Category Archives: Expressions

Google’s web spiders earn an invite to my school reunion

Lindsay, 32 years ago!

I’ve reached that age. I am happy with my husband, my three kids, my work and my social media life. Two weeks ago, I decided to arrange a 2014 school reunion for my year group only. The trick now was to get in touch with as many school friends as I could, to ask them to save the date. I had a pretty good idea that, out of the 47 names on the ‘Class of ’81’ list, I was connected through my network to around 15-20 of them. How hard could it be?

Class of ’81 Facebook group

I set up a ‘Class of ’81’ Facebook group and invited my school mates from the here and now to join, with a request to invite further members. The enthusiasm from within the expanding group about the potential reunion was terrific! Friends were bantering exactly as they had done in our school dormitories 32 years before except, this time, they were adding pictures and sharing anecdotes across social media – a concept not even known to science fiction the last time they had communicated!

Where in the world are they?

I uploaded the class list to the Facebook group, asking for clues as to married names, locations and interests… Over the following days, I used Facebook, LinkedIn and my reliable chum, Google – together with a heavy dose of tenacity – to unearth a further 12 school mates from around the world.

Having married names was certainly a help. As my research continued, I found there were three categories of internet engagement when it came to seeking these ladies out…

Low-hanging fruit

If I may call them “low-hanging fruit”, these were the people who had a social media profile and a picture. Bingo!

If you want apples, you have to shake the trees

Google web spiders

These were the names that were further out of reach. I had to dig deeper. These ladies live their lives offline; they do not actively engage with the internet. Based on the premise that even these people must leave an online imprint somewhere, I sent Google in to find them.

My instincts paid dividends! One lady’s contact details were published at the bottom of a Pony Club newsletter; another had written to a dog magazine several years before. A few more had left similar footprints…

Many flowers, few fruit

These are the blind alleys, the few names outstanding on the “Where are they now?” list that even Google, with their super-dooper spiders, would be unable to find. Without a married name, a business interest or an international location, I have no way of knowing where in the world these people are and what they are doing – with or without a social media presence.

How on earth did they plan school reunions pre-internet?

My husband might not agree, but I am wedded to the worldwide web. It’s my first port of call when I want to obtain information – and quickly!

Friends reuniting

The one recurring question that came to mind every time I went online to find someone was “How on earth did they plan school reunions before the internet?” Our reunion date is fourteen months away, not because I need the time to trace my school mates, (I have Google and social media to thank for that); the time span has more to do with the lead time people need in order to attend an event such as this. In the old pre-internet days, tracking people down after thirty years must have been a painstaking postal process. No, thank you!

Much better, social media and Google’s robotic spiders! The latter have scoured, browsed and crawled over the worldwide web in a methodical, automated manner, instantaneously bringing school friends back for me. Bravo!

Save the date, Googlebot; you’re invited! You are welcome to crawl over the items on the “nostalgia table”…

I’d love to know how social media and Google have saved you time and effort. Would Google’s web spiders be welcome at your special event?

Photo credits: Paul Watson / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA, giulia.forsythe / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA, greekadman / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

You can’t make cheesecake from snow…

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Inuit little girl

You can’t make cheesecake from snow… This is an expression from the Inuit community, a group of indigenous people inhabiting the Arctic regions of Greenland, Canada and eastern Siberia. It means to work with what you have.

Expressions often reflect the culture – and the climate – from which they originate. This pearl of wisdom incorporates one of North America’s favourite desserts, but neatly ties it to the omnipresence of the snow and the bitterly cold Arctic landscape.

My children’s school was closed today and my husband came home mid-morning from the office. Weather forecasters had been predicting the snowfall all week; they were right – almost to the hour. I was prepared for today’s white-out; there’s enough food and drink in the house to sink a ship, should we be “snowed in” for several days.

One of the beauties of weather throwing your routine into disarray is there is nothing you can do: you simply have to work with what you have. You can’t make cheesecakes from snow; I must tell the kids..

Photo credit: nick_russill / Foter.com / CC BY

Guest blog…great! Um, what now?

