Small tidbit: One summer in college, I worked at the now-defunct Borders bookstore in downtown Seattle. My assigned section was the computer science section, and I can remember many days spent shelving and reorganizing books (although certainly not to the degree of this video). Many lamented the bankruptcy and closing of all Borders stores last year, and it’s interesting to see that Barnes & Noble has taken over its Internet and social media accounts, including Borders’ former Twitter and Facebook accounts. (The Borders.com website leads you to a Barnes & Noble store locator.) I hadn’t noticed it at the time, but it turns out that Borders sold its intellectual property to B&N as part of the bankruptcy proceedings.
While the book industry has seen many of the major shifts and challenges that also face the music industry, especially with the rise of electronic books and ebook readers, I think much like the music industry, there’s a place for the physical product alongside the electronic one. I still haven’t made the jump to ebooks myself, still too much attached to the tactility, the smell, the feel of words on a physical page.
Emails and email newsletters are a type of content delivery that sometimes get overlooked in recommendations for reading and staying abreast of current news, what with Twitter, blogs and other social media channels driving an increasing part of the consumption and sharing of news. Why do I *like* getting more emails in my inbox?
There are some kinds of content I prefer in email form.
There are some emails that provide content I wouldn’t get or find through Twitter or blogs.
Well-done emails can function like a good editor, winnowing down the firehose of information into digestible, manageable pieces.
Here are a few recommendations for free emails and email newsletters that I find useful in my regular reading line-up:
Daily
The 6 AM Cut from FT Alphaville: Current college or graduate students often ask about financial literacy, an area that I think is crucial for communicators of all stripes to understand, at least on a basic level. I get the FT Alphaville email daily from the Financial Times, and it’s a great summary of the top business and finance stories from around the world (although with a heavier weight on U.S. and European stories).
Today’s Headlines from The New York Times: With a free account, it’s easy to sign up for a selection of the day’s headlines in email newsletter format. I try not to limit my categories too narrowly; I’m not the biggest sports fan, but I still like to get those headlines in the email as a way of keeping on top of various kinds of news. (I also get UrbanEye from the New York Times, a daily cultural email newsletter about topics and events in New York City.)
Commentz from @PRSarahEvans (with help from @aerocles): A daily email of the “top 5 stories to comment on today.” Wish you had someone that would cull Twitter or your Google Reader for the few stories you really shouldn’t miss each day? That’s essentially what Sarah and David do with Commentz.
Weekly
Chris Brogan‘s email newsletter, Behind the Scenes. Lots of great insight and tips that you don’t get from his blog.
Stuart Elliot’s In Advertising weekly newsletter from The New York Times. Here’s a link to the November 16th issue as an example.
Spaeth Communications monthly Bimbo Newsletter: The Bimbo Newsletter and top Bimbo Award “recognizes dumb public comments made during the year. The criterion for nomination is that the speaker causes the listener to believe exactly the opposite of what is said. The award is a reminder that repeating negative words only reinforces the negative message as well as misses the opportunity to convey the right message to the reader or listener.” It’s an illuminating and often hilarious round-up of how not to communicate.
The monthly newsletter from the McKinsey Quarterly, the business journal from McKinsey & Company.
I also get a few other newsletters about New York City or cultural topics, but these are the primary ones I receive and regularly consume for professional purposes. Are there others you find helpful? What am I forgetting?
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