Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter

Ricochet: NYT Co Michael Zimbalist discusses this, with print books in background

Jane Genova — 2012-05-26T16:08:13-04:00

In a Google state of mind, The New York Times Company created Ricochet, for digital marketing. Essentially, the advertiser, for example SAP, selects articles from company's digital properties which are relevant to its commercial message. Then the Ricochet Platform generates a unique web address that bundles the articles to the brand's advertising. That could be for any period of time the advertiser wants.

The analogy here is the way Google allows advertisers to place their click ads in the sections with specific keywords or phrases. So if a person is searching for "Ghostwriter, High Tech Experience" and I buy the ad space on that page, the odds are good that the ad will attract the right kind of prospects.

The funny thing about the way the NYT Company is promoting Ricochet in online videos is that spokesperson Michael Zimbalist, Vice President of R&D, talks with a bunch of print books in the background. Here you can view the interview with Beet.TV. That could be transmitting exactly the message the NYT Company wants to get out there: We have our focus in two worlds, digital and print. Think about it: Baby Boomers, who grew up in print, are still in positions of power and influence.

That Genetic Lottery: Being a winner, for now

Jane Genova — 2012-05-26T13:51:03-04:00

Until now - and I'm no spring chicken - I hadn't won anything. Now, it looks like I might have won a big prize in that genetic lottery. Here is how I describe and deconstruct that situation for the digital community All The Single Girlfriends.

Memorial Day Weekend: Reflections on becoming a throw-away worker

Jane Genova — 2012-05-26T10:01:10-04:00

Memorial Day weekend nudges us to reflect on loss.

On a Tuesday in November 1987, the head of Public Affairs at General Foods, now Kraft, called me in my office to come to his for a cup of coffee. Since about 20 other members of the department had also received the same call I knew how the conversation would go. Funny, but I am still reeling from being declared "redunant" or a throw-away worker.

As all the experts such as Harvard Business School professor Roseabeth Kanter predicted, I would never make that kind of money again. Jobs I had applied for over the years offered about a third to a half less. During boom times, in running my executive communications boutique I did gross more. But given the lack of corporate-paid benefits, expenses such as investing in faxes (when they still cost $2K) and having to put many miles on the car to pitch to clients, I probably have never caught up.

Losing the big job with the nice title - "Manager of Executive Communications" - is among the traumas which likely never heal. I have coached enough displaced lawyers to connect the dots on this one. Everything was so good and then it was gone. There is a preoccupation with bringing it back, just as it was. If only we do X or change Y in our professional persona, the past will become the present. At its core, that magical thinking reflects our disbelief that we did wind up to be a throw-away worker. When we were receiving all those academic honors at college graduation, no one told us to be prepared for such a deep humiliation.

"Days to Come" - Lillian Hellman's failure no one could explain

Jane Genova — 2012-05-25T21:15:44-04:00

The meme of the 21st century is that failure is such a wonderful experience because we can learn so much from it. But the catch is: Suppose we can't figure out what went wrong.

In the new biography of Lillian Hellman "A Difficult Woman" by Alice Kessler-Harris, we find out that among the big successes like "The Children's Hour" there was the disaster "Days to Come." No one, including Hellman, could connect the dots on what went so wrong.

That's the frustrating thing also in not getting an assignment we assumed we had in the bag and not understanding why. In that situation, failure is just plain-vanilla failure, w/o the upbeat spin.

Old Guard v Disrupting Forces: Has professional life become binary?

Jane Genova — 2012-05-25T13:49:15-04:00

H-P, which is laying off 27,000 in the next two years, is depicted in THE WALL STREET JOURNAL as the old guard. That is being put in contrast to the forces of disruption like Apple and Google. Right now, the jury is out on Facebook.

But has professional life really become binary? Are we has-beens or employed at one of the web or mobile companies? Maybe not.

Just look out there. There are many professionals of all generations who straddle the two points.

They include Jack O'Dwyer who had been an early adopter of web communications. When other public relations outfits were still sending out print newsletters at hefty subscription prices, O'Dwyer had launched Odwyerpr.com at a rate affordable to most of us players. He's a member of the Silent Generation. Another middle roader is comeback Henry Blodget. His creation - Business Insider - links the world of finance and technology. Not long ago Business Insider got a nice chunk of funding. Then there's Betty White whose mashup of irony and old-line sincerity has given her a new career path.

It's funny. The disruptors of 2012 might find themselves the in-betweens of 2013. Mark Zuckerberg et al. might be struggling to catch up to mobile and better managed companies.

