Like most people, I sometimes buy from Amazon, and every time I do they bombard me with recommendations for other items I might want. This can actually make sense. If I’ve just bought a Dylan CD, for instance, it’s reasonable to think I might want other Dylan CDs. Even if (as is likely) I already […]
Blunt-Force Marketing Read More »
George Orwell has left a significant mark on how we speak and think. He’s given us phrases like Big Brother and Room 101, a yardstick to measure political manipulation and, when I was younger, an irrational fear of reaching the year 1984. He’s also given us Newspeak (and any number of similar coinings ending in
George Orwell and the English Language Read More »
A few weeks ago, I attended The Creative Expo at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield. It was a business show specially geared towards the creative industries, and I found it an excellent event, although it could have done with being better attended. At the same time, it was mainly (though not entirely) focused on
In 2015 we had a General Election. In 2016 we had the Referendum. And guess what, in 2017 we’re back for another General Election. A lot of us are fed up with voting and get cynical about the point of it. After all, whoever we vote for, we end up with the Government. If a
Most, if not all, areas of expertise or professional interest come at a cost: the instinctive pain caused by non-experts getting it spectacularly wrong. I’m sure, for instance, it annoys doctors to hear popular medical fallacies, or accountants to come up against misinformation about tax obligations. I’m a writer, both by personal interest and profession.
Painful Apostrophes Read More »
It’s been far too long since I posted my last blog. That’s largely for the positive reason of being busy, but there is an irony that I’m overdue on my own blog because of making sure clients’ blogs get posted on time. “Do as I say, not as I do” certainly applies here. We all
Should Priorities Always Come First? Read More »
Everyone who writes makes typos. I certainly do. A while ago, I was writing a piece about insurance and discovered I’d invented an entirely new type of policy — against fire and food. Needless to say, I corrected it, and that’s really the point. You won’t avoid making typos, but the aim has to be
For some time now, I’ve been considering the idea of adding a training side to my business. Having now done a number of 4Sights for 4Networking meetings on “How to Write Right”, I’ve got to that awkward stage between considering and arranging which we call planning. And so I’m using this blog essentially to think
In recent months, I haven’t ventured far outside the excellent 4Networking and Business Buzz for networking and picking up tips. So it’s a little surprising that last week I went to two different events on consecutive evenings. Both were excellent, and both were very different. Digital Networking Evening — The Lodge, Ware Wednesday’s event was
Two Excellent Training/Networking Events Read More »
In a recent speech about Brexit, Theresa May claimed that the process wouldn’t be “plain sailing” and there would be “bumps in the road”. Politics and Brexit opinions apart, the comment did leave me wondering why anyone would attempt to sail on a road — with or without bumps. This isn’t May-bashing — she was
Plain Sailing on a Bumpy Road Read More »