Enter the Quaniverse

Originally published on 24 November 2013 on www.boldface.com.au:

We’ve all passed comment on poorly written spam, particularly those Nigerian letters asking you to send your bank account details so that they can transfer a load of money to you, or the emails from your ‘bank’ with basic spelling errors.

I thought I’d point out the opposite. Well, not actually opposite, in that this spam, a comment waiting for moderation on a blog post, is not beautiful writing in and of itself. But I think it’s really fantastic in fulfilling its purpose, to try to get published, though the author (or robot) probably didn’t expect to be published in this form.

Magnificent goods from you, man. I have take into accout your stuff prior to and you are simply extremely wonderful. I actually like what you’ve acquired right here, certainly like what you’re stating and the best way in which you assert it. You’re making it entertaining and you still care for to stay it smart. I can’t wait to learn much more from you. That is actually a wonderful website.

OK. I’m exaggerating. ‘Account’ is spelt incorrectly and ‘you still care for to stay it smart’ is a mind-twister. Still, it’s so wonderfully vague. The ‘goods’ could refer to either a product or the writing itself. It piles on the praise, so unspecific that it feels like it could be specific. I ‘like what you’re stating… and the way in which you assert it’.

The different forms of praise are impressive: previous knowledge of one’s work or reputation, personal praise: ‘you are simply extremely wonderful’, praise for the writing itself appealing to someone who wants to be 1/ entertaining 2/caring and/or 3/smart. The spambot tries to establish a personal connection (‘I can’t want to learn much more from you’) before admitting (‘actually’) that it’s not only read the blog post but the whole website.

As a bit of marketing, whoever wrote this out put some thought into: ‘How can I appeal to the widest number of website owners and bloggers in a way that they’ll be more likely to accept this as a comment which allows me to put my spammy e-mail address or website in their comments? How can I not let on that I haven’t read the post and am indeed a robot?’

Well done, spambot writer. I hope someone paid you well for your work.

Originally published on 28 April 2015 on www.boldface.com.au:

I had the most amazing work opportunity and experience in the last six months. I was hired by the Global Monitoring Report (GMR) team to be the editor for their 2015 report, Education for All 2000–2015: Achievements and Challenges.

This involved working at UNESCO’s office in Paris for a few months with a dedicated and intelligent group of researchers, and to learn about the status of education around the world.

While education isn’t an area that I’m expert in, I welcomed the opportunity to learn about a new field, and I saw my role as an editor to provide an outside perspective: the report is meant to be as accessible as possible, and to be read by both experts and students, in universities and in communities.

I was shocked by what I learned: still so much illiteracy in the world, children out of school, mostly in conflict-affected areas, and kids being taught by teachers who have no more than primary education. The social justice issues that I’ve been involved seem almost a luxury when so many kids aren’t being taught to read or write.

This editorial, How We Can Make Education For All A Reality, by a Nobel Peace Prize winner, from the Huffington Post is a good overview of successes, failures and lessons.

The report was released and launched in April 2015 and is available online.

Update: While I had a break, I’m back as the structural editor for the GEM Reports, doing my editing from Australia rather than in Paris. I still love working with this team and learning about the latest developments in education. Visit the report here.

Originally published on 26 October 2015 on www.boldface.com.au:

From the archives, here are two book reviews that I wrote for the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisation’s (AFAO) National AIDS Bulletin.

First of all, a short book review from NAB, volume 13, no 5, 2000 on Peter A. Jackson and Gerard Sullivan (editors)’s Multicultural Queer: Australian Narratives:

An invitation (as in the words from Edward Said) to ‘break down the stereotypes and reductive categories that are so limiting to human thought and communication’.

Multicultural Queer Review

In Endangering Relations: Negotiating Sex and AIDS in Thailand, Chris Lyttleton delves into the real stories behind a country being held up as an example of how the world should respond to HIV.

Endangered Relations Review

Originally published on 26 October 2015 on www.boldface.com.au:

From the archives, here is an article that I wrote for the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisation’s (AFAO) National AIDS Bulletin.

