Writing that’s awful, and sometimes awfully funny
As I note every year around this time, it takes real creativity to come up with truly awful writing. Yes, I’m talking about the winners of the over-the-top Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. This contest challenges entrants to come up with the opening sentence to the...
Writing tips you might have missed in ICYMI, August edition
There’s so much interesting and helpful information online, but social media channels are hectic. What are the chances you’ll be on Twitter or LinkedIn or whatever specific channel at the specific time someone shares that terrific post? Pretty slim. So,...
3 ways marketers can make birthdays special
When you were a kid, you probably loved birthdays. Cake and presents and being king or queen for the day made you feel special, didn’t they? These days, when you hand over your birth date to marketers, they have a chance to make you feel special, too. Of course,...
How well is the corporate world embracing DEI? (Wordnerdery)
Pride Month may be over, but the need for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at work is only getting stronger. Building on that idea, the theme for the June issue of the newsletter I edit for IABC/Toronto’s independent professionals was “pride and inclusion.”...
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...