“Today, I’m one of the world’s leading anthropologists, an accomplished archaeologist, and an award-winning novelist. And, at 41, I’m only now becoming aware of the globetrotting rut I’ve been in my entire life. Looking back on everything I’ve seen and done, I can’t help but ask, ‘Is that all there is?’” more satire from The…
Microsoft Word requires at least 30% more keystrokes and 100% more mouse moves to accomplish certain editing tasks than would an optimal word processor. Forbes —Bad Design Can Be Costly Similar:More details in the powder room of my villain's lair. #Blender3DAestheticsAI crawlers destroying websites in hunger for contentTraffic on my website has plunged over t…BusinessJust…
“We are the Gist Generation. We have acquired a taste for hit-and-run, cut-and-paste knowledge. We expect a home page or e-mail correspondence to give us the gist and only the gist—time is money and you’re a click away from an iconographic trash can, so get to the point.” Jeff Barbian Similar:So glad to be attending…
This computer game tries something new. “If a character tells you he’ll call you tomorrow, he’s not kidding. You’ll have to wait a day to get his information. Faxes may arrive without warning, and instant messages may pop up onscreen when you least expect them — maybe even while you’re at work.” Wired.com —“Majestic” Invades…
“Organized religion was a primary target of every one of the twentieth century’s regimes of terror. But as is evident in Nazi and Communist terrors alike, organized irreligion (to put it in Royal’s sharp formulation) has proved far more dangerous than organized religion ever was.” Alicia Mosier Similar:Connecting the Dots…Madeline Cash reflects on her boomer…
You might assume there could not be a worse time for a field calling itself “Internet studies.” You would be wrong. The Chronicle of Higher Education Similar:Air miles be damned. I say the best way to find out about the joy and complexity of our wo…Essays like this remind me why I picked …BooksJournalism is…
“Lambert received the e-mail in December, a piece of scrap in the vast electronic junkyard that is the World Wide Web. Regrettably, she says now, she removed the letter’s forwarding markers and unintentionally put her name at the bottom, making it appear that she was the author.” Washington Post —Don’t forward that e-mail just yet!…
“[W]hat could be more scholarly than a nice, authoritative statistic, quoted from a professional journal in the student’s field?” The Chronicle of Higher Education —Telling the Truth About Damned Lies and Statistics Similar:Happy U.S. citizenship, Dr. Garcia-Quismondo @SHUHumanities @Setonhill AcademiaHow One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s LifeA PR professional should have known bett…BusinessStandardized testing: I…
The longer the company’s annual report, the less successful the company. This isn’t really a technical writing issue — usually companies with bad news to report need a lot of words to explaining themselves. But if this is what it takes to get some pinhead CEOs to appreciate brevity, so be it. Wired Similar:Replacing Disputed…
Danielle Preston —You Know You’re a Technical Writer When… Similar:Journalism academics: mocked by the media and stifled by universities [T]he traditional consensus is t…AcademiaJane Catherine Lotter's Self-written ObituaryI don’t know her, other than as the auth…EssaysBacon Starry Night MemeI’ve no idea where the “Bacon Starry Nig…AestheticsWhen Asking the Question is Part of the News Story…
A student of mine makes comments on interactive fiction, garish colors, and dancing text. Jan Carroll —Just For the Record Similar:Ice Cream and Sharks Scene: writing classroom. …AcademiaKairos: Open Since 1996As a plucky new faculty member I wrote a…AcademiaThings are not going well when the other king and queen stop by for such an…
learns something from my freshman comp students. On March 13, 2000, I e-mailed web guru Jakob Nielsen to tell him that six of my freshmen spent 8-30 minutes on his site without finding a plain-text “search” link on the home page. A week or so later, I noticed that Nielsen changed his page, making the…
“[W]hen it comes to writing, whether you’re a seventh grader, a college student, a professor, a beginning copywriter, or an accomplished novelist, a B isn’t good enough.” Kathy Henning —For Writers, Writing Is Never a Waste of Time: Part 2 Similar:CNN Profiles Former White House "Chief Calligrapher"Today was the last day of the manuscript…AestheticsListening to…
“[A] society without literature, or a society in which literature has been relegated–like some hidden vice–to the margins of social and personal life, and transformed into something like a sectarian cult, is a society condemned to become spiritually barbaric, and even to jeopardize its freedom.” Mario Vargas Llosa Similar:The Quality of Life (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch,…
The creator of Cliffs Notes has died. Here’s his obituary — although I know you probably won’t bother to read the whole thing. Similar:Addis, LA: Little Orphan Annie stopped for speeding Addis, LA: Little Orphan Annie…AmusingSeton Hill's #CIO @PhilKomarny is moving on to @robotsNpencilsSeton Hill’s #CIO @PhilKomarny (who insp…AcademiaKhan Academy Gets Rare Partnership To Close…
On the tasteless side, but still very funny: “Some Features You May Need on Your Computer“ Similar:Internet Explorer cheated its way to the top, and I won't miss itI started teaching myself HTML in earnes…AcademiaStanford to offer new undergraduate majors integrating humanities, computer scienceTraining humanists who can code like a t…AcademiaNo one’s ready for this:…
“It is our duty, as responsible citizens, to stop the rot. Next time someone touches base with you or moves your goal posts, punch them in the face.” Clint Witchalls —Business and the English Language Similar:Go Ask AliceFrom the tangled tale of mass literacy o…BooksKids, Pants, Booze, Music: Trouble In River City And AlwaysHe’s not…
“Europe once sought to bring enlightenment—literacy, civil society, modern technology—to benighted parts of the world. It did so in the name of progress and civilization. The ethic of Third Worldism dictates that yesterday’s enlightenment be rebaptized as today’s imperialistic oppression.” Roger Kimball Similar:Surprise: Humanities Degrees Provide Great Return On InvestmentThe conventional wisdom is that humaniti…AcademiaStudents…
Imagine yourself creating a game with a world for other people to inhabit on your own computer. It is a world without sounds or visuals. Now, put yourself into the textual world and imagine yourself in that world and living through the game. Laura L. Hogue —Text-based computer game lets players interact with story. Similar:Where…
The point is not that we should add stories to our sites to ensnare narrative-starved readers. The point is that the reader’s journey through our site is a narrative experience. Our job is to make the narrative satisfying. Mark Bernstein —The Narrative Web Similar:How My Mom Killed Facebook Lest you think this is just a…