What presentation mistakes are sure-fire ways to put your audience to sleep or send them running for the doors? Even the best presentation can be destroyed by a bad presenter -- from the person who mumbles, to the one who talks too fast, to the one who just wasn’t prepared. But perhaps nothing is as irritating as the person who misuses and abuses presentation software. Read on to learn about the 10 most common presentation mistakes.
1. You Don't Know Your Topic!
You memorized the content (and it shows, by the way). Someone has a question. Panic sets in. You never prepared for questions and all you know about this topic is what is written on the slides.
A better scenario
Know your material so well, that you could easily do the presentation without an electronic enhancement such as PowerPoint. Nothing will ruin your credibility as a presenter faster, than not knowing everything about your topic. Use key words and phrases and include only essential information to keep the audience focused and interested. Be prepared for questions and know the answers.
2. The Slides Are NOT Your Presentation
An audience member says that she can't read the slides. You graciously tell her you will be reading them and proceed to do so, while looking up at the screen. Each of your slides in filled with the text of your speech. Why do they need you?
A better scenario
Always remember that you are the presentation. The slide show should only be used as anaccompaniment to your talk. Simplify the content, by using bullet points for key information. Keep the most important points near the top of the slide for easy reading in the back rows. Focus on a single topic area for this presentation and use no more than four bullets per slide.Speak to the audience, not to the screen.
3. T. M. I. (Too Much Information)
You know so much about the topic, that you jump from here to there and back again talking about everything there is to know about your brand new widget, and no one can follow the thread of the presentation.
A better scenario
Use the K.I.S.S. principle (Keep It Simple, Silly) when designing a presentation. Stick to three, or at the most, four points about your topic and expound on them. The audience will be more likely to retain the information.
4. Poorly Chosen Design Template or Design Theme
You heard blue was a good color for a design template or design theme. You found a really cool template/theme on the internet, with a beach scene. Water is blue, right? Unfortunately, your presentation is about some nifty new tools to show at a Woodcarvers’ convention.
A better scenario
Choose a design that is appropriate for the audience. A clean, straightforward layout is best for business presentations. Young children respond to presentations that are full of color and contain a variety of shapes.
5. Electrifying Color Choices
Audiences don't like unusual color combinations. Some are unsettling and red and green combos can't be differentiated by those with color blindness.
A better scenario
Good contrast with the background is essential to make your text easy to read. Dark text on a light background is best. Off white or light beige is easier on the eyes than the typical white. Dark backgrounds are very effective, if the text is light for easy reading. Patterned or textured backgrounds make text hard to read. Keep the color scheme consistent.
6. Poor Font Choices
Small, script type fonts might look great when you are sitting 18 inches away from the monitor. You didn't consider the lady sitting 200 feet away from the screen who can't read them.
A better scenario
Stick to easy to read fonts such as Arial or Times New Roman. Avoid script type fonts which are hard to read on screen. Use no more than two different fonts – one for headings, another for content and no less than a 30 pt font so that people at the back of the room can read them easily.
7. Extraneous Photos & Graphs
You figured no one will notice that you didn't do much research on your topic if you add lots of photos and complicated looking graphs.
A better scenario
“Time is Money” is really true in today's world. No one wants to waste their time sitting through a presentation with no substance. Use photos, charts and diagrams only to emphasize key points of your presentation. They add a nice break to the material, and when used correctly, can only enhance your oral presentation. Illustrate, don't decorate.
8. W-A-Y Too Many Slides
Your vacation cruise was so fantastic that you took 500 photos, and put them all in a digital photo album to impress your friends. After the first 100 slides, snores were heard in the room.
A better scenario
Ensure your audience stays focused by keeping the number of slides to a minimum. 10 to 12 is plenty. Some concessions can be made for a photo album, since most pictures will be on screen for only a short time. Be kind though. Think how much you enjoy everyone else’s vacation pictures!
9. Different Animations on Every Slide
You found all the really cool animations and sounds and used 85% of them in your presentation, to impress everyone with your flair. Except -- the audience doesn’t know where to look, and have totally lost the message of your presentation.
A better scenario
Animations and sounds, used well, can heighten interest, but don't distract the audience with too much of a good thing. Design your presentation with the "less is more” philosophy. Don't let your audience suffer from animation overload.
10. Hardware Malfunctions
The audience is settled. You are all set to start your presentation and - guess what? The projector doesn't work. You didn’t bother to check it out earlier.
A better scenario
Check all the equipment and rehearse your presentation, using this projector long before your time to present. Carry an extra projector bulb. If possible, check the lighting in the room you will be presenting in, prior to your time in the limelight. Make sure you know how to dim the lights if the room is too bright.
December 22, 2010
December 20, 2010
November 23, 2010
Playing it Safe in the Social Media World
Rants about your boss or your job may have once been reserved for during after-work drinks at a bar, but employee gripes are now being voiced in the social media sphere.
Workplace complaints posted on popular sites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace could get you fired, and often times not hired. Workers should still be wary about what they post on social media sites. About a quarter of employers recently surveyed had disciplined an employee for improper activities on social networking sites. If a worker posts something negative, and a manager finds it, he or she can legally be fired.
Now, how can you engage in online forums without losing your job?
1. Think before you post
Imagine if the comment you posted or tweeted will appear in the local newspaper. While that rule of thumb may sound extreme, it is a safe way to manage your content. On a social media site, the audience is unlimited, and the content is permanent. An employee may post one photo and quickly remove it, but someone could still archive the page or make a copy.
2. Be picky about who you friend
Only allow people you trust into your social network. Instead of casually accepting all the co-workers or managers who ask to friend you, be selective about who you allow to view your posts. Employees may forget who they let into their network and that could lead to problems later on.
3. Do it on your own time and computer
Try to limit your Facebook and Twitter activity to your personal computer. If you engage in problematic activity on the company property and time, this can provide the managers more leverage. Many employers and workplaces already ban the sites at the workplace to prevent social media spats from becoming an issue.
4. Watch what you post at home
Many workers are unaware that mentioning their company in a negative light on the internet -- even if it's done on personal time at home -- could lead to disciplinary measures. Many organizations have departments that monitor social media comments and photographs that pertain to the company.
5. Keep the dialogue positive
Social media can be a great way to foster conversations about an employee's recent promotion or a company event. But certain topics such as trade secrets should never be disclosed online.
6. Figure out privacy settings
Social media privacy settings may be tricky, but take the time to consider all the different settings. Implementing filters and grouping co-workers and bosses is recommended so that certain information does not reach everyone.
7. Learn your employee rights
Employees need to make the effort to understand corporate policy regarding the use social media at work and at home. However, most companies don't have such policies in place.
Workplace complaints posted on popular sites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace could get you fired, and often times not hired. Workers should still be wary about what they post on social media sites. About a quarter of employers recently surveyed had disciplined an employee for improper activities on social networking sites. If a worker posts something negative, and a manager finds it, he or she can legally be fired.
Now, how can you engage in online forums without losing your job?
1. Think before you post
Imagine if the comment you posted or tweeted will appear in the local newspaper. While that rule of thumb may sound extreme, it is a safe way to manage your content. On a social media site, the audience is unlimited, and the content is permanent. An employee may post one photo and quickly remove it, but someone could still archive the page or make a copy.
2. Be picky about who you friend
Only allow people you trust into your social network. Instead of casually accepting all the co-workers or managers who ask to friend you, be selective about who you allow to view your posts. Employees may forget who they let into their network and that could lead to problems later on.
3. Do it on your own time and computer
Try to limit your Facebook and Twitter activity to your personal computer. If you engage in problematic activity on the company property and time, this can provide the managers more leverage. Many employers and workplaces already ban the sites at the workplace to prevent social media spats from becoming an issue.
4. Watch what you post at home
Many workers are unaware that mentioning their company in a negative light on the internet -- even if it's done on personal time at home -- could lead to disciplinary measures. Many organizations have departments that monitor social media comments and photographs that pertain to the company.
5. Keep the dialogue positive
Social media can be a great way to foster conversations about an employee's recent promotion or a company event. But certain topics such as trade secrets should never be disclosed online.