In 1999, the hot issue was how to get HIV drugs to those who needed them. One way was to find legal ways to import or produce those drugs so they would be affordable. This article on drug access appeared in NAB, volume 13, no 1, 1999:

Article in the National AIDS Bulletin on global access to HIV drugs

Originally published on 27 July 2014 on www.boldface.com.au:

The British Home Office has produced a style guide which recommends against a whole lot of jargon words.

It’s excellent, particularly the section on Plain English.

I have to admit to being guilty to using some of this jargon in my editing and writing work…

What about you? Guilty?

Here’s their section on Plain English excerpted:

Don’t use formal or long words when easy or short ones will do. Use ‘buy’ instead of ‘purchase’, ‘help’ instead of ‘assist’, ‘about’ instead of ‘approximately’ and ‘like’ instead of ‘such as’.

We lose trust from our users if we write government ‘buzzwords’ and jargon. Often, these words are too general and vague and can lead to misinterpretation or empty, meaningless text. We can do without these words:

• agenda (unless it’s for a meeting)
• advancing
• collaborate (use ‘working with’)
• combating
• commit/pledge (we need to be more specific – we’re either doing something or we’re not)
• countering
• deliver (pizzas, post and services are delivered – not abstract concepts like ‘improvements’ or ‘priorities’)
• deploy (unless it’s military or software)
• dialogue (we speak to people)
• disincentivise (and incentivise)
• empower
• facilitate (instead, say something specific about how you are helping)
• focusing
• foster (unless it’s children)
• impact (as a verb)
• initiate
• key (unless it unlocks something. A subject/thing isn’t ‘key’ – it’s probably ‘important’)
• land (as a verb. Only use if you are talking about aircraft)
• leverage (unless in the financial sense)
• liaise
• overarching
• progress (as a verb – what are you actually doing?)
• promote (unless you are talking about an ad campaign or some other marketing promotion)
• robust
• slimming down (processes don’t diet – we are probably removing x amount of paperwork etc)
• streamline
• strengthening (unless it’s strengthening bridges or other structures)
• tackling (unless it’s rugby, football or some other sport)
• transforming (what are you actually doing to change it?)
• utilise

Avoid using metaphors – they don’t say what you actually mean and lead to slower comprehension of your content. For example: drive (you can only drive vehicles; not schemes or people)

• drive out (unless it’s cattle)
• going forward (unlikely we are giving travel directions)
• in order to (superfluous – don’t use it)
• one-stop shop (we are government, not a retail outlet)
• ring fencing

Originally published on 7 May 2014 on www.boldface.com.au:

Since last year, I’ve been copywriting for NTT Communications (NTT ICT), an information, communication and technology company expanding its operations in Australia (in its entirety, the company, headquartered in Japan, is one of the world’s largest companies of its type).

I love my work with NTT ICT. The people I work with there are lovely to work with: friendly and professional. I get to work in an area that I’m not familiar with (I know a lot more about Cloud services than I did before!), and I get to make my client’s words better.

As a copywriter, I don’t necessarily need to be an expert in my client’s field. Accessible and clear writing makes sure that a broad audience can understand and engage with it. While technical or specialised language is sometimes necessary, a good copywriter and editor will still be able to make sure that the messages are clear, the grammar is correct and the text is free of mistakes.

This general brochure that I worked on with NTT ICT takes copy that I wrote for their website combined with materials they supplied, all edited up and checked over and proofread.

And then, I think it might just be the nicest looking brochure I’ve ever worked on! Check it out by clicking here: NTT Brochure. The reduced-size PDF has deleted words from the cover and slightly altered the colour scheme. Simply ‘view’ it as a PDF in your browser or download it to see its full glory. It’s BEE-you-tiful.

Originally posted 8 October 2015 on www.boldface.com.au:

What an absolute pleasure to providing copywriting and editing assistance to the Sydney Dance Company, including for their latest programme, for the amazing ‘Triptych’, a set of three works, all set to the music of Benjamin Britten.

I was able to see this show on a special Opening Night, and I was in awe over the beautiful dancing and the amazing creativity and artistry that brought these pieces to life.