And so it came to pass that Webstock 2011 was launched, and we saw that it was good. (That's supposed to sound glorious, authoritative, King-James-Biblical, not lukewarm, by the way.) First speaker was Professor Denis Dutton, who: not only spoke...
Blog: Content writing and content strategy insights
Internet child: how Ruby reads. Funny, freaky, mainly fine.
Ruby is 7, that magical age when minds develop in giant leaps. Aware of all the research about the influence of internet use on the human brain of any age, I've been nervously observing the way she reads and uses...
Save our brains (SOB)
Much research tells us that heavy internet use can rewire our brains, not necessarily for the better. Distractions abound and we follow them. Thoughts go "galloping off in all directions". Multitasking becomes a curse. Concentration and focus atrophy. Creativity suffers....
Accessibility problem in Word: don't rely on colour
Today I struck an accessibility problem in an otherwise perfectly clear Word document. Though small, it was a healthy reminder that web content accessibility guidelines, as in WCAG 2.0, apply to everything we write on a computer. Later this week...
Plain language: even buskers need it
Plain English Week starts Sunday 28 August in New Zealand. Everyone needs to write clearly: even buskers. Michel des Godins is a thrilling throat-singer, performing his incomprehensible poetry on the streets of Paris—through a false beard. His documentation, on signs...