Writing for the Web

Grok Headline matches for Writing for the Web

Bad Writing = Good Writing?

Bad Writing = Good Writing? 10/30/2003 11:56 PM
Bad Writing = Good Writing? The academic journal Philosophy and Literature used to hold a "Bad Writing Contest" to ridicule dense, unreadable academic prose... but a new book argues headache inducing sentences are necessary to express subtle theoretical points.

More On Writing for the Web

More On Writing for the Web 03/19/2003 10:28 PM

Writing

Writing 03/13/2003 10:23 AM
My writing leaves much to be desired. I've been thinking about it lately and I have to say that I didn't start blogging to become a writer as such, let alone a good one. It just helps if you can string together some sentences with a semblance of meaning. Technically speaking, there's much room for improvement. Vocabulary wise I'm circumscribed (like it?) by a short attention span that causes me to spend too little time searching for suitable, uncommon words.

But beyond possessing a good technical ability when it comes to writing well, I suppose that being a good writer all-round must surely mean writing about things that also interest people. There has to be a middle ground, a balancing act between mono-syllabic grunting about albeit very interesting subject matter and writing exquisitely well about excruciatingly boring things.

I can't help but think that it would be a hell of a lot easier to maintain this blog if I wasn't confined by the limited range of source material I choose to be confined by. Perhaps I need a specialism? I can't talk about my work, well I could but it wouldn't be very interesting and I chose not to talk about it early on. Perhaps one day. I envy those that can and do. Nothing wrong with professionals blogging. Speaking of which, the bag lady's new blog design is the best I've seen. Seriously, it looks the cat's pyjamas.

On a different note, World of Ends (World Offends?) strikes me as not only a very cool and necessary thing to do but it inspired me to think about what else we, the people of the Web, should be doing to help outsiders understand, integrate and take part in it more effectively. Surely this honourable responsibility doesn't only lie at the feet of the likes of Doc Searls and David Weinberger, however qualified and bang-on about it they happen to be? Who are the new thought leaders on the Web? Where can I find them?

Writing XML

Writing XML 09/03/2002 04:40 PM
This article shows you how to create XML documents using manual writing, DOM and SAX. It provides you with some excellent learning material, but using either DOM or SAX for creating XML still looks like overkill to me.

"zeldman.ming"

Writing RSS 1.0

Writing RSS 1.0 01/09/2004 09:54 PM

On Writing XML

On Writing XML 01/18/2004 12:24 AM
In a recent essay I offered, given demand, to author some XML-writing software. There’s been quite a bit of feedback, and the consensus seems to be that the Java community is fairly well-served with XML writing software, but that this would be real useful at the C level. So that’ll be my coding fun for the month of February. The rest of this essay lists some of the Java options that people told me about, and introduces some issues around the C implementation...

Not writing about war

Not writing about war 03/19/2003 10:44 PM
My guess is that now and in the coming days some people will be looking for more news and opinion about the war in Iraq—and other people will be looking for less, they’ll be looking for other things to read about.

So, just so you know, I don’t intend to write about the war either here or on ranchero.com.

Useful Writing Tools

Useful Writing Tools 04/10/2004 02:29 AM
Let's face it, we all get stuck for words from time to time. I'd like to take a moment to recommend a couple of tools that can help you create more diverting dispatches. By Christopher Breen, Macworld (via MyAppleMenu)

Tom on Community Writing

Tom on Community Writing 03/16/2003 09:52 AM
Tom gets at something true in his blogging about writing that creates a sense of community. It's the sort of thing you think you must have always known even though you didn't until you read it....

Writing in the Margins

Writing in the Margins 02/11/2004 07:35 AM
Our new monthly roundup of indie publishing: Junko Mizuno's deranged manga, Disney's war against the underground, Flann O'Brien on life during wartime, lefty theorist Mike Davis' children's book (set in Greenland), and William Upski Wimsatt bombs the 2004 election.

Writing For the Web (Sales)

Writing For the Web (Sales) 03/19/2003 10:28 PM

[VBB] Manifesto writing

[VBB] Manifesto writing 12/17/2004 06:31 PM
Joi Ito and Jim Moore are leading a discussion of what could be in a "manifesto for a better global conversation." The first comment is that generally we care about our families and towns before we get to worrying about the world. Alex Steffen from WorldChanging says that our goal should be to expand our notion of family. Ethan says that we should start from the common ground: All of us are trying to reach out beyond where we are. The conversation meanders a bit into more abstract topics. (I am guilty of contributing to it.) Ethan slaps it upside...

