PREVIEW: Books & Braun (Recorded LIVE at World Fantasy 2009)
Recorded before a live audience at World Fantasy Convention and produced at Imagine That! Studios, award-winning podcaster and award-nominated author Philippa Ballantine and I unveiled (with the blessings of our literary agent) a work-in-progress now working its way through submissions: Books & Braun, a Steampunk take on The Avengers. This is the first time that we have revealed to the public any selections from the work, and our plan is to eventually podcast it in this fashion: Pip and I supplying the character’s respective point-of-view, production elements, a musical score, and artwork featured by Carrie Seidman. We hope you enjoy this listen at what we have cooking in the creative kitchen.
ATTENTION BLOGGERS & PODCASTERS: We are releasing this reading under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Both Pip and I encourage you to syndicate this episode and point your subscribers to this endeavor of ours. We also would love to hear your feedback on this preview both here and at Pip’s website. Thank you for giving us a bit of space on your mp3 player of choice, and we will keep you posted on what happens with our daring duo from the clandestine organization that is The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences.
PREVIEW: Books & Braun (Recorded LIVE at World Fantasy 2009) [30:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadFrom the “Microsoft, What Were You Thinking?!” Files…
After the Seinfeld-Gates marketing debacle, I didn’t think Microsoft could make anything more awkward than those ill-executed commercials.
I was so very, very wrong.
First, a disclaimer: As you may know, I am a Mac user. I make no apologies or smoke screen my love (on some days, reluctant) for the Apple. I want to make it clear that I’m not criticizing (in any way) Windows 7. So far, I have heard nothing but positive buzz about what it is promising.
My review (or rant, whichever you prefer) is about Windows 7 Launch Parties, the latest marketing effort from Microsoft. Their tutorial, “Hosting Your Party”, makes Battlefield Earth look like Lord of the Rings, and begs the question “Does Microsoft thrive on ridicule?” Read the rest of this entry »
The new look for Imagine That!
So yeah, this is a new look for the blog. Please, let me know what you think.
CREATE 2009: Sun, Surf, and Social Media!

photo by Kreg Steppe
As you might have guessed, this image is a favorite of mine. I absolutely love it. I’m hoping that I will have a new image to add to my gallery from the same photographer at the same event as I gear up for…
CREATE 2009
Saturday, April 25
all day
hosted at
Horry Georgetown Technical College
Grand Strand Campus
Myrtle Beach, SC
I have been asked by CREATE’s organizer, Dave Slusher, to return to the beautiful beaches of South Carolina for a day of creative thinking and passion on Social Media. This event is free to the public and a great place to learn creative concepts from creative people of the South. The one-day event is still in the planning phases, but I have accepted the invitation and invite you all to attend.
Ξ
And don’t forget: This week you have two chances to catch me speaking on Social Media. The Washington Network Group and The Washington DC Write to Publish Group have invited me to come in and speak, and I am thrilled to present:
ANTI-Social Media: What Not to Do in Web 2.0
Thursday, February 26
4:30 PM – 6:30 PM
hosted by
The Washington Network Group
Merrill Lynch Conference Center, 6th Floor
1152 Fifteenth Street, NW
Ξ
Social Media for Writers: Making Web 2.0 Your Marketing Machine
Saturday, February 28
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM
hosted by
The Washington DC Write to Publish Group
Arlington Central Library
1015 N. Quincy St., 2nd Floor Meeting Room
Arlington, VA
Feel free to pass along the appearance links on your own feeds, and I hope to talk to you then!
How a Nice Game of Chess Can Protect Your Company’s Image

Chess, from Lewis Carroll’s classic Through the Looking Glass to the Cold War techno-thriller WarGames, has always served as an allegory for strategy. The real trick in this Game of Kings is to think several moves ahead, considering as many outcomes as possible. This is a valuable lesson we can live by in business. Even when times are at their best, regardless of where you are in the corporate hierarchy, all possible outcomes should be considered, followed up by the important question “How will this reflect on me?”
