02 Feb 2016
Rethinking the Social Media Landscape
For over a decade, entrepreneurs have struggled to fully harness the continually expanding influence of social media. According to recent polls, about 28 percent of all online activity is dedicated to social media consumption, so it should come as no surprise that 93 percent of marketers use social media for business. The importance of social media presence is taken as a given, basically granted as your first topic in Marketing 101.
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Do you ever wonder whether you should use “which” instead of “that” or vice versa? In the United States we use “which” differently than those living in the United Kingdom. I have no idea when or how the usage diverged, but according to our Modern Language Association, there is a correct way to use each.
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In an increasingly digital business landscape, failing to have an online presence can make or break a company’s monetary momentum.
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Quick, before the Feds kick down my door—let me tell you a story.
This is a case of alleged corruption, unproven fraud, and suspected malfeasance…all made possible by a small grammatical ambiguity.
What if I told you that a missing comma nearly let me slip away with half a million dollars of ill-gotten taxpayer money? Well, “slip away” might be the wrong way to put it—the questionable actions can be justified as perfectly legal…from a certain point of view.
Where to begin?
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05 Jan 2016
Two Ways for Businesses to Brace for Change
“Change is good. Let’s all hold hands and celebrate change.” —all of the Internets right around the start of a new year.
Right around the start of a new year, the Internets are abuzz with blogs about change. Myriad blogs, news articles, and social media statuses extoll the virtues of change and how to embrace it. For companies, change is a challenge to the status quo, and even good change—like landing a new client—often comes with its own set of challenges. What does the client want? How do you keep him happy? If I tell him I’m a 49ers fan, will he find someone else?
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22 Dec 2015
Explaining New Media to My Dad
More than a few times over the past year, in the midst of going down an Internet rabbit hole, I’ve wondered what my dad would make of all this. A world of information at my fingertips; searches that beget endless questions. He still had dial-up when he died. The pixelated outer space sound would ping through his small condo while he would wait to check the messages in his AOL account.
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Q: Can you describe the difference between “ignorance” and “stupidity”? I often wonder about the distinction when reading your posts.
A: The Language Ninja is literally and figuratively sputtering with rage at your insult disguised as a query. She concedes, however, that it is elegantly framed. Well met!
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There was a time, in the not-too-distant past, when technical writing as a profession held a comfortable, well-established place in the development of products and software. At least, among mature organizations who understood the value that a technical writer brings to the process. Particularly in the software industry, technical writers could count on a fairly predictable routine that coincided with a development cycle that (usually) provided ample time to write 500-page user manuals, plus the online help topics.
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04 Dec 2015
A Little Love for Put-down Punctuation
In journalism, commas in a list are frowned on (AP Style outright bans them), and simplistic writing is encouraged. While journalists are, by far, some of the best writers out there, they have to adhere to a certain style—and not just AP or inverted pyramid. Their writing itself must be presented a specific way, or the piece gets tossed back at them like flotsam. “Your word count is too high,” is an often-heard complaint from news editors. “Re-arrange your first four paragraphs and cut back on the prose,” et cetera.
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Somewhere in the mid-1950s, a revolution in advertising took place. While previous business models relied primarily on supply side economics, the new age of advertising saw opportunities to generate demand through innovative marketing practices. The behavioral sciences slowly started to work their way into advertising agencies and businesses began to devote substantial portions of their budgets to product promotion.
