Peter Himler is founding principal of Flatiron Communications LLC, New York City-based PR and digital media consultancy that helps emerging and established organizations capitalize on the latest communications tool and strategies including digital news, social media, and influencer and content marketing.
In addition to running Flatiron, Himler has written for Forbes.com on the intersection of media, technology, and marketing. He also founded and edits “Adventures in Consumer Technology,” a popular Medium publication with 47,000 followers. He is solidly engaged in the social graph regularly posting on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Swarm, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, and Snapchat on occasion.
What led you to start working in digital/media publishing?
In 2005, after leaving the big agency world, weblogs were just coming into vogue. I began writing a PR/media-industry focused blog called The Flack as a means to share what I’ve learned over many years in the business. I haven’t looked back.
What does a typical day look like for you?
My NYC-based PR/digital media strategy firm Flatiron Communications keeps five-to-six clients at any one time. Their care and feeding are my first priorities. Beyond that, I maintain an active presence in social media, primarily Twitter, and write and edit for two current outlets: The Flack and the Medium publication “Adventures in Consumer Technology”.
What’s your work setup look like?
I work on a MacBook Pro connected to a large monitor. Since the MacBook Pro has a paucity of ports, I use a device that serves as a single connection to two external hard drives, the monitor, speakers, a webcam, router, etc.
In terms of apps and productivity tools, I use a range of plug-ins and Chrome extensions that include Grammarly, GetEmail.io, Newton Mail, ToutApp, MuckRack, Cision, and others. Here’s a link to a piece I penned that includes some useful tools: https://flatironcomm.com/cool-tools-pr-trade/.
What do you do to get inspired?
Because I assiduously curate those I follow on Twitter and elsewhere, there’s never a lack of ideas flowing across the streams on my various screens. The nexus of media/tech/marketing is a topic on which I keep a watchful eye, but one can’t ignore what’s happening politically in the U.S. over the past year.
What’s your favorite quote or written piece?
Again, I tend to glean material from those I follow – mostly influential, quality-driven journalists from outlets like The New Yorker, The New York Times, Washington Post, and even some digitally native sites like Daily Beast, Buzzfeed, Quartz, and Vox.
What is the passionate problem you are tackling at the moment?
One of my clients is the world’s largest organization for mechanical engineers. Its foundation has embraced “social good” and the role engineers play therein. Our goal is to draw attention to their good, forward-looking works.
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Is there a product, solution, or tool that you think is a good match for your digital publishing efforts?
One can’t argue with the utility of a browser extension like Grammar.ly, but there are many others. Product Hunt is a great resource to follow to learn about what’s new and noteworthy.
Any advice for ambitious digital publishing and media professionals just starting out?
There’s a debate right now over which platform one should use for his/her prose and editorial output. At the Web Summit in Lisbon this year, I heard vociferous calls for avoiding platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Medium where one simply doesn’t own/control the content (nor the monetization thereof). I think there’s some merit in that line of reasoning.
