Michael S. Greenly (born October 2, 1944) is an American writer, entrepreneur, and lyricist – and a former vice president of

Avon Products Avon Products, Inc. or simply known as Avon, is an American-British multinational cosmetics, skin care, fragrance and personal care company, based in London. It sells directly to the public. Avon had annual sales of $9.1 billion worldwide in 2 ...

—who helped to popularize interactive online journalism in the mid-1980s as a kind of forerunner to blogging.Elmer-Dewitt, Philip
"Here Come the Networkers."
''

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

''. April 18, 2005. On March 26, 2015, Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed Senate Bill # 1362 making “Our Great Virginia” – lyrics by Mike Greenly, arranged by Jim Papoulis – as the official traditional state song of Virginia."Here Come the Networkers."
''

Virginia Legislative Information System Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are s ...

''. March 26, 2015.

Early online journalist

In 1983, Greenly left his position as a marketing vice president of

to become a freelance marketing consultant and writer. In an article for ''The Futurist'' magazine (March–April, 1987), Greenly credited the

Alvin Toffler Alvin Eugene Toffler (October 4, 1928 – June 27, 2016) was an American writer, futurist, and businessman known for his works discussing modern technologies, including the digital revolution and the communication revolution, with emphasis on th ...

book, '' The Third Wave'', as being a catalyst in his decision to change his life and become an active part of the Information Age. Greenly has been called "probably the most widely read writer on "

The Source ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the ma ...

", one of the first online services oriented to the general public and attracting 60,000 subscribers at the time. Sometimes called "planet earth's first interactive journalist" Greenly and the two friends he met online – Sherwin Levinson and Diane Worthington – became the first journalists ever allowed to cover the Democratic and Republican political conventions via computer (in 1984). Greenly wrote a cover story for ''Portable 100/200'' magazine (April, 1985) about using an early laptop computer to create this interactive, online journalism from the convention sites (Houston and San Francisco) and to answer reader questions and comments during the process. Greenly went on to become the first journalist ever allowed to cover the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

ceremony by computer, again sending online reports of his interviews and experiences to readers around the world via laptop, and responding to them from on the road. In 1986, a series of first-hand interviews Mike conducted about

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

and placed online was published as ''Chronicle: The Human Side of AIDS'' (Irvington Publishers, Inc.). In 1987, Greenly received an award from the

Computer Press Association Founded in 1983, the Computer Press Association (CPA) was established to promote excellence in the field of computer journalism. The association was composed of working editors, writers, producers, and freelancers who covered issues related to comp ...

in the category of "Best On-Line Publication" for his interactive electronic coverage of ''Appleworld'',

Macworld Conference & Expo Macworld/iWorld was an information technology trade show with conference tracks dedicated to the Apple Macintosh platform. It was held annually in the United States during January. Originally ''Macworld Expo'' and then ''Macworld Conference & Expos ...

, and

Comdex COMDEX (an abbreviation of COMputer Dealers' EXhibition) was a computer expo trade show held in the Las Vegas Valley of Nevada, United States, each November from 1979 to 2003. It was one of the largest computer trade shows in the world, usually ...

'87.“1985 Computer Press Association Awards
May 1986.

Corporate assignments

As his website notes, Greenly works today as a speech and presentation writer and speech coach for business executives. His client list includes Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, the Patrón Spirits Company, ExxonMobil, IBM and many other organizations.

Songwriter/lyricist

References

External links

Mike Greenly
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenly, Mike 1944 births Living people American male journalists American lyricists Duke University alumni New York University Stern School of Business alumni 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers