Anyone who’s written for an audience can attest to the humbling experience of having one’s work edited. A Ragan.com feature titled “Black and white and red all over” is an assortment of communicators’ recollections about the first time they experienced the wrath of the red pen.

The advice ranges from the stylistic, like avoiding Gonzo journalism and questionable metaphors, to the emotional - not falling in love with your own words.

That may be the toughest advice to take, as that love can be as enduring as your very first crush. (In my case, “baseball Brad.”) Painful as it may be, though, it is still vital instruction to follow in order to communicate effectively with your audience by using language that is meaningful to them rather than your ego.

This leads us to another item of interest: Americans are consuming more information overall.

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I honor of Blog Action Day 2009 we got everyone here at Eastwick Communications involved. Check out what our awesome and bright staff have to say about Climate Change.

I am inspired by people and companies involved in The CleanTech Open who are building businesses on green and clean ideas. – Barbara Bates

I continue to be amazed by all the great, practical applications available for the iPhone, especially the green applications.  These apps make it so easy to stay current on the best food choices to make (check out the Seafood Watch app courtesy of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, transportation options (NextTrain is a good one) or connect with other like minded folks (see Twavel, where carbon calculator meets community.)  Who said it’s not easy being green?- Elaine Cummings

Rising oil and air pollution costs have caused serious environmental and economic impact and spawned a whole industry of clean tech solutions. For new, clean energy systems to be effective, we need a practical and cost-effective way to store energy. We are privileged to work with Extreme Capacitors, a company that’s tackling this challenge by developing an innovative new technology that promises a 100X improvement over the best energy storage options available today. It’s a game changer that could pave the way for wide-scale adoption of clean energy-powered cars, homes, and more.- Melissa Neumann

Middle East, Africa get State Department Funds for Social Networking – The US State Dept recently announced grants of $500,000 to $2.5 million.  The program is sponsored by the State Department’s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), which provides support to the Middle East and North Africa for women’s empowerment, educational advancement, economic development, and political participation.- Mo Mahmoud

I think retailers and grocers should stop giving paper receipts. Can you imagine how much paper (i.e., trees) have been wasted from people throwing away their receipts? Companies have started to go green by encouraging paperless reports, press kits, etc, so it would be nice to have the same mentality applied to our everyday purchases. There is a lot of effort to enhance point-of-sale technology in the retail industry to make shopping more convenient for buyers, including touch screen technology. Perhaps a customer could have the receipt emailed to them via a point-of-sale (POS) kiosk and not have to worry about paper receipts ever again!!” – Elizabeth Hilton

Today’s advances with energy efficient technology and corporate social responsibility means that the large enterprises understand they need to be more eco-conscious. Given this is global concern, that’s a really good thing.- Kevin Cheng

Virtual events are sweet. Isn’t it great that you don’t even need to jump into a gas guzzler to be part of an important event? You can participate from the comfort of your own home…or desk chair. – Katie Zeiser

Technology plays both a thrilling and terrifying role in heightening awareness of climate change. Having had childhood dreams of becoming a “cloud scientist,” I’m fascinated by technology that documents unusual phenomena like noctilucent clouds, grateful for social media platforms that share that knowledge (in multimedia form, no less) to everyday people like me, and frightened that these clouds—potential harbingers of environmental change wrought by global warming—aren’t as unusual as one might hope.  – Rachel Shelton

I think what’s most exciting about working with cutting edge technology clients, especially those working to reduce carbon footprints due to computing, is the sense of passion they convey to be “green.” I get to be on the inside of how computing companies are transforming their respective industries without negatively impacting the environment – it’s a win-win situation for everyone!- Andrew Evangelista

It’s very exciting to see the promise of rapid growth in clean tech and how there is huge potential to positively impact our current economy and environment…Optimism is good!- Joanna Andrade

Congratulations to client Seagate on its successful launches of the FreeAgent Theater+ and the FreeAgent DockStar this week!

Seagate’s storage solutions have gotten such a positive reception from “Today Show” and other consumer press, in addition to the hardcore gadget and IT outlets, that it got me to thinking about the evolution of consumer tech coverage over the years.

Before the days of the Internet, anything related to technology was more in the realm of enthusiast and how-to publications like Popular Mechanics or – to go all cyberpunk on you for a second – alt-culture mags like Mondo 2000.

It’s true that some of those same authors have evolved and reemerged in new roles as bloggers, like Mark Frauenfelder, who founded Boing Boing after writing for Mondo 2000 and Wired, among others. Even Mondo founder R.U. Sirius has a webzine: 10 Zen Monkeys. Nowadays, however, they are joined in their techno-coverage by blogs like HiTechMommy and Dad-o-matic.

