Hi all,
I *think* they're legitimate. I have received valid and appreciative
replies from both (e-mail address removed) (Chris Jones via email) and
Alexandra (via phone and email) for my plain ol' emailed responses
which did not contain state secrets, let alone anything they could use
in a scam.
Here's a theory: Some writers are concurrently working on a story
about the pervasive nature of PowerPoint. Specifically, they're trying
to see whether there has been a causal relationship between the growth
of "PPT-style" in business and a similar growth in everyday
communications. They're writing these stories to further explore some
points made by Edward Tufte in his recent essay "The Cognitive Style
of PowerPoint."
Tufte says, among other things, that bulleted lists promote "generic,
superficial, simplistic thinking." He goes on to note how PPT style is
infecting paper-based and web-based communications. (And yes, my
promised (5-21-03) book report is late. The, uh, dog ate my hard
drive. However, for essay reviews by three other people, see
http://tonyramos.com/PowerPoint Information.htm.)
If anything, it's timely. I Googled "Tufte" and "Cognitive Style of
PowerPoint" on 7-25 and got 1,010 results. Freelance writers know that
a single story, or at least a set of quotes and raw ideas, can be
formed and reformed, thus sold and resold, to a variety of
publications if it's different enough. Gotta move quick, though. WSJ
will choose Writer A's story instead of Writer B's. Writer B will walk
Version 2 over to Forbes, Writer C is competing as well ... etc.
If it's a scam, it's pretty lame. If not, hey, look ma, I'm in the
paper!
Tony Ramos
Specialist in PowerPoint Presentation Design
http://www.tonyramos.com (<-complete w/bullet points on the homepage!
Whoopee!)
