The River

The personal professional blog of Pamela Parker -- musings on marketing, advertising, media and technology.

Pamela Parker

Weaknesses of Behavioral

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Another example of the limitations of recommendation engines (and behavioral targeting based on past surfing): this morning my e-mail box held a message from Amazon.com. The subject line: Save 32% on “The Body Sculpting Bible for Brides: Look Your Best in Your Wedding Dress” by James Villepigue. This was accompanied by additional links to a body sculpting book and two wedding planning books.

Hmm…. will be celebrating my 3rd wedding anniversary in October and don’t anticipate wearing a wedding dress ever again.

On Blogging and Intimacy

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Julie Leung has a wonderful, thoughtful post on the intimacies (and lack thereof) of blogging.

We are aching for the real, wrote Evelyn Rodriguez. We long to be intimate with each other. To be who we are. We long for truth. We long to touch. Blogging allows us to come close – to come close to each other and to ourselves. If we are brave, we can type and say the insides of our souls for the world to see. But yet, I believe, there is always a veil.

[via Susan Mernit]

Mernit: Is (corporate) blogging like writing?

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Susan Mernit posts about the “just jump in” corporate blogging philosophy. I tend to think that corporate blogs should, at least, have an idea of their editorial mission and scope before just jumping in. It’d also be helpful to have a solid handle on the blogosphere, so you could learn from others’ mistakes.

And folks should understand it’s a big commitment. One thing I find with writing is that it takes training and practice to be able to meet a deadline — to write quickly and succinctly and coherently. Blogs, by their very nature, have daily (at least) deadlines, and you don’t want to get into a “writer’s block” situation. My husband, for example, has drafted out probably 1000 words for an entry in his blog, but he still hasn’t made post one. Even people who write professionally (but not under constant deadline pressure) can find it difficult to write when there’s a deadline.

So perhaps when it comes to planning your blog, think twice and take your time. But when it comes to the writing, just jump in.

Blog Distractions Update

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We’re still trying to buy a house in Albany and it’s looking like it’s actually going to happen. So we’re officially becoming East Bay-ites, or whatever you call people who live in this area. The location is much more “me” in that it has some aspects of New York living. Mostly, it’s much more walkable than where we are now. We give up the gorgeous hill views, but gain the ability to walk to public transportation, to a fairly large shopping center, and to boutique shops on Solano Avenue.

Meanwhile, I’m still pregnant and all’s well. About 8 weeks to go.