6. Figure out privacy settings
Social media privacy settings may be tricky, but take the time to consider all the different settings. Implementing filters and grouping co-workers and bosses is recommended so that certain information does not reach everyone.
7. Learn your employee rights
Employees need to make the effort to understand corporate policy regarding the use social media at work and at home. However, most companies don't have such policies in place.
November 18, 2010
November 17, 2010
When Stress is Good for You
You may have heard that there's "good stress" and "bad stress." Do you know what people mean by that? We rarely hear people say, "I'm really feeling stressed -- isn't that great?" But if we didn't have some stress in our lives -- the 'good stress' variety -- we'd feel rudderless and unhappy. If we define stress as anything that alters our homeostasis, for good or for bad, then good stress, in its many forms, is vital for a healthy life. However, good stress can turn into bad stress, and vice-versa. Here's what you need to know about good stress.
Good Stress Vs. Bad Stress
So-called "good stress," or what psychologists refer to as "eustress," is the type of stress we feel when we feel excited. Our pulse quickens, our hormones change, but there is no threat or fear. We feel this type of stress when we ride a roller coaster, gun for a promotion, or go on a first date. There are many triggers for this good stress, and it keeps us feeling alive and excited about life.
Another type of stress is acute stress. It comes from quick surprises that need a response. Acute stress triggers the body's stress response as well, but the triggers aren't always happy and exciting. This is what we normally think of as "stress." Acute stress in itself doesn't take a heavy toll if we find ways to relax quickly. Once the stressor has been dealt with, we need to return our body to homeostasis, or its pre-stress state, to be healthy and happy.
The type of stress we really have to worry about is chronic stress. This type of stress comes when we repeatedly face stressors that take a heavy toll and feel inescapable. A stressful job or an unhappy home life can bring chronic stress. This is what we normally thing of as serious stress. Because our bodies aren't designed for chronic stress, we can face negative health effects (both physical and emotional) if we deal with chronic stress for an extended period of time.
Sources of Good Stress
Okay, back to good stress. Knowing about the different types of stress, it makes sense to get more good stress into your life. Because you actually can get too much of even the good type of stress, it's important to choose activities in your life that make you feel good, happy, and excited about life. It's also a good idea to cut out as many activities as you can that drain you, or lead to the experience of chronic stress. One good way to gauge whether or not an activity is worth your time is to pay attention to how the thought of it makes you feel. Do you feel excited at the thought? Is it a "want to" activity, or a "have to" activity? Be sure your "want to" activities are all things you really do want to do, and your "have to" activities are all absolutely necessary.
How Good Stress Can Become Bad Stress
Good stress can become bad for you if you experience too much of it. This is because your stress response is triggered either way, and if you're adding that to chronic stress, or several other stressors, there is still a cumulative effect: lots of stress! That's why it's important to be in tune with yourself and be able to tell when you've had too much.
How Bad Stress Can Become Good Stress
Not all forms of bad stress can become good stress, but it is possible to change your perception of some of the stressors in your life, and this shift in perception can change your experience of stress. This is because the body's stress response reacts strongly to perceived threats; if you don't perceive something as a threat, there is generally no threat-based stress response. If you perceive something as a challenge, the fear your would normally experience may turn into excitement and anticipation, or at least steeled resolve. You can often make the shift in perception by focusing on resources, seeing the hidden potential benefits of a situation, and reminding yourself of your strengths. Getting into the habit of thinking like an optimist can also help. Once you are in the practice of looking at things as challenges more often, it becomes more automatic.
Overall, it's important to have good stress in your life. By making the effort to cut out as much chronic stress as possible, changing your perception of stress where you can, and adding some positive activities in the mix to promote eustress, you can create a nice balance of good stress in your life.
Good Stress Vs. Bad Stress
So-called "good stress," or what psychologists refer to as "eustress," is the type of stress we feel when we feel excited. Our pulse quickens, our hormones change, but there is no threat or fear. We feel this type of stress when we ride a roller coaster, gun for a promotion, or go on a first date. There are many triggers for this good stress, and it keeps us feeling alive and excited about life.
Another type of stress is acute stress. It comes from quick surprises that need a response. Acute stress triggers the body's stress response as well, but the triggers aren't always happy and exciting. This is what we normally think of as "stress." Acute stress in itself doesn't take a heavy toll if we find ways to relax quickly. Once the stressor has been dealt with, we need to return our body to homeostasis, or its pre-stress state, to be healthy and happy.
The type of stress we really have to worry about is chronic stress. This type of stress comes when we repeatedly face stressors that take a heavy toll and feel inescapable. A stressful job or an unhappy home life can bring chronic stress. This is what we normally thing of as serious stress. Because our bodies aren't designed for chronic stress, we can face negative health effects (both physical and emotional) if we deal with chronic stress for an extended period of time.
Sources of Good Stress
Okay, back to good stress. Knowing about the different types of stress, it makes sense to get more good stress into your life. Because you actually can get too much of even the good type of stress, it's important to choose activities in your life that make you feel good, happy, and excited about life. It's also a good idea to cut out as many activities as you can that drain you, or lead to the experience of chronic stress. One good way to gauge whether or not an activity is worth your time is to pay attention to how the thought of it makes you feel. Do you feel excited at the thought? Is it a "want to" activity, or a "have to" activity? Be sure your "want to" activities are all things you really do want to do, and your "have to" activities are all absolutely necessary.
How Good Stress Can Become Bad Stress
Good stress can become bad for you if you experience too much of it. This is because your stress response is triggered either way, and if you're adding that to chronic stress, or several other stressors, there is still a cumulative effect: lots of stress! That's why it's important to be in tune with yourself and be able to tell when you've had too much.
How Bad Stress Can Become Good Stress
Not all forms of bad stress can become good stress, but it is possible to change your perception of some of the stressors in your life, and this shift in perception can change your experience of stress. This is because the body's stress response reacts strongly to perceived threats; if you don't perceive something as a threat, there is generally no threat-based stress response. If you perceive something as a challenge, the fear your would normally experience may turn into excitement and anticipation, or at least steeled resolve. You can often make the shift in perception by focusing on resources, seeing the hidden potential benefits of a situation, and reminding yourself of your strengths. Getting into the habit of thinking like an optimist can also help. Once you are in the practice of looking at things as challenges more often, it becomes more automatic.
Overall, it's important to have good stress in your life. By making the effort to cut out as much chronic stress as possible, changing your perception of stress where you can, and adding some positive activities in the mix to promote eustress, you can create a nice balance of good stress in your life.
October 4, 2010
September 29, 2010
September 24, 2010
10 Things You Do On Facebook That Make You A Loser
1. You Play Farmville
2. You Promote For a Club / Bar
3. You Are A Member of Over 500 Groups
4. You Use the Like Button Way too Much
5. You Mobile Upload Pictures Taken of Yourself in the Bathroom
6. You Poke People
7. You Change Your Status Every 15 Minutes
8. You Comment on Your Friends Picture with Beautiful and Adorable
9. You Have Over 3,000 Friends
10. You Bug Others with Your Mood Feeds and Location Every 30 Minutes
2. You Promote For a Club / Bar
3. You Are A Member of Over 500 Groups
4. You Use the Like Button Way too Much
5. You Mobile Upload Pictures Taken of Yourself in the Bathroom
6. You Poke People
7. You Change Your Status Every 15 Minutes
8. You Comment on Your Friends Picture with Beautiful and Adorable
9. You Have Over 3,000 Friends
10. You Bug Others with Your Mood Feeds and Location Every 30 Minutes
September 14, 2010
The Biggest Lit Cross In The World
An illuminated towering cross is seen in the village of Qanat Bakish, in the Lebanese mountains 1,800 metres above sea level on September 13, 2010. Lebanon's Maronite Christian church inaugurated the towering cross that stands 73.8 meters tall. The cross lit up with 1,800 lights was built on a mountain near a church constructed in 1898. Building the cross took about two years and cost some $1.5 million, mainly using donations from the Maronite church and a French Catholic group. The cross which its builders say is the largest in the world was inaugurated on the eve of the Elevation of the Holy Cross, marking the recovery of the cross on which Jesus Christ is believed to have been crucified by the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius in 627 AD after defeating the Sassanid Persians.
