Innovation + Opinion = Innopinion

We share discussions, ideas, and opinions taking place at the intersection of technology and tradition.

Here are some opinions for you to respond to or reflect on:

Video Storytelling Lessons from “The Umbrella Man”

Thumbnail image for Video Storytelling Lessons from “The Umbrella Man”

An important rule of thumb I live by in developing online video content is: would I rather watch this or read this? Video can certainly enrich the content experience, but for every great online video I’ve seen, I’ve seen just as many that would have been better off as a standard article. Because the best [...]

The Best Year-End Lessons Don’t Come From Top-10 Lists (An Office Meditation)

The Best Year-End Lessons Don't Come From Top-10 Lists (An Office Meditation)

Don’t resist. Relax and let it happen. It shouldn’t hurt, though you might feel a tugging sensation. It’s okay to stop—just for a little while—the striving, planning, strategizing, evaluating that make your work so successful, that you hope makes you notable and valuable. It’s fine to step away from the carefully wrought echo chamber of [...]

A Magazine is Not a Broken iPad (No Matter What Your Baby Says)

broken ipad, not a magazine

Homer Simpson understands children. Well, his children. All right, maybe just Maggie because she rarely speaks. But he knows enough about the relative predictability of kids to have once uttered, “You couldn’t fool your mother on the foolingest day of your life if you had an electrified fooling machine.” Bravo, Homer. This is why you [...]

5 Things I Learned at the FOLIO Show

folio show

Earlier this month a group of us traveled from TMG in D.C. to the Marriot Marquis in New York to “join the media revolution” at the FOLIO: Show. The event had tracks on monetization, content, management, and marketing—and great key notes from the likes of Mashable’s Pete Cashmore and Time Inc.’s Fran Hauser. Here are [...]

Harvey Levin: Sensationalist or Soothsayer?

old newspapers never die, they just fade away

“Leave the heavy stuff. Just go.” That’s what the voice inside my head said when I read in The Washington Post (WP) that TMZ founder and celebrity gossip peddler Harvey Levin recently addressed journalists at the National Press Club about the future of news media. It wasn’t the first time I’d considered hightailing it. I [...]

Is Your Twitter Account a Ghost, a Witch, a Pirate or a Vampire?

twitter ghost

Halloween is the one day every year people can dress up as anything they want and not be stared at strangely in the grocery store. So we put a lot of thought into what we might wear to capitalize on the opportunity. But we don’t always think about what kind of costume our Twitter account [...]

A Letter from Mark Zuckerberg*

letter from mark zuckerberg

Editor’s note: OK, so this is not a real letter from Mark Zuckerberg, but it’s a real satire of what could be in a letter from Mark Zuckerberg, hypothetically speaking, of course. Hey there! It’s Mark Zuckerberg, everyone’s favorite socially awkward billionaire! I am here to walk you through our latest exciting changes at Facebook. [...]

Finding Inspiration in the Written Word on the Anniversary of September 11th

american flag

I was inspired today, and also humbled. I was moved, saddened and carried away by storytelling. As we reach the 10th anniversary of 9/11, The Washington Post published a series of articles featuring individuals who had been directly affected by the terrorist attack. The articles may be too difficult, too heart-wrenching, for some to read. [...]

Magazine ‘App’-titude

Magazine ‘App’-titude

When CNN announced plans earlier last week to acquire Zite, an upstart creator of magazine apps for Apple’s iPad, it wasn’t exactly Earth-shattering news. The East Coast was still sweeping up after Irene. In the wake of a disaster that almost was, the acquisition caused nary a ripple in the blogosphere. Understandable. The announcement didn’t [...]

Mr. Editor, Tear Down This Wall

Advertorial Wall

You know what word I hate? Advertorial. I’m not alone. For those of us who cut our journalistic chops in the newsroom, the division of editorial and advertising is as sacred as the constitutional separation of church and state. My first reporting gig out of college was covering the use of technology in education. Eager [...]

