade, encouraging the journey to achieve the highest possible potential from an individual. (Information paraphrased from this page on Animal Totems)

Since bats are the only winged creatures to suckle their young, they are also a symbol of motherhood (and by association… fertility and sexuality… which is also supported by the dwelling in caverns in the “womb” of mother earth.)

East vs. West: Symbolism of the Bat

Westerners hold a more negative view of this creature, possibly because of the dual nature of winged and mammal, or because it’s nocturnal.

Eastern cultures view the bat as a symbol of wealth, longevity, peace, good health and a good death. In China, the symbol for bat is “fu” — which is also the symbol for “good luck.”

“Sometimes four bats are shown surrounding a fifth bat or five bats circulate around a stylized symbol for longevity.  In both cases, the five bats stand for the Five Happinesses:  wealth, long life, peace, cultivation of virtue (or sometimes good health), and a good death… a Chinese bat (or simply the character for fu) will sometimes be placed upside down.  That orientation derives from the fact that the words for “upside down” and “to arrive” also sound the same in Chinese (dao), such that the upside down bat means that good luck has arrived.” (taken from this page on tattoo symbolism)

The Maya culture of Central America considers the bat a type of guardian god — a god of fire. Images of bats were used to decorate pottery and funerary urns.

A Mis-match of other interpretations of bats:

Bats are symbolic of rebirth and can mean (in dreams) that you need to release the outmoded ways of doing things to permit a new, better way to enter your life because your old habits no longer suit your new opportunities. They also demonstrate that sight with eyes is only one way to know the world.

Personally, I relate to the fact that it is naturally nocturnal and is adept at finding its way — even when things seem completely dark (and foreboding). So after a little research, the idea of rebirth, changing outmoded views, being intuitive and maternal, focusing on communication and the five happinesses — it all makes me much more happy with my fascination with these little creatures.

Other interpretations may be more “dark” and negative – but these fit my world view and the classic, traditional interpretation of bats and bat symbols make me happy. And I love my charm (thanks, sweetie!)

Why Web Entrepreneurs Need Social Networking

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Being “sociable” on the web can have huge payoffs. Provider-customer communications have never been more important. In the old face-to-face days, small business owners maintained a manageable number of extremely loyal clients, all of whom were accustomed to seeing the small business owner in person.

If customers had a concern, a question, a request or a problem — the business owner was there, in person, to work it out.

Social networking and web 2.0 (yeah, I know, I’m tired of those phrases too) are high tech tools offering new delivery platforms to achieve this classic caliber of old-time service.

  • Loyal customers develop as a result of good relationships. (Give someone a bad experience when they are buying products or services, without remedy, and they will probably not come back.)
  • If you have a relationship and there is a problem and you FIX the problem personally, they will not only come back, they will love you for going “above and beyond.” This scenario will build loyalty more than a flawless experience.
  • They will talk about you. If you give excellent service or exceedingly poor service, your customers will tell others. That word-of-mouth advertising will make or break your business — especially online.

Social networking helps you to build strong, personal relationships with potential and existing clients, even though you may never meet them “face-to-face.” The new social tools permit personal interaction even before the first sale. It also offers an amazing built-in referral network.

If you aren’t currently participating, consider broadening your horizons. Select one or two platforms from the major players, fill out your profile page and join in the conversation.

Quit being a wall-flower at the Internet dance!

(NOTE: photo courtesy of Clarita at MorgueFile.com)