It’s Knot what you know but Who in this Gordian mystery of ANC Billionaires
Unravelling the Gordian Knot:history and usage This is not the first time I have seen the term ‘Gordian Knot’ but reading Pieter du Toit’s The ANC Billionaires, I saw it…
Chickens graze in meadow, nature beauty looking back generated by artificial intelligence
A scam that came in two chickens short
Put up your hands, everyone who's fallen for a scam in the past 12 months? They’re everywhere and if you’re not on your toes all the time it's easy to…
The myth of Sisyphus: origin and meaning
Sisyphean: Perhaps the most direct linguistic legacy of the myth, "Sisyphean" describes any task that is endless and ineffective, mirroring Sisyphus's eternal struggle. Whether it's tackling a never-ending workload or battling an insurmountable challenge, calling something Sisyphean immediately conveys the exhausting and futile nature of the endeavor. (Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
World Literacy Day: A time to reflect
September 8th marked the annual celebration of World Literacy Day, a day dedicated to highlighting the importance of literacy as a fundamental human right and a cornerstone for individual and…
Frustrated writer/techy
Pic by StockCake
Non-English! How did we get here?
“Former YouTube chief and Silicon Valley pioneer Susan Wojcicki died Friday at 56, after a two-year battle with non-small cell lung cancer.” I’ve just read this in a non-frivolous newsletter put together…
Apprise or appraise: use the right word
Working through a government document recently, I noticed the use of the word ‘appraise’. It was used incorrectly, and the writer intended the meaning of the word apprise. Unfortunately I…
Johannesburg, South Africa
The quality of English writing is going down hill: proofreading for excellence
I referred to a report by the Road Traffic Management Corporation for an article I was writing for a client. It referred to information settlements along the freeway. It must…
Dogs
Don’t dis my dogs: origin of words
With ‘must love dogs’ embedded in my LinkedIn profile, you might guess that I am rather distressed to learn that the origin of the word ‘doggerel’ originates from a time when people thought dogs were less than honorary human beings.
Can you just imagine living in such a heartless age, with “mean, contemptible” associations of dog in Middle English dating as far back as the 1600s?
Let the trend be your friend
Let the trend be your friend
One of the hot trends of the moment is interactive content. You have to excite and engage with your audience. Give them something tactile to experience. In content, you can do this in several ways. Polls are great ways to get people engaged. People love their own opinions, so why not invite them to poll it. Quizzes have the same response. No one wants to be outshone by not being the smartest in the room. Everyone loves to challenge their own intelligence.
Blogs, vlogs and virtual reality
Podcasting is not new to content but if you don’t take that next step at least, your web presence is going to suffer. Next up is video. Moving pictures are the next basic requirement for a 2022 rendition of consumed content. Video too is not all that new, but pay attention to quality. You’re not going to get away with just anything so invest some time in this.
