08 Sep 2015
Can the Clichés!
They’re tried-and-true, but they’ve been around the block a few times. They’re shopworn, threadbare, and coming apart at the seams. It’s time to put them out to pasture.
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03 Sep 2015
A Checklist for Your Small Business
We all know that starting your own business isn’t always wine and roses. There will be tough times, some of which may seem to last forever. The better prepared you are to manage your own business, the easier it will be to weather the bad times and the quicker you can get into the good.
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25 Aug 2015
How to Hashtag
Social media has reinvented the phone’s pound sign, giving birth to the now ubiquitous ‘hashtag.’ If you immediately understand what I’m referring to, you have one-up on my mother. Despite the barrage of TV ads referencing the hashtag and the fact that it’s been clickable since 2009, my mom has no idea what one is or what it’s used for, and she’s content to continue living in her hashtag ignorance.
Unlike my mother, there are those who would argue that they know exactly what a hashtag is and just how to use it. My Facebook newsfeed begs to differ.
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18 Aug 2015
Stop Trying to Sell Me Things
I averted my eyes from a billboard while driving on the highway today. I won’t pretend like I did it for the sake of keeping my eyes on the road; I did it out of principle. I’m still not sure what it was advertising, though if the previous twenty I had already seen were any indication, it was likely a brief but nevertheless compelling argument for why my current insurance provider was inadequate.
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Hello, and welcome to Questions from a Language Ninja! This is where the Ninja does her level best to answer complex linguistic queries, despite the fact that her qualifications come exclusively from her extensive experience in writing ransom notes. Let’s get started!
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04 Aug 2015
How Edgy Is Too Edgy?
There are a range of voices and styles you can use for your web content, and the right voice for you depends on your business. It’s doubtful that people will want to lend their trust and confidence to a heart surgeon whose landing page is full of knee-slappers, but if you’re in a more lighthearted (no pun intended) line of work, you may wish to incorporate some G-rated humor into your content to engage your audience. Heck, make it PG.
But when it comes to your online content, how edgy is too far?
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I stared at my bowl of soup.
The floating fish head stared back.
As I locked eyes with the fishy compatriot that was supposed to be my dinner, the only thought in my head was:
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21 Jul 2015
Goldfish vs. Humans
Last week I was riding the 7 train uptown from Grand Central a few hours after the morning rush. There were no strap-hangers, but most of the seats were occupied. I couldn’t help but observe my fellow riders, the majority of whom were engaged with the small screen before them. A car full of necks craned downward might be a chiropractor’s nightmare, yet it’s a revealing snapshot of our digital age.
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Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of “Questions for a Language Ninja,” the only Q & A language usage column where nearly every response to burning linguistic queries is: “It’s all good, man,” at least when those queries arrive in the middle of an otherwise lazy summer. Let’s get started.
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10 Jul 2015
When Branding Misses the Mark
The problem is timeless and universal: you think you know what someone else wants, deliver that whatever-it-is, and then find yourself mystified by the fact that the recipient isn’t thrilled by your offering. It happens with birthday presents, it happens on dates, and it happens when branding your business. Birthday presents and dates are one thing, but if there’s one place you really need to hit the target, it’s branding. How can you make sure you’re not missing the mark?
