Disqus - Latest Comments for GregPincus

Re: Madness Poetry

Greg Pincus — Mon, 11 Mar 2019 21:07:50 -0000

I firmly think "maybe" :-). I was surprised that it was read so differently, but yes... the nine one one effect was in there for sure. Tradeoff of looking cool as 811 and reading right for all. Thanks for the thoughts, Ed!

Re: Madness Poetry

Greg Pincus — Mon, 11 Mar 2019 13:04:37 -0000

As a conversation topic for fun while I avoid voting in all the matchups where I cannot figure out how to pick just one... when I wrote mine, I wrote the last line as 811 rather than spelling it out. And adults who read the poem read it in rhythm. And every kid I showed it to said either "eight eleven" or "eight one one" and got hung up on the meter. So I changed it... but I miss seeing the number there. I'm curious what y'all think about situations like this? I figured everyone would figure it out based on rhythm. But... maybe not? But it's like how great Alison's poem LOOKS with her falling smashed, bashed piñata, ya know? Anyway, I' curious!

Re: Madness Poetry

Greg Pincus — Mon, 11 Mar 2019 12:59:59 -0000

I loved our similarities and differences, too. It's my favorite part of the madness, actually. Or maybe my favorite part is how good all the poems are. I'm like your monkeys, actually - can't wait to dig in each round. Good luck to you, too!

Re: Madness Poetry

Greg Pincus — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 18:57:04 -0000

I love the fact that we went about attacking this word so differently. I think that's always my favorite part of the Madness....

Re: Words Done Write: Are Twitter's elite making reciprocity uncool?

Greg Pincus — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:20:19 -0000

I pretty much agree with you, Amber... but I wonder if there's an issue of scale that we're not able to fully understand. To wit... I follow back only after looking at profiles. Even so, in the last batch of spam-DM-virus stuff, I got 10 one day. Some were from folks who obviously clicked links by mistake and were mortified. Others were from accounts that had largely gone dormant but I'd never unfollowed. I don't get them from bots, so none were from that. Now, multiply my follower count by 25 (or more) to get up to the big folks and I wonder if I'd've gotten 250 spam DMs in a day? Another scale issue is that some folks get 200-300 new followers a day. It's fair to say that they shouldn't auto-follow back, but I wonder if it becomes an issue of never being able to catch up? (A champagne problem indeed!).

Still, whatever the scale issues, it does seem that the reciprocity issue as you point out creates the challenges, so the change in strategy seems problematic.

Re: Pricing Digital Content

Greg Pincus — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:06:36 -0000

Chris - I think that knowing the market you're selling into matters, too. Selling fiction is not the same as selling products where you can easily define value (like your e-book). "I'm selling you my new novel for $10! That's a $25 value if you bought it from a traditional publisher!" just doesn't fly.

Could the author in question (whose story is readily available online) have made more money by selling at a higher price point? So far, the story of fiction and ebooks says no. I'd also note that selling fiction is not always about making money... or rather, about making money right then. By selling her books and creating buzz and fans, she is going to make much more money on her next book deal. A pretty good strategy in what is an incredibly difficult field.

I'd love to see you do some in depth stuff on pricing art (fiction, music, painting, etc) in the digital realm. It's something the industry and individuals are struggling with - defining value for something that is so purely personal. Very different than products that offer clear value.

Re: Glad I Grabbed That Brownish Area By Its Points

Greg Pincus — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:00:16 -0000

Awwwww. That is all :-)

Re: Free at last

Greg Pincus — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:30:23 -0000

Rockin'! So glad to see another milestone reached!

Re: A celebratory night out

Greg Pincus — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 03:13:14 -0000

Here's to many future celebrations for you all!

Re: I’d Skip This Post If I Were You

Greg Pincus — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:43:01 -0000

Mark might not like it, but I think you should take out a personal ad: MWCDMSDA-H seeks.... I mean, sure, there'll be side-effects to taking out the ad, but you can just add them to the list!

