Did you know that the English language contains more emotionally positive words than negative words? In fact, it’s about a 60:40 ratio. Surprising that. Considering having a good old moan is practically a national sport. The reason we know this is because the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary has recently been published; and what a beauty it is. Conceived and...
When to use which and when to use that is pretty darn confusing for most people. Many of us use the ‘does it sound right?’ rule. Or we use that when we’re being informal and which when we’re being formal. Or sometimes we don’t give a hoot and use that or which interchangeably. It’s pretty subtle but the rule is as...
If you’re in the process of getting a new website, or jigging around with your old one, have you sat down and thought about what you want your site to actually do? Very often I have conversations with potential clients whose sole aim is ‘getting to the top of Google’. Come hell or high water, they want their site to appear...
Yes, there is a difference. And, no, they’re not interchangeable. E.g. is short for exempli gratia. Yes, it’s Latin and it means for example. So how is it used? Try and visit some galleries when you’re in Paris e.g. (or for example) the Musee d’Orsay or the Louvre. Use easy to read fonts on your website e.g. (or for example) Verdana Remember: what follows...
This month’s interview is with colleague and SEO consultant Rob Dobson of SEM London. Over a pot of hummus and some carrot sticks (true!) we chatted about a number of things including, why blogging is so great for SEO, the future of SEO, and why Rob still hasn’t got any content on his website! Turner Ink: Ok Rob. Tell us a...
Depressing news in The Independent this week: Overseas students are better at English than British students. According to Professor Bernard Lamb, who carried out the research, British undergraduates are nearly three times more likely to make errors in written English than those from overseas. Depressing? Yes. Surprising? No. After spending a year studying the written work of his students, Lamb was appalled by...
Today is National Poetry Day. This is my favourite poem and I learnt it off my heart when I was six. (Yes, that is a long time ago.) Furry Bear If I were a bear, And a big bear too, I shouldn't much care If it froze or snew; I shouldn't much mind If it snowed or friz - I'd be all fur-lined With a coat like his! For I'd have...
Yuppies. Who can forget them? As synonymous with the 80s as mobile phones the size of bricks; gloopy hair gel; and Gordon ‘lunch is for wimps’ Gekko. Yuppies was an acronym (sort of) for Young Urban Professional. Those upper-middle class, upwardly mobile twenty-to thirty-somethings that barked into their phones, carried a Filofax and wore red braces. And that was the girls. But using...
There’s a scene in Lynsey Lohan’s brilliant Mean Girls movie where she’s introduced to various social groups in the school cafeteria. Who can forget The Plastics, Cool Asians, Varsity Jocks, Desperate Wannabees and Girls Who Eat Their Feelings? Now Scott Baradell has put together the bloggers cafeteria. Hmmm...
Editor’s note: This is a guest post by fellow copywriter Jamie Hudson. Sound familiar? The 2009 model has a 220-horsepower V8 engine, anti-lock brakes, traction control, automatic safety restraint system and both front and side-impact airbags. Or how about this? This ring features a 1.4 carat, pear-shaped cut white diamond with an SI1 clarity grade and an H color rating. They’re pretty impressive aren’t they?...