Is this hesitation? No, this is critical thinking — devising fast, creative solutions as you are looking down the road for what is waiting around the corner. This is why chess is not only good for the mind but good for business. It would have definitely helped out Citigroup as a lack of strategic thinking made their failing business image (a loss of $8.29 billion dollars at the end of 2008, and accepting $45 billion dollars of public bailout funds) even worse.
To sum up the week Citigroup has been weathering, The New York Post released on Monday the financial entity was planning to invest part of their bailout funds on the Dassault Falcon 7X, a luxury jet that seats up to twelve, sports a plush interior with leather seats, sofas and entertainment center, clocks in a top speed of 559 MPH, and can travel 5,950 miles on one tank. All for the low, low price of $50 million dollars.
A tidy sum, Mr. Bigglesworth…
Where chess would have really helped out Citigroup here was on November 10, 2008. The bailout plans were already in motion, a new president had been elected, and change and optimism could be felt in the air. Also on this day, FAA records showed Citigroup reserving a new tail number, N488GS. While there are no confirmations, this new tail number seemed to be set aside for an incoming 7X which would join CitiFlight’s Gulf Sierra Fleet. (Yes, I said fleet. As in more than one private jet.) Citigroup, had they taken a moment to think ahead, could have seen the horrific image this would portray to its current and potential customers in light of a less-than-popular multi-billion dollar government bailout. Without taking consequences in mind, they continued with business as usual; and spent this week circling the wagons while others bandied about arguments such as “The planes were signed off two years ago when things were good…” and “Deposits on the 7X had already been made…” as if these were legitimate reasons to continue investment into a $50M plane with public funds.
This morning, in response to The White House asking them if a Falcon 7X was really a wise investment, Citigroup cancelled their order. Mind you, they did not cancel the order to “make it right”. Based on the actions of November 10 and three days of no comments, it’s clear the order was canceled because they got caught.
Is this the image you want to portray?
The decisions you make, whether for yourself or for your company, are powerful reflections of who you are, what you and your company stand for, and how you interact with your clients and handle their problems. In the lesson of chess, it is good to consider as many outcomes as you can, keeping in mind there will always be surprises (both good and bad). You must also consider when the time to act is evident. Strategy is merely groundwork for when to move your Rook or call for a Castle (hence the need for clocks alongside chess masters); but when you act, you now have contingencies in place in case one of those afore mentioned surprises appear.
And sometimes, the best strategy is to stop and apply common sense. How would Citigroup have saved themselves on taking a moment to ask “Is it a good idea, when we’re receiving bailout money, to go on and purchase a $50 million dollar jet?”
A moment of consideration can decide checkmate, particularly in the corporate world.
Concerning Web 3.0: Cutting the Red Wire (Part One of Three)
I started reading up on Web 3.0 when I heard ReadWriteWeb regard it as the next big thing in the Internet’s evolution. Web 3.0 is becoming such a big deal that an expo all about it happened last month, preparing people for what was needed to handle this next wave. But what would Web 3.0 actually be? Will there be direct interfaces with a computer network as seen in The Matrix or Tron? Would it be something more ominous as seen in Eagle Eye where people can use technology of any kind to keep tabs on one’s whereabouts? How about something like Tom Cruise’s interface from Minority Report (the link is the scene in Spanish, but the clip shows what I’d love to see one day) where the monitor was your work environment? Yes, my imagination was running rampant.
Funny I spared a thought on the Cruise-Wagner-Speilberg offering because it turns out Web 3.0 is all about a specific scene from that movie. According to Amiad Solomon, CEO of Peer39, in his keynote address at the earlier mentioned expo, Web 3.0 is “…the monetization and commercialization of Web 2.0.” The more I read, the more I thought about that scene in Minority Report where Tom Cruise is walking around with his new eyes. Remember that? Cruise crosses through a public transport station, gets a quick retina scan, and then is personally addressed by holographic advertisements, directly catering to wants, needs, and desires.
