By Jason Menard
I’m all in favour of using appropriate language. I also strongly believe that the words we choose can harm – and that we should never be careless with our speech. Unfortunately, I hate the White Guy Linguistic Jig that it can sometimes create.
It’s not restricted to white guys, of course. But we’re just so darn good at it! Continue reading
By Jason Menard
Tweet with the reaper and don’t be surprised if your intent gets corrupted.
Death is nothing to be taken lightly. Just ask Huffington Post writer Tricia Fox or Microsoft who have recently faced criticism over their desire to tie in content to the death of singer Amy Winehouse. Continue reading
By Jason Menard
They’re powerful words designed to provoke a reaction. For some, that reaction is shock, for others its indifference, whilst some feel revulsion. But the biggest risk with swearing is that words used for emphasis can actually diminish your overall credibility.
I recently received a comment from a reader of this blog who started off his diatribe with “You guys need to get your fucking facts straight before you put shit like this on the internet…” Continue reading
By Jason Menard
Would Narcissus tweet?
The answer is clearly no (we’ll get to that at the bottom), but the question is relevant when we look at our motivations for using social media.
Sure, there are those who choose to stay on the periphery of social media. They may check their Facebook accounts once in a blue moon, or watch the odd YouTube video. However, others of us are more involved in it – we actively update our Facebook profiles, Tweet regularly, post blogs, and share content across any number of platforms. Continue reading
Fishermen aren’t the only people who lament the one that got away. For those of us in writing/editing positions, the one that got away is not just a reality — it’s a daily fear with which we live every day.
The one that got away, for writers and editors, is the dreaded mistake. It’s the misspelled word, the misplaced letter, or — most recently in my case — the word that eluded the delete key in a sentence that underwent one-too-many revisions. Continue reading
The M-Dash by Jason Menard 