Jeff Cutler™ – columns, essays and opinions

OnStar and Chevy paired today to make an announcement about the start of Volt production and about some functionality OnStar is offering with a new car-connected mobile app.

Maria Rohrer – Director Chevy Volt Marketing said the car is “very real and on time.”

According to Rohrer, the Volt is an extended range electric vehicle.

To that end, OnStar has introduced and is working toward integrated electical management, stats and communication from drivers to their cars.

Sounds like it’s a robot car.

Additionally, OnStar has launched an app on multiple mobile platforms that allows owners to get car info, communicate and give commands to their car, and even see diagnostic info.

During the OnStar/Volt session, a person in the audience was able to lock the car doors on their Android phone via the app.

Crazy!

What’s your take?

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Is that enough W’s for you? I’m not trying to usurp the journalism story rule but I did want to share with you my schedule for the week. WAIT. I’ll do that in a separate post.

In this post I wanted to let you know why a merry band of men and women*(look in the right banner for “Our Friends”) thought – as did I – that it would be a good idea to create a webinar for Chief Marketing Officers. That’s what CMO means if you didn’t know. And also why it would be a good idea to give it a listen if you care about how you market your business.

Oh, the Webinar is tomorrow. Go sign up HERE. It’s only about 40 minutes plus a Q&A section. You might learn something about using social media, communities and other tools and techniques to reach your audience. Now here’s the top five WHYs…

1 – Shiny tools like Twitter and Facebook are being overused by everyone. If you want to stand out and have a measurable impact with your audiences, you should know the best ways to integrate these tools into your existing marketing plan.

2 – The majority of individuals in management positions don’t understand how the aforementioned shiny tools might help them communicate with audiences they’ve never reached. The Webinar series will explain some techniques for explaining how community building is done in Web 2.0 and 3.0 ways.

3 – Resources are dwindling. As your staffers get handed a box from the copy room and are escorted to the door you’re left doing the same work with fewer people. We’ll help explain how to get this work done by balancing your remaining team and using new tools.

4 – Outside perspective is valued everywhere, even if it’s not discussed. You might not want to hear what a consumer has to say all the time, but it can help you refine your message. You might hate hearing a competitor’s opinion of your process, but it could help you beat them the next campaign you run. Our team has CMOs, journalists, content specialists, marketing pro’s, advertising agency executives, account managers and sales people on it. Our views will help you look objectively at your current marketing path and either pat yourself on the back or lock yourself into a closet and weep quietly. But at least you’ll well-reasoned impetus to do so.

5 – It’s free and any return you get is 100%. When have you gotten 100% on any campaign? I thought so.

Join for The Skeptical CMO and friends: The value of building your online community (before you need it)”
Date:  Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Time:  3:30 PM – 4:30 PM EDT

Here’s the sign-up link again.

If you have ideas for future Webinars (or marketing podcast episodes), or if you have questions for the panelists, leave them here in the comments.

Keep reading…and thinking!

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Somewhere in the archives of my blogs, I’ve commented on Jonathan Coulton. He of the IKEA song and Fancy Pants and other brilliant musical missives.

Well, I interviewed the artist in March 2008 and we talked about everything. The interview went for more than an hour and now he’s agreed to allow me to make it available for public consumption in podcast form.

Just visit A Life of Play podcast to get the first episode…or subscribe in iTunes. All five segments will be available this week and each is about 20 minutes long.

You can see more about Coulton at his site.

And if you have comments or questions, please leave them here or in the show notes at A Life of Play.

If you have an idea for an A Life of Play interview, gimme a shout on Twitter @jeffcutler or send an email to jeff [at] jeffcutler [dot com].

Thanks!

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In the past week I went from moderately famous podcaster, journalist and philanthropist to the echelons of household name…at least when it comes to National Public radio reporting.

That’s right, NPR sent me to the Consumer Electronics Show to report on the gadgets that make Americans drool. I came back with lots of audio, many blisters and a great deal of respect for the cab drivers in Las Vegas.

