Here at Tedium, we take a lot of different angles on issues big and small—and quite often, the angles we hit on are related to the histories of companies large and small. Some of these companies have been around for decades, for generations, and have never had a real story told about them.
So I kind of wonder to myself: What if any company could tell its story, Tedium-style? Because, the fact of the matter is, every company has a story, and those stories matter in ways big and small. The problem is, sometimes they need to be shaken out of their shell a little bit and cracked open for the world to see.
A few examples of such tales that have been published here on Tedium:
- The story of the Hot Pocket is less fascinating because of the fact that it’s such a popular food item and more because its success directly led to a series of successful philanthropic endeavors in Colorado and California.
- The man whose company invented the modern adjustable spray bottle saw his invention as a way to help save the ozone layer.
- The company behind the paper straw stopped making it for more than 30 years, until Ted Turner’s restaurant chain came knocking. That led to a renaissance period for paper straws.
- The man who invented the lint roller came upon his invention by pure chance, because he had a lint emergency.
- The man who started one of the largest suction cup makers in the entire country stumbled upon the line of business because the “window blanket” devices he was trying to sell to save energy in homes turned out to be a huge failure, and he had a lot of extra suction cups sitting around.
So here’s an offer: If you own or represent a company that 1) has been around for a while (preferably 30 years or longer), 2) makes or does something interesting, and 3) is still around today, shoot me an email. I’d love to look into your corporate history.
These are on a first-come, first-serve basis, will be done on a limited schedule (never more than once a month), and will have a premium price tag—enough to highlight its heft. If you have archival resources that can help tell this story properly, even better! I’d love to have access to them so I could tell this story even more effectively.
We can run the finished story on your website, publish it on a platform of your choice, or (for an extra fee) even run it as a Tedium issue—properly marked, of course, to let people know that someone wrote it at your behest.
Here’s the thing: Simply having a website on the internet isn’t enough to tell people who you are online. And while your company or organization might have a Wikipedia page, odds are that it might not be written in a way that fully offers up your organization’s story arc.
So anyway, that’s the deal. Reach out if you’re interested, and we’ll turn it into a conversation.
Everyone has a website. Not everyone has a great story. Let’s find yours. — Ernie @ Tedium