Musings on Messaging

Welcome to the MessageSpecs blog. Here, you’ll find samples of work I’ve done with others (attributed) and some new thoughts on how we can communicate smarter.

  • Custom-Tailored Market Messaging?

    You’ll see the word “tailor” or “customize” in marketing quite often. What exactly does it mean to tailor a message? It seems counterintuitive for a book on developing core messaging to also advocate for creating unique messages for each audience.

  • On didgeridoos and stories

    I was at an event last night and had a great conversation with the program manager of a startup accelerator. But it almost didn’t happen. Someone I’d met earlier told me to seek her out and chat, but the night was crazy and I never found her. Until I mentioned I played the didgeridoo.

  • Happy New Year (and a little bit)

    Reflecting on one year of MessageSpecs and looking forward to what’s to come. ❤️ 🧠 🍔

  • Heart, Head, Gut: Using Aristotle for your technical messaging

    Picture this: Aristotle, in a hoodie, walking the halls of a tech convention. Sounds out of place, right? But here’s the kicker — his teachings on persuasion are more relevant now than ever, especially in the B2B tech jungle. We’re talking about Pathos, Logos, and Ethos, the holy trinity of persuasion, and guess what? They’re…

  • RocketMSP with Steve Taylor

    I joined the RocketMSP podcast to discuss how managed service providers can improve their messaging, without overwhelming or “dumbing down.”

  • Bare Knuckles and Brass Tacks Podcast

    Listen to my interview with the hosts of the Bare Knuckles and Brass Tacks podcast. We talk about where cyber marketing goes wrong.

  • Be a Nerd that Talks Good workshop @ DEF CON 31

    I was fortunate to join the Misinformation Village at the DEF CON hacker conference in 2023. And you can join the group experiment to develop a unified messaging foundation for talking about misinformation.

  • Cybersecurity Standup with Uptycs

    I was floored and honored to sit down with the incredible Bronwen Hudson of Uptycs at Black Hat 2023. We had an amazing time discussing poor cybersecurity marketing, equity in hiring, and food!

  • Cards Against Misinformation

    Can a simple-looking “card game” be used to combat the rising threat of AI-generated misinformation? We found out at this year’s MozFest!

  • Three hours to better marketing?

    Building a message system takes time, but we can shortcut it together … if you’re willing to put in the work.

  • Webinar: Effective Cybersecurity Communications

    Learn where cyber comms can go wrong and how to avoid the pitfalls in this webinar replay.

  • Sun Tzu and 5 Audience Analysis Tips

    Sun Tzu said, “if you know your audience and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred emails.“…Or something like that.