Rob’s blog
In case you thought the media in France was perfect…
We like to gripe about news coverage here at ODTAA - particularly the kind of horse-race-and-poll-fixated news coverage that so often passes for Canadian (and American) political analysis. Turns out that's a problem over in Europe as well. Dominique Wolton, writing in...
Want people to come to your web site… or your side? Build a community.
It's an article of faith among the digerati that one of the things that keeps people coming back to your site is a community: the opportunity to interact, both with the site's authors and with other visitors. Now there's a little more proof, and it comes from the...
Government speechwriting has its rewards
The thought of working for government fills some writers' hearts with terror. "Work within a bureaucracy? Have my words and imagery dulled down and bowdlerized by the forces of unimaginative conformity? Never!" That's the stereotype... but as Sally Kearns points out...
Driving the message home: Swedish taxi promotes equality and fare-ness
Sweden's sex-information organization has a whole new way to curb homophobia. All hail the Queer Cab: You get a free taxi-ride in this big pink 1963 Mercedes Taxi, you "pay" by listening to information, taking pop quizzes like "hetero-bingo" and "prejudice...
SpeechList: Issue 1 – Six reasons to give a speech
A few days ago, I launched SpeechList, the (free! free!) newsletter for people who write and deliver speeches. You can subscribe by clicking here. If you're wondering whether SpeechList is for you, here's the inaugural issue: SPEECHLIST: WRITING TO BE HEARD Issue 1 -...
Speechwriters and bloggers
Astute observers (or obsessed visitors with too much time on their hands) will notice a new section of my blogroll: speechwriters. It's a small section so far, but I'll add more as I stumble across them. And if you know of any speechwriting blogs, let me know -- I'm...
(Special guest post) Bloggespondent
From the when-we-say-fertile- we're-talking-Tigris-and-Euphrates-fertile fertile mind of Alex: bloggespondence, n., BLAHG-geh-SPONN-dehnss: An epistolic exchange between bloggers; specifically, a sequence of posts, alternating between two blogs, each replying to the...
Spinning the unspinnable: the Tories and the Grewals
Spare a sympathetic thought today for those poor bastards trying to spin the Gurmant Grewal tape fiasco for the Conservatives. There. That's enough. The story that started so promisingly for the Tories (and in fairness, still hasn't hit the Liberals with its full...
Join SpeechList!
We're launching a bold new initiative here at ODTAA, a venture in information-sharing, capacity-building, asynchronous interactivity-- ...eh, it's a newsletter. But a really cool one. And it's free. SpeechList focuses on the art and craft of speechwriting, with a...
Meanwhile, Convio has a PR disaster in the wings…
...Specifically, the left wing. And the centre. The company that built its reputation delivering online services to Howard Dean's insurgent campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, and that says it "does not work with groups that promote prejudice and hate...
FeedBurner serves feeds… and customers
There's a company out there called FeedBurner. (Already know 'em? Skip ahead.) They take your blog's news feed, do a little high-tech hocus pocus to it, and pow - out pops your feed, but souped up. Suddenly you can see how many people are reading your blog via your...
Invited to speak: should you RSVP?
Active Voice has some excellent advice on accepting invitations to speak as a member of a panel. I'd add only that his tips are valuable outside the tech world as well. Panel speaking engagements are tricky - when they're good and your spokesperson is on his/her game,...
Why, yes — I’d LOVE to speak at your event
Public speaking and speechwriting: the essential guides
Looking for advice on public speaking, speechwriting and leadership communications? Here are some of my most comprehensive posts, on topics that people ask me about most often.
