Alan Gutierrez

Thank you for the encouragement, Brian.

Brian Clark has linked to me in recommendation. If you’ve come here from Brian’s weblog, don’t worry. In time, you will forgive him for this. Don’t let it be a reflection on his tastes, which are ordinarily quite dependable. Until the inevitable retraction, I welcome you all. I truely appreciate your lapse in good judgement, Brian. If only the A-Listers were drinking what you’ve been drinking.

For those of you who don’t know, Brian Clark writes about blogging from the perspective copywriting, bringing the lessons of a profession that is long in the tooth to a new medium that is copywriting all over again.

I mentioned Brian Clark in a recent post about the blogospheres’ take-away from the Chris Bliss and Jason Garfield juggling videos.

He tells of tricks of the trade, like the keywords you and because. Straight forward stuff that gets you focused on your readers and your message.

He explains the what and why of copywriting and how it pertains to blogging in his nifty series called Copywriting 101.

The best thing I’ve gotten from Brian Clark so far, is the wake up that my regular readers are the focus of my blog. After reading the Copyblogger post about the importance of subscribers, I realized that I was not addressing the masses. I was addressing Dave, Ric, Ryan, Jenny, and Paul Christmann.

You should read Brian Clark the Copyblogger because he tellls you how to use your blog to get a point across. Wouldn’t it be a great thing for your blog if you knew how to speak to your readers?

You should learn how to craft a message. Self-expression is for teen-agers.

Reading the Copyblogger, Brian Clark, who makes Seth’s point, in Why Emotion Matters, as well as Seth does in It’s How You Tell It, regarding the Chris Bliss three ball juggling routine, and the five ball parody created by Jason Garfield.

The point is that Chris still puts on a better show. Why? Because, Jason makes juggling look boring.

Bloggers, what a useless lot. We are a community of critics. All we ever make are observations. Seinfelds one and all.

This is what happens when people set out to be clever in their observations, they state the obvious, but with an inflection that says, “Do I get a cookie now?”

Obviously, the purpose of Jason’s performance was to make Chris’ exertions look especially comic in light of Jason’s display of skill and ease. It was brilliant showmanship.

Yes, it does tell a story. Not with the maudlin sentiments of corporate communication, but with panache.

Moreover, the video he released on the heels of Chris’ viral distrubtion, meant that his video is now everywhere where Chris’ video is found. I tip my hat to such opportunism.

By far, my favorite overinflated bout of observational bather, the one that so clearly displays the lofty contempt the observer has for the specimens du jour is Sue Pelletier in Technical Brilliance is Not Enough.

As I watched Jason juggle, it was obvious that he is fantastic at what he does. But I wouldn’t hire him for a corporate event. He’s just not engaging. He looks alternatively show-offy, bored, and angry. Bliss seems totally engaged in what he’s doing, excited about it, even a little worried. He pulls us into his experience through his showmanship and makes it ours. Jason seems to be doing it all for Jason.

At breakfast, in the morning, after the day that I offer my opinons on the talents of complete strangers in terms of which complete stranger I would hire for a corporate event, feel free to put however much arsenic in my scambled eggs as you see fit.