“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:How do I cite generative AI in MLA style? | MLA Style CenterWe ask students to cite encyclopedia art…AcademiaFirst Evidence That Social Bots Play a…
“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:Digital Storytelling: Empower the Multimodal…
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:Jack Rollins-Frosty the Snowman I voiced Jack Rollins,…
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:Happy to see a familiar face in a slide during today’s Academic Affairs Workshop. Classes …Happy to see a familiar face in a slide …AcademiaifMUD IF discussion | Emily…
“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:High Schooler's Fake Story of Stock Riches Fools New York Editors”If your mother says she loves you, chec…BusinessPR Pop Quiz: Intro to Crisis…
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:Unity Normal…
Danielle Preston —You Know You’re a Technical Writer When… Similar:Everyone Nov 1AmusingIf You Check the Source of an Inspirational Prayer You Shared on Social Media, You Might B…I needed this prayer yesterday. I checke…AmusingStudents Speak Up: Trust Us With DevicesThe students who are, in the first few w…CybercultureHow Humans Respond to RobotsThe play that coined…
A student of mine makes comments on interactive fiction, garish colors, and dancing text. Jan Carroll —Just For the Record Similar:Harvard revokes admission of several students for posting "offensive" memesThe First Amendment of the constitution …Academia'Most Transparent’ White House In History Keeps Majority Of Trump’s Remarks SecretOn the White House website, there is no …Current_EventsYour…
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:IPads in the classroom: The right way to use them, demonstrated by a Swiss school.The…
“[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:Watching Livestreamed Prime Stage Theatre's "Miracle in…
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:The YouTubers who blew the whistle on an anti-vax plotWhile rational minds worry about the imp…Current_EventsPhoenix journalist admits 'bad reporting' in claiming White House press censorshipNEWS FLASH: If your sources are an…
On the tasteless side, but still very funny: “Some Features You May Need on Your Computer“ Similar:Adobe steals your colorWhat a horrible situation. The Adobe mon…AestheticsMicrosoft lays off journalists to replace them with AIMicrosoft is laying off dozens of journa…BusinessI'd like to speak to the manager. Yes, I'll wait right here. The manager is of…
“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:Mathematics and What It Means to Be HumanA humanities faculty member and a math f…AcademiaPrimeStage's 1984: "It was very true…
“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:The Abomination of Ebooks: They Price People Out of Reading Random House, which…
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:Shakespeare’s…
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:Influencers overtaking journalists as news source: reportTikTok influencers and celebrities are i…CybercultureAnother…