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Guest blogging at www.proofedbylinds.co.uk is very welcome.

My second guest is Lisa Steyn, aka the Cape Town Copywriter, from South Africa. I “met” Lisa through blogging; we have become electronic penpals. I caught a couple of her posts, “liked” them, and then invited her to guest blog. Here’s what happened next…

Day 1

I am on fire! It’s the New Year and I’m bouncing around with enthusiasm…yes I am ready to take on the world (even my poor husband has a hard time keeping up with me!) That super energy wave results in my blog being unleashed on the world. Whoa…goal!

Day 2

6am (I blame this on child) – I sneak off to my computer (I have been banned due to excessive blog mania). I open my email – I am a serious blogging queen! I have two, yes really, two likes on my first post. I’ve hit the big time now…you get my drift here of peppered sarcasm? Off I go to vigorously like other posts and find some really interesting stuff. This is the life.

10am – Another victory…second blog post done and dusted! I have to almost physically restrain myself from bombarding people every half hour with my written word. I rationally tell myself that there comes a point where people will want to shoot me for irritating them with constant messages (luckily my marketing hat is working today). Wait, there are 2 likes AND a follow on my second post. How can my heart bear this excitement? Just need to lie down and breathe.

Wow! I’m on fire! Supplied courtesy of Microsoft Office Images.

6pm – I ask my husband to please check my heart as I think I’m having a heart attack. ‘No’, he says calmly, “You are fine!”. Now that I know I am not having a heart attack…I stalk back to my computer. Not only have I still got my amazing two likes, and one astronomical follow, I have also been asked to guest blog…hence the reason for my near death experience from excitement. I am a rock star and fame is just around the corner for me! Lindsay McLoughlin has asked me; yes me, to please be a guest blogger. At this point I am absolutely sure that I am going to go stratospheric in the blogging world. I excitedly go back to Lindsay with a resounding YES please! I am amazed at the friendly support and the honour of being asked. Tomorrow is the day I will tackle this.

Day 3

6am (yes child again…or is it addiction?) – back with my new best friend, the computer. I grab my tea and settle down to write an amazing article for Lindsay. Ok, I’ll just quickly check my emails and then come back to it.

Day 4

What have I done? Image supplied courtesy of Microsoft Office Images.

10am – Oh my word what am I going to say?

Day 5

11am – Seriously, what am I going to write about?

Day 6

5pm (can you see the pattern here in time?) – Eureka! I’ve got it! I’m going to write about my first dip into guest blogging! The result…I’m sure you can see how important I’m going to be in the blogging world based on this one article alone. Yes? Can you feel it?

6pm – I’ve cracked it…let me just read over it and check it (I am a proofreader after all). Anxiety…I can’t send this, Lindsay is going to hate it. Affirmation…no it’s fine, she’ll enjoy having a bit of a laugh. Anxiety! Affirmation! Anxiety! Affirmation! Eventually acceptance – let me just send it and see!

6:10pm – There it goes. Need. To. Have. Drink.

Let’s just wait and see!

What’s the point of all this rambling?

Ok, I’ll try and be serious now! The ultimate point to this article, diary or rant (you decide) was to show thanks to fellow bloggers, and especially to Lindsay. I have been amazed at the network of supportive people…everybody genuinely wants to help each other. That’s a real rarity today. I flip through ‘Freshly Pressed’ and when something catches my eye I immediately show my support to give a blogger a boost and a positive word. We all need that at times. This is a general theme of all bloggers, definitely not just me.

Thank you Lindsay for the opportunity and here’s to bloggers uniting!

As I’m sure you gathered from my ‘amazing’ amount of likes, I have a long way to go. The beauty and excitement is in the journey to getting there. But with support like this we can all go a long way!

Please feel free to visit my blog. Thank you.

Proofreading: The devil’s in the detail

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Business Proposal

Is proofreading all about grammar and punctuation? No, siree!

I’m often asked if proofreading is just about typos, punctuation and grammar. Proofreading is, ahem, one of the oldest professions, and I can tell you there is a lot more to it.

Let’s take a lengthy business proposal.

