Whether you’re an author, publisher or anyone else, good old email still works to get your message out. You just can’t send it the same old way.

9 out of 10 people read email, while just 6 in 10 hang out on social media. Chances are 1 in 5 a reader will act on an email message, as opposed to 1 in 100 on Facebook and a scant 0.3% on Twitter.

That’s according to interactive marketing expert Jessica Best. The folks at Digital Book World asked her to speak at their recent conference on discoverability and marketing because, in today’s world, email is needed for both.

Jessica says you can’t just send out “one big email” any more. You need to target like a laser beam, using the recipient’s first name if possible. Also, as she told The Durable Human, a picture is worth a thousand words. Continue reading →

Will vehicles which drive themselves help or hurt us as human beings? It may not be an either/or proposition.

In today’s Washington Post I paint a picture of how an edge city near Washington, D.C. can be wired with a system connecting smart phones with self-driving cars, buses and trucks. We hear from robotics expert Robert Finkelstein and consultant Richard Bishop who say we’ll gain productive time if we aren’t driving or caught in traffic. We’ll be safer, too. Smart vehicles have onboard sensors which are being shown to dramatically reduce crashes. Plus they never get tired or distracted. Continue reading →