Author Archives 
As Tendo’s vice president, creative services, Christine Zender's experience in content strategy and development give her the unique ability to translate client goals and objectives into products that achieve tangible results. Other products that interest her include—but are not limited to—fabulous heels, Entertainment Weekly, an expertly mixed Manhattan and the samosas at Naan N’ Chutney near her office.
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A question of tone: 2 pitch-perfect companies
I’ve just returned from a Thanksgiving trip to China. It was one of the best vacations of my life—great food, good people, amazing sites—and a truly challenging language.
I learned that the Beijing dialect of Chinese has four “tones,” which make it possible to say the same combination of characters four totally different ways… Continue reading
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Don’t use that tone with me!
A big part of my job is to consult on, create, evaluate, and distribute content. As such, I spend a lot of time writing about content. Some days, however, it seems as though a disproportionate amount of that time is spent trying to communicate what I think/recommend/need in a clear, emotionally neutral way to coworkers… Continue reading
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Content strategy Q&A
Content strategy has come of age. While consumers continue to embrace social media and emerging Web channels and turn away from traditional media, large corporations are being pushed into a more direct relationship with their customers. Along with LinkedIn and Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, corporate websites are becoming the main channel for this new relationship
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HomeAway.com targets “Vacation” audience
Now that I have a DVR I usually zoom through commercials, but there’s one that I’ve been watching lately. I missed its debut during the Super Bowl but, luckily for me, it’s been on pretty heavy rotation in the past couple of weeks. It’s for HomeAway.com and features Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo reprising their roles as… Continue reading
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Our 5 favorite jargon words for 2010
We’re pretty optimistic about the opportunity 2010 brings for new jargon words. It’s early days yet, but we’re seeing—and creating—some good ones. The following list includes our early favorites. Continue reading
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Project Runway: naughty or nice?
The seventh season of Project Runway starts on Thursday, January 14, and I await it with the same feeling of anticipation and dread that I experienced when watching Star Wars Episodes I-III: I wanted to love these movies as much as I loved Episodes IV-VI, but they just kept disappointing me.
As for Project… Continue reading
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FLOR’s design contest wins hearts from carpet
I’m obsessed with FLOR. Everything about the company—from the cool, slightly Scandinavian-sounding name, to the environmental friendliness of its products, to its inspiring catalogs—makes me want to cover every surface in my house with carpet tiles.
And now FLOR has given me yet another reason to love it. Last month the company emailed me about its… Continue reading
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Is Bing the new Google?
I originally sat down to write about how much I disliked Bing. But as I explored it further, all of my arguments fell apart; I found myself coming back to “but it’s not Google” again and again. And while I applaud brand loyalty, my job is about using the best tools and technologies for the job—whatever the job is. So, “It’s not Google” isn’t really an argument—that’s just being resistant to change. Which I’m not. Or, I shouldn’t be… Continue reading
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Heels.com walks a mile in your shoes
I watch a lot of video during the course of my day: Video data sheets, video news, video conference recaps, and so on. But until now I haven’t really realized the power of video to make a case for a product. Continue reading
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If a picture is worth a thousand words…
How much is a word worth when it describes a sound? I’m searching for stock music on a site called StockMusic.net and having more fun than I thought was possible while performing this mundane task.
Why? Whoever wrote the descriptions for the music clips is a genius. A demented and (quite possibly) chemically altered… Continue reading
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Know your audience
Set down your (metaphoric) pens, newsletter writers. In the category of “Know Thine Audience,” the best headline of the week has already been written. And on a Monday. It came… Continue reading
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Big Brother is watching
Last week ended for me with a heated discussion on the subject of just how much companies of all sizes are restricting email and Internet usage these days. A colleague claimed that because the Internet and email had become accepted—and necessary—business tools, companies of all sizes were moving away from policies that restrict their employees’… Continue reading
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Mindful TV
I’ll admit it: I love TV. I watch everything from network standbys to PBS specials to cable access programming. I’ll watch anything once, no matter how bad it is. I used to feel guilty about all the hours I’ve accrued to attain my couch potato status. No so anymore. These days, TV is teaching me… Continue reading