A story with legs
If you used Google today, you will have noticed the “l” looks a little different. In fact, it looks like a pair of legs — those bright orange legs belonging to Big Bird. The “doodle” celebrates the fact that Sesame Street is 40 this...
Twitter tips for newbies
At a hands-on social media event sponsored by Communicators Connection (then called Halton-Peel Communications Association), I joined fellow members Donna Papacosta, Rob Clark and Joan Vinall-Cox in talking about and demonstrating how to use LinkedIn, blogs, audio and...You should volunteer. Do you?
At a networking event given by IABC/Toronto’s Professional Independent Communicators (PIC), I shared why I volunteer, as did my colleagues Leslie Hetherington, Donna Papacosta, Barb Sawyers and Lee Weisser. PIC supports more than 100 independent communicators,...An imperfect world 2
Time for a reminder to be careful out there, as we look at some of the recent errors spotted in our imperfect published world (because, of course, I am perfect and never make any myself)*: …the pictures of the bloggers…don’t wreak of the standard...
How to warm up to cold calling
While decluttering my office, I ran across a battered 1981 edition of The Canadian Writer’s Market. In it I found 32 pages of agency listings, each entry with a pencilled X or check mark beside it, plus new telephone numbers and scribbled names. Flashback: I was...
Every comma has its day
Yesterday was a big day for those of us who notice and cringe at signs with extra or missing apostrophes. If people suggest that makes you a nitpicker, tell them you have nothing on former newspaperman Jeff Rubin, the founder of National Punctuation Day. Jeff started...The writer’s diet includes humble pie
This week I had the shocking experience of having someone Not. Like. My. Work. I say shocking because I’ve been fortunate. Over about 18 years of running my own business, I’ve been able to submit a first draft of my assignments that’s pretty close to...