Write the way you talk

“I write the way I talk,” said Anthony Bourdain on a recent episode of his television show No Reservations. He recently was nominated for several Webbys for his web writing. I think of him as a writer first, chef second. I love the show and his books. If...

Making a better intranet workshop

Last month I taught a day and a half workshop on intranet governance for Melcrum Publishing. It was designed from the start to be a working session, packed with information, but involving participants in small group discussion and giving them time to get some actual...

Best practices for web content

Great web content is elusive for most. But, at its core it involves just a few small, yet consistent areas of focus. For the past several weeks, we have been involved in helping a client with their HR content. In preparation for migration to a new intranet platform,...

What to do with the commentphobics

Forrester research says that 25% of online adults in the U.S. are critics [source: Groundswell] – those who comment on, rank, or rate content. The question is: how do they comment? In the case of this blog, comments don’t generally show up in the comments...

Communicating subconsciously

I loved Liz Guthridge’s recent post about Tomas, her darling dog who recently died of cancer. It made me think of the funny things our dog Guthrie has learned over time without so much as a word from us. That’s right – zero verbal communication to get...

Be succinct for success

Why are we compelled to write too much? I am sometimes accused of writing too little – assuming my readers know what I am thinking and omitting valuable insights. But the vast majority out there write too much. I had a blog entry submitted from a client for review...