And that word "awesome"... I do not think it means what you think it means :-)

Oy. Ugh. Makes the lady or the tiger look like child's play, and I sure wish you didn't have to deal with it. But since you do... personal ad!

Re: What I Learned at a Charter School

Greg Pincus — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 18:14:58 -0000

Chris - I have kids in a charter school and have served on the board of the school, so this is also a topic of great interest to me. It's pretty safe to say that "there are kids in rooms at both places" could describe charters, too. You describe one teaching Montessori, ours is Constructivist, others are traditional, others even more experimental. Many charters are lousy, many are great... just like public schools in general. The freedom a school can get as a charter, however, is what allows for the possibilities you just got to experience. The potential of the system is there, but the challenge comes from making a replicatible model.. then finding people who want to replicate. Because, unfortunately, there really isn't great agreement on what kids should learn or how they best learn it. To me, I want to see kids exploring and learning and becoming problem solvers. I want to see the excitement that comes with discovery, not the stress that comes from hours of drilled homework. I want kids to experience a mix of races in their school and a mix of socio-economic strata so they can learn from each other and experience the world how it is out of school. It's a lovely ideal, but it takes money, dedication, and a group of people who see it the same way. But we don't all see it the same way... and even the school I described might not be right for everyone. There is no one size fits all solution, so far as I can see... which is why "fixing" the education system isn't likely to come from the top down, though great help can be given there (including funding). There's so much you need, including parental education - because a school needs that support - and agreement on what skills are necessary today. But we are far from that agreement, seems to me.

Next time you're in Los Angeles, let me know and I'll bring you by our school. Like the one you visited, it's working well... but is very different and faces different challenges, I'm sure. I'll happily break down what I can for you - how we built a library with zero budget, for example - so you can see what goes into turning out those kids you saw.

In the meantime, I really enjoyed this article in the New York Times magazine a couple weeks ago called Building a Better Teacher. You might like it too:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010...

Re: A Question

Greg Pincus — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:31:13 -0000

I had also loved that quote, yet I think it says that forgiveness is possible regardless of the person/event/thing being forgiven's involvement. Reconciliation, though, is a different ball of wax and requires two to play.

That's as philosophical as I can be since I haven't eaten yet today! If food sparks more thought, I'll be back.

Re: It’s The Little Things [Day 28 – 30 Days to Changing Your Game]

Greg Pincus — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:35:56 -0000

Yeah. What you said! I have learned so much about how to use Twitter (and have fun with it) by watching you. Every point you make is backed up by my own experiences, without question. And what's great is that anyone can follow that advice and reap the rewards. I'm looking forward to watching your game continue to change... and to see you help so many others change their games, too.

Re: How to Reach Out to Bloggers

Greg Pincus — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:44:12 -0000

These points all hit home, indeed. I'd add in the idea that when approaching most bloggers, it's important to remember that they don't get paid for what they do. Even here, you provide all this for free, so finding ways that you, the blogger, gets value from the "ask" is always helpful. And value isn't just free product (or to quote Mark Blevis when it came to doing book reviews - books are not currency). In children's literature, we bloggers are constantly getting PR approaches from authors and companies that are totally one-sided. If those making the approach had gone through the steps you outline, they'd end up with a much higher success rate, a better reputation, and relationships that can pay benefits long after the first contact. I know this scales to other businesses, too, so I hope folks think through what you've said here. It'll help 'em (and bloggers too).

Re: Happiness Is…

Greg Pincus — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 20:18:13 -0000

But do you listen to Hot Butter's classic song Popcorn as you eat it?

Glad to see you writing again... and here's to a banner 2010 for your whole family!

Re: The Problems With Friends Lists

Greg Pincus — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:29:04 -0000

You're completely right that it becomes emotional - all relationships carry some emotion, but as others have noted here, the word "friend" is completely loaded. Think of kids - one day, your own child is likely to be crying because "Billy said he's not gonna be my friend anymore!" So, this is one of the earliest key emotional touchstones we have in relationships... and even though friends on a social networks should "seem" different, it still carries that hint of what we've known forever. The flip side of that, of course, is that we love the positive connotation of having hundreds or thousands of people who want our friendship... even though we also know that it's not the same thing as real-world friendship.