Note: Web 3.0 is a bit like this, and the bit I’m talking about doesn’t involve the super-cool holograms. What I’m taking from the online chatter is that Web 3.0 is all about advertising specifically addressing an individual’s wants and needs based on web surfing habits. Even though the first use of “Web 3.0″ has been cited in the New York Times back in 2006, the concept is starting to pick up momentum as a new business buzz term, and some 2.0 “weblebrities” are scrambling to find out how they can continue their tenuous hold on to their “authority” titles.
Am I worried? Well, yes…but not about what you may think. On reading and re-reading my collected Web 3.0 resources, I thought of two words: Dot-Bomb.
Right now, I’m getting that whole Jack Bauer vibe, one hand gripping a pair of wire cutters, the other hand on my iPhone speaking through a tightened jaw “Chloe, I need you talk me through this OR WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!” In my overly vivid imagination I am picturing a time bomb that is Web 3.0, its digital timer ticking down and a rainbow display of wires desperately needing to be cut.
This is my take on an upgrade might be a bit premature. Let’s start cutting, shall we?
Red Wire: Step in your wayback machines before the days of blogging, podcasting, and Twitter. (Hard to do, I know, but work with me…) Just shy of the end of 2000, Dot-Coms were the kudzu of the Internet. Turn a corner in a city’s or state’s technology corridor, and you would see a new Dot-Com logo gracing the side of a high-rise or business plaza. It was a good time to be a geek, and quite a few did inherit the Earth. For a brief time.
I was calling “Shenanigans!” though when I heard a news report about a Dot-Com that invested 3-million dollars into a Super Bowl ad. They gleefully commented “It’s been six months since running that ad. We’ve shown earnings of 1-million. We’re doing great!”
I’m not a math wizard, but isn’t that the same accounting behind our current economic woes?
So when the Dot-Bomb detonated, there was no reason to be surprised. It happened on account of bad business, poor budgeting, fuzzy math, and a lack of understanding in how the Internet works, what the Internet audience expects, and how businesses regard the Internet. Now, a new “Advance Guard” is heralding the arrival of Web 3.0, basing their model of success on…?
Exactly. *snip*
The timer is still ticking, but we cannot rush this process. We need to take our time and carefully, strategically, disarm this potential disaster. This post is merely the beginning, so see you next week as I continue this realistic look at the supposed next big thing of the Interactive Internet.
Let’s Get Physical!
A real challenge in being creative is keeping the ideas coming. Over the summer, I have caught myself sitting in my studio before the Silicon Altar, aimlessly plodding through a morning, surfing the Internets and its vacuum tubes, not really accomplishing much of anything. For someone dedicated to creativity and fast-thinking, this is a dangerous habit to develop that is extremely hard to break.
Last month, I had figured out what the problem was. I was out of my exercising routine.
I’m no Michael Phelps, but swimming has become something of a passion. A few weeks following Dragon*Con, I resumed my aquatic routine. Already I have noticed a dramatic change in my productivity. Within the first week of returning to the water, I produced three podcasts, hit a stride with Chapter Sixteen of MOREVI: Remastered, and clocked in some valuable writing time with Exodus from Morevi. This was all in the first week.
Exercise is just as valuable a tool in being creative as a good microphone, a DV camera, or a fully-loaded computer. Being active keeps you alert, fit, and most of all, thinking. After a workout, your blood is flowing, the endorphins are kicking, and creative concepts are easier to come by.
Ah, but what about the time taken for a workout? Isn’t that time away from a project or a deadline? I regard it as necessary time away. Writer’s Block, burn-out, and dry idea wells can usually be attributed to stress. Stress can come from working all the time, so give yourself a break. Step away from the mouse. Hit the gym. Whether it’s a walk around a track, a lap in the pool, or pumping iron, you find a routine that works for you and stick with it. Also, workouts are a great time to get caught up or discovering new podcasts…
Yes, even in the pool!
