Monthly Archives: May 2010

Inclusive language post at Advantis

Well, this is exciting — I’m a guest blogger! Find out what I have to say about “inclusive language” in newsletters and other communications over at Advantis Communications. Oh, you know I have an opinion. Do you?

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Changing the game? Speak up!

After a couple of days trying to access my client’s e-mail system without success — and with so much on my plate I had no time to deal with their IT support group — I happened to mention the problem to one of my contacts. It turns out the company’s IT department had changed the [...]

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Never ‘just a dog’

A dog-walking buddy (someone encountered while we were both walking our dogs) recently lost one of her dogs to cancer. Holly was just two, really still a puppy, so my friend thought there was lots of time for treatment. There wasn’t. Holly died within two weeks of the cancer diagnosis. People — mostly those who [...]

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Write news releases without this lead

A client called yesterday in a bit of a panic, wondering if I could revise a news release for her by end of day. This is the kind of thing I often refer to as “pulling a rabbit out of a hat.” I was already juggling a number of projects, but this is a long-time, [...]

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A peek under the blog hood

Toronto-area independents, join the Halton-Peel Communications Association next week for a peek under the blog hood! HPCA’s social media expert Rob Clark will discuss web analytics, and his colleague Kyle McKeown will talk about inbound marketing and search engine optimization. A couple of HPCA guinea pigs (including me) have offered their web sites for closer [...]

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Tie a ribbon on for IABC 2010

The ribbons are in Chicago, en route to Toronto. The IABC 2010 World Conference is coming to Toronto June 6-9, and if you’ve ever been to one, you know that everyone wears these honking big badges. They aren’t just nametags; they have stick-on ribbons that identify you as an IABC member, a speaker, a Gold [...]

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For moms

In honour of Mother’s Day, here’s a quote that really speaks to me and sums up the feeling that took me by surprise when my first son was born, and of course continued with son #2: “Making the decision to have a child — it’s momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart [...]

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Know thy customer

Oh, those funny folks at Honda! They’re doing a good job of keeping in touch with me, long-time Honda owner that I am. But their enthusiasm for selling me a new car always seems to overtake their good sense. I bought a 2009 Honda Civic last year, and I’m happy with it. But one of [...]

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Just don’t call it a battle

Tell me you do this, too — as you flip past the newspaper section containing obituaries, you can’t help but stop and read the ones accompanied by a photo of a young-looking person. Here’s why I do it. Having lost a few friends to cancer, I feel compelled to find out if that’s what ended [...]

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