Mommy and daddy bloggers have joined geeks and early adopters in covering consumer technology and influencing gadget purchases, just as Gizmodo and CNET do. The audiences may be slightly different, but each outlet exerts influence nonetheless.

Think about the number of electronic devices you use in any given day. Then think about where you yourself go to get insight into product performance, or who you trust to help you make wise purchases.

Technology has moved beyond the labs and the family garages of future computer legends to encroach on many aspects of our everyday lives. We consumers have turned to technology to solve problems, but we’ve adapted those inventions and technologies to match our lives and applications. It’s only fitting that our technology pundits and influencers have changed as well.

Josh Hilliker

Intel, Intel, Intel… is it the unsung hero of effective B2B social media?

I’ll be asking that very question of Josh Hilliker, one of Intel’s key B2Bcommunity leaders and evangelists when he joins me on our podcast, Break through the Noise.

[Listen]

Until then, learn more about the man of the hour, in his own words:

Josh Hilliker is the Enterprise Evangelist / Community Manager for Intel®  vPro™  Expert Center, in End-user Platform Integration (EPI), part of the Digital Enterprise Group (DEG) within Intel.

In this role, he engages the Intel® vPro™ community as a champion and community advocate for the products, technologies, and Intel.

Josh joined Intel in 1995 within Information Technology, created the Internet / intranet and external e-Commerce help desks, established customer support, and paved the support path for future e-Business applications.

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Guy Kawasaki

With a guy like Guy, where do you start?

Throughout the highs and lows (has he had ‘lows’?) of his career, his winning personality has endured. Positive, yet candid and - dare I say - ballsy, Guy Kawasaki is a survivor and a true Silicon Valley original

We are thrilled for him to join us on our Break through the Noise podcast. As an influencer himself, his perspective is truly unique and we can’t wait to see what he has to say next.

[Listen]

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Brian Halligan

It always amazing to me how companies can have a ‘persona,’ seemly without even trying.

That’s one of the many things that fascinates me about HubSpot.

Right from the home page you get the sense you’re in the company of friendly individuals and - with the free tools they offer - in the company of people who know their respective, ’stuff.’

On today’s edition of our Break through the Noise podcast, we’re going to ask Brian about if their persona has been a factor in their rise to becoming a clear influnder in the makerting space - seemingly overnight.

[Listen]

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Your influence like your shadow extends to where you may never be

Yesterday in preparation for this Thursday’s Social Media Club event, Eastwick hosted a discussion with the participating panelists.  It was a lively session on “the power of influence.” With so much to discuss, the nearly hour long call seemed like a mere precursor to this Thursday’s full blown discussion on influence.

Dominique Lahaix, CEO of eCairn, started the conversation by defining his views on influence and how it’s measured today (curious aren’t you J).

Ryan Calo, academic fellow with the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School, highlighted and shared some of the newest research on the topic.

Jeremy Thomas, Partner and Director of Global Brand Planning at Collaborate, articulated on how strategies for brand building have changed given the rise of new influencers.

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Peter Shankman

My guest on Break through the Noise this week may need no introduction as he’s already infamous to so many… (infampus in a good way, apologies to Mrs. Shankman)

So let’s go straight to hus bio, shall we? PR Week Magazine has described Peter as “redefining the art of networking,” and Investor’s Business Daily has called him “crazy, but effective.” Peter Shankman is a spectacular example of what happens when you harness the power of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and make it work to your advantage.

That’s our man this week. Peter Shankman. We love to love him, if only for creating the infinitely useful HARO (Help a Reporter Out) which has seen his fame - and rumored wealth - grow.

[Listen]

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Welcome to this week’s Influence Report, Eastwick’s way of keeping you up to date on the changing communications landscape.

This issue’s feature is on the changing role of press releases, a hotly debated topic in the PR and media worlds. The name press release is even outdated since these documents are used to communicate with many more audiences than just the press. Our view is that companies and PR pros need to take a fresh look at when and how they distribute news and information. News releases are an important way to communicate directly (the ultimate vendor-generated content says my friend Barbara Krause, Krause-Taylor Associates) and there are now many other ways to push that content out. A few things that may change your thinking about news releases:

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Source: The New Yorker, January 15, 2007

My typical workday is never really typical, which is great. But, I guess that’s what makes it so hard to explain what we do sometimes?

When people ask what I do, I usually answer with the compendious “Tech communications,” and I almost always get asked… “What’s that?” And then something clicks, “Ooooh, Public Relations, so that’s when you write press releases and get coverage, right?”

I’ve even received the evil eye and a negative response referring to corporate/political flacks who make their living covering up everything from the public.

<Deep breath>

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