You can be efficient in planning for a workout by packing a bag with workout clothes toiletries, and a towel. (Don’t ever forget your towel!) This way you can drive straight from the day job to the gym instead of come home after a day in the salt mines and lumberyards, change clothes, get to the gym, go at it, and then come home to shower. That routine tends to make long days feel even longer. Plan ahead, and also plan to start slowly and simply. My own swimming regiment started humbly with one-hundred-and-fifty yards. Three laps. Before the year was out I was up to a thousand yards (twenty laps) within half-an-hour. Give yourself easy-to-reach and reasonable goals, and if you have previous injuries/conditions, consult a physician on what exercise or activities will work best for you.
The pressure is on when your work relies on creativity, so consider your personal health. If you find yourself completely at a loss for ideas, power down your creative station and give yourself some time to burn calories. Approach your exercise as you would a creative project. As you progress in your workout routines, you will find that your endurance builds as well as your productivity. Yes you might lose an hour here and there, but you will also loose a few pounds (or kilos, for my international readers) as well. When it comes to producing ideas, you are your most valuable resource. Make sure you don’t neglect it.
Marketing Microsoft: Part Two
From Pip Ballantine, I got a link to a post from the official blog of The New Zealand Herald…
“Ever Wear Clothes in the Shower, Bill?”
Who knew I was so in touch with the journalistic minds of New Zealand?!
Marketing Microsoft…Not That There’s Anything WRONG with That!
Microsoft has launched an aggressive ad campaign about their future. This bold move on their part can only be described as “aggressive” because it features both comic powerhouse Jerry Seinfeld and the now-retired C.E.O. and creator of Windows, Bill Gates.
I have seen this ad both online and on television (you know, television — what people had before high speed connections and BitTorrent?) and tried to figure out what was bothering me about it. I admit, I’m a Mac Guy; but it wasn’t the Microsoft angle that was bugging me. Something was just “off” about this ad. As if answering my silent query of “What did I just see?” the same channel ran an “I’m a Mac/PC” ad where PC pretends to be a pizza in order to lure college students to look at him over the Mac.
That was when I understood my problem with the Seinfeld/Gates ad. Simply put, I didn’t get “the joke” nestled somewhere within it.
Yes, I know, with that statement I have just taped a digital “Kick Me” sign on my back and will probably suffer a few hits. Before you strap on your Iron Boots of +3 Whoop-Ass, consider the following aspects of the Seinfeld/Gates ad:
- The ad opens with Bill Gates shopping for discount shoes and Seinfeld enjoying a churro. On recognizing one another, Jerry launches into his schtick while Gates looks completely out of his element. (Whether that was about buying shoes or Jerry’s sense-of-humor is still uncertain.)
- I learned that Seinfeld showers with his shoes on to loosen the leather. (Exactly what that has to do with Microsoft’s future I don’t quite get.)
- Apparently, when it comes to shoes, Gates is the frugal type.
- “The Conquistador” shoes wear tight.
Only at the end of this ad did I find out this was a commercial for Microsoft. Admittedly, I was transfixed by this ad, but not so much by what it was advertising but by where they were going with all this surreal banter in the style of (shocker!) Seinfeld. I read on a few blogs that this is supposed to be Microsoft’s retaliation against Apple’s “I’m a Mac/PC” ads and they do appear to come out swinging with Seinfeld and Gates in this flagship spot.
Too bad Microsoft’s punches are only hitting air.
This campaign is much like Microsoft’s Zune: A day late, a dollar short. The Mac/PC ads not only made their first strike against Vista (some of their claims a little too slanted, mind you); but their delivery style was so simple, and yet so slick, the ads themselves have become part of pop culture. (Click here to see the “I’m a Marvel Superhero and I’m a D.C Comics Superhero” parody.) All the Mac ads talk about Mac computers, what Macs do, how they act in comparison to the PC, and how they simplify the home computer experience. The ads even go so far to play up how pleasant the Macintosh experience can be.
