http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/badlang/?utm_source=rss A column about writing in business Copyright 2008, Thinkmap Inc. All Rights Reserved. en Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/images/common/logo_on_white.gif http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/badlang/?utm_source=rss Search for a word in the Visual Thesaurus word http://www.visualthesaurus.com "Bad Language" http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/badlang/1497?utm_source=rss "Bill Gates once asked me, 'Could you make me more human?' I said, 'Being human is overrated.'" This doubly priceless quote comes from Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton's former campaign strategist. (Hat tip: The Atlantic (http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200808u/clinton-memos).) When it comes to writing copy, the human touch is still vital. Here are some tips for making copy that reads like a human being wrote it. Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/badlang/1497 "Bad Language" http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/badlang/1456?utm_source=rss My company, Articulate Marketing (http://www.articulatemarketing.com/), helps big tech companies communicate better about their products and services. A large part of my work is writing editorial-style content for websites. My credentials are my work for HP, Microsoft, eBay and others. In the past couple of weeks, several people have asked me for advice about becoming a web copywriter, so here it is. Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/badlang/1456 "Bad Language" http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/badlang/1422?utm_source=rss I heard a great joke the other day: "If you gave an infinite number of monkeys an infinite number of typewriters, eventually one of them would write Hey Hey We're the Monkees!" I liked it so much that I used it on my website. It came back to me this morning as I was thinking about buzzwords. I mean, how do people come up with the jargon that gets stuffed into press releases and so on? Mon, 09 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/badlang/1422 "Bad Language" http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/badlang/1339?utm_source=rss Less than a year after I started Bad Language (http://www.badlanguage.net), it's still a surprise to me that a) it's been as successful as it has been and b) people now ask me for advice about starting a blog. Equally, nobody told me the whole thing would be so much fun. Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/badlang/1339 "Bad Language" http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/badlang/1319?utm_source=rss "Two peoples divided by a common language." George Bernard Shaw said this about the British and the Americans, but the same can be said of anoraks and suits. Mon, 03 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/badlang/1319 "Bad Language" http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/badlang/1285?utm_source=rss Most emails are badly written. No surprise, perhaps, since we write more emails than anything else. By 2010, the business world will have produced 27,000 billion gigabytes of email (http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=storage&articleId=307657&taxonomyId=19&intsrc=kc_feat). So what goes wrong? Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/badlang/1285 "Bad Language" http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/badlang/1132?utm_source=rss There are many voices calling for the death of the press release. What is needed is not execution but reform. I wrote a moby-post on my blog (http://www.badlanguage.net/) listing 62 Ways to Improve Your Press Release (http://www.badlanguage.net/62-ways-to-improve-your-press-releases). Here are ten suggestions that relate to the process of writing (other tips deal with managing the process and alternatives to press releases): Mon, 29 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/badlang/1132 "Bad Language" http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/badlang/998?utm_source=rss The benefits of working from home are obvious. If you're a regular employee: you skip the commute and there are no office distractions for the day. If you're an entrepreneur: reduced overheads, no commuting and a congenial working environment. Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/badlang/998 "Bad Language" http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/badlang/996?utm_source=rss I used to be a freelance journalist. I gave up and went over to the dark (corporate) side where I am now a copywriter for big tech companies. This is a summary of a longer post (http://www.badlanguage.net/?p=344) on my blog that tries to sum up whatever lessons I can remember about being a freelance hack. Your mileage may vary. Mon, 27 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/badlang/996 "Bad Language" http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/badlang/906?utm_source=rss For the last year or so, I've been learning Dutch and trying to study for my commercial pilot's license. When I was at school, I had the time but not the enthusiasm. Now I have enthusiasm but no time. Surely, there are some neat tricks, technology and tactics I can use. This is what I've tried so far. If you have any other suggestions, PLEASE let me know! Mon, 09 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/badlang/906