Now Hiring: a Communications Manager
on Nov 20, 2009 in general career opportunity communications manager job Southern California Presbyterian Homes photo by idea-listic I don’t write about it much here since this is my personal blog and I’m sharing my personal opinions (not to be confused with my job-related official opinions), but I manage communications and public relations for a l...

The Secret to Making Your Brand Truly Great
on Nov 16, 2009 in general photo by ian carroll How do you define your brand? Is it how you position yourself in the minds of stakeholders and the public in general? Is it shaped by what people think you do and how you do it? Is it determined by the design of your website, the...

Let’s Play 20 Questions to a Solid Strategic Plan
on Nov 11, 2009 in general strategic planning strategy photo by mykl roventine It should be obvious to anyone with half a brain that every nonprofit organization that hopes to accomplish anything meaningful needs a strategic plan. Unfortunately, planning (as opposed to reacting) seems to be anathema in m...

Your Social Media Wake-up Call
on Nov 9, 2009 in general communications marketing marta kagan social media strategy For those who still don’t get it, this preso by Marta Kagan does an excellent job of making the case for social media as “a force to be reckoned with” with the potential to be something far more transformative and impactful than jus...

Why Nonprofits Should Be on YouTube
on Nov 5, 2009 in general michael hoffman nonprofits see3communications video youtube See3 Communications CEO Michael Hoffman produced this great preso on how nonprofits can make effective use of YouTube. If storytelling is one of our most effective communication strategies, then video has to be one of the best tools for executing on...

Top 20 Tweets in October
on Nov 4, 2009 in general blogging communications content strategy corporate communications journalism marketing nonprofits philanthropy planning powerpoint seth godin small business social media social networking storytelling taglines visual communication photo by fotodawg I don’t remember who I first borrowed the idea from, but I really love reviewing my top 20 tweets each month. My approach to twitter is as editor/curator: I look for posts I think will appeal to those who follow me in the area...

Writing Errors That Make You Look Stupid
on Nov 3, 2009 in general grammar punctuation spelling writing writing errors photo by CarbonNYC With all the profound advances being made daily in social media and  communications technology, anyone want to venture a guess why I’m revisiting the land of bad grammar, poor word choices, misspellings and abused punctuatio...

A Tagline is a Terrible Thing to Waste
on Oct 30, 2009 in general getting attention blog homeboy industries nancy schwartz taglines united negro college fund photo by exfordy Communicating the essence of your organization’s mission in an elevator pitch is hard enough. Imagine doing it in in 10 words or less. That’s the goal of a great tagline. Nancy Schwartz just announced the winner’s o...

Why Every Communicator Should Blog
on Oct 28, 2009 in general blogging communication social media writing photo by lepiaf.geo I have a confession to make. When I first decided to start blogging nearly nine months ago, I dreaded it just a little. Any writer can tell you about the slightly nauseous feeling they get when faced with a looming deadline, and t...

A Halloween Public Service Announcement
on Oct 27, 2009 in general common craft visual communication zombies Common Craft is one of my favorite explainers of complex issues via visual communication. As Halloween draws near, here’s a great example why.