Category: Writing
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Q & AI
As a freelance financial writer, I was curious about the threat of my imminent obsolescence with the arrival of ChatGPT and similar generative AI chatbots. In an informal experiment, I asked ChatGPT a few questions that are typical of the kind of questions I answer in my freelance assignments, which consist largely of topics in…
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Books read in 2017
Books! Best to worst. Too many music books, as usual, but hey. Sam Lipsyte, The Fun Parts Wack. Haruki Murakami, Absolutely on Music Six extraordinary conversations about music with Seiji Ozawa. Steve Turner, Beatles, ’66: The Revolutionary Year How a boy band became a zeitgeist. Robert Irwin, The Alhambra The story of “The Red” — the only Muslim palace…
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Imitation is the sincerest form of larceny
So I’ve been writing for the YMCA of Greater New York for a little over five years, helping them with fundraising in particular. I used to write for the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, but I haven’t done so in several years. Recently I noticed a few “echoes” — headlines or themes I had created for New…
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When you’re looking for a ghostwriter
For complex topics with intricately intermediated audiences, one of the most difficult things you can do is to write a compelling book. My four books I have ghostwritten four books for three different organizations with widely divergent needs. All four books feature subjects of extraordinary technical complexity, and are intended for highly intermediated audiences. The…
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How to write a book — four steps for organizations
There are plenty of ways to write a book. Here are four steps for an organization. 1. Identify the effect you want to have: “What do we want this book to do? And to or for whom?” Before a word is written or a title is chosen or a launch date is picked, know first…
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Marketing power through organizational memory
Marketing, like everything else, depends on the whims of the marketplace: trends. What was current and exciting a few years ago is hopelessly out of date today, as the momentum of technology engulfs every aspect of business. How do you achieve long-term impact? For an organization seeking to elevate its reputation and to influence its…