Did you celebrate Earth Hour on Saturday night? Here’s what went on in my house: All lights off. Both computers off and power bars off. Several “vampire” appliances (you know, the ones with the ready lights that keep sucking up power while waiting at standby) off. Played board games by candlelight (skunked by my son [...]
Monthly Archives: March 2008
Writing for readability
I’ve been playing with the grammar function in Word after a reminder from the Publication Coach, Daphne Gray-Grant. By paying attention to things like words per sentence (aim for an average of 14 or less), passive sentences (no more than 10%) and Flesch-Kincaid grade level (grade 9 or less), you can make your writing easier [...]
Signs of spring
The signs are small, but growing. As I navigate the ice and snow that STILL cover much of the ground, birds are singing. I spotted a cardinal on my walk with Jake this morning, and a robin perched on the rail of my deck. The past three mornings, Jake and I have passed a mallard [...]
Remembering Joan
March 26, 1978 was a Sunday – Easter Sunday, in fact. I was awake but still in bed when the doorbell rang. It must have been something like 7 a.m. so my parents and I knew that something was wrong; we arrived at the door at the same time, throwing on robes. There was a [...]
Amusing words
From Encarta‘s top 10 business buzzwords: Delayering: A newer, more PC term for “rightsizing,” a.k.a. downsizing. Potato, potahto. It’s still a layoff. Narcissurfing: Googling yourself to see where, when and how often you show up on the Internet. Al desko: To save time, I often dine al desko, usually after five minutes of microwaiting. (In [...]
Guess I am not incented
Well, I tried, I really did. While proofreading a section of a newsletter I had written, I glanced through other sections and flagged this: A person quoted in an article about the switch of IT support to a call centre in India calls the staff “a well-trained, highly incented and duly rewarded group of employees.” [...]
How to get a meaty quote
Writers love to interview someone who speaks naturally, compares a complex topic or object to something others can relate to and isn’t afraid to share personal feelings or thoughts. It just makes the whole writing process a whole lot easier. In the corporate world, you are more likely to get someone who thinks big words [...]
Behind the scenes
Here’s some of what’s been going on behind the scenes of the happy freelancer: I had a last-minute panic call from a client. An executive did not like an employee newsletter article written by a junior staff writer. Could I listen to a taped conversation with the exec and rewrite? For the next day? I [...]
Two ski-related marketing ideas
While taking Son #2 and a friend to a local ski hill to go snowboarding yesterday, I was struck by two brilliant (well, I thought so!) marketing ideas that I hope someone will turn into reality: 1. Wi fi at ski hills. Normally I would be skiing while the boys were snowboarding, but I had [...]
New way to resume
Today I found Marci Alboher’s New York Times blog Shifting Careers, which highlights “the newfangled ways we are custom-blending careers, and shares tips for doing it better.” Check out the post about the “Web 2.0 resume,” which includes a YouTube video and Googlepages, but do continue on and read the comments. As some of the [...]