This is your chance to put your client’s requirements in a context that favours your own products or services. You can educate the potential client about how your business can satisfy their needs. A successful proposal results in a sale when both parties get what they want. Win-win.

The compelling business case you are conveying is window-dressed with punctuation, grammar, formatting, styling etc.

Imagine if the font or the formatting changed halfway through. What about if the hyperlinks were broken, or the job titles, company names and postcodes were incorrect! Terminology can change to describe the same thing. (Is it a canteen or a staff restaurant?) Sometimes pictures and illustrations relate incorrectly to the content, or the figure tables simply don’t add up.

Paragraphs using different margins, inconsistent terminology, typos, spelling errors, broken links, poor grammar and incorrect punctuation are damaged window dressing. They interfere with the business communication. The reader’s concentration and willingness to absorb your business proposal has been interrupted. It is likely he is thinking more about the misdemeanour(s) he has discovered than the messages you want him to receive.

Now the content is not so compelling; the reader is questioning the proposer’s quality standards and attention to detail.

A good proofreader will check and verify all of these details with the benefit of a fresh pair of eyes. Proofreaders correct typos, punctuation and grammar, yes, but also anything else contained within the content that could be erroneous. The devil’s in the detail; having your business proposal checked by a proofreader could be the difference between win-win or lose-lose.

Photo credit: the Italian voice / Foter / CC BY

Can you sum up 2012 in one word? I think I can…

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: LondonAnnie / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

Words enter common parlance through different means. Before the digital age, words traditionally entered language through invasion (not so good), and from interaction with foreigners, learning from their culture, and then “borrowing” from their language.

In 2012, I would suggest there is one word that has entered the English language in record time from a different track, based on its spectacular reach, its universal recognition – and its charm. It was the name awarded to a gesture you could do from your armchair or – to give the game away – your stadium seat!

Yes – it’s the mobot!

For me, Mo Farah’s hand-to-head ‘M’ sums up the year 2012, and all its greatness, in one simple engaging gesture. It is at once delightful, universally understood and – now – inextricably linked to one of the greatest Olympian athletes of all time.

Blow me down… there is even a mobot dance! You can see the dance and download the video from The Mo Farah Foundation. The charity seeks to provide food, water, medical care and shelter for children in Somalia.

Mo Farah is a double Olympic champion and the UK’s greatest distance runner – ever. He ran his way into the record books without crossing any borders… just the finishing line within the Olympic Stadium at London 2012, in spectacular style. I would also venture that he provided us with a word for the English language, as well as a dance, in record time, too.

Is there a word that sums up 2012 for you? Is it a word that, in January, would have been meaningless? I would love to hear your 2012 stories.

Photo credit: LondonAnnie / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

Can you remember your school homework?

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: e. david / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

I can. It was Friday. I was eight. This task set the agenda for the weekend. The whole family got involved: my father participated from the bath; my mother chimed in through the window from the garden; my younger brother asked what all the fuss was about. I listened and I learned. I was to remember the learning outcomes from this homework for a lifetime.

Our task was to compile a list of as many proverbs as we could. The race was on. The homework caught my parents imagination; they were firing expressions at me left, right and centre. I was catching them as best I could, writing them down and asking what they meant. I was captivated by the idea that a simple expression could be universally understood as meaning something other than the words on the page.

I remember writing them frantically, thinking I would surely have the most in the class. I arrived at school on the Monday morning brandishing a list of around 130. I was pipped at the post by my friend, Kate, who had beaten me by an astonishing twenty proverbs!

Now, as an adult, I use proverbs in conversation as a mutually understood shorthand. The acceptance of metaphorical expressions invoked in proverb use can be used to cut to the chase, disagree, enhance or redirect a conversation in a manner that is acceptable, inoffensive and colourful.

Can you remember some school homework that has stayed with you into adulthood? Has something you learned at the age of eight stayed with you for a lifetime? I would love to hear your stories…

The Tans will Fade, but the Memories will Last Forever…

The phrase ‘Shipshape and Bristol Fashion’ is due a revival!

Lindsay McLoughlin

Proofed by Linds