Yes, I’m a professional writer. Nonetheless, there are words and constructions that still confuse me. Fortunately, I remain aware that I goof up when using some of them, so I turn to my trusty Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words for guidance.  I bought it brand new in 1984 but it hasn’t let me down yet.  And I always get a chuckle out the cover, which considers variations on this famous split infinitive:
Boldly to go

To boldy go

To go boldly
Troublesome Words
Let’s look at three word pairs that confuse me, because I’m sure I’m not alone in my puzzlement.
Affect, effect
Affect, as …

Link building is one of the key elements to Search Engine Optimization.  The more reputable sites you can get to refer people to your site, the better your search engine results will be.  You will usually need a well known and positive reputation in order to garner such links, but there are some small steps you can take on your own to get the ball rolling.
There You Are!
I don’t know about you, but when I first decide where I want to go shopping, one of the first questions I ask myself is, “what’s near me?”  I’d be willing to bet …

WordPress is a great tool to start getting your website optimized for the search engines. Here are some tried and true tips and plugins to seriously consider when optimizing your website or blog in WordPress.

Thesis Theme Benefits Designers and Internet Marketers

Our favorite Wordpress theme is definitely “Thesis”. For both design and SEO purposes we have found it to be the most flexible solution available. With so many design options, you can use the template over and over and never have it look like the same site.  For instance, you can change size of content areas, build in teasers and thumbnails, …

Optimization

n. The procedure or procedures used to make a system or design as effective or functional as possible, especially the mathematical techniques involved.
optimization. Dictionary.com. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/optimization (accessed: June 21, 2010).
The first time you tackle Search Engine Optimization (SEO), it is easy to forget that optimization is a process.  However, if you really want to increase the number of qualified leads who will find your company through the search engines you will need to do more than buy a few AdWords, place keywords in strategic locations, create …

This week’s vein of Online Ore can be found at www.surveymonkey.com

If you want a custom survey on short notice and do not have the expertise to add one to your own website, Survey Monkey is an excellent solution.  The questionnaire generator has easily adjustable prebuilt templates for marketing, customer service, client satisfaction, and much more.  Depending on your needs you can change how questions are worded, set available answers, insert a logo, or change the color scheme.  Then when you’re done, you’ll get a link that you can share over e-mail, through Facebook, in your blog, …

Football. The word is universally understood. Even in the States, to see the word spelled futbol,  is to see a little soccer video in one’s mind’s eye.

The Stanley Cup games finished up last week, so I turned to the FIFA World Cup for new sports action. I love a good game!  I don’t know much about soccer, obviously, the basics are easy to grasp, but two years ago, I didn’t know much about hockey. I relied on sports-savvy fans to tutor me in the finer points of the sport.

Even when we speak different languages, we speak. We humans are extraordinarily …

For generations, English speakers used he, him and his as the unnamed agent in written examples.

No longer. We strive for gender neutrality.

Please don’t strive too hard.
He? or She? Pick one.
Do not shy away from using he when it helps you make your point.  That said, do not shy away from using she, if that helps you make your point.

(I once worked for a company that gave conferences for nurses, at which 98% of registrants were women. Yet when I drafted instructions such as Hand the registrant her name badge … my boss would correct it to Hand the registrant his …

This week’s vein of Online Ore can be found at http://public.ifbyphone.com/

Ifbyphone specializes in the synthesis of telephone systems and advanced computing, allowing you to bring the advantages of each to the other.  In our own work of web development, the click-to-call solution is especially useful.  With a single link, visitors can initiate a call without first reaching for the phone.  Since these calls begins online, you can integrate them into your standard website analytics to learn which pages are most likely to get someone to dial in (an invaluable tool in website optimization).

How would …

Here is a writing tip:  Don’t rely on your cell phone in an emergency. Write down phone numbers and carry them with you.

I was in a car accident two weeks ago. Crunchy, smashy 6-car pile up on 101-south bound near SFO.  It was just like in the movies, tires squealing, horns blaring, horrible metal-on-metal bang and clang, except that, unlike the movies, I was actually in one of the cars.

After the thudding and praying stopped, and my traveling companion and I realized neither of us were badly hurt, we reached for our phones.  When I called another friend to come …