Bplans.com Palo Alto Software
 
 

From the category archives:

Writing

Why Worry About Spelling? Who Cares!

by Tim Berry on November 3, 2009

in Current Affairs, Writing

I’ve complained before, on this blog, about some common misspellings that get to me like fingernails on a chalkboard.
Yesterday Megan tipped me off to 11 Gorgeously Ironic Misspellings In Protest Signs on 11Points.com, by Sam Greenspan. Misspelling is bad, yes, but it’s got to be worse, or at the very least more ironic, when people [...]

{ 2 comments }

Lots of Words in Italics Meaning I’m Jus’ Sayin’

by Tim Berry on October 21, 2009

in Current Affairs, Web/Tech, Weblogs, Writing

Accents, real speech, figures of speech, colorful speech. Expressions. The way we use language fascinates me. I wonder if technology changes it?
I have questions:

Why is groovy so hideously and embarrassingly obsolete, but cool is still cool? Am I the only one who still likes Paul Simon’s song, Feelin’ Groovy?

Why does just sayin work so well, especially [...]

{ 1 comment }

But Can We Trust the Trust Agents?

by Tim Berry on September 22, 2009

in Social media, Weblogs, Writing

I was just getting back to the office yesterday, a Monday morning after a week away – 4 days of business, and 3 relaxing and invigorating days in Yosemite, which is really away — when Dan Levine (@schoolmarketer on Twitter) suggested I read The social media country club on Mark Shaeffer’s businessgrow blog.

Yes, I’m a sucker for contrary points of [...]

{ 4 comments }

Maybe Writing Isn’t So Obsolete After All

by Tim Berry on September 10, 2009

in Weblogs, Writing

Just a few years ago I was mourning the loss of the printed word in our media-hungry and web-hungry society. Even people I really respect, although most of them much younger than I, were starting to show cavalier disregard for the English language. I’d grimace while reading something that mistook then for [...]

{ 4 comments }

Want to Write Well? Cut Mercilessly

by Tim Berry on September 4, 2009

in Weblogs, Writing

Back in my distant past I had to learn to live with editing. I was in my twenties. It made me mad. Why change my stuff? But it also made my stuff better.
“Berry, you write like a God-damned literature major.” (Norberto Schwarzman)
So said the overnight editor at UPI back in 1972.  He did me a [...]

{ 6 comments }

Does Twitter Matter? Can It Possibly Last?

by Tim Berry on August 5, 2009

in Social media, Twitter, Weblogs, Writing

Yes, I think it does matter. And no, although it won’t last, not like it is now, it is the beginning of something that will last, but will be changing a lot. I could say the same about personal computing, the Web, and blogging.
Twitter is all the rage because it hit fertile ground. People like [...]

{ 4 comments }

I Don’t Have to Show You No Stinkin Labels

by Tim Berry on July 29, 2009

in Social media, Weblogs, Writing

Labels, and labels. Two days ago I complained here about self-proclaimed “experts” and “gurus.” And today I realize that I do the same thing myself, calling myself an entrepreneur. I ran into this interesting thought:
I must admit that when I hear the word (which inundates conversation and — more interestingly– the personal summaries of seemingly [...]

{ 0 comments }

Accent and Grammar Bigotry

by Tim Berry on July 28, 2009

in Weblogs, Writing

I heard a comedian the other day, on the radio, making fun of how the rest of the country looks down on a Southern accent. It was a funny routine. I wish I could quote from it, but I was driving, it was on the radio, so I can’t.
I dealt with a man once, PhD [...]

{ 5 comments }

Blogging: 10 Things To Do with A Bad Headline

by Tim Berry on July 2, 2009

in Weblogs, Writing

I thought it was one of my better posts ever on Huffington, A Great Debate About Ideas, because it covered something really important — the battle of free vs. not — and tied Chris Anderson, Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin, and Ellen Goodman together.
But it wasn’t, it turns out, because of a dull deadline. Maybe I [...]

{ 5 comments }

Twitter Pitter Patter Twop: Hating Twitter.

by Tim Berry on June 12, 2009

in Current Affairs, Web/Tech, Weblogs, Writing

I like Twitter and I use it a lot, but really, I don’t care if you do, or if anybody else does. And I don’t get why people seem offended by it, but they do, a lot. What’s up with that? Is it politics or religion? Defensiveness maybe?
For example, this rant appeared as a comment [...]

{ 6 comments }

← Previous Entries