Photo: AFP PHOTO / JOSEPH EID
August 31, 2010
August 23, 2010
Stop Yourself from Making Egregious Email Errors
Composing an e-mail is kind of like making out: Everyone assumes they know what they're doing, but in reality plenty of people could use some pointers. We're all pretty much constantly sending missives around the web. In 2009, worldwide e-mail traffic amounted to 247 billion messages per day, according to market research firm Radicati. But practice doesn't make perfect, and myriad senders are horrifying recipients every day. Here are three big e-mail mistakes you're probably making. (Sorry, we can't do anything about your iguana-like kissing skills. Drag.)
Egregious e-mail error: Recklessly BCC'ing and forwarding
E-mail entry forms are not that complicated. We all understand how BCC (blind carbon copy) and Forward work. Why, then, do so many people persist in using them incorrectly -- awkwardly fumbling about in the internet ether?
Use BCC when you're e-mailing a gazillion people and you don't want to junk up their inboxes with the recipient list, and/or you don't need everyone to see everyone else on the list.
For example, if you're sending a mass e-mail to let your networking contacts know you're on the lookout for a new job, it wouldn't really be good form to give everybody the e-mail address of that big-shot VP your parents know. Also use BCC if you're giving a whole list of people bad news (e.g., that they didn't get a gig).
Last year, Twitter published the e-mails of scads of rejected job applicants. Awkwardness and tail-between-the-legs sheepishness ensued.
Do not use BCC to secretly let someone know an e-mail exchange is going down. You run the risk that the idiot will fail to notice he wasn't candidly CC'ed, in which case he can hit reply-all, blow your cover and create a situation so awkward, it rivals that walk of shame where you ran into your boss in the same clothes you wore to work the day before -- only backward.
The smarter way to loop a buddy in (say, you want to clue a co-worker in on a client's latest display of stunning idiocy): Reply to the client, then forward the whole exchange to your colleague. Just bear in mind that said recipient is going to read everything in the convo up until that point.
It's easy to be like, "Oh, we're talking about meeting up at Samson's, I'll forward this last one to Samson," forgetting that Samson is going to read six e-mails into your and Julie's personal e-mail exchange, where she reveals that last night's episode of "Friday Night Lights" really spoke to her about her and Jude's relationship problems.
Egregious e-mail error: Being a thankless jerk
In interoffice e-mails, especially, the purpose of an exchange is almost always to demand or supply information. In the give-and-take, you must remember the magic words your mom drilled into your head until you were huddled terrified in the corner, simpering into your Apple Jacks: please and thank you.
When you request something via e-mail and get back what you need, it's easy to think, "Oh, I won't clutter up his tremblingly overstuffed inbox with a pointless note of gratitude."
But if you say thanks as soon as you get the info, you won't throw off his e-mail-checking routine. Just try to respond quickly -- if it's been more than 20 minutes, skip the gratuitous gratitude and tack the thanks on to the next e-mail volley. ("I appreciate your sending me those survey results last week. I'd like to set up a meeting to discuss...")
If you're the one providing the info, don't just paste it into the body of an e-mail and hit send without salutations or a sign-off. That just makes it sound like you're pissed off to have to help.
"Here you go, thanks" takes three seconds to type, and prevents resentment from brewing in the bowels of your coworkers. Leave that to pay cuts, the hellish drone of fluorescent lights and increasingly bizarre money-saving schemes.
Egregious e-mail error: Playing fascist dictator
Show of hands: How many of you under-30s have ever received the following e-mail from a higher-up?
"???"
It's typically a response to your e-mail or a forward of something someone else said, right? And yeah, it feels like a nauseating shot of Wild Turkey and makes you momentarily hate your boss, right?
Now imagine sending that same e-mail to your boss: She sends a note giving you a completely unrealistic new deadline, say, and you just hit Reply and give that question mark three jabs. Ridiculous, right?
My friend even had a higher-up pepper a message with comic book-style cuss words: "There's no way I'm calling another #&$% meeting..." Classy.
The rule here is simple: Address your employee the same way you'd address your boss. Unless you're still a two-finger typist, "I'm not clear why this hasn't been taken care of. Can you please send me a status report? Thanks," is not an onerous message to compose.
If you're especially bad at judging how your e-mails come across, there's ToneCheck, a (slightly silly) plug-in that flags harsh phrases. If you can prevent your workers from feeling like Bazooka gum on the bottom of your shoe, surprise! -- they'll actually want to impress you. Kissing ass is a whole lot easier to master than the other kind.
The thing I see is just the general lack of sense and tact when using email. Email is not a text message you're sending to your buddy to see if he wants to hook up for a beer. Email is a primary business communication tool and, well, if you want to look like a "tool" then just fire off a few stupid emails with poor grammar and lots of misspelled words. When you are preparing to write or send that email, remember that it is never, ever going to go away, and you will be judged by the tone and quality of your written words, which will surely be taken out of context when reviewed by some random 3rd party in the future.
I've seen coworkers fired over emails. It's that serious, especially if you work for a public entity that is required to keep every correspondence for years.
Biggest problem though, you can't fix stupid.
I love it when folks make mistakes and say "Well, I'm not a computer savvy"... Reading and thinking have been around much longer than computers!
Egregious e-mail error: Recklessly BCC'ing and forwarding
E-mail entry forms are not that complicated. We all understand how BCC (blind carbon copy) and Forward work. Why, then, do so many people persist in using them incorrectly -- awkwardly fumbling about in the internet ether?
Use BCC when you're e-mailing a gazillion people and you don't want to junk up their inboxes with the recipient list, and/or you don't need everyone to see everyone else on the list.
For example, if you're sending a mass e-mail to let your networking contacts know you're on the lookout for a new job, it wouldn't really be good form to give everybody the e-mail address of that big-shot VP your parents know. Also use BCC if you're giving a whole list of people bad news (e.g., that they didn't get a gig).
Last year, Twitter published the e-mails of scads of rejected job applicants. Awkwardness and tail-between-the-legs sheepishness ensued.
Do not use BCC to secretly let someone know an e-mail exchange is going down. You run the risk that the idiot will fail to notice he wasn't candidly CC'ed, in which case he can hit reply-all, blow your cover and create a situation so awkward, it rivals that walk of shame where you ran into your boss in the same clothes you wore to work the day before -- only backward.
The smarter way to loop a buddy in (say, you want to clue a co-worker in on a client's latest display of stunning idiocy): Reply to the client, then forward the whole exchange to your colleague. Just bear in mind that said recipient is going to read everything in the convo up until that point.
It's easy to be like, "Oh, we're talking about meeting up at Samson's, I'll forward this last one to Samson," forgetting that Samson is going to read six e-mails into your and Julie's personal e-mail exchange, where she reveals that last night's episode of "Friday Night Lights" really spoke to her about her and Jude's relationship problems.
Egregious e-mail error: Being a thankless jerk
In interoffice e-mails, especially, the purpose of an exchange is almost always to demand or supply information. In the give-and-take, you must remember the magic words your mom drilled into your head until you were huddled terrified in the corner, simpering into your Apple Jacks: please and thank you.
When you request something via e-mail and get back what you need, it's easy to think, "Oh, I won't clutter up his tremblingly overstuffed inbox with a pointless note of gratitude."
But if you say thanks as soon as you get the info, you won't throw off his e-mail-checking routine. Just try to respond quickly -- if it's been more than 20 minutes, skip the gratuitous gratitude and tack the thanks on to the next e-mail volley. ("I appreciate your sending me those survey results last week. I'd like to set up a meeting to discuss...")
If you're the one providing the info, don't just paste it into the body of an e-mail and hit send without salutations or a sign-off. That just makes it sound like you're pissed off to have to help.
"Here you go, thanks" takes three seconds to type, and prevents resentment from brewing in the bowels of your coworkers. Leave that to pay cuts, the hellish drone of fluorescent lights and increasingly bizarre money-saving schemes.
