2012-12-28
Posted on December 28, 2012 8:33 am by Shel Holtz
| Brands
(c) Can Stock PhotoThe Friday Wrap reviews some of the best, most interesting and newsworthy posts and articles from the last week. The items included in the Wrap are chosen from my link blog, which you are always welcome to visit: LinksFromShel.tumblr.com. I hope everyone has a very Happy New Year?
Digital fully integrated into technology consumers’ lives
A new study from IDG Research Services reveals the degree to which social media, video and mobile devices have become integral parts of consumers’ decision-making processes. The Echo Effect: understanding the Value of Tech Buyers found that 95% of respondents use at least one… Read More »
2012-12-21
Posted on December 21, 2012 4:35 pm by Shel Holtz
| Writing and Editing
Decades ago, my friend Gary Kemper gave me this bumper sticker. I like it so much I have never put it on a car. Cars come and go, and bumpers even more frequently. I kept it on a bookshelf where I could see it whenever I passed by, even as it has gotten somewhat worse for wear:
Metaphors are an important part of language, a notion that was reinforced when I listened to the latest episode of Slate’s Lexicon Valley podcast. While discussing the language of the “fiscal cliff,” hosts Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo point out that we use metaphors once about every 20 to 25 words. That’s about five or six times per minute.
We’re not talking… Read More »
2011-02-28
Posted on February 28, 2011 11:47 am by Shel Holtz
| Blogging
I recently read a post taking issue with the number of blog posts that employ lists. You know the posts I’m talking about. Just today, Mashable offered, “Six Slick Ways to Customize Your Kicks Online.” Problogger recently offered, “5 Tips to Grow Your Twitter Presence.” Copyblogger offers, “6 Questions to Ask Before You Spend a Dime on Graphic Design.”
Jay Dolan, author of “The Anti-Social Media” blog, argues that lists are little more than the lazy blogger’s approach to avoiding deep thought.
With a list post, a blogger doesn’t have to think about transitions and the overall structure of the post. Unless a blogger works very hard…
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2010-07-23
Posted on July 23, 2010 12:29 pm by Shel Holtz
| Writing and Editing
Update, July 27: I’ve added a statement I just received from Anne Wiley at the bottom of the post.
Early this month, Liam FitzPatrick, who manages Change and Internal Communication for Bell Pottinger, argued in a post titled “Who Cares About Writing Skills?” that good writing should not be a requirement for professional communicators. Specifically, he wrote:
To be honest I don???t think being a good writer matters ???- I???ve met plenty of great comms people who couldn???t write to save their lives and I know a few fantastic writers who I???d never trust to give communications advice.
I wasn’t alone in finding myself aghast at… Read More »
2010-04-13
Posted on April 13, 2010 10:35 am by Shel Holtz
| Books
A tweet directed me to a TechCrunch guest post titled, “Dear Authors, Your Next Book Should be an App, not an iBook.”
While the post’s author, 21-year-old startup exec Cody Brown, doesn’t exactly make the case that books are dead, he does suggest that authors eyeing the iPad as a platform for their books are “missing the point:”
What do you think would have happened if George Orwell had the iPad? Do you think he would have written for print then copy and pasted his story into the iBookstore? If this didn???t work out well, do you think he would have complained that there aren???t any serious-readers anymore? No. He would have looked…
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2009-12-24
Posted on December 24, 2009 6:08 pm by Shel Holtz
| Search
Not everyone agrees, but I’ve always loved newspaper headlines that employ the art of the pun.
Not every headline writer should try their hand at this technique. A special skill-set is required to pull off a really dynamite pun. Most headline puns are stretches, ill-conceived or repetitive. (Many travel writers have worn out their welcome with headlines like Czech It Out and Going Dutch. But a good pun headline is a delight and a definite enticement to read further.
It’s a shame that search engine optimization is killing the pun.
I’m not one of those who believes that SEO is destroying good writing. Lazy practitioners of SEO may… Read More »
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