Herman Cain et al.: When money is irrelevant in staying part of the conversation

Jane Genova — 2012-05-25T07:49:51-04:00

Despite his new-found wealth, Boy CEO Mark Zuckerberg may become less valued and credible for input into "the conversation." This is an era in which fresh ideas and the ability to package information and insight into entertainment count much more than money. Sure, in the capital of wealth Manhattan everyone chases those with money. But those being chased get attention for only that: money. Not for what the influence of their views.

Former idea man Herman Cain is struggling, reports POLITICO, to recapture the right kinds of attention. His magic moments were cut short by allegations of sexual harassment. What we in the influence business watch is if and how he can pull off a return to being a voice that's heard. As we know, that's tricky.

Some like Paul Volcker have had a comeback. His insight about the operations of investment banks has been proven out in the JPMorgan Chase losses. Others who have fallen off the radar screen aren't so fortunate. Despite several tries, including aligning with Occupy Wall Street, Eliot Spitzer can't get traction.

That's a case study for PR: Why do some influentials bounce back and others don't? My hunch is that it has a lot to do with being able to let go of their earlier identity. Oprah can't stop being Oprah of the talk show space. Her voice is fading out.

Brand Kennedy: Gossip tabloids didn't disappoint

Jane Genova — 2012-05-24T23:15:40-04:00

The tried and true formula for the gossip tabloids like GLOBE is to ferret out and expose the villain. Thursday is the day GLOBE et al. are at the supermarket. They didn't disappoint.

GLOBE fingered Mary Kennedy as the miscreant. In its coverage it explained how she used to beat up her husband Robert and even ran over the family pet.

Burning Bridges: Doesn't matter so much in post-monolith industries

Jane Genova — 2012-05-24T18:30:50-04:00

Leave nicely.

You never know who they know.

You could meet up with them again.

No, don't burn bridges.

Despite all that advice from our parents, mentors, bosses, and executive coaches, too many of us did burn those bridges. Many regret that when new doors became harder to open.

But the reality is that this is an era in which there is so much volatility that the past, including its sins, no longer matters so much, if at all. Just consider the last interview we were on. No one wanted to hear about our past. They wanted to hear about what we accomplished for a client or employer five minutes ago. Also, just about everyone, not just the bridge burners, is having trouble opening new doors.

Regret is an indulgence few of us can afford. In essence all burnt bridges mean is that we have to build new ones.

Your web browsing history = $52 annually, your credit card information = $150 annually

Jane Genova — 2012-05-23T18:08:12-04:00

There is a way to quantify in terms of dollars the data social networks collect about you when you're on the site and when you're off it. The class action lawsuit "In Re: Facebook, Inc. Internet Tracking Litigation" is all about what information is gathered when you have already exited the Facebook site. Because of the quantification tool supplied by Tim Morey in "What's Your Personal Data Worth?" the plaintiffs are asking for $15 billion in damages.

Annually, found Morey, your health profile is worth $38, your web browsing history $52, your credit card information $150, and your social security data $240.

Here you can read my analysis of the lawsuit for the financial information company Motley Fool.

You are wondering: Can this lawsuit sink Facebook? That's possible, especially if those in other nations file similar suits. Remember how those lawsuits around the world almost deep-sixed Microsoft?

Preventive Medicine: Healthcare costs aren't simply result of "defensive" procedures

Jane Genova — 2012-05-23T07:25:26-04:00

U.S. healthcare is expensive. Recently I found out that the cost isn't simply the result of "defensive" medicine, that is, procedures healthcare providers undertake to avoid malpractice litigation. Some of the cost comes from the much more positive practice of preventive medicine.

The combination of what was on the mammogram and the history of both breast and colon cancer running in my family led to two ultrasounds and one biopsy at St. Raphael Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut. The cost did dawn on me as I lay on the table for the biopsy and observed that four healthcare providers were involved in the procedure, two medical doctors. I won't know the exact fee until ConnectiCare sends the statement of what it paid and what I have to pony up.

The news was good, for now. Yesterday I found that the area of concern was not malignant. Maybe I lucked out in the genetic lottery. It could be more of my genes come from the robust Italian side of the family tree versus the prone to cancer Eastern European side (mother's maiden name was "Miksza"). That may just be magical thinking, though. The medical doctors at St. Raphael recommend a follow-up in six months. You bet I will comply. My sister died of breast cancer when she was 60.

After one goes through the ordeal of so many tests and the agony of fearing the worst, humility comes. It's all too easy to pounce on any one supposed factor for the high cost of healthcare. In this presidential campaign, both parties should approach this matter without an ideological beef. In addition, there should be respect for the expertise and caring of the front lines of medicine. It could just be that there really are no villains in the U.S. healthcare system, just the reality of high cost.