Egregious e-mail error: Playing fascist dictator
Show of hands: How many of you under-30s have ever received the following e-mail from a higher-up?
"???"
It's typically a response to your e-mail or a forward of something someone else said, right? And yeah, it feels like a nauseating shot of Wild Turkey and makes you momentarily hate your boss, right?
Now imagine sending that same e-mail to your boss: She sends a note giving you a completely unrealistic new deadline, say, and you just hit Reply and give that question mark three jabs. Ridiculous, right?
My friend even had a higher-up pepper a message with comic book-style cuss words: "There's no way I'm calling another #&$% meeting..." Classy.
The rule here is simple: Address your employee the same way you'd address your boss. Unless you're still a two-finger typist, "I'm not clear why this hasn't been taken care of. Can you please send me a status report? Thanks," is not an onerous message to compose.
If you're especially bad at judging how your e-mails come across, there's ToneCheck, a (slightly silly) plug-in that flags harsh phrases. If you can prevent your workers from feeling like Bazooka gum on the bottom of your shoe, surprise! -- they'll actually want to impress you. Kissing ass is a whole lot easier to master than the other kind.
The thing I see is just the general lack of sense and tact when using email. Email is not a text message you're sending to your buddy to see if he wants to hook up for a beer. Email is a primary business communication tool and, well, if you want to look like a "tool" then just fire off a few stupid emails with poor grammar and lots of misspelled words. When you are preparing to write or send that email, remember that it is never, ever going to go away, and you will be judged by the tone and quality of your written words, which will surely be taken out of context when reviewed by some random 3rd party in the future.
I've seen coworkers fired over emails. It's that serious, especially if you work for a public entity that is required to keep every correspondence for years.
Biggest problem though, you can't fix stupid.
I love it when folks make mistakes and say "Well, I'm not a computer savvy"... Reading and thinking have been around much longer than computers!
August 19, 2010
August 4, 2010
What is Causing My High Cholesterol?
So, you went to your healthcare provider for your regular physical, and have found out that your cholesterol levels are too high. While being diagnosed with high cholesterol can be a little overwhelming at first, the good news is that you can do plenty of things to treat it. First, take an inventory of your life. Do you remember whether or not your mother, father, or sibling was diagnosed with high cholesterol? Perhaps it may have something to do with your doughnut run on the way to work every morning. Once you have identified any potential problems below, you can begin to change them -- and your cholesterol.
1. You have several risk factors for high cholesterol
Several risk factors could place you at risk for having high cholesterol, including your age, your lifestyle, and your genes. Of course, you can't control certain circumstances in your life, such as your age or family history. But you would be surprised how many risk factors you can change in your life. The following articles address things that could place you at risk for having high cholesterol. Do any of those risks look familiar to you?
2. Your diet is poor
Did you know that the type of food you consume can also play a large role in raising your cholesterol levels? It's true. We live in a fast-paced world full of fast food and quick meals. Unfortunately, these foods are high in fat and not very nutritious. Your diet should have a mixture of nutritious foods, including vegetables, fruits, and other foods that are high in fiber and low in saturated and trans fats. Knowing the foods to avoid, as well as checking food labels, can help you avoid high-fat foods that are not as heart healthy.
3. You don't get enough exercise
Exercise can play an important role in your health. Of course, it can keep your waist trim, and strengthen muscles. But it also has other added benefits including lowering your cholesterol. Research studies have shown that moderate exercise can boost your heart health, and it doesn't take much time out of your day to do it. Additionally, you can do many types of exercise to satisfy this requirement such as yoga, weight-bearing exercises, and aerobic exercise.
4. You have certain, uncontrolled medical conditions
Many conditions such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes, or thyroid disease could also cause your cholesterol levels to be high. Many of these conditions require lifestyle changes and medication to get these conditions under control. The good news is that by controlling these conditions, you may be able to lower your high cholesterol levels, too.
5. You take certain medications
Medications are designed to help you treat many conditions. Unfortunately, some side effects are associated with them. Surprisingly enough, some of the medications you take may be causing your cholesterol levels to be high. Knowing which meds can increase you cholesterol levels can help you plan ahead and watch your cholesterol more closely. Your healthcare provider can also change your medication if your cholesterol gets out of hand. Of course, you can take some measures to help lower it, including:
6. You smoke
Smoking -- it's certainly a bad habit, but it can also become a deadly one. Smoking affects all aspects of your health including your cholesterol and heart health. Quitting smoking does not happen overnight and can be difficult. But there are many healthy advantages to doing so. By quitting smoking now, you can offset some of the damage that smoking can do to your heart -- and the rest of your body.
1. You have several risk factors for high cholesterol
Several risk factors could place you at risk for having high cholesterol, including your age, your lifestyle, and your genes. Of course, you can't control certain circumstances in your life, such as your age or family history. But you would be surprised how many risk factors you can change in your life. The following articles address things that could place you at risk for having high cholesterol. Do any of those risks look familiar to you?
2. Your diet is poor
Did you know that the type of food you consume can also play a large role in raising your cholesterol levels? It's true. We live in a fast-paced world full of fast food and quick meals. Unfortunately, these foods are high in fat and not very nutritious. Your diet should have a mixture of nutritious foods, including vegetables, fruits, and other foods that are high in fiber and low in saturated and trans fats. Knowing the foods to avoid, as well as checking food labels, can help you avoid high-fat foods that are not as heart healthy.
3. You don't get enough exercise
Exercise can play an important role in your health. Of course, it can keep your waist trim, and strengthen muscles. But it also has other added benefits including lowering your cholesterol. Research studies have shown that moderate exercise can boost your heart health, and it doesn't take much time out of your day to do it. Additionally, you can do many types of exercise to satisfy this requirement such as yoga, weight-bearing exercises, and aerobic exercise.
4. You have certain, uncontrolled medical conditions
Many conditions such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes, or thyroid disease could also cause your cholesterol levels to be high. Many of these conditions require lifestyle changes and medication to get these conditions under control. The good news is that by controlling these conditions, you may be able to lower your high cholesterol levels, too.
5. You take certain medications
Medications are designed to help you treat many conditions. Unfortunately, some side effects are associated with them. Surprisingly enough, some of the medications you take may be causing your cholesterol levels to be high. Knowing which meds can increase you cholesterol levels can help you plan ahead and watch your cholesterol more closely. Your healthcare provider can also change your medication if your cholesterol gets out of hand. Of course, you can take some measures to help lower it, including:
6. You smoke
Smoking -- it's certainly a bad habit, but it can also become a deadly one. Smoking affects all aspects of your health including your cholesterol and heart health. Quitting smoking does not happen overnight and can be difficult. But there are many healthy advantages to doing so. By quitting smoking now, you can offset some of the damage that smoking can do to your heart -- and the rest of your body.
July 25, 2010
Said Akl
Said Akl, born July 4, 1912 is a prominent Lebanese poet, writer and ideologue. He was born in Zahle, Lebanon, and is considered one of the most important modern Lebanese poets.
He is best known for his radical Lebanese Nationalistic sentiments; in 1972, he helped to found the “Lebanese Renewal Party” which was proposed by May Murr, the renowned historian of ancient Lebanon. This party was a non-sectarian party that adhered to Lebanese Nationalism. During the Lebanese Civil War, Akl served as the spiritual leader of the radical Lebanese Nationalist movement Guardians of the Cedars.
Early Life
Said Akl was born to a Maronite Catholic family in the city of Zahle. After losing his father at the age of 15, he had to drop out of school and later worked as a teacher and then journalist. He then studied theology, literature and Islamic history, becoming a university instructor and subsequently lecturing in many Lebanese universities and policy institutes.
Ideology
During his early years, Said Akl was an adherent of the Syrian Social Nationalist party led by Antun Saadeh, eventually being expelled by the later due to irreconcilable ideological disputes.
Said Akl adopted a powerful doctrine of the authentic millennial character of Lebanon resonating with an exalted sense of Lebanese dignity. His admiration to the Lebanese history and culture was marked by strong enmity towards the Arab language and culture according to Aharon Amir. This view is crystallized by Akl once stating “I would cut off my right hand just not to be an Arab”. In 1968 he stated that literary Arabic would vanish from Lebanon.
