How to promote a weblog: In the future, when people ask me how one should get their weblog on the map, I’m going to point them to Steve Rubel and his weblog, Micro Persuasion. He’s already getting great publicity for his blog. His focus is the intersection of blogging and the practice of public relations. Coming next week: Steve interviews me.

Clever: I’ve never blogged an arts & crafts idea before, however, I couldn’t pass this one up. I noticed the 40″ x 30″ (or 30″ x 40″ if you turn it vertically) piece displayed here (click to enlarge) the other day in the office of Kerri Davis, a graphic designer at Hammock Publishing. Kerri, who has two young daughters, had created the work as a year-end gift for the director of a pre-school program one of them attends. The quilt patch-like 4″ squares were cut out from art-work the children have produced (you know, the kind found on the refrigerator of every parent and grandparent). By mounting (with a “glue stick - the archival, purple kind” and roller) the squares on the art board in such a neat way, Kerri has elevated refrigerator art into a piece that can be proudly and permanently displayed for years to come.

One step back and two steps side-ways: A couple of times during the life of this weblog (here and here), I’ve scrtached my head over a technology I truly don’t get (as a user): approaches that offer a PDF-based (or PDF-like) adaptation of a print publication, so-called “e-editions” of a newspaper or magazine. (Those earlier posts detail why I’m perplexed by them.)

In an article on Slate.com earlier this week, Jack Shafer reviews the concept and some of the players in this arena and echoes some of the doubts I raised in my earlier posts.

Quote:

For a sense of how poorly the facsimile of a broadsheet newspaper translates onto a computer screen, imagine reading a newspaper through a six-pane colonial window in which five of the panes have been blacked out. I haven’t had this sort of tunnel vision while reading since the last time I endured newspaper microfilm at the city library. (I feel the same way, only less so, about the Webified magazines in the Zinio format.)

Great things to do when you visit Nashville: A couple years ago, I blogged a a story in the NY Times about visiting Nashville and requested home-folks add their suggestions. Several good recommendations can be found in that post’s comments.

Today, the NY Times profiles Nashville in its “36 hour” feature in which writer Taylor Holliday (is that name for real?) suggests what I concur would be an awesome weekend trip itinerary. (Okay, I would add another day to eat at Martha’s, Pancake Pantry and Prince’s Hot Chicken, but missing those will give you a reason to come back.)

Do what’s on this list and the rexblog’s Nashville readers (all two of them) guarantee you’ll have a great time.

Highlights:

Long before Nashville became Music City, it was known as the Athens of the South, its aspirations exemplified by the construction of a replica of the Parthenon for Tennessee’s centennial in 1896. That Athens became the country music capital hasn’t always sat well with its citizens, who are right when they say there is more to Nashville than country. But most would acknowledge that if you have only a weekend, rootsy music of all types is what the city does best. Don’t expect the country you hear on the radio; mainstream stars rarely play at home. Instead, expect real-deal crooners, soulful singer-songwriters, A-list session players and bluegrass virtuosos.

Again, you can’t go wrong if you follow the exact suggestions of writer Taylor Holliday (if the link is behind a pay-wall, it’s worth paying the archive fee if you’re planning a trip), but I’m sure that Nashvillians who read this will want to add their own suggestions via comments.

Keep hope alive: According to E&P, “Journalism legend Gene Roberts is heading a group of some of the nation’s most powerful media leaders in an effort to save the industry’s two top journalism reviews (Columbia Journalism Review and American Journalism Review)through an unprecedented circulation and fundraising drive.” (via mediabistro.com)

Martha spins: In reporting quarterly numbers (down), Martha Stewart Omnimedia provides some “official” state-of-the-company information. Whistling past the graveyard or honest assessment? You decide:

“Since the March 5th verdict, we have been performing a comprehensive analysis of all aspects of our business. The results of our analysis have been very much as we predicted. Our consumers remain stalwart. Our research shows that magazine subscribers, in particular, were unfazed by the verdict immediately afterwards and remain so roughly six weeks later. These results also demonstrate how much our subscribers value the key attributes associated with the name ‘Martha Stewart’ and how much progress we have made in evolving the brand from expert personality to trusted brand attributes and brand labels.

“Based on our research findings, MSO has determined to accelerate this evolution. The first steps in this process are editorial changes that, with Martha’s support and involvement, will be underway beginning in the June issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine. Beginning with the September issue, while retaining the name Martha Stewart, which connotes brand attributes of quality expert information and a unique sense of style, we will place greater emphasis on the name ‘Living’ as the brand label.

“There will be additional evolutionary changes down the road as part of the process - as always, rooted in our continuing research and focused on maintaining our loyal audiences, providing the best support for our dedicated retail partners, and meeting the needs of our advertisers.

“In addition, we are pleased to have concluded an agreement with Kmart reaffirming our mass market partnership. With Kmart sales of Martha Stewart Everyday products up 6.5% since the verdict in March, we are looking forward to working with Kmart to raise the bar in new product categories. In our television segment, we are evaluating future strategic actions beyond the current season.

“Overall, we are gratified by the support we continue to receive from our consumers, partners, and employees. As we have said, with an adverse outcome in Martha’s personal legal situation, it will take longer for advertisers to return to our print publications, but we continue to manage the company for the long term. Our prudent use of our significant financial resources will enable us to make those investments necessary to build our premier ‘how-to’ brands, emphasizing the distinctive attributes that will attract customers, partners, and advertisers alike.”