Further, I came back with content. I’ve sent some to MobileMag.com and some to Technology Review. But the bulk of my research and interviews have been used on the air at Boston’s NPR radio station – WBUR.

Here is the first clip that ran last week.

Interview with Anthony Brooks – 1/8/09

And here is the clip that ran earlier today.

Boomer and Kid Tech – 1/14/09

If you’re having trouble listening – because they require Real Player, then just click below for the audio of my clips.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Please realize that WBUR is public radio and they enjoy support from listeners like you. It’s even more important that you give them money now because I loved working with them on this project and look forward to many more adventures. For that to happen, they need your suport.

WBUR.org is the Website and Here-Now.org is where you can find more great stories any day of the week.

Keep reading….and listening!

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At CES, from the prototype cellphone with a video projector in it to the three or four models (no phone) that fit in your hand and put movies on walls at resolution that amazes you, there’s a lot to see – literally.

Steve Garfield and I spent a moment with people from Optoma to put their little projector through it’s paces. I’m working on an article for Gatehouse Media featuring these products, so I’m not going to give you my take yet.

But here’s my interview in total along with some photos. You make up your mind. And I welcome your comments.

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It came to my attention Thursday that not everyone is pleased with the results of the election. Be it the choice by the country of a new President or the changes in Massachusetts laws (we still have an income tax and now we can’t bet on dogs), but one firm in Cambridge has notified its employees that healthcare has just become more expensive.

The company – Aspiant of Cambridge – sent an email out Tuesday night minutes after the election results had been announced on the major networks, saying that the company would no longer contribute any money to employees’ healthcare plans.

I was given a copy of that email by an employee and decided to share it with my readers.

Here’s the text of that email. I’ve stripped out the addresses of the employee who provided it and also removed Aspiant CEO’s cell phone number, but have left the time stamp and all other information intact.

From: Mirko Geffken
Subject: Health Insurance Employer Contribution Elimination and Travel Reimbursement Elimination
To:
Date: Tuesday, November 4, 2008, 11:02 PM

Hi All,

with the recent events Aspiant is no longer able to provide a health insurance contribution. This means that effective with the next payroll the employer contribution to healthcare is reduced from 50% to 0%. Also, all previously authorized travel reimbursement, including MBTA passes and all other travel reimbursements are hereby revoked.

Effectively this means that the portion you are paying for healthcare will double.

Unfortunately these steps are necessary because it is uncertain that future legal developments will allow for a reduction in benefits. To preempt this development this change is made effective immediately. It is likely that with the change in administration alternative health insurance options will become available that may reduce your health insurance obligation.

It is also likely that our tax obligations will increase and it is unlikely that a raise in rates will be possible from our client in these economic times.

If anyone is interested in researching alternative health plans (PPO only) that provide similar coverage (with maybe higher deductables) feel free to do so and let me know if you find one of interest. Please be aware that MA law requires you to have healthcare coverage, so it is not possible to drop coverage altogether.

I regret having to move in this direction, but this is the partially the cost of doing business in the state of Massachusetts and the impact that future policies will have on this organization.

I can only hope that future elections will provide a more positive environment for business or further measures will have to be taken.

As always should you have any questions feel free to see me.

All the best

Mirko

–
Mirko Geffken
President & CEO
Aspiant, Inc.
Cell:
Tel. (877) 527-7426 x501
Fax. (877) 527-7426

I was unable to confirm if this tactic or measure is legal under Massachusetts law. I’ve also been unable to find out what the impetus for this move was. I’ll try to chase down more of this story as it develops and find out from some healthcare advocates in the state to see if this move is legal or where the abandoned employees can get assistance.

But in a time of economic challenges, wouldn’t you think a business owner might have some compassion for his employees? Further, all contributions into these plans are still deductible on the firm’s taxes.

Maybe the guy is just being a dink because his ballot question, candidate or dog had a bad day.

If he just doesn’t like Obama, he’s still got 70 days to deal with the regulations under the old administration.