From the Seinfeld/Gates ad, I get a mini-Seinfeld episode minus George and Kramer (although I’m sure they were on stand by, off camera).
The biggest question I have is for Gates himself: You did retire, right? If so, you’re doing it wrong! Since Vista rolled out, Bill Gates has been on the campaign trail for Microsoft and now he’s shooting commercials. (And looking very uncomfortable doing so.) Whatever happened to taking it easy? If anyone can afford to, it’s you, Bill Gates. Kind of makes you wonder why Gates is pounding the pavement so hard.
Maybe this is too early a judgment call to make, but first impressions mean a lot. After seeing this Seinfeld/Gates ad, all I can say is “Good luck” to Microsoft in this ad war against Apple. As it stands, I look at this ad the same way I look at the Microsoft Windows operating system, its “known and accepted” bugs, and how users continue to work with it amidst all the Trojans, spyware, and viruses it comes with.
I don’t get it.
Double Trouble: Phase Three — The Book Tour
For those of you who think Double Trouble ended on 08.08.08, I have some news for you — that was merely Phase One. With Phase Two (the New Media Expo in Las Vegas) completed, Pip and I are hitting the road with our latest books. Catch up with us at the following locations…
- 08.20.08, starting at 7pm — Barnes & Noble of Camp Hill, PA (Yes, TONIGHT!)
- 08.22.08, starting at 6pm — Moravian Bookshop of Bethlehem, PA
- 08.23.08,from 3-5pm — Constellation Books of Reisterstown, MD
STAY TUNED
for photographs, blogposts, and reviews from the road!!!
Status of MOREVI: Remastered
Sometime last week my Alesis MultiMix-8 developed a nasty hum, and it is getting worse. I searched for work-arounds, but the easiest solution was to purchase a new mixer.
The questions on many’s minds are (1) what happened, and (2) what new mixer did I pick up?
Here are the answers to both…
- I have a very curious studio staff. One of the perils of allowing pets into your recording environment is they might get curious of what exactly is on your desk; and while you might step away from your desk if only for a moment, something might happen. I left a full glass of iced tea by the mixer, thinking the kittens were preoccupied with other fascinations of a finished basement, but apparently Benedick (the gray-white kitten) really wants to podcast. Like any skilled podcaster he wanted to whet his whistle before recording. The tea was soon everywhere, and while I was assured “Nothing got on the mixer…” that was when the hum appeared. A hard (and expensive) lesson learned.
- The Alesis MultiMix-8 FireWire Podcast Package from BSW is still my mixer and podcasting kit of choice. I picked up the MultiMix-8 before the Billibub Baddings podcast and both mixer and microphone (included with the purchase) has been rock solid for all my recording and mixing needs. I even took it on the road and used it for an interview with award-winning author Robert J. Sawyer. The mixer is a workhorse and reliable to a fault…provided kittens do not knock over glasses of iced tea across it. So I am replacing the humming MultiMix-8 with a new MultiMix-8 (and the AKG Perception-100 is a FINE microphone, one I highly recommend) and I expect to be back into the recording of Chapter Sixteen (and Seventeen) of MOREVI: Remastered by Monday night.
As far as the posting schedule goes, I am still aiming to get episodes of MOREVI online this month. With Double Trouble and my tour schedule as it is, that will make posting on a regular basis a challenge. However, I do have a good portion of Sixteen already recorded. I can continue with audio clean up and resume mixing voices, music, and special effects. Sixteen may not post as one complete episode (I may have to return to chapters divided into sections.) but I should still be able to produce something and keep the story moving forward.
Thanks for checking in with Imagine That! Studios, and thank you for listening to MOREVI: Remastered. Please tell a friend about the podcast, and enjoy the ride.
