What's Missing From This Sign at Airport Security?

Me (to the friendly TSA ID checker):  Do I have to remove my laptop computer?

TSA Employee: Yes, you do.

Me: It's not listed on the sign

TSA Employee: Well, it's the most important thing to remove.

Me: But not important enough to be on the sign?

TSA: It's supposed to be on there, the people that printed it messed up (rolls eyes).

The TSA folks have hard jobs and I appreciate what they do. However, it doesn't exactly give me a safe feeling when the instructions for moving through the line efficiently are "messed up" and no on seems to care. 

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Japan Tobacco's Clever and Strange Smoking Manners Signs

Japan is surely one of the politest places you're likely to visit.  If you ask someone for directions, there is a good chance they will walk you there themselves. Behaving honorably is an important part of the culture and there is never a lack of signs, often cleverly illustrated, reminding the public of what is expected.

One of the most interesting and clever examples I found is produced by Japan Tobacco. In smoking areas, on trains and near ashtrays, there are often signs related to smoking and behavior in crowds. Notice the minimalist illustrations and the strange-but-effective messaging from these examples.

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The Weblog Elevator Pitch- One Year Later

It was one year ago that I won my first contest as a writer. The challenge was to create the "perfect corporate weblog elevator pitch". It was put on by the folks at Weblogs Inc. via the Social Software Weblog and Judith Meskill.

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I Heart Dreamhost

I've been a customer of Dreamhost (who hosts some of my web sites) for a couple of years now and they have always impressed me with their reliability and service- but that's only part of my admiration.

Perhaps the biggest part is their attitude -- they are fun. They make a real effort to create an experience around their services. The experience (even when bad things happen) is personal, authentic and usable.

Their email newsletter always makes me laugh. They have added wikis to their set of tools and here's how I learned about the wiki in the newsletter:

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How to Loosen Up Your Communication Style

HBS Working Knowledge: Loosen Up Your Communication Style

I thought this was an interesting article about communication styles in leadership positions. I've certainly seen the "data only" style and it served only to glaze eyeballs. Good points on symbolic and emotional communication.

Via: Online Facilitation

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