Tag Archives: crisis communication

My simple words

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" "Writing about deep ideas is often done in college. But what if you had to use only the ten hundred most used words to explain your ideas? Today I am doing just that. My ideas are still deep; my words, however, are simple.

This idea comes from many people. Look at this picture and this story to understand what I mean.

The point of this is to explain how words can get in the way of understanding. To reach more people, write short, simple words. Write for people, not for big words.

Can you do it, too? Try it!

Why business majors should pay attention in history class

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File this one under “the power of social media” or — even better– a lesson in the importance of liberal education. Someone at The Gap made the decision to offer a t-shirt with the slogan “Manifest Destiny” as part of the GQ collection. So what’s the problem?

While the slogan sounds innocuous enough to some, the problem arises when we review American history. As social media commentary noted, the genocide of native peoples was a shameful part of Manifest Destiny–surely not the message that The Gap intended to promote by creating this shirt.

The lesson here is that it’s not enough to master courses in marketing and advertising–we also need the cultural and historical background that allows us to make informed decisions about what we sell and how we sell it. A liberal education should provide this context, and hopefully help businesses avoid this kind of bad PR.

Gap Pulls ‘Manifest Destiny’ T-Shirt From Shelves After Social Media Outcry – ABC News.