Determination Through Failure II: More on the MyBook
In my previous post “Determination Through Failure” I got a reply from Paul Fischer of Dancing Cat Studios concerning Western Digital’s MyBook. In this comment he suggested:
If you’re still in need of the data on the bad MyBook, I suggest trying out Disk Warrior. I had a disk crash a few months ago, and it saved my bacon. The disk in question was the drive with all my backups. Disk Warrior let me get the data off to a new drive before [the old drive] failed completely.
My reply started to grow hair, so I thought a follow-up blog post was in order.
First, thanks, Paul. His Mac Fu is strong, and I do appreciate his advice on this matter. In fact, many of my followers on Twitter have tweeted possible solutions and even a member of FiT offered to give the disk a checkup with his diagnostic software. I will give Disk Warrior a try, but I’m not certain the real problem is the drive itself. As I had mentioned, I ran disk diagnostics and according to the utility everything checked out. The problems occur when I attempt to copy from the MyBook to the new internal.
To give a bit of history here: When I initially bought this MyBook back in March 2007, I bought it specifically for the FireWire option. (When it comes to the USB 2.0 vs. FireWire debate, I prefer FireWire.) I was so impressed with the MyBook (initially) that I went out and purchased a second one. The moment I tried to daisy chain the drives, both dismounted like Olympic gymnasts. I contacted WD’s Tech Support and told them the problem.
Their first response: “Well, you got USB 2.0. Use that.”
No kidding. That’s a direct quote.
After explaining that the drives mount fine separately but will not daisy chain, they then said “Oh it’s a problem with the cable.” I asked if buying a new cable will remedy this. “No,” they replied, “it has to be one of OUR cables. There’s firmware in our cables specific for MyBooks.”
You know, I write Science Fiction and Fantasy…and nothing I’ve concocted ever sounded as far-fetched as this.
Left with no other choice I agreed to the replacement cable. When it arrived, I swapped out the faulty cable with the new one, mounted the drive, and then plugged into it a second MyBook. Both volumes spun up…and then dismounted.
Back on the phone with Western Digital. This time, they said, “Hmm, this sounds like we will have to escolate the ticket. So, here’s your number and we will contact you in 48 hours.” That was 14 months ago.
Yes, I did try following up with them…twice…and they left me on hold. It has only been in recent months the MyBook using FireWire was not mounting at start-up’s and there seemed to be no rhyme or reason for that.
Paul states later in his blog comment:
Google did a study of failed hard disks a few years ago. As you can imagine, they burn through more hard disks than you’ll ever own in your life. They studied usage time, operating temperatures, and a few other factors. None of those factors mattered. The only indicator of drive failure was the batch the drive was produced in. To put it more simply, that drive was probably from an inferior batch which gave it a greater probability of failure. That doesn’t mean all MyBooks are going to be bad.
I would argue, though, it’s a slim chance a MyBook (of a different storage capacity) purchased at Best Buy comes from the same batch as a MyBook purchased months earlier from an Apple Store in a different county of Virginia. I could be wrong, but it seems unlikely. Also what makes me wary about MyBooks on a whole is its lackluster performance alongside a seven year old LaCie drive. As mentioned in the previous post, the LaCie workhorse has never given me a problem and a lot of data has passed through it.
From this MyBook experience, I have discovered other cost effective options for storage and (in the future) backup options that I need to research further. The experience has also reminded of this incredible community known as Twitter (something I will be discussing in later postings); and I remain affirmed that out of all the different social networks out there, Twitter is the superior tool for its streamlined delivery of communication and content, and its ease of use.
So no, I’ve not given up on the data trapped in the dodgy MyBook. With friends like Paul Fischer, Brad Boyer, and the good people of Friends in Tech, there are always options, always solutions.
Determination Through Failure
This past weekend was not what I would call the most rewarding of weekends.
