Natalie Goldberg's rules for #writing: 1. keep your hand moving 2. lose control 3. be specific 4. don't think 5. don't worry about spelling, punctuation, or grammar 6. you're free to write the worst junk in the world 7. go for the jugular

My hometown library was a Carnegie Library and there's one where I live now, one of the lucky recipients of a $10k grant from @carnegiecorp.bsky.social. These institutions are a part of the bedrock of this democratic society. Thanks for supporting them! www.carnegie.org/news/article...

Stephen King is the most-banned writer in America. Thousands of books and writers are banned in school libraries, denying readers looking for stories about them. #writing #freedomtowrite #freedomtoread abcnews.go.com/US/video/rep...

Librarians are radical. #freedomofspeech #freespeech www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/u...

I checked just to make sure my local library carries the books on the "most banned books" list. (They do.) Does yours? If not, consider donating copies to their collection. Freedom of expression is a fundamental characteristic of a thriving civil society. #bannedbooksweek #bannedbooks

PEN America responds to action taken today by the Department of Education dismissing complaints about book bans and referring to them as a “hoax”: "All students deserve to see themselves and the world around them reflected in the books shelved within their public schools.“ pen.org/press-releas...

The $3,000 video that pays for itself 24 times over Great advice from Shaun at @mixternal.bsky.social on how to turn one piece of content into an entire strategy

You might have heard about it … two tech CEOs announcing the same radical transformation within weeks of each other. Both declared their companies would become “AI-first.” Both said employees must prove they can’t use AI before asking for more resources. Yet only one memo required damage control.

I kinda hate it when they use the movie poster for the book cover 💚🩷 #BookSky #Wicked

As comms colleagues slowly accept that AI-generated writing is here to stay, new laments for maintaining relevancy in comms have emerged. Among them is the claim that humans are needed to create or ensure “authentic” comms.

1/4 Every piece of content you create should serve multiple audiences and channels. The press release should rhyme with the Instagram story should rhyme with the intranet article should rhyme with the town hall prezo should rhyme with… ...

Your exec wants to be a thought leader? These six AI prompts will save your sanity. www.mixternal.com/p/transform-...

In September, 2024, physicians working with AI did better at the Healthbench doctor benchmark than either AI or physicians alone. With the release of o3 and GPT-4.1, AI answers are no longer improved on by physicians Error rates appear to be dropping for newer AI models. openai.com/index/health...

Public trust in AI is low, and our current leaders in politics and business admit to not understanding the technology fully enough to effectively lead on it. Read the full report here: www.futureleadersinstitute.co.uk/research-and...

"Eventually I let go of the idea of corporate success. I let go of the idea of dating, of children, of thinking that I had to weigh 100 pounds; I let go of hiding my religion. With a label maker, I made a sticker for the bottom of my computer monitor that read: NONE OF THIS MATTERS."

Here are the Top 5 Dogs of the week!

Work smarter, not harder.. 😅

After I give my talk at next month's virtual summit Simpplr might regret inviting me. 😬 The title of my talk: Your Replacement Has Arrived: AI and the Future of Employee Comms. (I have some specific advice for young professionals joining our industry.) www.simpplr.com/employeecomm...

"On Tyranny" is a #1 NYT bestseller again. I wish the moment were different. But I’m glad the book is useful. And grateful for all the kind words about putting the 20 lessons to work. snyder.substack.com/p/twenty-les...

My name is Ben and I have autism. I’m not less than anyone else I just see the world differently. Lately I’ve been working on losing weight by walking. I walked 5 miles yesterday. It’s also helps with my confidence and I can enjoy the outdoors and the scenery.

Have you used #AI to boost your employee engagement surveys and outcomes? Stop color-coding spreadsheets. Let AI process thousands of comments in minutes to uncover sentiment patterns you might miss. Frank Dias shows the way: www.mixternal.com/p/using-ai-e...

The Librarians is a must-see documentary about the recent history of book banning in the US

They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made. -FS Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, published 4/10/1925.

🧵 1/8 "The Delusion Gap." Can I coin that phrase for comms? I see it over and over again, the gap between what execs think is happening at their company and what employees think (feel, know, live).

My Comms+AI insights running an employee engagement survey as a solo comms person. @mixternal.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/mistered...

"The modern digital oracle doesn’t analyze culture—they manufacture their own relevance, treating critique as branding rather than inquiry." Preach. nikitawalia.substack.com/p/the-rise-o...

