Mike’s Points

Pitching a story is about knowing the media outlet(s) you are trying to reach. What is the style? Who is the correct contact? Put your pitch in context with trends or the outlet’s scope, etc., etc.

Along that same line, to work effectively with the media, you need to make their job as easy as possible.

How? Write stories to fit their style (like AP). Provide ample visual, and even audio resources, if needed. Provide as much help as you can for the reporter to make it as easy as possible for him/her to publish your story.

I am fortunate to have a story on this topic published by MarketingProfs.com in January 2005.

Granted, I’m no historian, but by the definition of Web log, I’m pretty sure blogs started as online diaries of a sort. Just a way for people to sound off on topics and post the goings-on in their respective lives.

But, somewhere down the road, they turned into sources of information — credible and not so credible. The 2004 RNC and DNCs were proof as bloggers were issued press passes.

So, why do you blog?

For personal reasons: sounding off, make predictions and as an online diary?

Or, to try to scoop others?

Me? For now, to sound off, a little self-promo (to come), and provide a well of informational links (still to come). Guess the scooping will come much later.

Ya know, a person can do so much planning that nothing gets done. That realization came to me today while cutting my back yard. I have this big plan for this site, but still have to put it into action.

Well, since no Web site nor blog is ever really finished (my second realization), I figure I should just start. Then, add and tweak and improve as time moves forward.

Before getting on to the nitty gritty, I want to thank Greg Brooks of West-Third Group and Greg-Brooks.com for hosting this site.

Now for the real stuff. And, remember, you heard it here first: Within 10 years, maybe sooner, computer monitors will be on the way out.

They will be replaced by projections (likely 3-D) of what you now see on the screen. CRTs and flat screens will be the old technology. Users will just have a keyboard, with a little projector off the front to project whatever is being typed, or graphics, or games or other multi-media. The data will be projected into the air, not a backdrop.

After this “vision” came to me, I thought of the very first Star Wars movie, where R2D2 showed the message from Princess Leia to Obi-Wan Kenobi. Her image was projected from R2D2 in 3-D. So, that’s what will replace computer monitoris within 10 years. Or sooner.

Maybe this is a startling prediction. Maybe it’s not. We’ll see.