Why is writing sometimes so hard, and other times so easy?

Writing can be a joy or a chore. I thought of this as I saw this tweet from Raul Pacheco-Vega: “I’ve noticed something really funny: I struggle with putting words into paper, up until I reach a point where BOOM, the words just start pouring from my finger tips. Does this happen to you too?” … Continued

Can you write a privacy policy that’s clear and transparent? Pinterest did.

Facebook has clearly demonstrated how not to explain complex privacy questions. It committed the principal sin of privacy: it surprised its users. By contrast, Pinterest’s policy is a model, not just for privacy, but for simple language about technically complex subjects. You can see Pinterest’s policy here. What I like about it is that it’s … Continued

The truth matters more than which party you support

No matter who is president, we’ll get over it. We’ll get past Trump. We’ll get past whoever comes next. But once we cease to believe that objective truth is the baseline for every discussion, we are doomed. I was reading Facebook the other day when a high school classmate of mine posted this: I had … Continued

I will quote you. I will cite you. I will not seek your approval.

If you publish content, online or off, you are a publisher. I am an author. I will cite your content and quote what you said. That’s how it works, regardless of any imaginary restrictions you think up. Call it the fundamental principle of content. Every content marketer should know this. Maybe you published a blog … Continued

The best questions that senators asked Mark Zuckerberg yesterday

Based on my Twitter feed yesterday, people in Congress were asking some pretty dumb questions of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg yesterday. (One analyst tweeted that her head was going to explode.) So I looked at the transcript. What I found was some excellent questions that don’t have any simple answers. Here’s a good sampling. (The … Continued

My Bitcoin blackmail experience started with a well-written letter

I got a Bitcoin blackmail letter in the mail on Saturday. They did a much better job than those Nigerian prince scams you get by email. Here’s the text of the letter: JOSHUA BERNOFF [my address] Hello Joshua, I’m going to cut to the chase. My name is RedDust~10 and I know about the secret … Continued