For him Lebanon is the cradle of culture and the inheritor of the Oriental civilization, well before the arrival of the Arabs on the historical stage.
He emphasized the Phoenician legacy of the Lebanese people and promoted the use of the Lebanese dialect written in a modified Latin alphabet, that had been influenced by the Phoenician alphabet, rather than the Arabic one.
In a magazine he published during the '70s he offered a prize in each issue to whoever authored the best essay in Lebanese Arabic. Since then the Said Akl awards had been granted to many Lebanese intellectuals and artists.
Works
Said Akl has tens of writings ranging from theatrical plays, epics and poetry. His first published work was released in 1935, a theatrical play written in Arabic. His other works are written in either Lebanese Arabic, literary Arabic, or French.
July 18, 2010
July 10, 2010
July 8, 2010
When Worlds Collide: Soccer vs. Politics
"Some people believe football is a matter of life and death... I assure you it is much, much more important than that."
As Bill Shankly, the legendary former manager of English club Liverpool, pointed out shortly before he passed away in 1981, the significance of the beautiful game can never be underestimated -- and that doesn't just apply to fans of the sport, either.
Soccer can affect lives on a national and international scale, inspiring revolutions and causing wars as well as having the capability to create peace and lift entire nations.
The "Football War" between Honduras and El Salvador in 1969 is perhaps the most famous example of the sport's wider implications. The two Central American nations famously came to blows following their qualification match for the 1970 World Cup.
But this wasn't the first time, and definitely won't be the last, that the worlds of football and politics collide with remarkable results.
1. Mussolini manipulates the "Man in Black," 1934
"Il Duce" was determined to use this World Cup on home soil to showcase his fascist Italy. Mussolini had his own trophy created for the event -- the Coppa Del Duce -- which was six times the size of the Jules Rimet, and to this day allegations remain the tournament was fixed so that only Italy would collect it.
According to the BBC's "World Cup Stories" book by Chris Hunt, there were suggestions that the Italian dictator himself picked the referees. In the semifinal against Austria, Mussolini's Azzurri team won 2-1, but after the game their opponents complained the game was fixed.
"The referee even played for them," said Austrian striker Josef Bican. "When I passed for the ball out to the right wing, one of our players, Cicek, ran for it and the referee headed it back to the Italians. It was unbelievable."
2. Austrian star humiliates Nazis, 1938
Austria had one of the game's greatest sides in the 1930s, but when the Nazis annexed their neighbors, the nation's "Wunderteam" were forced to withdraw from the World Cup and merge with Germany.
Star striker Matthias Sindelar so opposed his nation's loss of independence that he refused to play for Germany. He pleaded old age, but Germany's manager Sepp Herberger would later recall: "I almost had the impression that discomfort and rejection, linked to the political developments, had prompted his refusal."
During a so-called "Reconciliation Game" to mark the merging of the two sides, Sindelar made his feelings quite clear in a 2-0 win for Austria. According to German historian Nils Havemann's book "Fussball unterm Hakenkreuz," the center-forward scored his beloved country's first and then, when the second goal went in, he danced in celebration in front of Nazi officials.
In 1939, Sindelar and his girlfriend were killed in his apartment by a gas leak. Controversy still reigns over whether it was murder or suicide -- or just an accident.
3. Algerians play for independence, 1958
Halfway through Algeria's War of Independence, the French national team called up a handful of Algerians playing in the French soccer league for the World Cup in Sweden.
Given the chance of glory, fame and fortune, the players chose national identity instead. Rather than attend a pre-tournament friendly against Switzerland, they decided to flee France, gather at the headquarters of the Front Liberation National in Tunisia and launch an "illegal" national team, risking arrest for desertion in the process.
Rachid Maflouki had won the French championship with Saint Etienne before getting the call from Les Bleus, but decided there were more important matters at stake than his personal success.
"I didn't hesitate," he told Ian Hawkey, author of "Feet of the Chameleon."
"Okay, I would have to give up my club. And yes, I was thinking about the World Cup, but what did that count for in comparison with my country's independence?"
4. Zaire players crack under Presidential pressure, 1974
It's remembered as one of the World Cup's funniest moments, but the truth is much darker. Already 3-0 down and facing a Brazilian free-kick, Zaire's right-back Ilunga Mwepu seemingly forgot the rules of the game, charged at the ball and hoofed it away before the whistle had even been blown.
The Leopards, the first sub-Saharan African nation to reach the finals, had already been humiliated 9-0 by Yugoslavia before losing 2-0 to Scotland, and were told by President Mobutu's henchmen that if they lost to Brazil by more than three goals they wouldn't be allowed to return home.
"Do you think I'd deliberately make myself look like an idiot? You have to remember we were playing for our lives," he said in the book "Death or Glory, the Dark History of the World Cup" by Jon Spurling.
Mwepu's act of "madness," it turns out, was in fact a very sane attempt to waste time.
5. The German nation divided, 1974
East Germany versus West at the 1974 World Cup was perhaps the most politically-charged match of all time. After the Second World War, the divided nation had become the main arena for the Cold War, and this fixture in Hamburg represented a head-to-head between the two ideologies.
Although the game was actually the last in the group and it had become clear that both teams would qualify from the group stage, that did not diminish the tension surrounding the clash.
With home advantage, European champions West Germany were favorites but it was the East German Jurgen Sparwasser who scored the only goal of the game.
East Germany heralded their triumph, but the victory was rendered a little hollow after they were knocked out in the next round and their bitter rivals went on to win the tournament.
6. Argentine junta swaps grain for glory, 1978
Argentina's junta, which had seized power just a couple of years earlier, was determined to use the World Cup it was hosting as propaganda for the regime.
According to a 1986 article by journalist Maria Laura Avignolo of Britain's Sunday Times, and supported by David Yallop in his book "How They Stole the Game," the junta used bribery and intimidation to help win the cup.
In the group stages, Argentina needed to beat Peru by four goals in their last game to progress. General Jorge Videla made a timely pre-match visit to the Peruvian dressing-room to talk to the players about "Latin American unity" before the host nation rattled six past a side that had previously held eventual finalists Holland to a goalless draw.
Avignolo claimed that in the weeks following the Peru game, an impromptu cargo of 35,000 tonnes of wheat left Argentina for Lima and that the military regime issued an interest-free loan of $50 million to the Peruvian government.
7. Iran's football revolution, 1998
They may have been two of the least significant footballing sides at France '98, but nevertheless this fixture caught the world's imagination because Iran and the United States had been at loggerheads since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Although political relations were strained, the clash of civilizations never quite happened on the pitch. Instead, both sides showed the utmost respect, swapping flowers, gifts and photographs before the kick-off.
The Iranians won 2-1, but, celebrations back home had a destabilizing effect as hundreds of thousands of young people, including women, partied in the streets in defiance of government warnings.
"In my neighborhood everybody goes out into the streets," one young Iranian told the BBC's Jim Muir. "It's a good excuse for boys and girls to mix, and in a way it's political, because it's a demand for social change."
8. Germany enjoys "Partyotism," 2006
The tournament slogan "A time to make friends" pretty much said it all. The organizers of Germany 2006 set out to woo the world, and in the process the country learned to love themselves.
A combination of a flawless summer and coach Jurgen Klinsmann's flee-flowing football injected a feel-good factor back into the national psyche, and Germans realized they could enjoy patriotism again -- or as the local media billed it, "partyotism."
"In the space of one month, Klinsmann managed to bring together a society ashamed of displays of nationalism and still divided along East-West lines, turning Germany into a nation of face-painting, flag-waving patriots," Hunt said in his "World Cup Stories" book.
"Never mind the final," Britain's The Times newspaper wrote. "Germans are the real World Cup winners."
9. The Koreas refuse to play nicely, 2008
North and South Korea both successfully managed to qualify for South Africa 2010, but there were plenty of bad-tempered squabbles along the way.
The bickering got so bad that world governing body FIFA eventually had to intervene after North Korea announced it would not let the South play its national anthem or wave its flag on their territory.
