After a couple of years of hard work on the part of its editor and authors, Belt Publishing today opened pre-sales for its new Chicago Neighborhood Guidebook, due to hit shelves this fall. Based on the success of its “idiosyncratic” guidebook series for Cleveland and Detroit, the Chicago Neighborhood Guidebook aims to explore community history… Continue reading new essay forthcoming in “the chicago neighborhood guidebook” from belt publishing
Category: blog
the ethics of digital face-swapping
I’ve published a new essay for the Center for Digital Ethics & Policy on the ethics of digital face-swapping, or the technology used to supplant different faces on different bodies and put them in digital spaces where they don’t belong. As suggested by the pied ethical reportage of digital face-swapping, deepfakes lack the charm of… Continue reading the ethics of digital face-swapping
how to market in the manufacturing industry
Last week I spoke about marketing trends in the manufacturing industry with Hubstaff, a time-tracking and productivity platform (and digital innovator that has emerged from the nascent Rust Belt innovation space). Manufacturing is a complicated industry in the U.S., with its human capital increasingly threatened by automation. That’s why it’s important for manufacturers to tell… Continue reading how to market in the manufacturing industry
everything your new year’s resolutions will do to your brain and body: spending less and saving more
The good folks at MEL Magazine reached out to me at the beginning of this year to follow up some other conversations I’ve had with them the past few years about saving money and spending less. According to the writer, I’m a bona fide “super saver.” When asked about how my habits and health started… Continue reading everything your new year’s resolutions will do to your brain and body: spending less and saving more
where B2B marketers are winning in social media
I was recently quoted at CMSWire talking about social media strategies for B2B marketing. Not sexy, but necessary. The problem with a lot of marketing coverage and education is that it focuses strictly on consumer and product marketing. But these sectors represent only a slice of the whole pie of marketing services and outreach. The… Continue reading where B2B marketers are winning in social media
comment (newsletter #02)
Last weekend I spent a few days in and around Joshua Tree National Park. I planned the trip several months ago, before I knew that the U.S. government would be in the midst of one of the stupidest shutdowns in geological history. Fortunately, the park was mostly open during my visit (despite the apparent flood… Continue reading comment (newsletter #02)
joshua tree, january 2019 (photo essay)
In January 2019, my wife and I took a long-planned trip to Joshua Tree, not knowing that Trump’s idiotic government shutdown would be happening at the same time. The fear was that flights would be delayed and that Joshua Tree National Park would be a wasteland. Fortunately, neither was the case. We stayed at a… Continue reading joshua tree, january 2019 (photo essay)
trying something new(sletter)
When I started teaching communications last fall, I had one goal for the class – to explore how ideas move through the world. On paper, my class is about public relations. But when you strip away the myths, pseudo-sciences, and caricatures of the field, PR – and strategic communications, more broadly – is about self-awareness,… Continue reading trying something new(sletter)
2018 in pictures
I posted a picture per day in 2018. Sometimes more. To wrap up the year, here are some of my favorites.
failure and the fast track to cult success
Cultism has evolved throughout history in the bacterial space between symbiosis and parasitism. It is not an extraterrestrial phenomena, but always contingent on the boundaries of the cultural present. Whatever the dominant culture deems to be heretical or subversive, in any given age, is the place where cultism congeals. The location of the fringe constantly… Continue reading failure and the fast track to cult success