If This Post Were a Search Engine Results Page

search engine result page

And each phrase was a result (18.2%) With a percentage next to it (10.1%)

Should This Blog Post Have Been Written in Cursive?

cursive writing

I recently learned that Indiana, my beloved home state, is no longer requiring schools to teach cursive writing, focusing instead on printing and typing. I remember struggling to perfect my cursive writing in Mr. Biltz’s fifth grade class. But I never came close to the beautiful script of my teacher. If there were an Olympics [...]

5 Marketing Cliches You Shouldn’t Roll Your Eyes At (Much)

marketing cliches worth repeating

If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times, but that doesn’t always mean the marketing mud you throw against the wall is sticking. The only thing we’re bombarded with more than advertising in our media saturated world is the clichés that guide the teams that create them. And both, for better or [...]

Content Design for the Digital Reader

terry pittman, content marketing executive

I was sitting on the bus on the way to work a few mornings ago when a thought suddenly struck me: “Where’s all the trash?” Washington, D.C., where I live, is a city known for its appetite for reading. On any given morning, the downtown line is a gray hue of policy wonks, academics, financiers [...]

Why We Read: An Ode to Content

why we read, picture of a stack of books

My parents were my first audiobook. I’d wildly run up to them with my children’s book of choice, incoherently babbling to get their attention. Apparently, that’s what I thought they sounded like.

What the Presidents of the USA Would Have Blogged About on the 4th of July

presidents content marketing

Declaring independence (and keeping it) is a difficult endeavor. It takes wisdom, fearlessness, consistency, persistence, and dedication. In a much humbler realm – content marketing – the same virtues apply to success. In honor of the 4th of July, here are what some of the commanders in chief have said about content marketing. Sort of.

This Blog Post is Brought to You by Paper…Mostly

crumbled paper

This blog post was written mostly on a blank piece of paper. Yes, actual paper, with ruled lines and everything. I can’t remember the last time I sat down and scribbled away until I figured out what on earth I was writing about.

3 Steps to Delivering Customer Service Happiness

honest construction sign

I recently purchased some sandals from Zappos that didn’t work out. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, but they needed to go back. I hate returns, particularly when it comes to an online purchase. “I have to print a label?” “Go to the UPS store?” “Carve out time for this when the whole point of ordering online [...]

How to Starve Ideas to Death

tragedy of the commons

We’ve all had these meetings: Big ideas are being discussed. The future of the company is being diagrammed on a whiteboard. The word “should” is being used a lot. The greatest thing since sliced bread is being articulated with passion. Everyone is smiling. People are enthusiastic and everyone pats each other (and themselves) on the [...]

4 Ways to Kill Distractions and Get Things Done

how do you have time for that

I have been wanting to write this post for a while. But I haven’t had time. I figured I’d do it eventually. But project deliverables got in the way. So did happy hours. And so did sleep. Don’t get me wrong: I kept writing it on my to-do lists. I definitely wrote it down more [...]

The Importance of Branding

the importance of branding, shown here, a brand iron

Branding has come a long way from its cattle-marking origins. What used to be a way for ranchers to label what belonged to them (in case it wandered away) now means so much more. Brands are the reason caffeine fanatics pay more for coffee. Brands are the reason hungry road-trippers get excited when they see [...]

Award to the Wise: Readers Are the Real Judge

award to the wise, readers are the real judge

At the custom publisher where I spend my waking hours, the halls are adorned with praise for well-written articles and smartly designed feature spreads—a triumphant redesign of a moribund business school magazine, a celebrity cover for a prominent medical title with a circulation that seemingly knows no way but up. The list goes on.

The Next Big Thud

next big thud, betamax tape

When it comes to gadgets and tech, I used to be a late adopter. I didn’t own a cellphone until 2000. Even four or five years ago, I would choose a cheap model and tell myself I really didn’t need a phone that took pictures, played music or even included a texting plan, for that [...]

Gurus, Ninjas, Experts, and Labels

gurus, experts, ninjas, labels

Labels are a great way to identify things. They save us a lot of time when we’re trying to identify who made a shirt, what is contained in a bottle, or what street we should turn on next. But when it comes to people, it gets a lot more complicated.

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