ICYMI, June edition: More writing tips, inclusion advice + other links you might have missed
Keeping up with the famous “firehose” of information on the internet is impossible at the best of times. During the summer? Even more unlikely. So once again, I’ve collected some of the helpful tips and fascinating reading encountered on the internet and shared on...
Top 10 posts in the Red Jacket Diaries so far in 2022
When June winds to a close, I like to look back and see what posts drew the most readers over the previous months. A peek under the blog hood shows these were the 10 most-viewed posts this year: 1. Have you been swept up in the Wordle word craze? Like many, I’ve been...
Here’s how to set the stage for effective employee announcements (Wordnerdery)
“I’m excited to announce…” “We’re delighted to welcome…” “It’s with mixed emotions that I announce…” I’ve seen a flurry of business announcements lately that start like this, on the way to introducing a new employee or a changed role. Don’t those emotions seem a...
A whale of a tale told in numbers
Part of the joy of running your own business is playing hooky on a random weekday. So it was that my husband and I spent a recent day enjoying a visit to Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) followed by a Toronto Blue Jays baseball game. For the second time, the ROM...
Gas tanks, smoke alarms + more pandemic analogies (Wordnerdery)
Safety precautions like a national marshmallow test. The spread of COVID-19 like glitter. Fighting the virus like a game of whack-a-mole. I first shared these and other pandemic analogies at the end of 2020, thinking it would be a one-time thing. Remember thinking it...
ICYMI, April edition: Words, writing tips + more links you might have missed
Confess – you’re spending more time than ever online. There are work events on Zoom and Teams. There are photos and messages from family and friends on Facebook and Instagram. There’s YouTube and Twitter and TikTok. And then there’s Wordle and all...
End of an era: A fond farewell to the iPod
The music may live on, as Apple says, but not the devices many of us relied on before streaming music services showed up. Yes, Apple has finally discontinued the iPod. It’s not surprising, of course. What other technology from 2001 is still around? Kids, this was...
6 ways volunteering is good for you, too
Volunteering can sometimes seem invisible, but it’s so important to running organizations like the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). And never think what you do as a volunteer isn’t noticed, even if you certainly can’t be in it for the...