“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:Rascals (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episode 7) Transporter glitch tween-ifies Picar…Rewatching ST:TNG A glowing Space Thing…AmusingBacon Starry Night MemeI’ve no idea where the “Bacon…
“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:Raise It Up! :: Star-Spangled…
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:Journalist Nellie Bly Began her Around the World…
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:Digital Storytelling (EL231: Topics in Creative Writing) EL231 “Digital Storytelling” (Dec 1…AcademiaSeven reasons why blogging can make you a better academic writerI’ve been doing this since 1999. Why do…AcademiaAs…
“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:New rules governing drone journalism are on the way — and there’s reason to be optimisticMapping disasters? So long as you’ve got…Current_EventsJournalism students…
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:The Measure…
Danielle Preston —You Know You’re a Technical Writer When… Similar:Unity3D Maze Game TutorialWorkspace for an in-progress Unity3D tut…AcademiaBaltimore Residents Urged To Stay Indoors Until Social Progress Naturally Takes Its Course…“As we continue to incrementally evolve …AmusingPope calls Argentine kiosk owner to cancel paper deliveryThis is a very cute story, further illus…AmusingMLA Citations: Citation generators make…
A student of mine makes comments on interactive fiction, garish colors, and dancing text. Jan Carroll —Just For the Record Similar:First Evidence That Social Bots Play a Major Role in Spreading Fake News Shad and co say bots play a part…AcademiaIf I don’t hang my own artwork on the walls of my #steampunk fantasy ship-of-the-line,…
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:Digital Humanities: A DefinitionDoes the world need another working defi…AcademiaIn October, 1999 I was blogging…
“[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:That's not an argument. (Yes it is.)I…
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:An Hour of Monastic Silence in Media Studies Class (plus an awesome drum solo)I announced that my 300-level Media and …AcademiaYou're not going to believe what I'm about to tell youWe’re culturally…
On the tasteless side, but still very funny: “Some Features You May Need on Your Computer“ Similar:BuzzFeed plagiarism, deleted posts: Jonah Peretti explains.In 2012 my former Slate colleague Farhad…BusinessMSU asks faculty & staff to volunteer in short-staffed dining halls; @MSU_Football tweets …MSU, instead of asking your profs to vol…AcademiaNew Video Game's Second-Person Shooter Mode Features…
“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:The Truth About Test ScoresIt’s not hard to design a test that has …BusinessWe are in a golden age for…
“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:College bookstores adapting to changing times with additional servicesIn the corner of the…
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:Stanford…
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:Warning: Don’t Download Software From SourceForge If You Can Help ItLooks like…