Our friend behaviors do more than match what the software developers dictate - they're impacted by all sorts of societal norms and pressures. It's possible to match one to the other - you can use a network just for real world friends, after all - but for anyone trying to grow a network or just interested in connecting with lots of fascinating people, it's gonna cause problems. I'm not sure where the solutions are, either, because I suspect you can't "solve" emotions via technology. But certainly there will be ways to smooth some of the rougher edges.

Re: With Great Power

Greg Pincus — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:45:29 -0000

Chris - I don't know if people were upset about you voicing your opinions or just disagreed with your conclusions and reacted to that. An indictment of brick and mortar retail stores is very different than a focus on marketing, employee training, or ways to improve a system. You might still stand by that blanket statement, though I'd posit you don't present much evidence in your post to prove the broader point.

To put this in context, since your original post, I purchased an item listed on Amazon.com by another well known merchant, paid for it, and passed up the same item in a retail store because it was more expensive. 12 hours later, after brick and mortar stores were closed, I got an email saying that the product was an "advanced sale" item (not mentioned before) AND was "on backorder" (which seems odd if it's advanced sale). No delivery date was promised, and the product is now listed as "unavailable" on Amazon. My email asking for further clarification about my order hasn't been answered yet, nor have my emails to two other merchants who had advertised the same product.

No matter what influence I have, if I report the facts and my frustration and offer up ways things could improve or could have been handled better, I don't think folks would complain. But when we move beyond that to a bigger picture issue - as is certainly my right or your right - we mix two issues together and folks react. In other words, if I said "online retailing is dead" because of that experience, it's a different conversation.

Part of the "great responsibility," I think, is thinking through when we do that (or thinking through posts to see if we're doing that!) and understanding and expecting the reaction. It's not always easy to do, particularly when we're writing from passion. And we'll always make mistakes, anyway!

Re: Twitter Lists- Im Not Down

Greg Pincus — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:11:38 -0000

I think part of this is about intent rather than implementation - after all, an exclusionary list in private is still an exclusionary list. At least in public it can be talked about. Still, I don't think most folks are setting up lists to BE exclusionary - they're tools to help filter information or to shine a light on some small subset of people. The issue for me is that there is no way to give a description of the list on the list itself. All you get is a name. So yes, folks will feel excluded much more easily if they feel like they fit the topic and aren't on the list, even if the intent of the list is to, say, only feature people for some specific reason. Even a 140 character description of the list would help.

For me, though, the bigger issue with the current rollout of Twitter lists is that it just doesn't mesh with how I've found I use Twitter: I like to follow conversations or topics and not just groups of people. I use the search function of Tweetdeck, for example, to set up a column on a word, words, or hashtag rather than grouping people who may, or may not, be talking about the topic I'm interested in. Most importantly, this way I get to hear new voices all the time. And to me, that's one of the best things about Twitter....

Re: The Library of Today

Greg Pincus — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:38:54 -0000

The changes to libraries creep down to the school level, too - librarian jobs have disappeared from that sector mighty fast, and new schools can open without even having a library. Up your way, Chris, there's a prep school that has changed their library so that it doesn't even have books: http://www.boston.com/news/...

I hope that libraries continue to be (or return to being) community centers. Certainly, if they can offer free online access, they can help with the digital divide issues - enough reason for us all to work to make sure they get funding.

Re: The Beauty of Collaboration

Greg Pincus — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:02:06 -0000

I love this video, too, and had blogged about it for similar reasons... particularly since I call my company and site the Happy Accident! These serendipitous moments are all over social media and while some of them are just plain old "luck" most of them actually trace back to things you talk about here all the time. There's trust involved, there's being there before the ask, there's letting people be a part of something, and there's the fact that we all want to feel human and connected. It isn't always about profit, though I would imagine everyone in that video will be fans of the band for life. And for artists moving towards 1000 True Fans instead of traditional outlets, collaboration like this probably makes even more sense. Plus, of course, the video just rocks!

