If you're ever in the mood to dispense with the cutbacks, straight-arms, stutter-steps, ball fakes, head fakes, cross-over dribbles, behind-the-back passes, backpedals, slide-steps, reverse pivots, fall-away jumpers, pick plays, hidden-ball tricks, bobs-and-weaves, fake hand0ffs, flea-flickers, head-slaps, spin moves, swim moves and jukes—and take your sadness head on even on a Friday morning, this is a good set of goggles.
Holtz answers Murray’s social media SOS
A couple weeks ago I wrote a post titled, "So far, social media has given me carpal tunnel syndrome and that's about it."
It was a cry for help, and in my desperation I called out Shel Holtz.
Now he's generously responded on his blog, with a series of "Cures for David Murray's attention crash." There is a lot to chew on, and I'm going to respond in his comments section.
But I'd like to hear from Boots readers who have publicly and privately expressed sympathy with my point of view: What's your reaction to Shel's answers?
ADDED: Here's my response on Shel's blog:
Shel, thanks very much for responding in such detail and with such thoughtfulness.
There's a lot to think about here, and I'm not ready to react to all of it. A few points:
1. Clearly I need to pay someone to spend a day with me and show me how to get organized with social media, the way you are. In advance, I'd describe all my social media activities, and the person would come to my house, put me in his or her lap, and hook me into the three or four platforms you describe. I know this kind of organization comes easily to you, but most people need help in figuring that stuff out.
2. As for what I'm trying to achieve: I'm trying to become rich and famous and widely beloved (though hated by the truly loathsome). Can Google Analytics tell me how I'm doing? (I mean this only half tongue-in-cheek.)
3. To your main point: I am a writer. My content IS my useful contribution to the community. If I don't push my content, it doesn't get read, and if it doesn't get read, I'm not contributing.
Keep in mind, I'm not utterly frustrated. I have lots of readers–for my communication writing, for my political stuff, for my sports stuff and even my travel stuff–and they are the kinds of people I like writing for.
I'm getting somewhere. It's just that I'm always covered in mud because there's a lot of wheel-spinning along the way.
Seems like step one is the tactical social-media organizational stuff you describe.
But first you have to promise me: No more new social media platforms for at least one year.
Can you promise me that, Shel Holtz?????
Vital Speeches, 2.0
For reasons known only them, the powers at McMurry have named me editor of Vital Speeches of the Day.
Depending partly on your age and partly on what corner of the communication world you occupy, this announcement will either mean something to you because you've known about Vital Speeches forever (the first issue came out in 1934), or nothing to you at all because you've never heard of it.
As a speechwriter said in response to a recent branding query, "Vital Speeches of the Day is our most esteemed chronicle of modern oratory. Of course, we speechwriters honor it as a standard of achievement, but it also commands the attention and respect of scholars. … The fact that I have been published in it impresses even an Ivy Leaguer."
But like so many other legendary publications, Vital Speeches has lost some currency in the age of the Internet. Unlike those publications, Vital Speeches retains its main proposition: It is still the only reliable collector of the best and most important speeches in the U.S. and the world. And though it has a sister publication called Vital Speeches International (which I'll also oversee), it has taken no detour from its original mission:
The publisher of Vital Speeches believes that the important
addresses of the recognized leaders of public opinion constitute the
best expression of contemporary thought in America, and that it is
extremely important for the welfare of the nation that these speeches
be permanently recorded and disseminated. The publisher has no axe to
grind. Vital Speeches will be found authentic and constructive.
As editor, I'm determined to see that Vital Speeches once again matters to more than just the veteran speechwriters, professional speakers, Baby Boomer-and-older business executives and thousands of librarians that subscribe to it—but to everyone who cares about what leaders are saying and how they are saying it.
But we're not running commercials during Dancing with the Stars. So it'll take a little time. We're establishing a broad online presence to surround our main online platform, VSOTD.com. (And, to surround you.)
I'd sure love for Writing Boots readers to be among the first to join the Vital Speeches group on LinkedIn, subscribe to the Vital Speeches YouTube channel of historical and contemporary speeches, become a fan of our Facebook page … and, yes, follow us on Twitter (I told you I was determined, didn't I?).
I also need you to send me any speech you write that you're proud of, any speech you read that moves you. The Vital Speeches address is vseditor at mcmurry dot com. I want the magazine to continue being a publication of record that it's been for 75 years; but I want it to ooze with juicy speeches on all kinds of topics.
As I embark on the job, I ask myself: Murray, you're interested in a lot of different things—so why do you pour this much of your energy into communication?
Because once every few decades or so, the dang stuff actually does what it's supposed to do. And if I ever doubt that, I'll just switch over to Vital Speeches' YouTube channel and I watch this: