Jon Negroni

Jon is one of the co-founders of InBetweenDrafts. He hosts the podcasts Thank God for Movies, Mad Men Men, Rookie Pirate Radio, and Fantasy Writing for Barbarians. He doesn't sleep, essentially.

10 Tips to Becoming a Better Liberal or Conservative

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Want to be politically relevant without alienating your friends and colleagues? Hey, most of us do.

Here are 10 tips to helping you become better at taking an ideological stance:

1. If a liberal/conservative doesn’t take you seriously, don’t take that seriously.

2. If a liberal/conservative points out something about your base that is negative, but true, address it and move on. Don’t act like you’re line of thinking is full of perfect people.

3. You don’t have to agree with everything your “party” agrees with. That justt means that you actually think for yourself and are still willing to make a stance.

4. If someone asks you a question that you don’t know, say, “I don’t know.”

5. Research when someone asks you a question that you don’t know the answer to.

6. Digest news that is skewed towards the other perspective.

7. If you read something that affirms your viewpoint very strongly, get the other side of the story before sharing it.

8. If you feel very strongly about something politically, do something about it instead of arguing with people online.

9. If someone is a liberal, don’t automatically assume they want socialism and class warfare. If someone is a conservative, don’t automatically assume they hate poor people and women.

10. Ask more questions than you answer.

JN

Oh and one more. Don’t refer to a political enemy with a name that makes fun of them, such as “Obummer”, or “Mittens.” It kind of makes you seem extremely unpleasant.

Be Pickier About What You Write

This isn’t a commandment, since you can obviously do whatever you want. Still, I can’t help but advocate for more selective writing among my likeminded peers.

No one is great at every type of writing. They may at least be decent at every type of writing, but no one absolutely excels at every single type of outlet there is for the written word, and if I’m wrong about that, please guide me to that person so that I can be their lifelong disciple.

My example is that I hate writing novels or even short stories. It’s odd because I love coming up with ideas, settings, and fleshing out characters. I love coming up with unique plot devices that bring a story together and present something completely new and exciting to the reader. When it comes to actually writing out the story, however, I can’t do it. I can’t find the filler details and craft a rich, cohesive story. I’m just too impatient.

I’ve wasted a lot of time trying to ignore this flaw by believing that if I just put more effort into it, I’ll eventually just teach myself to like writing novels. That’s almost as absurd as how that sentence sounded in my head.

A problem we run into as writers is that  we can’t help but get excited by our own work. We take pride in our accomplishments because for us, the epitome of who we are is translated best by how we can translate that for other people. When we’re successful, we don’t want to just share it with the world. What makes us different is that we constantly want to get better.

We push ourselves. We experiment. We do whatever it takes to not just master what we’re already good at, but excel at types of writing that don’t come as easy. There is nothing wrong with this at first, but here’s the problem:

when we focus too much on evolving, we stagnate.

It’s counterintuitive, but our pride easily becomes arrogance when we decide that since we are good at one type of writing, we must be “God’s gift to writing,” when really, we’ve just gotten lucky and haven’t really reached the threshold of clarity we believe we’ve reached.

In my case, I can’t write novels because I’m too impatient and I can’t write for the media because I am too biased. This is the reason I chose Public Relations as a career, since I can be as biased as I want with a press release, and writing advertising copy is a challenge I welcome every day.

So, be pickier about what you write. Before you decide to delve into the harrows of a new medium such as journalism, advocate communications, or even a screenplay, figure out what you need to do to hone the craft you already own. A master of everything is a master of nothing and all that.

Like what you read? Connect with me further via twitter @JonNegroni. I’ll follow back if you seem like a real person. 

Don’t forget to check out THE JON REPORT every day, updated at 8am for a list of today’s main headlines as selected by my editorial team (me) 

-JN

What is the Point of Diversity?

As a hispanic originally from Puerto Rico, I am constantly amazed at how desperate we are for diversity. Don’t get me wrong, I think diversity is an important thing, but probably not for the same reasons that others do.

A little background is in order. Both of my parents were born and raised in Puerto Rico and had two of my siblings there. My sister and I weren’t born until shortly after they moved to Massachusetts in order for my father to pursue his career. We went from Massachusetts to New York and then eventually Virginia. Something interesting about me is that I am a hispanic born in the north but mostly raised in the south. It’s for that reason that I’m about as diverse as you can get.

Yet, I still wonder why we place so much emphasis on diversity in the workplace. Affirmative action honestly bothers me. When I think that the only reason I’ve been hired is because they want to fill some kind of latino quota, that honestly offends me 100 times more than if I lose out to someone because they were better qualified.

I get why diversity is important to a point. A workplace should be composed of people with different backgrounds and experiences. Women inherently have a different perspective on problem-solving on men because women experience the world differently. Not having a workplace full of women deprives your groupthink of a perspective half of the world is more exposed to.

When it comes to people of different racial backgrounds (though I hate using the word race to describe a different culture since humans are composed of only one “race”), I am a little more confused by why so many people are concerned to the point where they feel businesses need to be penalized for not having enough (insert culture group here). Yes, it is important to have employees that speak spanish and can communicate effectively with the large hispanic community, but that’s not always relevant for every business.

When it comes down to it, I suppose my only real concern is that deep down, people only crave diversity for the wrong reasons. Maybe I’m reaching, but sometimes I truly believe that the hardest advocates for diversity want it only because they feel like demographics like me are entitled to a certain job position, and that is offensive. We earn our lot in life, and the beauty is that many people of different cultural backgrounds earn that right. They are just being shut out by affirmative action, at least in what I’ve experienced.

So, my real question is this: what is it about diversity that makes it such a significant issue for businesses? I’ll happily consider any posited answer to that question.

JN

Why I Eat Breakfast Every Single Day

I don’t usually preach on this subject, but I read an article this morning that really made me reflect on breakfast and being healthy.

Disclaimer: ever since I was 17, I’ve had the same breakfast every morning:

Special K cereal and orange juice.

Sure, I mix it up with yogurt or string cheese on the side now and again, but that is pretty much what I eat every morning. Why do I do this? To be honest, I just love cereal, and if I miss breakfast, I panic.

That said, I was relieved to find out this morning that whole-grain cereal and fresh fruit is the healthiest breakfast you can have, so success. The article, which I strongly suggest you read for yourself by clicking here here here, points out that the most unhealthy breakfast is a fast-food breakfast sandwich, like an egg-cheese biscuit at insert your fast-food chain here. Not surprising, but the article does elaborate on how these greasy breakfasts make your arteries deteriorate (in disgusting detail.)

But wait! They then point out that the most unhealthy breakfast is actually going without breakfast! Ok, we’ve heard this millions of times, but who really cares right? Just how important is breakfast?

Unbelievably, hence I had to share this uncontrollably cliche topic. As I tweeted earlier, this article concludes that you are 450% more likely to become obese if you skip breakfast regularly. That’s a lot of percent. Not to mention you also run the risk of cancer and diabetes, as well as just being unpleasant every day as a result of not having energy or a properly running metabolism.

Not often do I get to reflect on my own lifestyle and say, “Whew. I was already doing something correctly!” I’ll go back to being painfully wrong about my lifestyle choices now.

JN

Why I Love Commercials

And it’s not because other people hate commercials. I’m not a contrarian (or at least, I try not to be). Also, It’s really a coincidence that I am writing this after one of those politically advertised elections of all time–I actually just wanted to talk about this today.

Anyways, I love commercials. I haven’t always loved them, but over the past year I have noticed something very interesting about the trajectory this form of traditional advertising is on.

Think about it. The advent of on-demand television and Netflix has made commercial advertising trickier than ever. I don’t think I need to really emphasize just how easy it is for us to bypass commercials altogether. The unintended consequence of this new reality is that advertising quality and creativity have only made commercials better.

Gone are the days when commercials could just blanket every market because executives were confident their message would be seen no matter what. Here are the days when more money than ever before is being spent on market research, target demographics, and well, production.

Even over the past 4 years, I’ve noticed a sharp increase in commercial quality across the board on the same channels, especially cable networks such as FX, TBS, and Comedy Central. Compared to just a few years ago, I find myself more engaged and more likely to respond to television advertising, which let’s face it, is necessary during these changing times.

Commercials are now more interactive. They share ideas with social media. I saw a commercial the other day that made me laugh out loud, and that never happens. It may not even be that the content is that much better than it was a decade ago or the products are better. It’s really just that advertisers are doing a better job of capturing our attention.

Just look at the commercial I used as this post’s featured image (clicking on it will take you to the youtube video for the commercial). Amazing right?

How am I so sure that this is a result of more challenging advertising hurdles? Well, I’m not. Correlation is not akin to causation and all that. Still, I can’t help but believe this is a case, due to the fact that I find myself actually enjoying commercial advertising for the first time, even on Hulu.

