Mark Twain Tweets from the Grave

100 year old lessons in branding, audience and paid content

The reports of Mark Twain’s death may have been greatly exaggerated during his lifetime. I have a new theory. Maybe those in the rumor mill just wanted to speed up the publication of his autobiography?

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Twain had left strict instructions that his autobiography remain unpublished for 100 years after his death when he would be free to speak his "whole frank mind." He didn’t want to offend his contemporaries with some of his scalding opinions. He also predicted, “There may be a market for that kind of wares a …

Up in the air with only an iPad: what happens when a Road Warrior leaves his laptop behind?

Let me establish my road cred. There isn't any official "Road Warrior" certification, but if there were I believe I would qualify. I've flown more than a million miles over the years and belong to every hotel, airline and rental car reward program known to man. My million miles pale in comparison to the 10 million that George Clooney's character claimed in Up in the Air .

To be clear, I'm no George Clooney - check my blogger's mug shot for proof - but an upgrade to first class remains one of life's great joys. Last year I earned quasi-Clooney …

Live from New York: Events as the new marketing platform

Forget tablets. "Live" is the hot new platform!

The value of live events as a powerful marketing platform was an unexpected theme throughout the INMA World Congress in New York .

We heard success stories from Sweden to India with events ranging from a Bruce Springsteen concert, underground city tours to a major cricket tournament. The big takeaway was that newspaper-driven live events expand brand awareness, deepen reader loyalty and drive new revenue.

I love my new iPad, but it has a ways to go to match those metrics. Here are three "Live from New York" examples:

• Johan Othelius of …

Can the Fosbury Flop inspire newspapers to make it better?

In October 1968, with The Beatles' Hey Jude topping the charts, Dick Fosbury topped the Olympic field in Mexico City where he took the gold medal and set a new Olympic record at 2.24 meters (7 feet 4.25 inches). I'm fairly sure that Dick wasn't the 5th Beatle but there is a common thread that I never saw until last week. Let me explain. While in Liverpool for Outlook 2010: INMA-OPA Europe Conference , I expected to hear about The Beatles and I wasn't disappointed. I got the full Fab Four immersion between visits to The Beatles Story museum and …

Where were you when Michael Jackson died?

I was as sorry as the next person to learn that the King of Pop was gone but I found the news cycle to be fascinating. I was on a chartered bus in Washington, D.C. heading to a DTI-sponsored cruise on the Potomac. The sad news spread rapidly among the newspaper crowd who had come to DC for the Individuated News Conference . Tara McMeekin, the Editor of Newspapers & Technology , got the scoop in a text message from her teenage niece. Ever the skeptical journalist, Tara waited until the news was corroborated. It was verified in a matter …

How Mine Magazine lost me on Highway 101

I got Mine but it wasn't all about me. Let me explain. A few weeks ago I posted a blog " Sushi pizza for an audience of one " where I wrote about signing up for a free, personalized MINE Magazine subscription. dqjm2raeyw I qualified to receive 5 issues of a Lexus-sponsored semi-custom magazine with content from Sports Illustrated , Golf , Money , Time , Travel + Leisure , InStyle , Food & Wine and RealSimple .

I receiveddqjm2raeyw my first issue in the mail - just a day after a personalized email of apology from Wayne Powers the …

Sushi pizza for an audience of one

Quick. Don't think. Just answer.

1. Which do you crave more: sushi or pizza?
2. Would you rather learn to juggle or do celebrity impressions?
3. Would you rather have dinner with Leonardo da Vinci or Socrates ?
4. Do you sing in the car?
5. Who cares?

Let me answer that last one. Publishers care or at least Time Inc. , the largest US magazine publisher, wants to know your answers to these goofy questions. The method to their madness is that the first 4 questions are part of the application to get your free, personalized MINE magazine subscription. Mine is a target publishing …

Talkin bout my demographic

When I first heard The Who 's song My Generation in 1970 on the Live at Leeds album, I knew they were was really talking to ME about MY generation. Pete Townsend's lyrics were an anthem about youthful rebellion and defiance of the older generation. The line "Hope I die before I get old!" has a whole different meaning when you think you're immortal. What teenager couldn't relate? So, let's fast forward almost 40 years and I find that my own teenage son completely embraces the message of My Generation as his own. It gave me this strange feeling of …

I'm Bernie Madoff. Follow me on Twitter.

We were all shocked by the scale and brazenness of Bernard Madoff's $50 billion Ponzi scheme. How could this respected financial guru violate the trust of his friends? Well, the short answer is that they were not really his friends just his willing victims. The list ranges from the owner of the New York Mets to Steven Spielberg (his charitable trust) to the Royal Bank of Scotland. Everybody wanted to be a friend of Bernie so they could enjoy the impossibly steady returns his investment fund posted year after year.

The Madoff scandal got me thinking about social networking and …