Vocabulary Builder

Here’s a great link to a vocabulary builder at Quizlet: Kaplan GRE Flash Cards.

Rather than scrolling through the flashcards, just scroll downward on the page to the area where the flash card content is shown in aggregate, and you’ll find a list of 500 words and their definitions. What a great, quick way to refresh your vocabulary!

And here’s a link that tells you more about Quizlet, a powerful learning resource.

Just remember this: as a writer, your job is NOT to impress people with your awesome vocabulary. Your job is to be able to convey complex concepts in an easily understandable format. Your vocabulary skills simply help you quickly grasp this information; your skill as a writer converts this knowledge into a usable format for the benefit of your readers.

As one of my professors used to say: “Your Job is to Obviate Obfuscation and Eschew Sesquipedalianism!” [Look it up; it’s a JOKE : ) ]. Or, as Ralph Waldo Emerson so elegantly put it: “Simplify, simplify.”

E-Book Sales Top Paperbacks For First Time

On April 15, 2011, CNN Money reported that sales of E-books outpaced those of paperbacks for the first time.

The growth of e-books is stunning; sales rose 202% from February 2010 to February 2011, and Amazon reported in January 2011 that its sales of e-books surpassed those of paperbacks.

Good news for trees, writers, and Amazon. Bad news for traditional book publishers and traditional book stores.

The PACE of the shift is what is so stunning to analysts. And this pace spells doom to bookstores who are unable to accept this new reality and make quick and nimble adjustments to their business model. The world has fundamentally changed.

Welcome to WordPros

WORDPROS’ BLOG Celebrates Great Writing. It’s also filled with tips and tricks to help you improve your own writing skills. Whether you are a professional writer, a blogger, an Executive Secretary, or an English Major, a few basic tips can take your writing from bland to WOW.

OUR MOST BASIC ADVICE for the beginning writer?

Keep it simple, keep it active [voice, of course], and keep it real. And, if you want to be rich and famous– STUDY ACTING.

BEING A REAL WRITER
is like having a term paper due every day of the week.

IF YOU CAN’T TAKE TIME PRESSURE,
can’t meet a deadline, and you don’t just really LOVE to write, then remember these three words: “DON’T DO IT!”

You’ll find some great quotable quotes for your speechwriting projects & lots of web-based tips; check the categories on the sidebar for more info!

City Structure vs. Mental Structure

“What is it about certain cities and places that fosters specific attitudes? Am I imagining that this is the case? To what extent does the infrastructure of cities shape the lives, work, and sensibilities of their inhabitants? Quite significantly, I suspect.”

Interesting thoughts on something we’ve all observed (but perhaps not fully registered) from Talking Heads’ David Byrne (who is also a wonderful writer and avid city bicyclist–check out his new book: Bicycle Diaries

Read more of this interesting piece here.

Geek Out: Google Domestic Trend Charts

Here’s a cool resource for economic freelancers (or for anyone who is interested in real world charts and graphs): America’s past economic performance, as demonstrated by trends in Google searches, adjusted for search volume.

The first page shows a couple of fascinating charts: the first is the “Google Retail Index and Clothing Store Sales” and one called the “Auto Buyers Index.” Actual retail sales figures are added on the Retail Index chart–interesting trends here.

It’s also obvious from the Auto Buyers Index that Cash for Clunkers had a dramatic effect, as was widely reported by the news media.

You can generate all types of charts by clicking through the lists on the left sidebar. Google also invites you to download the data, search for trends, & report back your results. You can learn more about this resource here.

There’s even MORE info about this project on the Google Research Blog.

Quickly Condense Web Pages for Easy Reading

Here’s an indispensable tool for prolific readers of web content: Readability.

Just download this handy app, easily add it to your browser’s toolbar, & with a single mouseclick you can escape all the web page clutter (ads, images, photos, rotating banners, Bing nag screens, etc.) and get to the heart of the web page: the article you’re trying to read.

I’ve found it indispensable for web research; I can quickly scan an article and move on to the next search result without enduring all the visual distractions inherent in the modern web.

See what you think; download this great experiment here.

Book Review: Googled by Ken Auletta

Googled: The End of the World As We Know It

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* * * Interesting in Parts, But Reads Too Much Like A Corporate Dossier

(Snapshot Review by Kerri Elders)

Without a doubt, Ken Auletta’s Googled is thoroughly and expertly researched.

However, it took me numerous ambivalent weeks to read it (BTW, it is not at all unusual for me to read 3 books at once and be finished with them all in two days and I am most positively interested in technology). Unfortunately, this one didn’t “grab” me like I thought it would, given its topic: the most brazen, upstart Corporation in the History of the Universe. The Anti-Microsoft. What I call “The God Box,” otherwise known as Google.

Although I can say I learned a lot I didn’t know before (like the incredible level to which we have all been contributing personal data streams to cable, satellite, internet, and phone companies for YEARS; the commercial value of this information; the fact that My Favorite NerdHero, Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos, is one of the original angel investors in Google; AND that Amazon’s search technology is based on an offshoot of Google’s), it felt like those nuggets of wisdom were buried in a lot of unnecessary background noise.

I think if you personally knew some of the people covered in this book, you would find it more engaging than I did. For me, the first 2/5ths of the book read like a corporate dossier, reciting the degrees and digital pedigrees of individual employees and associated boardmembers, etc.

What I really wanted to read about was what the title promised: how Google transformed the world and how it would build it anew. I also hoped it would delve into how Google might be addressing the problem of Search Engine Optimizers who are gaming Google’s algorithm and degrading the quality of search results.

I HATE to criticize a talented writer who has obviously poured so much effort into a project, but this book just fell short on delivery of its promised “sizzle,” for my tastes.

However, if you are fascinated by all things technical, the final 3/5ths of the book offer some interesting insights into Google’s worldview and its current domination of the advertising marketplace (yes, it has morphed into an ADVERTISING and data collection behemoth). Worth reading, if you can slug your way through the corporate biographies!

[Review First published on WordPros blog 12/9/09]