Jan
16

Social Media Explained

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January 16, 2012

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Dec
16

So Let’s get this straight…

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December 16, 2011

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Oct
11

Punctuation Saves Lives

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October 11, 2011

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Oct
11

Punctuation Saves Lives

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October 11, 2011

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Aug
25

Dead Chicks

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August 25, 2011

You ever harp on the past and keep revisiting things you just can’t change? I’m certainly guilty of holding on too long, whether it be to a piece of copy I’ve already submitted and can no longer change, or to a relationship I know has run its course. Why is it so hard to let go of the past? Often, it’s not the past itself, but the what-could-have-beens that are the most difficult to overcome.

I’m reminded of a passage from Salinger’s Just Before the War with the Eskimos:

“… She reached into her coat pocket for her purse and found the sandwich half. She took it out and started to bring her arm down, to drop the sandwich into the street, but instead she put it back into her pocket. A few years before, it had taken her three days to dispose of the Easter chick she had found dead on the sawdust in the bottom of her wastebasket.”

Let it goMove on. Let go. Easy to say, not so easy to execute.

But if you can do it, I mean really, really do it, then there’s freedom in letting go. I’m not saying you should forget; embrace what you’ve done. Learn from your past. And then move on.

I, for one, am going to make a concerted effort not to hold on to dead chicks.

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Aug
06

I may not understand your Google + circles, but I want in

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August 6, 2011

I haven’t quite figured out what Google circles are for, but not wanting to be left out, I’ve joined anyway. This is likely how most of these social media applications get started, right? We all want to jump in and be part of the next big thing, the second it becomes available. But why is it that we’re all so eager to join the loop that we jump in before we even know how this loop is going to unravel?

Being an early adopter comes with a certain amount of bragging rights, I suppose, but it also comes with a lot of unknowns, and potential pitfalls, especially in the tech world.

Using social media is a lot like dating, trying to break into a new social group, or starting a new job. You spend a lot of time trying to break into the fold, wanting to be selected. After all, it’s human nature to want to be wanted. Often, it’s only once you’re in that you stop and ask yourself “Did I really want to be here in the first place?” But hey, I guess you don’t really know unless you try.

So, what are Google + circles good for? It’s hard to say at this point. This function seems to be a sort of amalgamation of Facebook friend links, Linked-In business contacts and miscellaneous plug-ins all housed in a sort-of Gmail contact card. How these classifications evolve, and what/if there is any practical application, is yet to be determined.

So far, my favourite explanation comes from HappyPlace.com, who’ve outlined 21 Google Plus circles you can actually use:

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Jun
17

Resimay

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June 17, 2011

There’s a cute joke that’s been circulating around email inboxes recently, aptly titled Resimay.  It makes me smile, both because it’s funny, and because as a small business owner I’ve had the pleasure of reading countless unsolicited and downright ridiculous CVs.

I run a copywriting company, so you’d think someone applying herein would take the time to spell check, but I’ve received some applications which make the spelling below seem downright sophisticated. Though sadly, none of my applicants have ever sent a headshot like this one….

Resimay

To hoom it mae cunsern,
I waunt to apply for the job what I saw in the paper.
I can Type realee quik wit one finggar and do sum a counting..
I think I am good on the phone and I no I am a pepole person,
Pepole really seam to respond
to me well. Certain men and all the ladies.
I no my spelling is not to good but fi nd that I Offen can get a job thru my persinalety.
My salerery is open so we can discus wat you want to pay me and wat you think that I am werth,

I can start emeditely.  Thank you in advanse fore yore anser.
hopifuly Yore best aplicant so farr.

Sinseerly,
BRIAN

PS : Because my resimay is a bit short – below is a pickture of me.

Employer’s response:

Dear Brian ,
It’s OK honey, we’ve got spell check.
See you Monday.

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Mar
04

Copywriter

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March 4, 2011

People ask me all the time what it is I do for a living. If I say I’m a writer, they ask when my next novel is coming out. While I do like to write creatively in my spare time, that’s not what I do for a living.

The Montreal Copywriter, age 3.

When I say I’m not that sort of writer, they ask which publication I write for. And while I’ve worked as a journalist in the past, I’m not that sort of writer either.

So then I tell them I’m in the copywriting business. “Oh”, they say, “so you do legal work?” Nope, not that either. But they’re not that far off. They’re thinking of Copyright, a term used in the legal world for the rights granted to the author or creator of an original work. As a copywriter, I do write original work. So while I’m not in the legal profession, that terminology is related to what I do.

But I’m not in the copyright business. I’m in the copywrite business.

I am, quite simply, a writer of copy. A wordsmith. A language wrangler. A copywriter.

Who do I write copy for? Businesses, mostly. This surprises a lot of people, but it’s true. If you read text on a website, or get a newsletter, chances are it was written by a copywriter. Press kits, letters and emails. Blogs. Storefronts. Branding. Catchy advertising slogans. And that person of interest you heard speak last month? Someone may have helped polish his language.

So, next time you see a line in an ad, or on a sign, that you find fun, take a moment and think about the person hiding behind a keyboard who came up with it. Those little wordsmiths who are seldom seen, but whose voices are more frequently heard than you can imagine:  The copywriters.

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