Lots of fun on the BBC on Thursday morning with pronunciation. Unlikely you think? But pronunciation is a highly partisan sport. If you say “misschivus” you’re likely to feel quite strongly about those who say misscheevus. I was particularly interested by something that John Wells, a professor of phonetics who is researching our changing habits, Read More
Month: October 2010
Top tip of the week – Libel
#18 Libel – know which People, Organisations and Companies are litigious in the subjects you are covering, and make sure you take extra care! See more top tips here.
Wikileaks: a fine new institution worth defending
Wikileaks, the website devoted to leaking what the authorities don’t want us to know, faces two problems. It has internal problems to solve and it is being criticised for its revelations. These revelations possibly put people in Afghanistan and Iraq in danger. It has moved its operations to Sweden with its more liberal press laws Read More
Find out about your readers
Question from an editor: “How can I get good research about my readers?” Answer: “Look around you.” The editor was hoping that I had the key to some kind of “official” research that would give them the definitive steer on what readers wanted from their title. I don’t think that research exists. Good titles come Read More
Spending cuts – where’s the upside?
I know this concept is hard to imagine, especially as there are so many downsides. Job losses and reductions in public service, to name just two that will affect many of us. And sadly, even this blog post isn’t really date-sensitive, as these cuts will be here for many, many years to come… The one effect I’ll be watching Read More
Top tip of the week – SEO
#17 Search Engine Optimisation – don’t pay for search engine marketing if you already sit at the top of the organic search results for those search terms. You might end up paying for users who would have naturally clicked on your organic link. See more top tips here.
Guidelines for naming companies
Company names are part of the company’s intellectual property. They are increasingly being defended. Legal disputes over company names have shot up by 43% this year, says Sweet & Maxwell, the legal information provider. Some smaller companies are piggy packing on the success of larger companies. This is particularly so for IT companies such as Read More
Grammar is the glue.
I received an email this morning with this sentence: “Make no mistake, personalising products to customers’ needs wins business – but we must remember to pay as much attention to making it easy as to the product itself.” Like me, you probably had to read it twice. The author is a professional writer, and this email Read More
Top tip of the week – Managing creative people
#16 Managing creative people – don’t mix types of meeting. Make it clear what type of meeting it is and chair it accordingly. See more top tips here.
Bring on the iPad
There was bad news for magazines in recent research from Orange. A survey of people who access the internet on their mobile phones found that the number who stop reading print newspapers is pretty much balanced by those who read newspapers online. But that’s not the case with magazines. The people surveyed are reading fewer Read More