Re: 5 Signs You’re NOT a Social Media Expert, Yet

Greg Pincus — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:42:57 -0000

Brett - maybe we're only talking a semantic difference. I agree that connections are incredibly valuable and certainly make getting initial attention (and often more) in social media much, much, much easier. A company who has that goal would be wise to hire someone with connections to help them achieve it. To me, though, a social media "expert" would be able to create an event/tool/whatever that was so compelling that Mashable, for example, would have to cover it. Great PR practitioners do that as well. And sure, connections can help even there, but aren't the key characteristic. More importantly, wouldn't an expert be able to do something for themselves or their clients that achieved the goals they set out to do even if those goals might have nothing whatsoever to do with attention... and even if the needed connections are the ones the client has, not the outside consultant. Some people need the tools explained, but not hundreds of retweets or articles to reach their goals

As I said, it might be semantics. I know the value of connections is true in every business, and social media is not different. Still, I have trouble with a definition of expertise that's about who you know not what you know. Maybe social media changes that, and maybe some of the rockstars on your list will join you and tell me I'm missing a key point. Or...semantics.

Thanks for the post and starting (and continuing) the great conversation throughout the comments....

Re: 5 Signs You’re NOT a Social Media Expert, Yet

Greg Pincus — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:40:49 -0000

I like this post a lot, as well as your ability for self-reflection. Point one in particular, where I am...uh... challenged, is one that translates to many, many other areas. I do have a question about point four, though - are you saying that expertise is defined by who you know, not what you know? I would certainly agree that someone with those connections is a person who would be better to hire to help with a project than someone without those contacts, but is that the definition of being an expert? Perhaps a social media expert would be able to figure out who those "right people" are in any given situation and understand the way to reach them in a way that would work (even though nothing works as well as the connection)? I admit I don't work towards that level of contact, so perhaps that's what informs the way I think about it, but I tend to view experts as people who know the material not necessarily the players.

Re: How To Level Up

Greg Pincus — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 01:16:14 -0000

I think the analogy is quite effective... and you can really extend it if you want. What about using cheats to get to the next level? How does that reflect what goes on in the workplace or in social media? Also what about shooting for a high score in a game vs. playing a level for speed? Take the analogy way beyond just leveling up and you've got different platforms equalling different gameplay, the amazing speed at which games have evolved... heck, the writing (and reading) fun, like a good game, could be almost endless.

Re: HOW TO: Write a Novel Using the Web

Greg Pincus — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:37:11 -0000

That's a great list and nicely ordered, too. I'd add Twitter as an additional resource for a couple of those categories. It's a great research tool with the ability to ask question or search for information. Also, it's a wonderful place to connect: there are many writers, agents, editors, and readers on Twitter as well as many organized chats (#writechat, #kidlitchat (which I co-host with @BonnieAdamson), #askagent, #followreader, and more) with writing/publishing topics. And, after you have a book, Twitter can be a promotional tool, too. While it's not necessarily a writing medium, many folks do tweet works of fiction, including National Book Award nominee Kathleen Duey (@kathleenduey) who is writing a novel called Russet in real-time via tweets.

Re: All the Hats and Faces We Wear

Greg Pincus — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 04:20:35 -0000

What I find fascinating is how many of the facets overlap for all of us in every day life. For example, I've helped build an elementary school library from scratch, mixing social media networks with parent networks and business and marketing ideas... as well as my consumer-love of children's books AND the fact that I write 'em and count many authors as friends. The hats and faces blur together, as you note, and you're left with something pretty easy to identify: you. Still, from the outside of any situation, I think we compartmentalize and label pieces of people just like we break down the different parts of a winning sports team. So, you shouldn't be baffled by the question, I don't think. Seems natural... even if the inclination prevents us from viewing the whole person as a cohesive "unit."

And with that, I'm off to wear my sleeping hat. Good luck with the official Trust Agents launch!