I especially like how he says that “all previously authorized travel reimbursement, including MBTA passes and all other travel reimbursements are hereby revoked.” That’s a nice touch. Hope people didn’t travel far for the company on their own dime and now can’t get reimbursed.

Also interesting is the fact the company lists two positions available on its Website and gives the following text as enticement to come work for Mirko…

Aspiant is constantly looking for highly-skilled consultants specializing in Microsoft technologies. We seek candidates with a strong desire to learn and stay on top of technologies in their line of work and look for a company that supports their ambitions.

If you are seeking a consulting position with a highly capable and team-oriented environment, please send your resume and a brief description describing what it is you are best at to:

Whatever the case, I’m sure his clients, prospective investors, family and friends will be interested to see how he treats his corporate family.

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While working at WBUR Boston tonight, I spoke via email with Ron Sylvester about his remembrances of past elections. Follow him on Twitter if you’re so inclined. And read here some of his thoughts about the voting process in the United States and his experiences. Enjoy.

I’ve always been interested in presidential elections, probably because my father was a broadcast journalist.  I remember getting to stay up late to watch the returns of Humphrey/Nixon.  It went into the wee hours, and I had to go to bed before the election was decided.  I woke up and Nixon was president.  I was like in the fourth grade then.

Nixon won re-election in a landslide. Not every exciting, and after Watergate Carter’s election was predictable.

Carter/Reagan was the first election I got to vote in.  Voted for Carter.  Cable was new then and me and college buddies sat and drank beer all night and watched TBS show a Reagan marathon after he won.  That’s what I remember about that night.

We expected an exciting election in ‘92 and friends were ready for an exciting night, keeping track of the states as they came in. We were all supporting Clinton and were sure he was going to change the country, as the first president of the rock ‘n’ roll generation.  That didn’t last very long: Clinton began winning states and it was evident early that he was going to roll. But the lead-up to that night, the anticipation that the leadership of the country was ready to be handed to a new generation, was very close to this one.

Of course, 2000, was the most exciting, with the Florida goes to Gore, no, to Bush, wait, who voted, now it goes to the Supreme Court.  It doesn’t get more dramatic than that.  People went to bed that night thinking Gore had won and woke up not knowing who was going to be president.

But I think the excitement of tonight goes beyond the race, the numbers, the margin of victory, as we look toward an historic election.

I grew up remembering vividly the days Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. were killed.  Those were moments that defined my generation and changed our country.  I often wonder what might have happened if RFK had gone on to be president.  We might have avoided Watergate, and all the damage that did to the faith in the country.  On the other hand, in hindsight, we have seen the Kennedys can also contribute to their own scandals.  But I like to think things would have been different.  Obama offers that same kind of hope Bobby gave in those stirring speeches, which I can still remember, despite being so young.

There are some key issues that define this election.  I believe we are going to see big crowds of people, who have never voted before, who have felt disenfranchised in previous elections, getting out to vote.  And I believe that could point to a more decisive victory for Obama.  I also wonder what might happen if McCain pulls an upset, and what this might say about our country.

The reason this is such an exciting election for me is the promise that, after all these years, Martin Luther King’s dream might be realized: today, a man will be judged by the content of his character and not the color of his skin.

Thanks Ron!

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The recent admission by Lance Armstrong that he’s planning to try and win an eighth Tour de France title has me reeling. I’ve seen Lance in the Tour IN PERSON twice and would likely make every effort to attend his next attempt if he follows through with this promise.

Here’s are two shots I took of Lance in 2005 on the slopes of the Alps near Courchevel France. One is of the finish on the Alps, one is of the downhill start the next day.

You can see that he’s all alone and is hammering up the hill. OK, you can see only that he’s alone. And he actually came in second on that stage, but it was great to see him in person and to have the ability to take photos and report on the event.

In the other shot you can see he’s in yellow and poised to win his 7th Tour de France.

That’s what I’m thinking about today as I look forward to assignments at CES in January and Spring Training in Florida in February and March.

If you’re at a news outlet and need a versatile freelancer for these types of assignments, gimme a shout in the comments on this post or send me an email… jeff (@) jeffcutler (dot . ) com.

