One of the ways to sharpen your writing chops is to parody another author. I’m interested in improving my skills at creative nonfiction so I’ve been reading John McPhee. Here’s my little parody, based on a Japanese sumi-e art class I’ve been taking in Maine this summer: "The road to the art studio dipped and turned between the dark green stands of fir and spruce trees just as the eye travels in an S curve through the landscape of a Japanese

Authenticity, as I’ve written countless times, is the key ingredient of successful blogging and Twittering. It’s also key to a successful e-newsletter. Authenticity means being genuine, trustworthy and credible. But beware… don’t fake it. Here’s an example of fake authenticity from an editor’s note in an e-newsletter I received recently:

"I haven’t been sleeping well lately, but I’ve been thinking about you a lot… "

Yeah, right. 

Like others, I've been pondering the best way to get new business, or stay in business, in today's plummeting economy. Then it came to me: digital cupcakes. There's a coffee shop three blocks from me that sells (according to the March 2009 issue of The Atlantic), the best cupcake in America. I wander over several times a week, laptop under my arm. I order a cappuccino. They make the kind where the swirl of foam on top is perfectly patterned.

I'm always trying to explain this to those new to blogging. Here's the answer in a YouTube video that has been watched over 8 million times. As I often say... links are the currency of the blogosphere.

A visitor to my site recently asked for some advice on how to start blogging. "I have never blogged, so this is completely new to me," he wrote. I have to say that it's wonderfully refreshing to get this kind of question in late 2008. It's easy to think that everybody is steeped in the use of social media, whether it's Facebook, Twitter or blogging. They're not. Here's the 30-second stripped-down answer. You might also find useful this updated

Update: For some reason, this is one of the most popular recent posts on my blog.

I noticed Chris when I was walking through National Airport in D.C. yesterday. Sitting at Starbucks, he was writing in an old-fashioned ruled journal with a fountain pen. Nearby, at the ready, was his ink-stained blotter. At the adjacent table was another guy with, predictably, an open laptop.

I was so astonished that I circled back and asked if I could take a