The Kiss Business too (2)

I'm just a silly blogger, I know. But nasty?

Early this month I compared Real Time Marketing with the "speed" paper magazines can publish a two-way conversation.

I'm known to speak my mind (and known to write double Dutch English too), 'cos I'm just a silly blogger interested in IT, progress, marketing and interaction between various parties.

Invite to comment

And, as silly bloggers do, kindly invited the editor and the regular contributor mentioned in my post to comment in the comment box. The editor in question did reply, by email only and only to state that modernising the online presence of the trade magazine would costs a lot of time and recourses. (I still beg to differ.)

The regular contributor (Sid Bourne) replied in the September issue, but only on our reply - published in July's issue - to his story from May.

Who's nasty?

Not only do I lack proof reading skills, according to Mr Editor I'm nasty too (besides being, as already acknowledged, silly).

Funny thing, the Internet. The original post is being found time after time since yesterday (when the September CFJ issue landed on all subscribers doormat) on various phrases all containing: CFJ goes pubic. Oh, those modern times and tools!

Honourable

In 2007 I received an email from someone I did not know, but who very kindly had taken time to inform me on a typo he discovered on my site where I explained where the business novel :The Kiss Business was all about.

I'd missed out the c in the word exciting, making running a business both exiting and scary - funny that ;-)

Thanks again for this, Paul F. - hope your business is going well and you enjoyed my book?

Now I could of course return the favour and call Mr Editor a nasty and ignorant person, but that would just be silly, wouldn't it?
Honourable however, he definitely isn't.

Old speed - new speed: DM Scott versus Contract Flooring Journal

Yesterday two things happened, both related to speed of interaction.

New speed - David Meermans Scott

Being a (full) member of The Directors' Centre Business Club I'm treated every month to interesting, worthwhile articles, tips and videos, collected by Robert Craven's people.

This month they uploaded the crowdsourced video of David Meerman Scott delivering his key-note speech about Real-Time Marketing & PR at the Marketing Sherpa Email Summit in Las Vegas (2011). (You can also watch the video here on vimeo, I highly recommend you do)

At the time of writing this article I have only had time to watch about 35 minutes of the full 50 minutes yesterday, but it left me impressed of what Real-Time journalism (marketing) can establish and am fully aware this "mind-set" is within everyone's grasp and ability. In this day and age of interaction in a blink of an eye, he outlines the importance of a fast response to enquiries and using current trends to get your brand and products talked about.
(And he's not just talking about twitter, facebook or QR's)

Old speed - Contract Flooring Journal

The second thing what happened yesterday: the August issue of Contract Flooring Journal was delivered by our village postman. CFJ is one of the floor trade magazines we're subscribed to. It contains news about floor covering products, preparations, legal and regulation tips/advice etc for the contract flooring trade (as retailers ourselves we are not often involved in contracted work but we like to read everything that is happening in the market).

Underneath this month's article of one of the regular contributors to the magazine (Sid Bourne) there was a little note:

(had to use my good old scanner to get the image)

Oh, goodie. CFJ employing "cliff-hanger" tactics.

Short history:

• in CFJ's May 2011 issue Sid Bourne wrote something in his article we did not fully agree with (and fortunately, the May edition of CFJ has just been uploaded to their website, so I can now link to the original article, instead of having to scan it from the magazine, print it as PDF, upload it to my own server for you to read).
• after reading Sid's article we wrote a comment and emailed it to the editor.
• the editor replied:
  
  • "We love to get feedback from readers, the more controversial the better.... We work about six weeks ahead, so it will be the July issue."
• Duly in July my comment on a specific part of Sid's article was published - we did not write the headline though, editor's prerogative
• Sid must have written his reply soon (remember, 6 week deadline)
• We're in August now, cliff-hanger note in CFJ
• September: we will finally be able to read Sid's reply
• In the event we want to reply to his reply - do the calculations: Sid and others will be able to read this in...... NOVEMBER 2011

A full six months later for the 4th item in a discussion to be published and read - would anyone still remember what the original article and first comment was about???
Really 21st century breakneck speed here.

Come on CFJ, get up to speed. Open up your website for interactive conversations like this. May issue is now pubic *(see edit below), 3 months old news. Extend your website with an "subscribers only" area and have the latest issue there the minute the genuine article lands on our doormat. And allow instant comments and replies on all articles.

Having a Facebook profile (not a Page) and a Twitter account is not enough to get new speed.

Inviting Sid to the new speed era

Sid, if you happen to read this, you are kindly invited to publish your reply to our comment right here in the comment box, so we can drag this conversation - in my opinion sure to be a worthwhile exchange of opinions and experiences - into this century of Real-Time journalism.

---------------

* Edit 31.08.11

CFJ editor's "reply" in Sept issue:

No Alan, pubic IS the word used, "grave typing error" on public. It does exactly what it says on the tin here: known to write double Dutch English ;-). And I plan to leave it in as not to disappoint all those now searching "cfj blog now pubic" (17 and counting).

Of course, it would have been much more honourable of Mr Editor, during our email conversation about above "nasty" post early August, to give a gently nudge about the "grave typing error".
Apparently, giggling as a schoolboy over the word pubic is more important than keeping up with modern times.