About Amanda
I’m a disgruntled LIRR commuter by morning, real estate journalist by day, insomniac by night, and cancer butt-kicker for life.
Where To Find Me
Respecting The Reporter’s Inbox
Published February 21, 2011 | After spending yet another maddening evening cleaning up my e-mail, I realized that many of the messages clogging my inbox stemmed from oversize attachments, press releases completely unrelated to my beat, and back-and-forth banter that could have been avoided with one phone call. As a journalist, I find that at least 75 percent of my e-mails are related to public relations.
Below are seven simple steps to streamline our communication, respect my inbox, and make both of our jobs easier. Read the rest of the article I wrote at Ragan.com »
An Open Letter to Maura Kelly
Published October 27, 2010 | Preface: If you don’t know who Maura Kelly is, she’s a freelance writer who’s had articles appear in the The New York Times, The New York Observer, The Washington Post, New York Press, Glamour, and Salon, among others. She’s also the writer of Marie Claire‘s “A Year of Living Flirtatiously” column. Yesterday, she and the magazine posted a story for that column called “Should ‘Fatties’ Get a Room? (Even on TV?),” in response to the CBS show “Mike and Molly.” The article has certainly sparked a firestorm around the Internet, including Marie Claire trending on Twitter and critical responses on sites like The Frisky, Advertising Age, Jezebel, and BlogHer. I’ll let you read the column (and its subsequent comments) and decide your reaction. But I wanted to post mine, in an open letter form. Continue reading
Hello @Muddah, Hello @Faddah
Published June 26, 2010 | I suppose that’s what it would look like if Allan Sherman’s “Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah (A Letter From Camp)” was instead tweeted from camp.
Yesterday, I was at camp, minus the s’mores – Social Media Camp Long Island, that is. The first-ever event was held at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue, and included a day full of social media-related sessions, a panel discussion, and networking. It was perhaps the only place that someone wasn’t insulted if you were tweeting or posting on Facebook while talking to him!
The three blocks of sessions were attendee-influenced and led by local experts from all realms of social media. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, journalism, podcasting, privacy – so many topics were discussed at once, and it was difficult to choose which breakout session to attend. I settled for three on business and Twitter, event planning, and local news. What I enjoyed most about it is that no one spoke at you – even though someone was leading a session, everyone shared ideas and learned from each other. Continue reading
Carry On, Good Lady
Published January 16, 2010 | I feel like one of the people in the Halls Get Through The Season ads that have permeated NYC subway cars. Haven’t been able to get to the doctor or acupuncturist, and would prefer to go to the latter as I don’t want antibiotics. Hopefully I’ll get over what I think is a sinus infection by the time I leave for Taiwan.
Those Halls ads always make me feel uncomfortable. One of the comments on Ads of the World pinpointed it – you feel like you’re going to catch a cold just from looking at them. I’d probably be less bothered had they been painted caricatures, but they’re disturbing digitally warped photos.
Face The Type
Published January 10, 2010 | I wrote to Daryl Lang today in response to his blog post about rouge subway signs (back story: I was at the DeKalb Avenue station the other day and noticed a black-on-white sign, which Daryl posted here, and Google brought my curiosity to his website), in which I explained the difference between the MTA’s Helvetica font and the once-used Akzidenz-Grotesk (if you’re interested, here’s a great site on Helvetica and the NYC subway). Although the standard signage font nowadays is now Helvetica, there are still bits and pieces of Akzidenz-Grotesk around. I’ve always prefered the latter, as it’s a slightly cheerier font – the diagonal cuts of the c and e remind me of smiley faces. Lame, I know.
But then it got me thinking about which fonts I love and which I truly abhor. Admit it, you have those two. Continue reading