Archive for the ‘Bad writing’ Category
Falling off the fence
I’ve written a couple of blogs for different organisations this month. They all had one thing in common; they wanted to give their opinion on something relevant to their industry or area of expertise without offending or alienating customers and service users. Which isn’t that easy, because it’s very easy to offend when you critique. Not because you’re being aggressive, but because others may be defensive.
To really withdraw from this risk, you need to sit on the fence. In this position, you can balance the view from both fields. Which is fine when you want to produce bland copy that helps people explore both sides of a coin. But, when you’re looking for something attention-grabbing, sitting on the fence – as the saying goes – gives you splinters. Personally, I don’t get on with opinion ‘from the fence’. Not just because I don’t want to spend my evening removing splinters, but because I don’t trust it.
I managed to talk my clients round to taking a clear position. Here are the benefits:
Saatchi’s copy claptrap
I know it’s not nice to slam other people’s copy efforts, but this one really is screaming out for a virtual red pen. Charles Saatchi’s new show British Art Now has an accompanying catalogue which honestly defies belief. Here’s an excerpt all about the artists:
“Articulated as doublespeak, they hand-make the virtual, cite history in fugue fervour, and find the poetic and enduring in the cacophony of pop cultural din.”
Great isn’t it?
Get Ya Hoop On
I read recently that school children in Middlesborough have been taking part in a new exercise called ‘Hoop Hip’. This involves spinning hula hoops around parts of your body to hip hop music.
When I was at school, exercise was compulsory netball. Hula hoops were considered silly fashion things and were definitely not found in the sports locker. We had a theme tune though – a sadistic growl courtesy of the PE teacher: “Defend! Mark her! Not her, her! Move. Your. Back. Side. Noooow!”