People Hour Power

When working on projects, I often calculate how much time a set of tasks will take me personally -- and how long I've worked on something. But I don't always keep in mind the time that will need to be spent by other people involved in the project, either in tandem with me or separately.

At work, we use a conference call service that, after every call, sends you a report indicating what phone numbers dialed in, how much time each participant spent on the call, and the total time spent by participants in the call. After a half-hour conversation this morning, I received such a report.

I spent 36 minutes on the call. Five additional people dialed in, ranging between 23 and 36 minutes per call. The mean time spent was 31 minutes. The median was 35. The mode 36. But another number is even more interesting. The total time spent by those six people (including myself) ended up being 186 minutes. More than three people hours!

What I considered to be a relatively low investment in terms of my time and work energy in fact cost six times the time I spent on it. Were there any people who didn't really need to be on the call? Did I need to be on the call?

BusinessWeek recently turned me on to PayScale.com's Meeting Miser, a tool you can use to determine not just the time cost of a meeting, but the actual salary cost of a meeting. Just plug in the titles of the people participating, and it'll tell you how much the meeting costs by the second and minute. And you can even start and stop it during a meeting to determine how much a work session is taking.

The call this morning, if I have the title mix right, cost a nickel a second, or $3.23 a minute. At a mean time of 31 minutes, it cost just more than $100. Was it worth $100?

A new way to think about how you spend your time at work!

Old School New Economy PR Guidelines

The recent online discussion about Wired editor Chris Anderson's "outing" of lazy PR people inspired me to dig up some PR guidelines I wrote for Fast Company magazine in the late '90s.

They're no longer on the magazine's Web site because they were linked off my team bio page and I no longer work there, but they might still be interesting and useful. Courtesy of my friend Paul, I'm reprinting them here verbatim (sans some URLs), as they once appeared on the site. Some of the new economy speak might seem quaint, but take what you will.

Caveat: I no longer work for Fast Company. Please don't email me pitches for the magazine.

Heath's PR Guidelines

Do you work in public relations? Do you want to pitch Heath a story for Fast Company? Here's how.

Do you work in public relations? Do you want to pitch Fast Company magazine a story? Do you want to do so in the most efficient, welcome, and successful way? Here's how.

In the new world of work, time is a precious commodity. Here at Fast Company, it's no different -- and it might be in even shorter supply. As we work to find the stories we want to tell, we frequently work with public relations professionals. Those relationships can be productive and rewarding -- even fun. They can also be inefficient, frustrating, and unproductive.

If you work in PR and travel in circles that overlap Fast Company's, you've probably pitched us a story, client company, or person to profile at one time or another. You've also probably tried to schedule a conference call or a meeting in our offices. And I'm sure you've learned that it's not easy. We're pretty clear, driven, and focused on the kinds of stories we want to tell. As you are. And when those needs don't overlap, it can be a challenge.

This page is intended to help you hit us harder -- more directly, with more focus, and more in line with the work we do. However, even if you do everything I suggest on this page, I can't guarantee that you'll succeed. We move at a pretty fast clip, and windows of opportunity close as fast as they open. Sometimes, timing can be everything. But there are things you can do to work smarter with us. Here's the short course.

***

Know the magazine
If you've never read an issue of Fast Company, don't even bother calling or emailing us. Please. Read the magazine. If you can't find a copy on your local newsstand or in your office, check out our Web site. I'd give you the URL, but you're already here. That's a good thing.

There are also Web resources you can use to better acquaint yourself with the kinds of stories we tell, how, and why. [The press section] can serve as a basic introduction to the magazine: who the founding editors are, why they started Fast Company, and what we've done to date. The [Fast Company Mission Statement] outlines the goals of the magazine. Our [writers' guidelines] aren't just useful for freelancers; they can help you cast your pitches in the language we speak. And our [media kit] expands on our mission, the magazine's market, and more.

Lastly, [the resources section] can direct you to descriptions of the magazine's core themes, section and feature types, and examples of the Big Idea pieces we've run. It's helpful to know how we organize the magazine and categorize the stories we publish.

***

Know the staff
If you want your pitch to reach the right staff member, be sure to acquaint yourself with the people on the Fast Company team. Our [team roster] lists everyone involved in the day-to-day workings of the magazine and Web site. By clicking on team members' names, you can access the person's profile page, which offers information on their background, role at the magazine -- and for some staff, a roundup of articles they've contributed. The [directory of Fast Company email addresses] can also help you figure out whom to email about what. Use these pages to determine who does what kinds of pieces -- and pitch accordingly.

***

Know how to work with us
I'm sure everyone at Fast Company has their own pet peeves about and ideas for how PR people can do their jobs better, but mine are probably pretty good advice to follow when dealing with everyone on the FC team. Some of these tips are small beer, granted, but they'll make your -- and our -- jobs easier.

