Indiana University provost’s statement declares war on its own professor

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The Indiana University’s business school has a professor named Eric B. Rasmusen. Lauren Robel, the schools’ provost, just issued a statement that he’s a racist, sexist, homophobe but they can’t fire him. This could only happen in academia. Go ahead, read the statement: On the First Amendment This message was sent to the Kelley School … Continued

It’s time to ban all political ad targeting . . . everywhere

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Google will stop targeting political ads based on behavior. That’s a start. I call on every platform to end all targeted political ads (except by geography) — and for Congress to make this the law. Here’s what happened with political ads so far in 2019: Twitter banned all political ads. Google just announced that for … Continued

Last chance for authors

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I’m soooo close to 200 responses in my author survey. If you didn’t already take it and you are (or plan to be) a nonfiction author, please help. This is the last chance to do that. It’s 8 minutes. Eight. It’s here. Everyone who takes it gets a summary of survey results (see where you … Continued

How to learn from great writers

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We all have authors we admire. But that’s no reason to act the way they do. Which nonfiction authors do you think are awesome? My list includes Malcolm Gladwell, Mary Roach, Daniel Pink, Jay Baer, Michael Lewis, Bill Bryson, and Isaac Asimov. And I have no desire to emulate their writing habits. Isaac Asimov wrote … Continued

Note to FedEx: schoolyard taunts are a poor PR strategy

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On Sunday, the New York Times published a critique of the way that the shipper FedEx cut its federal tax bill to zero. Rather than defending itself, FedEx lashed out at the finances of the Times. While such tactics may be working for politicians, they’re no way for a public company to behave. Here’s the … Continued

Dear big company. The gig economy doesn’t work the way you think it does.

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I live in the gig economy. I work with large companies. Their systems are designed to make working with me “efficient.” In fact, they just ensure that they’re getting the highest possible price. If you’re a freelancer, you know how this works. Joe Exec, who knows you somehow (from seeing your blog, a reference from … Continued

How to cultivate a lifelong network when you suck at networking

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I have a network that I didn’t set out to create. Curiosity and a specific type of work environment created it. I just needed to do my job and not be too much of an asshole. I’m terrible at networking. At events, I struggle to introduce myself to people. I don’t drink. I like to … Continued