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Dear
Welcome to my March newsletter
I’m writing this in my garden office with the doors open for the first time this year. And very lovely it is too.
The garden is beginning to wake up after winter and the shock of several inches of snow. I love this time of year when things I thought I’d lost suddenly burst into life again. The most magnificent item at the moment is a gloriously showy pink camellia from Cornwall. It’s a wonderful reminder of a fabulous week spent in the delightful Cot Valley.
But back to work, and shamefully, my first newsletter of 2009 …
I haven’t been entirely slacking. As well as working on some great projects, I’ve been developing my blog and experimenting with Twitter. After initial cynicism, I have to admit, Twitter does seem like a good way for small businesses to raise their profile, promote products and services, network, ask for or give advice, and alert followers to blog updates.
The internet is awash with guides on how to get started but I think this one from virtual assistant, Rona Wheeldon, is particularly clear and to the point. http://www.theorganisedpa.com/page9.htm
And if you have time, please follow me at www.twitter.com/Laini.
It was through Twitter that I discovered www.tinyurl.com. So it’s goodbye to those long strings of gobbledegook that clutter up emails every time we want to share a link. There are several other sites like TinyURL – www.snipurl.com is another one.
Oxford Commas - a waste of ink?
Indie band, Vampire Weekend, certainly make it clear what they think in their song 'Who gives a %*&$ about an Oxford Comma’ (catchy tune though).
However, my good friend and fellow copywriter, Sarah Turner thinks they’re useful. And so do I. Take a look at Sarah’s article to find out why the Oxford comma is a handy little chap.
Predictors of beaconicity banned from holistically synergising stakeholder engagement
According to an article on the BBC News website last week, local authorities have been told to ditch the jargon and speak English.
Although they are by no means the only offenders of gibberish some of the words and phrases they use to communicate are truly baffling. Whether they take any notice of the ban or not remains to be seen. Read more ...
Do you know your cross-cutting from your top-downing?
Take this BBC quiz to find out how fluent you are in gibberish.
Expect the unexpected and avoid mistakes
It’s so easy to hear what you expect to hear and see what you expect to see. However, that can lead to mistakes – some of them potentially embarrassing. Read more ...
Thank you to all of you who sent me your favourite new words after my December article ‘Meddling with the language’. Here is a selection:
Julien Lesage of Brett-Lesage design agency wrote:
“Apparently Obama has chosen a team to effectuate his vision. Why not enact or execute? It sounds a bit like a cross between affected and effeminate.”
And thanks to Lesley Lant of Perennial Marketing for this tongue in cheek list:
Intaxication: euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until
you realise it was your money to start with.
Cashtration (n.): the act of buying a house, which renders the
subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
Arachnoleptic fit (n.): the frantic dance performed just after
you've accidentally walked through a spider’s web.
Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into
your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
Caterpallor (n.): the colour you turn after finding half a worm in
the fruit you're eating.