1. Email is king

If you can email us information, it's always preferred as the first point of contact. There's no need to waste paper, energy, and time sending faxes or snail mail if you can email something. If you email us, please try to direct your email to the most appropriate person on staff. Realize that our staff is small, that we all like each other, and that we all talk to each other -- if you email everyone on staff, it doesn't necessarily increase your chances of getting in the magazine. If you email us, do not attach documents to your email; if it's worth emailing, it's worth emailing in the body of your message. Personally, I don't like downloading attachments, don't like them taking up space on my hard drive, and don't read them. Please don't send them to me. If you email us, do not use that little receipt requested function. I never send a receipt to notify people that I got their email, and it's not necessary -- it's the Net; it works. Most of the time. And if you email us, do not fax it to us, mail it to us, or call us on the telephone to see whether we got your email. We did. And if we need to get in touch with you, we will track you down like hunting dogs. (We're the dogs, not you. The dogs are hunting.)

2. Phones aren't always fun

Like I said above, if you email us, you don't need to call us to follow up on the email. In fact, phone pitches are rarely productive or efficient. More often than not, the whole time you're talking, I'm thinking, "I'd rather just read this," and then when you pause to inhale, I'll ask you to email me what you just said anyway. Similarly, phone briefings are also rarely productive or efficient. I never take them. I'd rather read a news release. And if I'm working on a story that your client will fit in to, I'll schedule a one-on-one, focused interview. If that happens, please don't shepherd the interview call. We'll need the source's phone number eventually for fact checking, and I'd rather call them directly than have you call me or conference call us all in. Likewise, if that does happen, please don't use the speakerphone. I can't understand everything people say, it's harder to distinguish voices if there's more than one person in the room, and if I'm taping the interview, it's harder to transcribe. Whine, whine, I know, but it's bothersome.

3. Meetings aren't always neat -- or needed

Every month, I get about 100 meeting requests and invitations from people. As much as I like meeting people face to face -- heck, I'm the staff coordinator for the Company of Friends -- meetings aren't always necessary. Most people who want to meet with us are on a media or analyst tour. That means that they've got an agenda, a PowerPoint slide presentation, and a limited message they want to send. Sometimes, that's fine -- like when I'm working on In Gear and want to demo a new tool or technology. But most of the time, it's a waste of time. We don't do product news. We don't do merger news. But we do want to learn about what your company does, how the organization works, and who its thought leaders and change agents are. Be ready to scrap the slides and talk to us like people talk to each other -- freeform, flowing, fun. If you need PowerPoint to get your message across, you're sending the wrong message.

Also, be on time. When we schedule meetings, we often tuck them in to an already-busy day. Most of the time, I set aside 45-60 minutes for meetings with visitors. If you're late, we have less time to talk. Our offices can be a challenge to find because of the Big Dig, but that's why we provide [maps and directions].

And to back up some, when requesting a meeting, please be clear about who's coming, when, and why -- in fact, put all that at the top of your email. I can't even count how many meeting opportunities I've missed because I had to hunt for the visitors' availability details, got frustrated, and set the email aside to read later.

***

That's not so bad, is it? If it is, I'm sorry. I'm not an ogre. Really. But I do have a lot of work to do, and I know that you do, too. Let's work together.

Seems like there are some consistent, common frustrations among high-profile journalists and editors. In the end, I think it comes down to knowing what a publication covers, knowing how to reach out to, and how. Can that be that hard?

One Hour for the Future

This evening, I went to the inaugural Jacob K. Javits lecture at NYU. After brief remarks by NYU's president, John Edward Sexton; Marian B. Javits, president of the Marian B. and Jacob K. Javits Foundation; and professor Marcelo Suarez-Orozco, Howard Gardner, author of the new book Five Minds for the Future, gave an "autobiographical" speech largely detailing his professional development and the current state of his ideas and work.

Here's an audio recording of his lecture:

Optimal Subscriptions

According to Advertising Age, Paste magazine is running a subscription promotion in which subscribers can set their own price.

While traveling recently, I picked up an issue of Paste, primarily to gauge its range of music coverage -- and to take advantage of the sampler CD included in the issue. This might be the best part of this subscription promo. Every issue of Paste comes with a sampler CD so you can listen to select musicians and bands featured in a given issue.

That means that whatever price you pay, you get 12 issues of Paste, as well as 12 CDs. That's attractive. So I just signed up. They've set the floor at $1, and people who pay full price will supposedly be named in an upcoming issue. I split the middle and ponied up $10, which is more than fair. I was tempted to pay full price -- I did, after all, have a subscription card filled out and ready to mail that I ended up not sending -- but I didn't want to inflate the expectations of experiments like this.

A good number of people will pay full price -- $19.95 for 12 issues and 12 CDs. And a good number may go for the $1 steal. I'd be curious to see what the bell curve ends up looking like. What's the average price going to be?

