You are here: Home / 2011 / Archives for June 2011

Should Stupid People Not Blog?

June 14, 2011 by 12 Comments

No, they shouldn’t.

Of course there’s no way to determine who’s stupid—let alone the validity of stupid being a unit of measurement (or judgement)—but, yes, as a general rule of thumb, stupid people shouldn’t blog.

What I’m referring to here are some recent comments made by blogger and entrepreneur Jason Calacanis at ReadWriteWeb 2Way Summit NYC, namely:

“There are a lot of stupid people out there … and stupid people shouldn’t write.”

“There needs to be a better system for tuning down the stupid people and tuning up the smart people.”

Hearing stuff like that, in such blunt and unrefined fashion, will piss off most people. Yet I don’t see how anyone could disagree with the essential message: people who blog junk shouldn’t be blogging. They deserve to be penalized, not rewarded. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blogging

Are There Enough Great Names to Go Around?

June 12, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Being smack dab in the middle of tech-startup world here in San Francisco,  I’ve seen more than my fair share of clever names.

Businesses in the Mission where I’m staying all seem to draw on the appeal of one-word randomness, like Beretta (a restaurant), Ritual (a coffee shop) and Revolution (a clothing boutique). Pithy and tidy, these monikers do a good job evoking the zeitgeist of the city hipster.

Naming an online property is not that much different, with the glaring exception that it must be wholly unique to qualify for its own URL. So my question is: In such a crowded but unlimited space of domain names, how do you come up with something original and catchy? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business and Marketing Tagged With: , , , , ,

Why You Should Adapt Your Email Writing Style to Your Recipient

June 3, 2011 by 4 Comments

Everyone has a their own special way of communication and expression over email.

Some are more formal and start each message with a salutation like “Hi, Charles –” and end with a goodbye like “Sincerely, Howard.” They do this every single email, even if it’s a rapid fire conversation.

There are others who don’t address me by name at all. Just plain, unlabeled dialog with no greeting or exit. Sometimes all lower case.

Then there’s the signature. You’ve got the ones who type out their name at the end of each message, and those who rely on the standard pre-written signature. More spartan email writers leave no name. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Writing