So determined were the North Koreans that they were even prepared to play their "home" game abroad. In the end, the fixture took place in Shanghai, where the North Korean coach complained that their rivals had poisoned their food.
In a statement about the match, the North's football association said: "It was beyond all doubt that the incident was a product of a deliberate act perpetrated by adulterated foodstuff as [the players] could not get up all of a sudden just before the match."
According to a report by the BBC, the South's soccer federation -- Korea Football Association -- said a sports doctor had examined the North Korean players and found no serious problem.
10. Football diplomacy between old enemies, 2008-09
Serious sport is war minus the shooting, remarked English author George Orwell. So it was refreshing last year when Armenia and Turkey used the beautiful game to make peace.
The leaders of the two countries met up to watch a World Cup qualifier between their nations after almost a century of bitterness following the killing of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by Turks during World War One.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul attended the initial game in Armenia in 2008, which the hosts lost 2-0, and his counterpart Serzh Sarkisian agreed to join him for the return fixture the following year for further thawing of diplomatic relations.
No doubt the fact that neither side had a chance of qualifying for South Africa helped keep things civil.
July 2, 2010
June 30, 2010
The Life & Death of Nicolas G. Hayek
Nicolas George Hayek (19 February 1928, Beirut – 28 June 2010, Biel) was a Swiss-Lebanese entrepreneur, co-founder, CEO and Chairman of the Board of the Swatch Group, with principal Headquarters in Biel. Hayek was born to a Lebanese mother and Lebanese American father, both from well-regarded Greek-Orthodox Christian Lebanese families with deep roots in Lebanon's Northern Governorate of El-Koura. His father was a dentist.
Hayek originally headed a business consulting firm, who was called on by a group of Swiss bankers to oversee a liquidation of Swiss watch manufacturing firms ASUAG and SSIH, who were encountering stiff competition from Japanese watch manufacturers. Hayek believed that the Swiss watch manufacturing industry could remain competitive with a restructuring and a focus on different business areas. After having engineered and implemented the reorganization of the ASUAG and SSIH watch companies for more than four years, finally bringing about their merger, Hayek, with a group of Swiss investors, took over a majority shareholding in the new group in 1985. He became Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer in 1986.
Hayek played a decisive role in the recovery of the Swatch Group with its watch brands Swatch, Blancpain, Omega, Longines, Rado, Tissot, Certina, Mido, Hamilton, Pierre Balmain, Calvin Klein, Flik Flak, Breguet and Lanco. The strategies he developed in the early 1980s led to the success of the entire Swiss watch industry and regained its leading position worldwide since 1984.
Hayek was awarded the title of Doctor honoris causa of Law and Economics of the Faculty of Beni Culturali of the University of Bologna (Italy) in June 1998, after being awarded doctor honoris causa of Law and Economics of the University of Neuchatel (Switzerland) in 1996.
Nicolas G. Hayek was also the founder, Chairman of the Board and C.E.O. of Hayek Engineering Inc. with headquarters in Zurich.
Hayek is also credited with having a fundamental role in the creation of the Smart Car, a small European car created for inner city use by Mercedes Benz. Original names for the car revolved around the Swatch name — and even today aspects of the car such as its interchangeable body panels are clearly linked with the Swatch philosophy of individuality.
In 2003, his son, Nick Hayek, Jr. became the CEO of the Swatch Group. Hayek remained however chairman of the board of the Swatch Group to his death.
In 2007, Hayek was rated the world's 273rd richest person with an estimated wealth of US$3.2 billion.
Hayek died unexpectedly on 28 June 2010 of cardiac arrest during work at the Swatch Group headquarters in Biel. The death of Mr Hayek, 82, robs Switzerland of one of its most inventive business leaders. “We owe Mr Hayek a lot,” said Doris Leuthard, the Swiss president.
June 22, 2010
June 16, 2010
How to pick the perfect name for your blog or startup
Anyone who has sat stymied with their cursor blinking in a "username" field knows that coming up with a name is harder than you'd think.
How do you find that perfect Twitter handle or that ideal epithet for your blog, website or startup -- one that's snappy and memorable, and that you won't hate by next year?
We talked to bloggers, social media gurus, linguists and naming experts (yes, they exist!) to get the scoop on finding a name that will work on the web.
How Do I Start?
Naming consultant Christopher Johnson, author of the The Name Inspector blog, says you should begin by brainstorming a list of keywords that relate to your blog, website or company. Then hit the reference materials; scan lists of synonyms and etymologies for more options. Friends are useful, too -- find the best Scrabble player in your circle and get her involved.
Try to think of all different types of names. You can compound words (Facebook, YouTube), blend together words (Microsoft, Netscape), add affixes (Friendster, coComment), make up words (Squidoo, Odeo) or use phrases (StumbleUpon, GoToMeeting).
Once you've got a healthy list, start culling. Ask yourself:
Does It Mean Something?
Names can be classified on a continuum based on how they communicate to consumers, says Nina Beckhardt, president of The Naming Group, an agency whose employees have crafted names for Walmart, Target and Puma. "There's a spectrum from descriptive names which speak directly to a product benefit or attribute, to empty vessel names, where it doesn't mean anything about the product that we're talking about."
Descriptive names, such as Stuff White People Like or Blogging Basics 101, immediately convey information about what you do. They are simple, intuitive and help consumers easily identify the mandate of a blog or company.
The downside? They can sound generic and boring, and the accompanying domain name is usually taken. They are also limiting in a fast-moving industry like tech, where what you do now might not be what you'll be doing in a few years. "A name can be a prison," says Michael Martine, the blogging and SEO expert behind Remarkablogger. "Take AT&T. There, the last T stands for telegraph."
Or Does It Mean Nothing?
Beckhardt says that empty vessel names can be completely made-up words (Kodak or Squidoo), words in another language (Hulu, which roughly translates both to "holder of precious things" and "interactive recording" in Mandarin), or those whose meaning is so obscure that people interpret it as an invented word (Google is sparked from "googol," the name for the number consisting of a one followed by a hundred zeros).
Empty vessel names can be fun to say, can separate you from the crowd, and can be subtler than descriptive ones. "Empty vessel names generate buzz in how different they are from the norm," says Beckhardt. "They can also create phonetic impact."
But you may need to put in more money to get the word out initially, says Martine. "Generally, the more of a disconnect there is between the name of a blog and what the blog's about, the greater the chance it will not succeed." And a word to the wise: Check to see if the word means something in another language -- you don't want unintended meanings to make a mockery of your carefully crafted name.
If neither descriptive nor empty vessel names appeal, try a suggestive name, which lies somewhere in between. Names like Apple or Yahoo all indirectly allude to the values for which the brand would like to be known.
Will It Work Online?
Nothing kills a name faster than finding out someone else already has it -- and in the online hunt for domain names, it sometimes seems like every possible option is taken.
One solution, says Johnson, is to opt for misspelled, made-up or compound words, as in Flickr, Digg or Topix. He says that intentional Web 2.0 misspellings are "attempts to capture meaning and associations of a real English word without having to spend tens or hundreds of thousands on the domain name."
Johnson also says that search engine issues have affected the style of names. People consciously try to create names with unique keywords so theirs will be the only result in targeted Google searches.
Others incorporate popular keywords into the name in an attempt to improve their position in search results, though Martine believes this is a losing strategy from a branding point of view. "It's lifeless," he says. "A keyword is not a brand, where there's emotional connection with the words." Plus, since spammers rely heavily on popular keywords, names generated solely with SEO in mind can seem spammy.
Is It Sticky?
Amidst all the search engine and domain name drama, consider that names are memorable when they sound good. "When you're creating a name, remember you're putting together syllables -- a good design is going to be about pleasing contrasts between consonants and vowels, and consonants themselves," says Johnson.
But don't get intimidated by the linguistics-speak. Humans are naturally pretty good at inferring whether a name is melodious or not. Just don't forsake that natural ability because you're so focused on domain names, SEO and empty vessels.
You can also use poetic devices to ensure the names stick. Names based on rhymes (TopShop, T-Mobile HotSpot), repetition (Bebo, Lala), and alliteration (Firefox, BlackBerry) tend to be memorable.
