Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results. —Rita Mae Brown, Sudden Death (Bantam Books, New York, 1983), p. 68 It’s a good general rule, though, but misleading. A good counter-example is hammering in a…
Pushing People into Your Profession
Is it a good thing to try to change the demographics of your profession? On Facebook my friend Helena Forbes Harbour posted an interesting question, asking people who are in professions where their gender is in the minority: How do…
Don’t Send Angry Emails (Ever)
Writing angry emails is great therapy. Sending them is always a bad idea. There’s a GOOD reason why humans get angry: it’s to adjust our behaviour when someone is attacking us, so that we can respond appropriately; and in particular,…
Write for the Skim
Most of what I write these days is marketing via email and the web, so I focus a lot-lot-lot on skimmability. What I try to do is find ways to make words stand out that will get someone who’s skimming…
The Future of News: Click Here to Help
News reports are generally upsetting, not just because of the tragedies that often make the headlines, but because as we sit and watch or read reports, we feel helpless. There’s nothing we can do. So why not fix it? Why…
Let’s Hope the iPad Kills Flash
One of the biggest reasons I’ve owned an iPhone for a few years now is how it handles the web. An amazing web browser on my phone means that I can do a lot of important work from wherever I…