Just the facts, Ma'am, unless they get in the way of a better headline, of course

There's a brilliant blog/newsletter called 'Bad Science' (I think I've blogged on it before).

Well worth subscribing to.

The most recent topic, How To Read A Paper - For Journalists, at last got me to write in:

"A great Idea.

I know your primary area of interest is health, but I'd like to pop in a request for environmental issues, because I think the public are particularly poorly served by objective analysis with these in making informed decisions. All to often it's just a straight serve of a press release or a deliberate use of the latest 'research' as an excuse for a dramatic headline.

You'll find me screaming at the TV when a vanilla or a bouffant with a microphone standing next to an electric car cheerfully announces that it 'has no emissions'. No, they simply come out of another pipe, and actually I'd like to know what the losses are getting from the generator to the motor, environmentally speaking.

As to climate change/global warming, well, it's been said over and over again, but to most ordinary folk it's just a load of contradictory hot air: artillery exchanges over our heads in no person's land, leaving us none the wiser on what to do for the best.

Me, I simply think it's a shame to waste. And to a lot of editors I'd say it's also a waste to shame: get positive and proactive! It's not as easy writing an upbeat headline, but there's enough out there that will capture folks' attentions, as I truly believe they are dying for solutions and things to 'do', and not be fed constantly on a diet of things you can't."

I really think I'm on to something Green

When the business cartoonists start lampooning the whole thing, I think we're in with a chance.

I hope he (or the Telegraph) won't mind my showing it in full. Here's their URL to sign up for the free daily feed.

The ITanic Versus

Well, they do say nothing is ever original.

For a while now I have been toying with writing a book about my expereinces with Junkk.com. With a twist. Seems my idea is not as twisted as I thought: The essential guide to screwing up your business

Anyhoo, it gave me a good excuse to write and promote the site a little bit more:

"Curses. And I thought I was the only one to hit on this notion.

Was it Churchill who said 'The Man [I don't think he was big on PC] who never made a mistake never made anything'?.

On that basis I must have made a lot of stuff, so I figured on collating all my cock-ups - not in a ‘How to’ book, but a 'How Not to..' version. ‘How not to hire a PR agency’. ‘How not to spend your match funding’. ‘How not to avoid gatekeeper brand managers with tunnel vision when you should be locating the JR in the company’, etc.

As I'm a very small 's' SME , I think it may still find a niche in complement to your and JR's multi-national blue-chip experiences.

Provisional title is 'The ITanic Versus - What NOT To Do When Launching A Commercial Website'

Think it's still worth pursuing? We could share a publisher:)"