Whatever the reason for this perceived increase in commercial quality, I find myself being a person that enjoys people trying to sell me things in-between my favorite shows. Let’s just hope this won’t have an adverse effect on my wallet.

JN

Let’s Talk About Social Media for a Second

It’s the weekend (almost) so I thought it would be appropriate to talk about something a little more light in regards to business, PR and everything else you expect from this site.

Let’s talk about social media for a second. I’ve been a obsessed consumer of the medium since an old friend introduced me to Myspace and how the addicting (and rewarding) nature of social life can actually translate beautifully online.

I’ve since made a career surrounding the medium in terms of being a communications technician that solely uses social media as a public relations and advertising tool. It’s been a pretty great ride, but here is what still fascinates me:

We have all of these countless social media sites and startups. It seems like new and amazing ideas are constantly showing up on our screens, and I’ve never once felt ahead of the game. This became obvious to me for the first time about a year ago, when a few friends and I were talking about social media sites we loved.

I was amazed at how many social sites were brought up that I had never heard before. Me. The self-proclaimed social media guru. Joking aside, I was initially disappointed at myself for not being more embedded in this so-called tech culture.

Luckily, I kept at it and disregarded how others could potentially view my Klout (intentional pun). I learned to love social media for its benefits the world and consumers, not just myself. This positioning of the social media ideal now makes me hunger for more knowledge with the medium.

Oh, I have so much more to learn fundamentally, and I will probably never run out of exciting new tools to play with. The difference is that now when someone brings up a social media site I’ve never heard of, I hunger to learn more about it and discover it for myself. The best part is sharing these evolving ideas and concepts with others and starting great conversations about, well I shouldn’t have to say it again.

Speaking of the evolution of social media, I want to write an article soon about my thoughts on the latest book I’ve been reading, The Dragonfly Effect, by Jennifer Aaker and Andy Smith. This book addresses the big scheme of things if you will in how social media can make a real difference in the world and actually affect social change. It provides tools and insights, mainly through stories, of how we can use social media to actually make the world better. What could be considered a loftier goal in this profession?

JN

Want To Get Paid For Your Pinterest? Pinbooster Can Help

To start off, I am happy to announce that I am now a contributing author for Startup Addict, a website that covers startups, social media, marketing, technology and more. I’ve been following the site for some time, so I am definitely excited to be a part of their growth. So, since I will be handling social media and startup news, it was a no-brainer for me to talk about Pinbooster to get things started.

This brand new startup went public just a few days ago and is looking to make a big impact on the Pinterest network, notably using the Pay-Per-Tweet model to cash in on influential Pinterest users. Put simply, brands can now sponsor/promote their pins by paying influential pinners to share their content.

It’s a brilliant idea considering the virility of image-based content and could shape entire advertising campaigns in the near future. Getting set up as an advertiser or paid pinner is beautifully simple, since all you need is a Pinterest account.

If you’re there as a pinner, Pinbooster will analyze your influence based on their own algorithm and determine what you should charge advertisers per each pin (with the price starting at $1). So far, one of the most impressive payouts has been the sum of $1,000 for a re-pin, but small-time pinterest users will probably expect sums much lower.

One of the main reasons I am excited about this startup is because of the impressive results from beta testing, which are showing that this new tool is on the path to being extremely useful in getting Pinterest on the marketing map.

I’ve written in the past about how inherent obstacles among the Pinterest experience can inhibit companies from taking huge risks with the platform, as we see with Volvo’s “JoyRide Campaign”. That said, a Pay-per-pin model can help brands break through the most challenging obstacle on Pinterest, which is building a huge following quickly and driving traffic.

Now, there is still a bit of controversy surrounding whether or not Pinterest actually has high conversion rates, but what we do know is that people spend more on Pinterest according to this RichRelevance study. When you consider just how engaged users are with Pinterest content, the floodgates could be opened for advertisers looking to find a cheap way to channel their content through something besides a Facebook page.

Of course, I wouldn’t be very fair if I didn’t address some issues I foresee with the service. One main complaint we can expect is that this will downgrade the quality of pins tremendously, which is a huge draw for Pinterest. Another potential problem is that advertisers could be disproportionate to pinners, as you would reasonably expect. Plenty of people will be willing to sign up and await their angel investment, but how many advertisers can we really expect to jump on board?

At any rate, I expect this project to at least build a model of hope for marketing on Pinterest, and we have to start somewhere. Let me know what you think in the comments, and be sure to visit the site here and see if you have what it takes to be a Pinbooster success story.

Jon