Title:
senior writer
First Name:
Stephen
Last Name:
Shankland
Address:
235 Second Street
San Francisco, California 94105 United States
San Francisco, California 94105 United States
Phone:
415-344-2406
When to contact me and how I like to be contacted:
I'm always busy, but afternoons generally are lighter. I'm often in transit to the office around 8 a.m. I usually start work at 6 a.m. Pacific time, so if you have a pitch, get it in my inbox early.
For pitching me, use e-mail first. If it's urgent, try the phone. I prefer a follow-up e-mail to voice mail. If you leave voice mail, leave your phone number at the beginning, but I don't check my voice mail often, so don't count on it. Instant messenger is OK in moderate doses and good if it's urgent or while I'm on an interview with your client. If I'm on the road, my office voice mail will generally say so, in which calling my case cell phone is fine.
If I agreed to an embargo, send me the news release, FAQ, or at least some description of the news immediately afterward. If you wait until the moment of the briefing, I'll be angry by then that you didn't give me a chance to think in advance about your client's story before actually talking to him or her. It may make it easier for your executive to stick to the script since I'm coming in cold, but it also means that it's wasting the client's time and mine.
Avoid communicating official business with me via Facebook, Twitter, etc. I don't want to have to search seven different inboxes and sites for whatever you just sent me. I check my e-mail every few minutes generally, and at night and on the weekends often. Everything else is optional.
Never make me use WebEx, which is flaky, inconvenient, slow, and often broken. If you have a demo, try to arrange something in person. Send me a copy of your presentation so I have a copy for reference. I have had to take screenshots of WebEx and Adobe Connect presentations so I could just remember bullet points. I hate it, it's a waste of time, and I tune out whatever you're saying while I'm copying, pasting, and saving. This maximizes the likelihood I'll miss something important or misunderstand some point.
What I'm interested in right now:
Google, Yahoo, search, portals, online advertising, digital photography, e-mail, browsers, instant messaging, Web 2.0, SAAS, software as a service, Internet standards
Things you need to know about my publication:
We accept embargoes at times; please send a pitch with some bare-bones indication of the news and some indication why you think I might be interested.