December 21st, 2007, 13 Comments »
Avid photographer Dave Sifry has written what looks to be a very useful introductory article on buying your first SLR camera plus peripherals for less than $1000:
What’s funny is that most people who are deciding on what to buy think the priorities are exactly the opposite. They think that by getting the most megapixels or by buying the camera that the pros use, they’ll get great pictures. Don’t believe this. The camera companies are just trying to brainwash you into buying more camera than you need, and you’ll end up puzzled as to why your photographs end up looking, well, mediocre.
Dave recommends acquiring a card reader and not using the USB interface on your camera–he says that it’s slow and wastes your camera’s battery life. I noticed that professional photographer Kris Krug also uses a card reader. I’m not serious enough to bother, I guess. Plus, do I really need another peripheral kicking around my desk?
UPDATE: Tim Bray adds some worthy additional advice.
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June 1st, 2007, 2 Comments »
For the last few years, local (local to Vancouver, that is) PR guru (and, tangentially, our client) James Hoggan has been publishing weekly PR tips in the Vancouver Sun. They’re pretty elementary , but still useful reminders of what to do and what not to do in the thorny world of public relations.
As it turns out, they’ve got over two years worth of tips on their website. Here are a couple of samples:
If You Can’t Fix it, Don’t Ask About it - A critical step in any consultation comes in conceiving the questions that you put to your audience. If you start asking for feedback on issues that you can’t – or won’t – change, you are setting them up for disappointment and yourself up for a heap of grief. So, define the parameters carefully and whatever questions you ultimately ask, be prepared to treat the answers seriously.
Public Speaking: The Risks and Rewards of Winging It - Most people have been impressed at some point in their lives by a speaker who could be scintillating off the cuff, who just seemed to grab one great idea after the other out of the air. So it’s tempting, as a presenter, to want to emulate that style. And in rare cases it could be the right thing to do if you have easy command of the material and if the risks of an error are negligible. But if the stakes are high – and you’re not completely confident – work up a prepared text. Even if you memorize it and only refer to it for prompts, the discipline may save you from making a serious mistake.
That’s a big schwack of tidbits. Some are less useful than others (do we really need tips on ‘a winning wardrobe’?) but the majority are worth reading. Especially, as Glenn Kelman recently recommended, if you want to do your PR DIY-style.
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