Author Archive
The future of publishing?
I had the pleasure a week or so ago of accompanying one of my authors Olly Newland on a visit to the interest.co.nz offices. The Auckland-based e-publishing business seems like a success story by any measure. Its nearly ubiquitous host, journalist Bernard Hickey provokes ALL sorts of comment — good and bad — on a […]
Wedge issue
In what’s showing up as a litmus test in the run up to the US November elections, my hero Senator Al Franken author of Lies – And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them is, as expected, speaking to uphold and defend the US Constitution.* Franken said conservative opposition to the mosque is “one of the […]
Another con
In my in-box today … Does this con actually work? Have you heard of anyone falling for it? Really? Hi, Its me Mike I really don’t mean to inconvenience you right now, I made a little trip to UK and I misplaced my passport and credit cards,please I know this may sound odd, but it […]
Right/wrong vs Can/should
Oh boy. John Stewart (in fine form) revs up on the plan to locate an Islamic community centre (Mosque) two blocks from the site of the World Trade Centre. I like his take, as usual … and his roasting of the Fox News phoneys on their lack of consistency. And then there’s a squirmy/bad taste […]
Godwin’s Law (again)
Godwin’s Law strikes again… What an arse, sorry, billionaire investor arse.
Hyperbole and puffery — that’s your DEFENCE?
Lawyers for fuel giant Shell facing misleading advertising charges have told a court in Wellington that claims in their advertisement for petrol containing an additive ‘designed to take you further’ were “hyperbole and puffery” and they didn’t expect anyone to believe them. (Source: Radio NZ News) RNZ Court reporter summarising Shell’s statement of defence: “The […]
Plagiarism as a business model
What’s coming up for discussion with the new media/old media/social media/internet marketing debate is: how important is ‘original material’? It’s an issue not just for the Rupert Murdochs of the world: original, quality content for news media — actually any media — is expensive to produce on anything like an ongoing and quality basis. It […]
In a nutshell: a matter of trust
This small comment, in the middle of an article discussing Facebook privacy, explains what’s actually lost when certain spruikers (you know who I mean) expand their hyperbole and ‘puffery’ into potentially misleading claims … and then their offerings disappoint repeatedly, as in the case of some whose activities I have highlighted here. “They’ve lost the […]
Re-framing World War II as a facebook profile page…
OK, I know I may be WAY behind on this, but if you haven’t seen it — Bwahahaha…it’s hilarious! Thanks to Brett Roberts.
An apology? … Oh, that’s all right then.
Here’s how Bob Jones’s publishers handled incorrect information asserted as fact … … which is a bit different to how Gareth Morgan handled ‘a mistake in the book that must be corrected’ in the first edition of his After The Panic. I occasionally ask readers to clarify any matters of fact that may be inadvertently […]
Let’s head ’em off at the pass!
Even more on ad-blockers I was reading over at The Unofficial Apple Weblog, about a new extension for the Safari web browser which ‘cleans’ a lot of the extraneous material from around You Tube videos. Naturally, I’m not the only one annoyed by the ‘creativity’ You Tube’s owner/operators Google engage to interrupt my viewing pleasure. […]
Originality
Creativity — There are these AMAZING shoes… … which I read about in the New York Times: [Italian architect and designer Gaetano] Pesce’s new shoe for the Brazilian company Melissa — an ankle bootie composed of interconnected PVC circles, whose form can change at the whim of its owner with a swift slice of the […]
Another reason to speak up now
Speak up! Tell your truth — Do the right thing NOW. You may not always have the opportunity … As someone said elsewhere: “I am not perfect or lily white and try never to claim to be.” … but we do our best, right? (This art just resonated for some reason.)
