Facebook-the inside dope

Posted by Suzy Vitello Soulé on January 21st, 2010 at 01:59 PM | Comment!

Facebook has changed the landscape of, well, everything.  My mom’s on facebook, so’s my dad.  Obviously my kids are.  Various past husbands, classmates, colleagues.  Sometimes I feel as though the Rubbermaid tubs in my basement, replete with personal archives and memorabilia, just vomited their collective content into cyberspace and the result is the ever-so colorful splatter of my life upon my “wall.”

With all of this warp speed tmi now at our fingertips, it’s hard to figure out where the brakes are.  Privacy issues abound, and, like many, I have questions about how the myriad privacy-related concerns are addressed at Facebook HQ.  Thank goodness for the Internets and the double-edged sword of information, because by following the breadcrumb of links on the subject, I found this newsy piece.

The article in The Rumpus unpacks the particulars on how the whole “suggest a friend” thing works.  And why, for instance, I might find sleep apnea aide ads in the sidebar of my profile page.  The article also divulges what Facebook employees have access to (everything, as long as they’re in the Facebook offices), and whether or not they can log onto your account (yes).

As we usher in a new decade, I imagine the digital privacy issue will become huger than huge, and social media giants, like Facebook, will continue to sit front-and-center on the cutting edge of the way we explore the edges of our humanity.

Ready to take The Leap

Posted by Suzy Vitello Soulé on December 1st, 2009 at 09:17 AM | Comment!

Across my desk today is a new book by Rick Smith called “The Leap.”  Anyone disenchanted with old school ideas associated with working for pay, might do well to pick this up for a read during holiday time off—before making those all-important New Year’s resolutions. Here’s what Publisher’s Weekly has to say about the book:

Smith (The Five Patterns of Extraordinary Careers) examines the commonalities among individuals who transcended their dull day jobs to launch truly extraordinary careers. He is most taken with identifying what precipitated their leap into authentic and meaningful work, interviewing hundreds of people to craft replicable steps that everyone can use to initiate a personal and professional evolution and achieve remarkable success without taking reckless and unnecessary risks. His examples of highly profitable leaps include Sara Blakely, who went from a fax machine sales person to the owner of SPANX, a highly successful women’s clothing line; Frances Hesselbein, who went from a stay-at-home mom to the executive director of Girl Scouts of America; and Brad Margus, who channeled his feelings of futility over the rare and terminal disease his two sons inherited to become a genetics expert on the National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke Council. Smith’s book—a lively readable romp—motivates without preaching and gently coaxes readers to overcome innate fears and to use their greatest passions to bring about fulfillment.

To Free or Not to Free

Posted by Suzy Vitello Soulé on October 27th, 2009 at 08:38 AM | Comment!

Chris Anderson knows a lot about marketing.  His new book, FREE, gives insight into how, why, if, when businesses and individuals should offer freebies to prospective customers. Here at BPC, we pay close attention to ideas like “loss leaders” and “freemiums” to try, in behalf of our clients, to see the whole picture, the ROI and the potential for business development. 

Here in this video, Chris Anderson discusses what does not work in book marketing when using the “Freemium” business model. He also hints, very candidly, about what did not work effectively for his own book marketing campaigns, in this exclusive one-on-one video interview with GalleyCat.

Aria Wallace Banishes her Cell for 40

Posted by Suzy Vitello Soulé on October 12th, 2009 at 09:34 AM | Comment!

Like Noah, tween sensation Aria Wallace has pledged to spend 40 days aloft, navigating the seas—only Aria’s seas are in cyber space, and instead of two of every sort of animal, she’s bringing along her resolve to unplug from her cell phone. 

Aria Wallace plays the character Mandy on iCarly, and stars in the Nickelodeon Roxy Hunter series.  Her public unplugging will include daily vlog entries on her blog where she’ll post insights and observations on her 40-day sojourn.

Intelligent perspective on book sales

Posted by Suzy Vitello Soulé on October 9th, 2009 at 01:29 PM | Comment!

I really like this recent post on the Dystel & Goderich blog.  The continued harangue about the publishing industry’s plunge in the toilet is getting old and tiresome.  Yeah, less people are parting with their cash for hardbacks. The super stars can’t make the B&N cash registers light up the way they used to.  Okay.  But building readership, cultivating a loyal audience should be done in real time, through human interaction. 

Books worth reading are ones readers can immerse themselves in, savor.  The box office bar should not be applied to the print medium, imho, and I wholeheartedly agree with this little piece of wisdom from Miriam’s entry: “What I really object to in today’s article (among other things better left for other blog posts) is the notion that books are like the latest Tom Cruise or Will Smith movie, that opening weekend grosses are more important than overall sales (and an author’s career), and that books are going to find themselves in the remainder bins as quickly as one of those films goes to DVD because they don’t sell out their entire print runs within the allotted 10 days of co-op placement.”

regina spektor

Posted by Suzy Vitello Soulé on October 1st, 2009 at 06:27 AM | Comment!

How amazing is this woman?  Whimsical, lyrical, quirky and completely unique.  Regina Spektor

has a style I was immediately drawn to a few years back when I came across her “Begin to Hope ” album.

Now, with “far,” she continues to compose and sing hitting notes and flights of fancy so particular to her brand of lyric majesty, to listen to her is only outmatched by listening AND watching her.  She’s coming to P-Town on November 1st, where she’ll play at the always intimate and rocking Roseland.  Don’t miss it!

stairway of love

Posted by Suzy Vitello Soulé on September 30th, 2009 at 10:00 PM | (1) Comments

Two years and two months ago I started a novel that has been slowly percolating its pages through my overly-committed schedule. The book was inspired by a trip I took to Rhode Island a couple of summers ago, where I stayed with friends in their Watch Hill “summer cottage”—a gorgeous dwelling in the Gatsby tradition of power, fortune and scandal. From the very scant factual nugget, an idea for a novel emerged, one that explores “fitness gone awry.”  Darwin meets Frankenstein, maybe.

A month ago, I still had a third of the book to write, and lamented my inability to prioritize its finishing.  I made that complaint in front of various members of my writing group—all prolific and successful authors who were tired of my whining.  They challenged me to complete the novel by October 1, or deliver myself to the consequence.  And what was the consequence you ask? My hair would be clipped to Bob-length.  Now, that doesn’t sound terrible, right?  But the nature of my hair without the weight that length provides it, is to become a horizontal nightmare seeking eternal latitude. Think of a rust-colored dandelion gone to seed.  No thank you.

So, in a process inspired more by vanity than resolve, I finished the sucker an hour before deadline.  Whew.  And thank you, writing group, for whipping me with the threat of lost locks.

The Holy Grail of the Unconscious

Posted by Laura McCulloch on September 25th, 2009 at 11:48 PM | Comment!

Here is a fascinating article on Carl Jung’s NEW BOOK from the New York Times Magazine. Recommended reading.This is a story about a nearly 100-year-old book, bound in red leather, which has spent the last quarter century secreted away in a bank vault in Switzerland. The book is big and heavy and its spine is etched with gold letters that say “Liber Novus,” which is Latin for “New Book.”