Best of luck, Paste. It's a neat thing to try.

Raindrops Keep Falling

Yesterday and today have been quite rainy, and while C. was on her way to meet me to see a screening of the new Coen brothers' movie -- a sneak peek that she got us passes to -- she saw a neat city sight and left me this voicemail:

	Voicemail You'll Love Share this ...

People Watching

A few weekends ago, Oct. 6, I volunteered for a public survey organized by Gehl Architects and the New York City Department of Transportation. Basically, the Danish architecture firm is helping the city gauge vehicular and pedestrian traffic levels at various intersections in the five boroughs.

Meeting one of the organizers at Worth Square early in the afternoon, I was stationed at four different locations. Position A was on the south side of 34th Street just east of 6th Avenue and Broadway -- across from the tree in front of H&M on the opposite side of the street. Position B was roughly across the street from position A, across from the entrance to the Gap, standing under the H&M sign. Position C was on the west side of 6th Avenue, just uptown from the subway entrance. Position D was across the park, on the east side of Broadway by the fire hydrant in front of the Duane Reade.

Between 2 p.m. and 6:55 p.m., I stood at those four locations, counting pedestrians, cars, and taxis using a six-button Multiple Tally Denominator made by the Denominator Co. in Woodbury, Connecticut. With a Sper Scientific stopwatch (model 810022), I marked off five- and 10-minute intervals at each station, counting people and vehicles that passed by on my side of the street during that timeframe.

Instructions:

• Count all the pedestrians walking through the street. Count pedestrians in both directions. Count pedestrians on one side of the street.
  
• Count children, also children carried by parents.
  
• Count people on rollerskates and skateboards as pedestrians.
  
• Don't count people on bikes.
  
• Use your stopwatch and counter. Check your equipment is working after a couple of minutes.
  
• Remember to start from 0 at each count.
  
• You don't have to talk to people asking questions, if you are busy. You might need to show your "official letter."
  

Here's my tally:

Location A
Time intervals	Pedestrians	Vehicles	Taxis	Notes
1400-1410	780	28	7
1500-1505	493	42	5
1600-1610	730	85	6
1700-1705	395	51	5
1800-1810	812	69	8
1900-1905	349	46	6

Location B
Time intervals	Pedestrians	Vehicles	Taxis	Notes
1415-1425	739	81	24
1510-1515	474	59	8
1615-1625	989	77	26
1710-1715	489	44	14	Purse vendors there, gone (narrowed way)
1815-1825	949	89	11	Ice cream truck at corner
1910-1915	362	37	5

Location C
Time intervals	Pedestrians	Vehicles	Taxis	Notes
1430-1440	650	144	140
1520-1525	343	76	71	Car accident: Truck hit and stopped
1630-1640	696	147	133
1720-1725	332	81	62
1830-1840	583	149	141

Location D
Time intervals	Pedestrians	Vehicles	Taxis	Notes
1445-1455	476	72	57
1530-1535	260	29	38
1645-1655	560	65	35
1730-1735	257	20	32
1845-1855	475	55	28

During one of the shifts in front of the Duane Reade, I even got to meet Jan Gehl, who's been running Gehl Architects for about seven years now. He was making the rounds himself, taking sample counts at select intersections.

While the work wasn't very difficult, it was a fascinating experience. It was a great excuse to people watch for several hours, and it really brought home that city life and traffic have rhythms and cycles. It'll be interesting to see what comes of the study!

Cracked-ing Up

Last week, I got an item in the mail that surprised and confused me. Not that long ago, a team of people revitalized and relaunched Cracked magazine, perhaps Mad's biggest and longest-running competitor, as a humor magazine more attuned to standup and the old National Lampoon than serial humor comics. Now, after three issues, that experiment has ended.

From the mailing:

Dear Cracked Magazine Reader:

I am sad to say that Cracked Magazine is no more.

Several years ago, we purchased Cracked with the hope to bring it back as a sophisticated version of the original publication. We upgraded the editorial and made it more contemporaneous. We brought in new writers and added a web site. We upgraded the production quality and the distribution. However, to make a long story short -- the magazine failed in large part due to troubles in the magazine business itself. However, on a brighter note, the Cracked website succeeded and will live on under the auspices of Demand Media -- its new owner.

For those current subscribers to Cracked, Teshkeel Media will be fulfilling its subscription responsibilities by delivering copies of The 99 -- a new comic book super hero series. Please checkout Teshkeel and its products at www.teshkeelcomics.com.

All of Cracked readers will, of course, still have the option to go to the Cracked website to enjoy the new re-invigorated Cracked in its digital format at: www.cracked.com.

We want to thank our loyal readers who have enthusiastically cheered us on in our effors to recreate the magazine and who have helped us create the new website.

Thanks to all of you -- Cracked will now live on due to your efforts!