“You’re bringing a critical perspective. You’re not there to just rubber stamp through [but] to work with your knowledge and critically appraise what’s in front of you.” @wadds.bsky.social on how to be an effective part of a boardroom in Ep. 19 of our Engage podcast. Listen now: bit.ly/3FBOKHy

We’re always looking for talented freelancers, consultants and fractional leaders in communications, marketing and creative services. Learn more at CommsConsultants.com/apply #communications #comms #content #marketing #socialmedia #writing #creative #freelance #consulting

Are you single-handedly juggling internal comms, external PR, and executive communications—and need proven frameworks to get it all done without working nights? The MCP is for comms-rades who want to work smarter, not harder. Sign up for free: www.mixternal.com

Here's an example of multimedia storytelling I wish would find its way into mixternal comms. Covering employees like this would bring them to life in a way the classic intranet Q&A can never capture. Martha Argerich, the Elusive, Enigmatic ‘Goddess’ of the Piano www.nytimes.com/2025/04/01/a...

Prof G Markets is nominated for a Webby Award. We’d offer $1M for your vote, but we’ve heard that doesn’t work. Details: vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting...

1/5 🙈 You’re not going to believe this. Initech, the IT consulting company, is taking mixternal communications to a level that even I—your resident mixternal evangelist—didn’t see coming.

When things go wrong: 2 CEOs + 2 crises = 2 different approaches Compare how Google's Pichai & Spotify's Ek handled vastly different company crises. One technical, one cultural - both revealing. Key insights from their internal memos in this week's analysis ⬇️ #mixternal #mixternalcomms #execcomms

Edgar Allan Poe died at the age of 40. Biggie Smalls died at 24. I'm constantly surprised and sad at genius gone too soon. Imagine if they had lived twice as long!

🧵 1/11 Just read @joannaparsons.bsky.social's necessary article on where internal comms should sit in organizations. I agree 1,000% that HR isn’t “the right home for internal communication.”

📢 Tearing down artificial barriers in comms is a competitive necessity in a world where stakeholders have more access to info about your company than ever before—from Glassdoor reviews to social media to press coverage to the overheard convo at the coffee shop next to HQ. #mixternal #mixternalcomms

🧵 1/6 A massive network outage disconnected millions of AT&T customers. CEO John Stankey's job? Reconnect with upset employees, anxious consumers, and watchful investors. 📝 All through one memo.

🐈‍⬛ Cat's out of the bag. #Comms guru @joannaparsons.bsky.social invited me to meet w/ her Tribe to discuss #mixternalcomms. Intrigued? There won't be a replay. This is a Tribe-exclusive convo, so ya gotta sign up for membership. See you there? www.thecuriousroute.com/thecurioustr...

Finding the content approval process tricky? Don't ask this: ❌ Can you review this and let me know if you want to make any changes? Try this instead: ✅ Can you fact-check this for accuracy? They are the fact checker. You are the comms expert. The style, tone and language is yours - own it.

“Employee engagement.” Two words that generate fierce debate about what it actually means. (The only two words that get comms people more frenzied are “Oxford comma.”) #mixternalcomms #mixternal #internalcomms #employeeengagement www.strategic-hq.com/how-much-eng...

1/3 "Time constraints" is the number one challenge facing comms pros (my readers) when it comes to adapting content across multiple channels.

🎙️ New episode alert! On the Future of Internal Communication podcast, Cat, Jen & Dom chat with learning designer Beth Salyers on how we learn—and how IC shapes social learning through every interaction. 🎧 Listen now: ow.ly/Qf3N50V1oW2 #FoICPodcast #InternalComms #ContinualLearning

🚨 New Issue Alert! 🚨 The Journal of Public Affairs Education just released Volume 31, Issue 1 (2025)! Explore the latest research and insights shaping public affairs education: www.tandfonline.com/toc/upae20/3... Stay tuned—we’ll be highlighting each article in the coming days! 📚✨

1/5 With #AI and one powerful master prompt you can analyze your original content and adapt it for different audiences and channels—while maintaining message consistency and strategic alignment.

“The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.” — Plato

It takes ~6 mos. to get your first interview from the moment you become *serious* about looking for another job. If you're in #internalcomms and serious about a job move, I encourage you to sign up for @strictlyinternal.com's free weekly newsletter of job listings. 70 job openings just this week!

🧵 1/7 My sources of inspiration for comms rarely (never?) come from comms. Rather they derive from orthogonal thinking, which is a thought process that involves taking unrelated ideas, concepts, or perspectives and applying them to your work. (In my case, #mixternal communications.)

Since I WFH I enjoy mixing up the scenery & vibes now & again. My cup of choice is a #coffee shop (OK #Starbucks). If you go often enough, just like at the office, the staff learns your name, preferences (headphones on = DND), & even your birthday. How nice! Where do you mix it up? (Share a photo!)

We’re distracting employees w/ nudges to respond to pings, dings, chirps, chimes, social share buttons & empty comment fields. We’re increasing their anxiety for the sake of our #engagement metrics. Should we stop making “engagement” a goal? #internalcomms www.mixternal.com/p/-what-if-e...