For the advanced namers out there, try what Beckhardt calls the "Part of Speech Test." Beckhardt argues that names that can be used in multiple parts of speech are stronger because people will use them in speech more often. LinkedIn, for instance, can be used as a noun ("We connected on LinkedIn"), as an adjective ("Did you look at her LinkedIn profile?"), and as a verb ("I am going to LinkIn with him"). When a name passes the Part of Speech test, Beckhardt says, it becomes pervasive.
Is It Simple?
"The name should be easy to pronounce, easy to understand when you hear it, easy to spell when you hear it, and easy to know the pronunciation when you see it written," says Johnson. However, you can mitigate confusion by buying domain names with likely misspellings and redirecting users to your site.
Punctuation is trickier. Although adding hyphens to domain names or underscores to Twitter handles may allow you to get the name you wanted, people are likely to accidentally leave them out, especially when typing on mobile devices. You're better off avoiding punctuation if you can.
Finally, shorter is usually better (especially for Twitter handles if you want to be retweeted). If it must be long, the name should be simple and memorable; Postcards From Yo Momma, for example.
Forget the Rules
If a name is really meaningful to you, it might work even if it doesn't quite meet all the other criteria.
"Name strength is evaluated on an individual basis," says Beckhardt. So don't be intimidated by the rules -- just grab your thesaurus and get going.
How do you find that perfect Twitter handle or that ideal epithet for your blog, website or startup -- one that's snappy and memorable, and that you won't hate by next year?
We talked to bloggers, social media gurus, linguists and naming experts (yes, they exist!) to get the scoop on finding a name that will work on the web.
How Do I Start?
Naming consultant Christopher Johnson, author of the The Name Inspector blog, says you should begin by brainstorming a list of keywords that relate to your blog, website or company. Then hit the reference materials; scan lists of synonyms and etymologies for more options. Friends are useful, too -- find the best Scrabble player in your circle and get her involved.
Try to think of all different types of names. You can compound words (Facebook, YouTube), blend together words (Microsoft, Netscape), add affixes (Friendster, coComment), make up words (Squidoo, Odeo) or use phrases (StumbleUpon, GoToMeeting).
Once you've got a healthy list, start culling. Ask yourself:
Does It Mean Something?
Names can be classified on a continuum based on how they communicate to consumers, says Nina Beckhardt, president of The Naming Group, an agency whose employees have crafted names for Walmart, Target and Puma. "There's a spectrum from descriptive names which speak directly to a product benefit or attribute, to empty vessel names, where it doesn't mean anything about the product that we're talking about."
Descriptive names, such as Stuff White People Like or Blogging Basics 101, immediately convey information about what you do. They are simple, intuitive and help consumers easily identify the mandate of a blog or company.
The downside? They can sound generic and boring, and the accompanying domain name is usually taken. They are also limiting in a fast-moving industry like tech, where what you do now might not be what you'll be doing in a few years. "A name can be a prison," says Michael Martine, the blogging and SEO expert behind Remarkablogger. "Take AT&T. There, the last T stands for telegraph."
Or Does It Mean Nothing?
Beckhardt says that empty vessel names can be completely made-up words (Kodak or Squidoo), words in another language (Hulu, which roughly translates both to "holder of precious things" and "interactive recording" in Mandarin), or those whose meaning is so obscure that people interpret it as an invented word (Google is sparked from "googol," the name for the number consisting of a one followed by a hundred zeros).
Empty vessel names can be fun to say, can separate you from the crowd, and can be subtler than descriptive ones. "Empty vessel names generate buzz in how different they are from the norm," says Beckhardt. "They can also create phonetic impact."
But you may need to put in more money to get the word out initially, says Martine. "Generally, the more of a disconnect there is between the name of a blog and what the blog's about, the greater the chance it will not succeed." And a word to the wise: Check to see if the word means something in another language -- you don't want unintended meanings to make a mockery of your carefully crafted name.
If neither descriptive nor empty vessel names appeal, try a suggestive name, which lies somewhere in between. Names like Apple or Yahoo all indirectly allude to the values for which the brand would like to be known.
Will It Work Online?
Nothing kills a name faster than finding out someone else already has it -- and in the online hunt for domain names, it sometimes seems like every possible option is taken.
One solution, says Johnson, is to opt for misspelled, made-up or compound words, as in Flickr, Digg or Topix. He says that intentional Web 2.0 misspellings are "attempts to capture meaning and associations of a real English word without having to spend tens or hundreds of thousands on the domain name."
Johnson also says that search engine issues have affected the style of names. People consciously try to create names with unique keywords so theirs will be the only result in targeted Google searches.
Others incorporate popular keywords into the name in an attempt to improve their position in search results, though Martine believes this is a losing strategy from a branding point of view. "It's lifeless," he says. "A keyword is not a brand, where there's emotional connection with the words." Plus, since spammers rely heavily on popular keywords, names generated solely with SEO in mind can seem spammy.
Is It Sticky?
Amidst all the search engine and domain name drama, consider that names are memorable when they sound good. "When you're creating a name, remember you're putting together syllables -- a good design is going to be about pleasing contrasts between consonants and vowels, and consonants themselves," says Johnson.
But don't get intimidated by the linguistics-speak. Humans are naturally pretty good at inferring whether a name is melodious or not. Just don't forsake that natural ability because you're so focused on domain names, SEO and empty vessels.
You can also use poetic devices to ensure the names stick. Names based on rhymes (TopShop, T-Mobile HotSpot), repetition (Bebo, Lala), and alliteration (Firefox, BlackBerry) tend to be memorable.
For the advanced namers out there, try what Beckhardt calls the "Part of Speech Test." Beckhardt argues that names that can be used in multiple parts of speech are stronger because people will use them in speech more often. LinkedIn, for instance, can be used as a noun ("We connected on LinkedIn"), as an adjective ("Did you look at her LinkedIn profile?"), and as a verb ("I am going to LinkIn with him"). When a name passes the Part of Speech test, Beckhardt says, it becomes pervasive.
Is It Simple?
"The name should be easy to pronounce, easy to understand when you hear it, easy to spell when you hear it, and easy to know the pronunciation when you see it written," says Johnson. However, you can mitigate confusion by buying domain names with likely misspellings and redirecting users to your site.
Punctuation is trickier. Although adding hyphens to domain names or underscores to Twitter handles may allow you to get the name you wanted, people are likely to accidentally leave them out, especially when typing on mobile devices. You're better off avoiding punctuation if you can.
Finally, shorter is usually better (especially for Twitter handles if you want to be retweeted). If it must be long, the name should be simple and memorable; Postcards From Yo Momma, for example.
Forget the Rules
If a name is really meaningful to you, it might work even if it doesn't quite meet all the other criteria.
"Name strength is evaluated on an individual basis," says Beckhardt. So don't be intimidated by the rules -- just grab your thesaurus and get going.
June 14, 2010
A Sneak Peek at Pointure TVCF
See it soon on YouTube
Advert Title: Design & Style
Advertising Agency: Da Vinci, Beirut, Lebanon
Art Director: Carla Di Natale
Illustrator: Alberto Vitale
Computer Graphics: Nocturne Animation, Beirut, Lebanon
Sound Design: Nadim Abou Chacra Audio Production, Beirut, Lebanon
Storyboard Artist: Massimo Pazzini
Published: June 2010
June 10, 2010
June 7, 2010
June 2, 2010
What Those Company Initials Stand For
Dozens of companies use acronyms or initials in their names, but how well do you know what the abbreviated letters mean? Let's take a look at the etymologies behind a few abbreviated company names.
1. CVS
Sorry, drugstore fans, there aren't three fat cat pharmacists with these initials running around out there. When the pharmacy chain was founded in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1963, it was known as "Consumer Value Stores." Over time the name became abbreviated to simply CVS.
2. K-Mart
Longtime five-and-dime mogul Sebastian S. Kresge opened his first larger store in Garden City, Michigan, in 1962. The store was named K-Mart after him. (Kresge had earned the right to have a store named for him; he opened up his new venture at the tender age of 94.)