Oh, if you want the full resolution shots I took at the 2005 Tour de France, get in touch. I’m willing to sell one-time rights.

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Here are my session notes from the #spj08 conference in Atlanta. These notes are unfinished, but they will give you a feel for what the session speakers are telling us right now – 11:47AM on Saturday.

———————-

Freelance Magazine Writing – session notes

Laura Helmuth – Senior Science Editor, Smithsonian Magazine

The most important thing is the end of the story.

Look for the richer story. It’s a different way of looking at events that are happening in the world.

Think about sources as characters in your article/story.

Profiles are great sellers.

Identify someone who’s charismatic and profile them.

If you live near a vacation destination, think about stories that would be of interest to people who have been there and who are going there.

Think of a magazine as an object.

People think of magazines as things.

Magazines are a projection of your personality. Coffee table display.

Get an idea of what the story you want to pitch looks like.

Aim for the actual paper magazine. It pays better. That’s what editors care about. Online pays less and is less a focus.

Contact the right editor. Aim for the senior editor. Get a feel for who dows what beat.

Make it clear if the piece you’re pitching is an urgent one.

Long-awaited. Portray the impact. How the story or event or person is giving answers to bigger questions.

Don’t be subtle about any of this.

When it doubt, hype your story. Be a cheerleader for it.

Spell out the story and what it’s all about.

Why YOU are the person to do the story as the final paragraph of the pitch.

Show mastery of the story and all of its nuances.

Make the story fun and entertaining along with the entertainment.

First-person impressions are valuable.

Kathy Ehrich Dowd – Freelancer for People and many other national publications.

Range of stories is a benefit.

Be very disciplined.

Treat it as a very serious career.

Networking is key. 85% of her work has come from editors she knows personally.

Do your homework – research the publication and research your topic very well.

Figure out what types of stories they like, what they have for voice, and try to reflect that.

MediaBistro has a How to Pitch section.

Think of yourself like a lawyer and have rebuttals for every question and concern.

Make it easy for the editor to say yes.

Pitch stories that you’re passionate about.

Find the most relevant hook you can to get the pitch accepted.

Just because you have a really amazing story, you still need to craft the best pitch you can to get an editor’s attention.

Do exactly what editors ask of you.

Hope Winsborough

Topics that come up in the news are great fodder for articles.

Revising Prose
The Economics of Attention
Books to get and read

People are more focused on engagement instead of eyeballs.

Narrative is the way to tell your stories

Really quick three bullets….she will…

Tell about her route
Tell a little about magazines specifically – it’s a formula for EACH mag
Tell about outside the box alternatives

Talk to editors, network and give serendipitous events a chance to happen. Make relationships and make the most of those contacts.

Your editors will let you know what’s going on. Editors will jump from magazine to magazine and they like to rely on people they’ve worked with. Make them happy and keep getting gigs.
Get stories from contemporary literature and events.

There are some basic kinds of magazines most people read.

There are SERVICE and ASPIRATION.

Mags to help you do things.
Mags to help you learn about different lifestyles

In England, The Week is like Newsweek and Readers Digest combined. Go read it.

The Economist. Very few ads. Still powerful and well-read.

These are hybrid titles.

The environment is changing.

amybgreen.com

————————————-

There you go. Enjoy.

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This is the second version of the Podcamp Boston feature I prepared for a client earlier this summer.

Forging Connections in New Media – the value of Podcamp Boston
by Jeff Cutler
Correspondent

Steve Garfield couldn’t stop talking about meeting a woman from his neighborhood at last week’s Podcamp Boston 3. Both are photographers from Jamaica Plain.

Podcamp is an unconference built on the premise that hallway conversations are as important as session content. Garfield might have never have crossed paths with this woman at a traditional tech conference, but the unconference model encourages attendees to make connections and educate each other.

As with any conference, there were planned sessions. But that didn’t stifle collaboration in the hallways or regular posts on Twitter (a group text-message service) during the show.