Trouble began when a Western Digital MyBook (an external hard drive I had purchased barely a year ago) began acting odd. This would not have bothered me so much if the drive in question was not running alongside a seven-year-old LaCie external drive, that workhorse still running as well as it did the day I purchased it. So began a process of copying the MyBook’s content on to a brand new internal drive…
…and no, the internal drive is not from Western Digital.
A Saturday that could have been a highly productive day instead became a day of setbacks as the MyBook hit the wall. Hard. In the end I was able to make a few rescues and recoveries; but some recording sessions with The Billibub Baddings Podcast and early episodes of MOREVI: Remastered remained unobtainable. Even with the disk passing all diagnostic tests, the MyBook had the last say in the fate of my all-important data.
Throwing your hands into the air and giving up is a very easy solution. However, what do you gain from it? True, facing brick wall after brick wall with no logical reason as to why this EPIC FAIL is occurring can easily sap your willingness and drive to continue. So where exactly can you find the motivation to continue after lost blocks of time or, in the worse of cases, a full day?
“I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.”
— Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison did not believe in failure, and this is just one of many quotes where he shows a deep disdain for the concept. His words — and many other quotes from him and other innovators, leaders, and all around clever people — are very good mantras to adopt as determination keeps you driven. When you can look at failures not as setbacks but as stepping stones towards the success you are striving for, then your drive remains constant and your goals closer than they were at the beginning. It can be a computer upgrade or a presentation deadline, but your accomplishments will not come to fruition unless you continue forward towards your project’s goals. Instead of dwelling on the obstacle, consider the problem and the myriad of solutions available in resolving it.
My previous Monday’s posting was missed due to events the day before it. A fellow author, Pip Ballantine, had discovered that her latest novel, Digital Magic, was formatted incorrectly. Typefaces were inconsistent, chapter headers were missing, and — most alarmingly — it was the first draft of the novel in the layout and not the final edit. To crank up the panic level, this layout was destined for the printing presses. Pip was distraught, frantic, and depressed as this put its launch date (which we are promoting together) in jeopardy. I told her “There are no problems, only solutions.” (That might sound incredibly profound, but in all honesty I was quoting the Disney Science Fiction movie, Tron.) Within two days, I had a new book interior ready for press. What came out of this experience reached far beyond the situation of a bungled book printing:
- The problems occurred on account of communication breakdowns between writer, editor, and publisher. In light of this near catastrophe new policies are being implemented.
- The book’s layout now exceeds Pip’s expectations.
- I discovered just how efficient and expedient I am in InDesign. Along with my own limits and abilities challenged, I consider the book perhaps one of the finest layouts I have ever done in my career.
What could have been a disaster changed the way we all work, and from this determination came solutions.
Determination is what keeps a passion and a desire alive, and with it the impossible can be accomplished. Hold on and take a moment to think of what you can do, not what you can’t. From the 10,000 failures, Edison created the light bulb. Had he given up, there is a good possibility you would not be reading this blog post right now.

















INTERVIEW: All a Twitter (and Social Media) on Breakthrough Business
Meet Michele Price. She queried me before I tweeted!
Michele is the host of Breakthrough Business, and on her BlogTalkRadio show we talk about Twitter, about my job at Intersections Inc (which you will find out more later on this blog), and about approaches that go against the grain of the marketing books. We talk about how “old school marketing” just doesn’t work with Social Media, and how businesses need to understand that Twitter (and Social Media, on a whole) is about people.
We had a blast on this interview, and there are more slated for the month. Keep an eye on my RSS feed for more!
Tags: All a Twitter, audio, Blog Talk Radio, business, Chris Brogan, creative thinking, creativity, Intersections, marketing, Michele Price, networking, Podcast, Social Media, Social Networking, strategy, technology, Tee Morris, Twitter, writing
Posted in Commentary, News & Appearances, Social Media | 2 Comments »