I’m not usually one for encouraging the pursuit of rabbit trails. They typically lead nowhere except a swamp or tangled underbrush or quicksand, and the only recourse is to turn back and to return to the beginning. That being said, rabbit trails can serve a purpose. They can lead to the finding of a new path or a new way around the quicksand. Unlike early computer games, one can make choices other than right, left, or back.
Archives for July 2012
What Makes You Happy?
My friend, Jack Steiner, asked a seemingly simple question the other day: “What makes you happy?” I like the question. It makes me think of my “little loves” post. I probably answered Jack’s question in that post, but the topic seems to be one that deserves more consideration.
Your Employees are not Psychic
If you’re a business owner or entrepreneur, you have a vision for your company. You cherish it. You might coddle it (I hope not.). You try to keep it safe. You try to make it a reality.
Forget SEO
I wouldn’t be much of a writer, especially a writer who tends to work with digital communications, if I didn’t have some understanding of SEO. I do have it. I’ve read books about SEO; I’ve made recommendations to clients about headings, subheadings, meta tags, titles, et cetera, et cetera; and I’ve learned about black and white hat SEO and long-tail keywords.
Why You Need to Get Lost
I hate getting lost. I don’t like to get lost in Ikea. I definitely don’t like to get lost when I’m headed to a meeting. I start to panic even though I know I can ask a sales clerk for directions, or I can call the person I’m meeting and tell him or her I’m going to be late.
Stories, Rhythm, and Pace
Stories have a rhythm to them. They have their characters, usually the protagonist and the antagonist. They have their devices: repetition, foreshadow, metaphor. They have their climaxes and anti-climaxes. Depending on the type of story, the story might have a moral to it – think Aesop’s Fables – or it might cause a reader to understand a culture, a way of thought, a product, or a service. Yes, stories have a rhythm.