Some messages alerted podcampers to room changes or speaker adjustments. Some broadcast what was going on in the room where they sat. During the keynote, most tweets (the 140-character messages carried on Twitter) were quotes of the speakers or requests for the location of other attendees.

According to Garfield, the relationships that come from Podcamp Boston are valuable.

“What I get out of these Podcamps is meeting new people and making new relationships with new people,” said Garfield. “And also making existing relationships I have with people stronger.”

For all its free-form stylings, the podcamp product does have six rules. These are:
1. All attendees must be treated equally. Everyone is a rockstar.
2. All content created must be released under a Creative Commons license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
3. All attendees must be allowed to participate. (subject to limitations of physical space, of course)
4. All sessions must obey the Law of 2 Feet – if you’re not getting what you want out of the session, you can and should walk out and do something else. It’s not like you have to get your money’s worth!
5. The event must be new-media focused – blogging, podcasting, video on the net.
6. The financials of a PodCamp must be fully disclosed in an open ledger, except for any donor/sponsor who wishes to remain anonymous.

And an unconference can have its bumps. A room change at the last minute left attendees scrambling to find the right room. And some equipment challenges stalled the beginning of a session. But the podcamp audience is versed in using technology to solve problems.

Half an hour into this year’s event, Jim Storer of Burlington-based Mzinga used Twitter to ask if anyone could find portable speakers for a session that was happening in room 214.

Room and speaker changes were also broadcast to all attendees using the Twitter tag #pcb3.

That on-the-fly use of technology underscores what co-founders Christopher Penn and Chris Brogan hoped would happen when they started Podcamp Boston in September 2006. They wanted an event where the people were the essence of the conference. Where the experience and knowledge a person had would enrich the lives of other attendees.

Penn, Chief Technology Officer at the Student Loan Network, explained the unconference model as a “conference put on by its participants.”

Since Podcamp Boston 1, there have been 41 podcamps worldwide. So why do the same people keep attending?

The unconference bug bit Phil Campbell after he attended a couple podcamps. This geek from the United Kingdom decided Brogan and Penn had come up with a formula that worked.

In less than a year, he had nearly £10,000 in funding and started Podcamp UK.

“The thing that happens at podcamps,” said Campbell. “Is that the people who are looking for something tend to organically gravitate toward the people who can make those things happen.”

Boston resident Adam Weiss has helped organize each Boston podcamp and feels that the way people share information continues to change.

Weiss used to create audio podcasts for the Museum of Science. It was a low-cost way to share science knowledge with a broad audience. It gave science fans a resource they could download at their leisure. It gave the Museum another way to add value to traditional exhibits.

Weiss is now a podcast consultant and explained that podcasting is becoming commonplace, as is the sharing of information at unconference models like Podcamp.

“It’s starting to become a lot more mainstream,” he said. “So you get a mixture of the people who really know what they’re doing and know what they’re talking about – the geeks again – but also you get a lot of people who want to learn about this. One of the exciting things about an unconference is that it’s either cheap or free, and everybody arrives as equals. So you can go, even if you don’t know anything, and just talk to these people who are experts in the field.”

Brogan, VP of Strategy & Technology at CrossTech Media, said, “There’s a lot of technologists and a lot of media makers and a lot of forward-thinking people on the Boston scene.”

Smart people are necessary ingredients to an unconference, according to Penn. He said the first unconferences were formed with a simple thought.

“Let’s put a couple hundred of the smartest people we know in a bunch of rooms together for a couple days and see what happens,” said Penn. “That’s really the essence of this unconference idea. It’s the participants and what they bring with them makes it work.”

Podcamp Boston 3 was held July 19-20 at Harvard Medical School’s Joseph Martin Conference Center.

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Jeff Cutler is also a podcaster, and is halfway through a one-year writing sabbatical. His progress reports are available at www.jeffcutler.com. Jeff can be reached via email at jeff@jeffcutler.com.

If you have comments or questions about the event, please leave them here in the comments section. If you’d like to have me cover an event for your publication, send me an email.

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