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April 30, 2008: Teens: Electronic Messages Aren’t Considered Writing

When using a mobile device, e-mail, instant messaging and other electronic means, we all tend to write with abbreviations and grammar that would make our high school English teachers cringe.

But are those activities truly considered writing? Our teenagers don’t think so, according to the latest study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

March 31, 2008: Make Your Content Findable

Two recent studies illustrate how users are often disappointed in online content. The relevant content isn’t there, it’s difficult to locate, or it doesn’t connect with the audience.

February 26, 2008: Praise, Misery and Humor for Punctuation Sticklers

The book “Eats, Shoots & Leaves” is a must-read for writers, particularly if you’re bothered by the misuse of punctuation. If you’re a bit obsessive in this area, you’ll identify with author Lynne Truss’s description of punctuation “sticklers.” Sticklers have had reasons to rejoice and cringe in recent weeks.

January 31, 2008: NFL Begins to Embrace Online News Coverage

The National Football League is known for its extreme restrictions on press access and video footage, but its Super Bowl media approach seems encouraging for online news organizations.

January 16, 2008: Presidential Candidate Sites Lack Search Engine Optimization Basics

As presidential candidates strengthen their online presence, it seems obvious their sites would be highly-optimized for search engines, filled with relevant content and primed for online marketing. According to Search Engine Watch, however, most candidate sites deserve failing marks for search engine optimization.

December 21, 2007: Is Your Content Truly Customer-Focused?

So many web sites have a couple of fundamental flaws: they aren’t written from the customer’s perspective, and the content doesn’t help users complete common site tasks.

December 12, 2007: Merriam-Webster Announces Word of the Year: w00t!

“w00t” – the joy-filled expression popularized by online gamers – was named Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year for 2007 based on votes from web site visitors.

November 28, 2007: Energize Your Writing with Online Tools

If you’re a writer who regularly consults a dictionary or thesaurus (either your trusty old hard copy or through Microsoft Word), consider a few handy online tools to spark creativity and ideas. VisuWords and the Merriam-Webster Visual Dictionary Online are worth a look.

November 21, 2007: Red Cross Adopts Social Media

The Red Cross has embraced social media for disaster communications – and it’s a case study filled with ideas for other organizations. In a Ragan Communications story, a Red Cross communications director describes the progression. Following Hurricane Katrina, in which the local chapter was overwhelmed with calls and questions, the Red Cross developed a news portal for media, victims, employees and other audiences.

November 16, 2007: The Benefits of Blogging – Without Blogging

Many organizations have started blogging – and others are considering it. But do you need to blog to realize the benefits of blogging?

Over at SearchEngineWatch, Bill Hartzer suggests organizations can borrow the techniques of successful bloggers – and achieve similar results – without actually starting a blog.

October 31, 2007: Organizations Use RSS to Tackle Employee Information Overload

The term information overload inevitably surfaces when employees talk about the deluge of printed materials, e-mail, voice mail and other technology-based messaging they face at work every day.

It’s refreshing to hear about companies that attempt to manage employee messaging – and RSS has great potential in this area. PC World highlights several companies that are using RSS to attack employee information overload.

October 26, 2007: Disaster Coverage Evolves Online

As the California wildfire devastation becomes clearer, we’re again witnessing a major news event that’s being chronicled in new, inventive ways online. Much like the Minnesota I-35 bridge collapse in August, the wildfires have received heavy coverage from traditional media supplemented by a variety of user-generated and social media efforts.