marketing – Kirkville

The rehearsed smugness of the presenters puts me off the content — which is all about making the simple sound profound

I liked some TED talks in the early days, but they quickly became a parody of themselves. They’re tied up with the tech CEO-worship that is severely harming the world, and they’ve become simply marketing tools for people with something to hawk.

The talks are so rehearsed that even the well-placed pauses and casual hair flicks look hideously false. TED bots strut around the stage, posing, delivering well-crafted smiles and frowns. It’s like amateur dramatics for would-be intellectuals.

Yep. It’s as if they all emulate Steve Jobs, who was arguably one of the best tech presenters of all time.

Many of the speakers state the blatantly obvious on a loop, sounding as though they have discovered the theory of relativity all over again. The pretentious gestures, rehearsed pauses and speech traits single them out from other public speakers. They appear to have learned the art of making the simplest ideas appear complex.

Yep.

Source: Why I’d never do a TED talk (and it’s not just because they’re named after a man) | Julie Bindel | Opinion | The Guardian

For many years indie app developers have been distributing downloadable press kits. These are usually in the form of a ZIP file. It’s essentially a folders containing a PDF review guide, screenshots, logos, and links. And while this worked for the longest time, it’s recently started to feel a little outdated.

Dan Counsell, of Realmac Software, writes about press kits. I review a lot of apps, and I rarely get press kits. Dan is clearly at a level of marketing that most developers never even think of. So before thinking about a better format for press kits, think about making one.

ZIP files are no longer adequate because more and more journalists are switching to iPad as their primary device. I mean, have you ever tried to open a ZIP file on iOS or work with multiple files? It’s not easy. If you want the best chance of getting your app covered, it’s probably best to give it to Journalists in a format they can easily digest and use.

ZIP files are bad because a journalist often needs just a bit of information, and doesn’t want to have to wade through a bunch of stuff that just gets in the way.

I know there’s a growing trend of putting press kits on Medium, but I don’t think that’s right. […] Publishing on Medium lacks ownership, authority and flexibility. It could easily be mistaken for an article or faked. It might be the easier option to host it on Medium, but that does’t make it the right choice.

I hadn’t encountered press kits on Medium yet. It’s a stupid idea. As Dan says, it lacks ownership. If your press kit isn’t on your site, you’re clearly not thinking of how journalists need the information.

So what is the answer? Well, the answer has been there all along. It’s nothing fancy, it’s html, it’s the humble webpage!

Well, yeah. And please have high-resolution graphics of your app, because, while journalists generally take their own screenshots, there are some apps where this isn’t possible: apps about finance, contacts, calendars, etc.

As an aside, if you are a developer and need some copy writing for a press kit or press release, or anything else, get in touch. Of course, if I do that kind of work for a developer, I don’t review their apps…

Source: A Better Format for Press Kits