A Monthly Meditation on Branding and Language From Your Favorite Copy Shop, Editorial
Emergency
Issue 25 (Feb. 27, 2009):
The Business of Friending
As February gives way to March, we turn our attention to, well, that thing we're
constantly turning our attention to: Facebook. We ask the musical question "Is there gold in them thar status updates?" Which
isn't to say we aren't concerned with shameful shampoo-bottle copy (our guest contributor decries "rebellious damage"); your
house style (no, not your fabulous salvaged sconces); the smoldering charms of singer-songwriter Eleni Mandell; and the
ever-addictive buffoonery of Not Our Clients. Scroll on, friends.
Social Studies: Facebooking for Fun and Profit
I've got a Facebook account. And a MySpace
account, a Twitter account, a LinkedIn account, a Biznik account and some others I forgot about mere minutes after registering. Facebook has proven the most involving of late, what with virtually every person
I've ever known signing up and offering me a chance to see how their careers have turned out, how gracefully they've aged and
how gorgeous their children are (a surprising number have done well on all counts, I'm pleased to say).
The aforementioned Josh Levine (see "Social Studies") preaches
the gospel of the four Cs of effective grassroots marketing: customer, community, content, contribution. Here in the copywriting
corner of that cosmos, we've got three Cs of our own: clear, concise and compelling. Following is a cautionary tale about the first
courtesy of EE friend Joanna Miller.
I was in the shower the other morning, my brain and body moving more sluggishly than usual. After realizing I was due for a
hair-washing, I picked up my bottle of Pantene Pro-V Restoratives Frizz Control shampoo.
NOTE: This item is not about interior design, though for
the curious, we loves us some mid-century modern up here at Editorial Emergency
HQ. If you're trying to unload an Eames lounge chair and ottoman (Santos Palisander finish preferred), by all means let us know.
One of the reasons we're so in love with our readers is that we can post a piece about the Oxford comma and
actually get responses. For example, Tricia, from San Francisco, said: "I love the Oxford comma but the company I recently
joined adheres to the AP guidelines, so they keep editing it out. And I
continue to sneak it back in wherever possible.☺" Angeleno Kristen, on the other hand, commented: "I'm sorry to report
that I have no use for the
Oxford comma. I think the conjunction can (and should) stand alone. Can we still be friends?" Needless to say, she is now dead to us.
Round and Shiny: Eleni Mandell's "Artificial" Flavor
Identified with Los Angeles' Silver Lake scene,
singer-songwriter Eleni Mandell certainly radiates the
kind of hipster smarts associated with the neighborhood.
She's a canny tunesmith with the dead-sexy voice of a cabaret
chanteuse who could easily remain a big fish in that small pond, casting her spell over the worshipful habitués of clubland
indefinitely. But given the musical scope of her new disc, "Artificial Fire," it appears she's going after bigger game.
Way back in 2005, when the notorious Not Our Clients gallery first opened its doors, we featured a sign labeling a shop near EE's offices that misspelled "Millennium."
Here we are in 2009 and so much has changed: A vigorous new administration presides in Washington; a blood-curdling economic downturn crushes everything in its path; a baffling trend of origami napkins appended to starlets' red-carpet frocks shows no signs of abating. Oh, and that little shop got a brand new sign.
Unfortunately, they still spelled their name wrong.
Have you got the stomach to view the rest of this month's publicly posted mistakes? If so, head on over to NOC and enjoy. Got pictorial proof of language-mangling, grammar-hammering or syntax sins? Don't hesitate — e-mail:
If we see fit to hang your horror, we'll
send you an iTunes gift certificate for your trouble.
Editorial Emergency puts words in your mouth. Assuming
you're a marketer, creative, lifestyler,
artist and/or do-gooder who want to connect with and persuade consumers. We've worked for
these kinds of
clients on this kind of
stuff.
In case of editorial emergency, break glass and call ...
(323) 259-5876 e-mail: surf:www.editorialemergency.com send checks: 2062 Panamint Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90065
I've got a Facebook account. And a MySpace
account, a Twitter account, a LinkedIn account, a Biznik account and some others I forgot about mere minutes after registering. Facebook has proven the most involving of late, what with virtually every person
I've ever known signing up and offering me a chance to see how their careers have turned out, how gracefully they've aged and
how gorgeous their children are (a surprising number have done well on all counts, I'm pleased to say). 
The aforementioned Josh Levine (see "Social Studies") preaches
the gospel of the four Cs of effective grassroots marketing: customer, community, content, contribution. Here in the copywriting
corner of that cosmos, we've got three Cs of our own: clear, concise and compelling. Following is a cautionary tale about the first
courtesy of EE friend Joanna Miller.
NOTE: This item is not about interior design, though for
the curious, we loves us some mid-century modern up here at Editorial Emergency
HQ. If you're trying to unload an 
Identified with Los Angeles' Silver Lake scene,
singer-songwriter 
