Kranz On Copy: Insights and answers on copywriting and writing copy

I'm not big on technology for its own sake and I'm more likely than not to roll my eyes or even yawn when the discussion turns to Blackberries and podcasts and video downloads, etc.

But, boy, I am impressed when someone applies technology toward ends that would have been inconceivable just a few years earlier.

For instance, consider the new career of my friend and former colleague, Brigid Alverson. (First, consider her old one. I wrote very briefly at a local paper where she served as senior reporter for four years. Get any thoughts of "quaint" out of your mind. When you cover the beat in a small town, you can't help but step on a lot of toes. On a big paper, it's not likely you'll ever meet George W. Bush or Bill Gates at the local supermarket. But with a local paper, you'll constantly run into people you've either written about, contradicted, challenged or simply offended with a contrary opinion or perspective. And these same people will think nothing of suspending the usual rules of civility to button-hole you while you're shopping or picking up the kids from school to give you the scolding they think you deserve. It takes a big person to write for a small paper in a small town. I didn't last long. Brigid was able to hold her ground.)

Anyway, Brigid isn't reporting for the local paper anymore. Instead, she developed an interest in manga, a kind of long-form comic book popular in Japan. Unlike American comics which tend to focus on superheros-in-tights, these Japanese comics are more like surreal novels and cover everything from French cooking to obscure sexual appetites. Now here's the cool technology part: she took her interest and made it the subject a terrific blog, MangaBlog, that's become one of the premier websites covering manga in the English-speaking world. In less than two years, she's gone from small town reporter to international authority. She gets loads of free review copies and is a welcome guest at manga conventions, events, etc.

Thanks to her ability to apply the Web (and blogging) in an intelligent, intriguing way, Brigid has carved a niche for herself that didn't even exist five years ago. And on a scale no one could have anticipated.

Good work, Brigid!