Sincerely,
Marc Liu
COO
Cracked Entertainment

I guess I'm not that surprised that the magazine folded. Humor magazines have historically had a hard slog on the newsstand. But the choice of subscription fulfillment replacement is intriguing. The 99 is a popular superhero comic book series in the Middle East, and its writing is heavily influenced by Islam. So the series' launch in the United States is interesting. Similarly, the publisher, Teshkeel, also publishes Marvel, DC, and Archie comics translated into Arabic.

While the replacement is even less appropriate than Enter magazine subscribers having to ride out on 3-2-1 Contact after Enter folded, it's a fascinating example of global publishing and cross-cultural licensing.

City Speed

My friend Beth emailed me the following bit taken from an old edition of the New York Times:

The pace of life in big cities is faster than it is in small towns -- about 2.8 feet per second faster, according to a study by a Princeton University psychologist and his wife, who is an anthropologist.

By measuring how fast people walk along the main streets of municipalities of varying sizes, they have confirmed what most people have sensed informally. The bigger the city, the faster its inhabitants walk.

They found, for example, that on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, people walk at a brisk 5 feet per second, only a little slower than their counterparts on Wenceslas Square in Prague, who bustle along at 5.8 feet per second.

In contrast to Brooklyn and Prague, both of which have a population of more than a million, the 365 citizens of Psychro, Greece, amble along at 2.7 feet per second and the people of Corte, France (population 5,500) move at 3.3 feet per second.

(New York Times, Feb. 29, 1976, p. 46)

A PDF version of the article is available.

On the Sly Librarian

Earlier this week, I went to an Ipsos Insight breakfast session on their newly available business elite service. It was held at the Yale Club of New York City, and the venue -- which has been located near Grand Central Terminal since 1915 -- is really what attracted me to the event. After all, when invited to the halls of power, go.

After the breakfast, I went to the top floor to the dining room to use the restroom and check out the eating area. Then I went downstairs to the second floor to see the lounge. And before I left, I went back up to the fourth floor to explore the library. While I didn't have much chance to examine the collection closely, I did make the rounds, scanning the shelves -- and I picked up the September 2007 acquisition list on my way out.

How many private or membership-serving libraries are there like this? Do publishers and authors target them as audiences? The Yale Club has a speaker series, and it seems like a good way to get a text in front of an influential audience.

Because the acquisitions list online is about a year out of date, I'll post some of the more recent highlights here:

• Ian Ayres, Super Crunchers: Why Thinking-by-Numbers Is the New Way to Be Smart
  
• Bill Clinton, Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World
  
• Alan Greenspan, The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World
  
• Christopher Hitchens, God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
  
• Vince Poscente, The Age of Speed: Learning to Thrive in a More-Faster-Now World
  
• Alan Weisman, The World Without Us
  

Lighter reading is also available:

• Garrison Keillor, Pontoon
  
• Katie Roiphe, Uncommon Arrangements: Seven Portraits of Married Life in London Literary Circles 1910-1939
  
• J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)
  

I wish they made their acquisitions list more public more often. Even the Global Business Network's book club is languishing. Harrumph.

Le Chat Lunatique

I've removed the MyCyberTwin icon from the left sidebar, but earlier tonight, I got an alert that someone was chatting with my cyber twin. Here's the exchange:

Wonderer15: hey
Heath: Hey!
Wonderer15: are you real?
Heath: I am a cyber clone but I have been given the ability to interact with you on a human level.
Heath: What's your favorite record?
Wonderer15: i dont know
Heath: Oh, I thought a smart person like yourself might know that.
Wonderer15: but i have a guestion
Heath: Are you happy that you have one of them?
Wonderer15: i have a question
Heath: What do you want to know specifically?
Wonderer15: is it bad if my heart rate is 203 when i run a 10 min mile ?
Heath: Are you giving me your heart? Thanks.

I hope they're OK now.

Video Game Warden

This video is a little long at five minutes but still made me smile several times.



My Animated World - video powered by Metacafe

While the life as video game aspect is intriguing, the ambient sound as life soundtrack is even more interesting. What would life be like if there were mood music to match happenstance?

Blogging About Blogging LXXXV

Please don't mistake this little outburst of posts as an active return to blogging. I'm still not sure what direction I want to take Media Diet, whether I want to revisit the kinds of posts I'd been doing before my summer "vacation," or whether I want to turn this into a "clog" (column blog) like Randall Rothenberg and Scott Donaton.

The fact that I'm taking cues from those two gents might show where my head's at, but we'll see what happens.

One thing I do know is that Media Diet's design needs a refresh. I've been using the same Blogger template since launch and could use some help updating the look and feel of my blog. If any Media Dieticians would like to volunteer to redo my template, please email me, and we can discuss particulars.

Thanks for reading all these years, and thanks in advance for any help you can provide.