3. IKEA
The Swedish furniture giant and noted charity takes its name from founder Ingvar Kamprad's initials conjoined with a the first initial of the farm where Kamprad grew up, Elmtaryd, and the parish he calls home, Agunnaryd.
4. DHL
In the late 1960s, Larry Hillblom was a broke student at the University of California, Berkeley's law school, so to pick up a bit of extra cash, he would make courier runs from San Francisco.
After he finished law school, he decided the courier business was the real racket for him, so he recruited his pals Adrian Dalsey and Robert Lynn to help him with the runs. Although they started out making their delivery trips in a single Plymouth Duster, the company quickly took off, and they named it after their respective last initials.
5. AT&T
No surprises here. The telecom giant sprang to life in 1885 as American Telephone and Telegraph, although it's now legally known as just AT&T.
6. JBL
The speaker company is named after its founder, James Bullough Lansing. But if Lansing had kept his original name, the company might have been called Martini Speakers.
Lansing was born James Martini in 1902, but when he was 25, he changed his name to James Lansing at the suggestion of the woman who would become his wife. (The martini was already a popular cocktail at the time, and several of Lansing's brothers had also changed their name by shortening it to Martin.)
7. 3M
The conglomerate behind Post-It Notes gets its name from its roots as a company that mined stone to make grinding wheels. Since it was located in Two Harbors, Minnesota, the company was known as Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, which was later shortened to 3M.
8. BVD
The stalwart men's underwear maker was originally founded by a group of New Yorkers named Bradley, Voorhees, and Day to make women's bustles.
Eventually the trio branched out into knitted union suits for men, and their wares became so popular that "BVDs" has become a generic term for any underwear.
9. H&M
The beloved clothing store began in Sweden in 1947. Founder Erling Persson was only selling women's duds, so he called the store Hennes -- Swedish for "hers."
Twenty-one years later, he bought up a hunting supplier called Mauritz Widforss. After the acquisition, Persson branched out into men's clothing and began calling the store Hennes and Mauritz, which eventually became shortened to H&M.
10. A&W Root Beer
Roy Allen opened his first root beer stand in Lodi, California, in the summer of 1919, and quickly began expanding to the surrounding areas. Within a year he had partnered with Frank Wright, and the pair christened their flagship product "A&W Root Beer."
11. GEICO
The adorable gecko's employer is more formally known as the Government Employees Insurance Company. Although GEICO has always been a private, standalone company, its name reflects its original purpose: Leo Goodwin founded the company in 1936 to sell insurance directly to employees of the federal government.
12. YKK
The initials you see on darn near every zipper you own stand for Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikigaisha, which translates into "Yoshida Manufacturing Corporation." The company is named after Tadao Yoshida, who started the zipper concern in Tokyo in 1934.
13. P.F. Chang's
If you go looking for Mr. P.F. Chang, you'll be in for a long search. The Asian dining chain's name is actually a composite of the founding restaurateur Paul Fleming's initials and a simplification of founding chef Philip Chiang's last name.
14. BJ's Wholesale Club
The bulk retailer is named after Beverly Jean Weich, whose father, Mervyn, helped found the chain as a spinoff from discount retailer Zayre in 1983.
15. ING Group
The banking giant's name is an abbreviation of Internationale Nederlanden Groep, or "International Netherlands Group," a nod to the company's dutch origins and headquarters.
The company's heavy use of the color orange in its buildings and promotion is also a shoutout to the Netherlands; orange is the color of the Dutch royal family dating all the way back to William of Orange.
16. H&R Block
Brothers Henry and Richard Bloch founding the tax preparation firm in Kansas City in 1955. Their only problem was their last name. The brothers worried that people would mispronounce their surname as "blotch," hardly a term you want associated with your tax return.
They decided to sidestep this problem by spelling the company's name "Block" instead, so that nobody would miss the solid hard "k" sound.
1. CVS
Sorry, drugstore fans, there aren't three fat cat pharmacists with these initials running around out there. When the pharmacy chain was founded in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1963, it was known as "Consumer Value Stores." Over time the name became abbreviated to simply CVS.
2. K-Mart
Longtime five-and-dime mogul Sebastian S. Kresge opened his first larger store in Garden City, Michigan, in 1962. The store was named K-Mart after him. (Kresge had earned the right to have a store named for him; he opened up his new venture at the tender age of 94.)
3. IKEA
The Swedish furniture giant and noted charity takes its name from founder Ingvar Kamprad's initials conjoined with a the first initial of the farm where Kamprad grew up, Elmtaryd, and the parish he calls home, Agunnaryd.
4. DHL
In the late 1960s, Larry Hillblom was a broke student at the University of California, Berkeley's law school, so to pick up a bit of extra cash, he would make courier runs from San Francisco.
After he finished law school, he decided the courier business was the real racket for him, so he recruited his pals Adrian Dalsey and Robert Lynn to help him with the runs. Although they started out making their delivery trips in a single Plymouth Duster, the company quickly took off, and they named it after their respective last initials.
5. AT&T
No surprises here. The telecom giant sprang to life in 1885 as American Telephone and Telegraph, although it's now legally known as just AT&T.
6. JBL
The speaker company is named after its founder, James Bullough Lansing. But if Lansing had kept his original name, the company might have been called Martini Speakers.
Lansing was born James Martini in 1902, but when he was 25, he changed his name to James Lansing at the suggestion of the woman who would become his wife. (The martini was already a popular cocktail at the time, and several of Lansing's brothers had also changed their name by shortening it to Martin.)
7. 3M
The conglomerate behind Post-It Notes gets its name from its roots as a company that mined stone to make grinding wheels. Since it was located in Two Harbors, Minnesota, the company was known as Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, which was later shortened to 3M.
8. BVD
The stalwart men's underwear maker was originally founded by a group of New Yorkers named Bradley, Voorhees, and Day to make women's bustles.
Eventually the trio branched out into knitted union suits for men, and their wares became so popular that "BVDs" has become a generic term for any underwear.
9. H&M
The beloved clothing store began in Sweden in 1947. Founder Erling Persson was only selling women's duds, so he called the store Hennes -- Swedish for "hers."
Twenty-one years later, he bought up a hunting supplier called Mauritz Widforss. After the acquisition, Persson branched out into men's clothing and began calling the store Hennes and Mauritz, which eventually became shortened to H&M.
10. A&W Root Beer
Roy Allen opened his first root beer stand in Lodi, California, in the summer of 1919, and quickly began expanding to the surrounding areas. Within a year he had partnered with Frank Wright, and the pair christened their flagship product "A&W Root Beer."
11. GEICO
The adorable gecko's employer is more formally known as the Government Employees Insurance Company. Although GEICO has always been a private, standalone company, its name reflects its original purpose: Leo Goodwin founded the company in 1936 to sell insurance directly to employees of the federal government.
12. YKK
The initials you see on darn near every zipper you own stand for Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikigaisha, which translates into "Yoshida Manufacturing Corporation." The company is named after Tadao Yoshida, who started the zipper concern in Tokyo in 1934.
13. P.F. Chang's
If you go looking for Mr. P.F. Chang, you'll be in for a long search. The Asian dining chain's name is actually a composite of the founding restaurateur Paul Fleming's initials and a simplification of founding chef Philip Chiang's last name.
14. BJ's Wholesale Club
The bulk retailer is named after Beverly Jean Weich, whose father, Mervyn, helped found the chain as a spinoff from discount retailer Zayre in 1983.
15. ING Group
The banking giant's name is an abbreviation of Internationale Nederlanden Groep, or "International Netherlands Group," a nod to the company's dutch origins and headquarters.
The company's heavy use of the color orange in its buildings and promotion is also a shoutout to the Netherlands; orange is the color of the Dutch royal family dating all the way back to William of Orange.
16. H&R Block
Brothers Henry and Richard Bloch founding the tax preparation firm in Kansas City in 1955. Their only problem was their last name. The brothers worried that people would mispronounce their surname as "blotch," hardly a term you want associated with your tax return.
They decided to sidestep this problem by spelling the company's name "Block" instead, so that nobody would miss the solid hard "k" sound.
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