We’re reminded today by David Aaronovitch in the Times of why care with English usage and knowing the rules is more than simple pedantry or being ‘cute’. And it echoes what I’ve been saying for years – some might say ad nauseam, that in allowing the governing clerical classes to get away with bad English…
Category: Business
Business, Hobby Horse, Social Media, Writing
Is Process-automation in Social Media Robbing People of the Ability to #Think?
by Dominic O'Byrne •
With no small degree of alarm, I noted that I had failed to write on my blog since 2nd January. Having been told by social media experts that it’s vital to blog often (daily if you can) I’ve nurtured a nagging fear for a few weeks now that my brand will have suffered… my online…
Business, Family, Golf, Hobby Horse, Political, Sharks, Writing
WA Shark Cull… who really wants it?
by Dominic O'Byrne •
This coming Saturday 4th January 2014, six and a half thousand campaigners are expected at a rally on Cottesloe Beach, West Australia to protest Premier Colin Barnett’s decision to instigate a shark-culling policy in the state. The decision has stoked clamorous protest among the public (embracing significant numbers of surfers, divers and swimmers), as well…
Business, Family, Hobby Horse, Political, Writing
Whatever became of Nelson Mandela?
by Dominic O'Byrne •
When history logs the death of Nelson Mandela for posterity, what date will be carved on his gravestone – and indeed on monuments across the free world? Whatever the numbers used, the truth will likely always be lost to official clumsiness, greed, self-interest, family petty politics, commercial interest, face-saving and obfuscation. Why? Because while even…
Business, Family, Hobby Horse, Political, Writing
North South Divide from Crack to Chasm
by Dominic O'Byrne •
When will tha think for tha sen, then? In The Times today we learn that 2/5 of northern voters would never consider voting for the Conservatives, that one in four voters in the North said they did not know anyone who supported or voted Conservative, that only 21 per cent thought the Tories understood their…
Business, Golf, Hobby Horse
Changing to ‘Intelligent Hire’ of Freelance Writers
by Dominic O'Byrne •
Good Writers Will Lead Their Clients to Embrace Change We need to examine the state of the writing industry, so I’m looking for input from people who both commission freelance writing / content writing / proofreading / copywriting projects, as well as from writers of all disciplines, experience levels (newbies to heavyweights), industry sectors and…
Business, Hobby Horse, Political
Just how sad is the BBC?
by Dominic O'Byrne •
Whether an apocryphal story or not, an old tale among broadcasters goes that the clerks in charge of the BBC commissioned a survey (likely a time and motion study – before the Birtian nomenclature of Blue Sky Thinking had its dawn), and the findings were along the lines that the corporation would run at its…
Business, Golf
Objectors to ‘Men-Only Muirfield’ Miss the Point
by Dominic O'Byrne •
People who dislike exclusivity based on discrimination against gender, race, faith, sexuality or political hue are termed ‘reasonable people’. That such xenophobia seems anachronistic in the developed world in the 21st century is a reasonable enough stance. Wimmin like to shame bastions of maleness in an often aggressive manner, and the voice of what the…
Business, Golf
Is the R&A Anchored in Reality?
by Dominic O'Byrne •
I’ve been known to miss a putt or two but I’m missing this R&A / USGA anchoring issue by a mile. And there’s a bloody great hole involved here too… likely in the reasoning behind wanting to push for the ban on anchoring. Golf’s ruling bodies risk becoming a laughing stock over the issue of…
Business
Businesses don’t know half the marketing assets they’ve got
by Dominic O'Byrne •
How many businesses don’t know what’s hiding in the back of the cupboard? A weekly domestic ritual at our house is the weekly shop. The routine is that we check the larder and the fridge-freezer (and underneath the kids’ beds) to see what we already have in supply and what needs replacing. Then a meal…