Writing an End to the Bio of BIOS?

Writing an End to the Bio of BIOS? 12/30/2003 10:55 AM
An anonymous reader writes "Intel and Microsoft are gearing up to move toward the first major overhaul of the innermost workings of the personal computer. The ...

Writing an end to the bio of BIOS

Writing an end to the bio of BIOS 12/30/2003 07:21 AM
Intel and Microsoft are set to start pitching "EFI" as an improved way of starting up a PC's hardware before its operating system begins loading--a task that's been handled by the BIOS for a quarter century.

Web writing a whole new experience

Web writing a whole new experience 10/31/2003 01:56 PM
Canadian Press via Canada.com Oct 31 2003 12:22PM ET

The Writing Fields

The Writing Fields 01/11/2004 11:16 AM

People of a certain age — mine — will remember Prince Norodom Sihanouk as the incumbent leader of a neutral and relatively peaceful Cambodia, before the war in Vietnam spilled over Cambodia's borders, leading to the rise of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, the fall of the Cambodian government, and the killing fields.

Now Sihanouk is an expat king in his eighties, writing a blog by hand with his queen, from France. Sources: Stuart Hughes, The Guardian, Yahoo News.

Help keep the Bird writing

Help keep the Bird writing 09/14/2004 03:51 AM
Shelley of BurningBird is broke and needs a little help paying the hosting bills to keep BurningBird going. Shelley is one of the earliest weblog writers, and she has a distinctive, original and beautiful writing voice. She catches a lot of flack because she is often the one to turn over the rock that everyone would rather leave lying there, revealing a truth that people don't want to see. Truth be told, she probably also catches flack because she can be a bit cranky at times, but she only turns her rhetorical guns against powerful people, and she is incredibly generous with her time and expertise. The web would be a much poorer place without her presence and that of BurningBird, and if you can spare a bit of change, drop some in her Pay Pal jar. If you can't spare a bit, at least help get the word out....

Writing about your friends

Writing about your friends 08/09/2004 10:24 PM

Over the years I've become quite friendly with many professional journalists. It's interesting that two of my best friends are journalists and they both have told me, "the only bad thing about becoming your friend is that I can't write about you any more." As a blogger, I don't think I have any trouble writing about my friends if I explain my relationship. The issue of professionalism aside, I think the first person tone of blogging makes it easier to write about your friends in the context of providing information. It's probably much harder or impossible to write about your friends objectively in third person.

Comment - TrackBack

Writing Genx

Writing Genx 02/15/2004 08:58 PM
In between beach time and rainforest time, I’ve been coding away on genx; herewith some impressions with one important lesson and an interesting bit of history...

so i have this cool new writing gig . .
.

so i have this cool new writing gig . .
. 02/01/2005 09:52 PM

Do you ever have something really exciting that you want to share with the world, but you're not allowed to talk about it? It drives you nuts that you have to keep it to yourself, so you quietly mention it to Janet, but Chrissy overhears you from the kitchen, and thinks you're dying, so she tells Larry, and pretty soon you're attending your own wake down at the Regal Beagle. You think this could be a chance to get Mr. Roper to give you a break on the rent, and maybe get a little something-something from that Kaylnn girl who passes out skates at the roller rink, but Mrs. Roper finds out the truth, and somehow you're learning an embarassing lesson in front of all your friends, rather than getting lucky on the waterbed in your cousin's van conversion.

In other words, I've been sitting on this big news for weeks, and I just got the green light to announce it. So pay attention, Chrissy:

I am writing a weekly column for The Onion A/V Club! Yeah, that's right! The Onion A/V Club! Wooo!

Check out the spiffy announcement:

The Onion A.V. Club also extends a hearty welcome to a new contributor who comes to us from Hollywood via the Internet. Each week, actor/author/gaming enthusiast/icon/renaissance man Wil Wheaton, who maintains an online presence at wilwheaton.net, will take a look back to games past with his Games Of Our Lives column, reaching beyond Pac-Man and Donkey Kong to find the dusty arcade games and worn-out cartridges that paved the way for the games of today.

(When I read that, I told my editor, "I love it. Can I just tell you how happy I am that it's not all 'Star Trek Star Trek Star Trek Star Trek (tiny font: writes some stuff too.)'?"

He said, "Well, the original draft referred to you as 'the spunky lad who saved the universe' and then went on to say 'Star Trek, Star Trek, Star Trek.' Then I had second thoughts.")

Can you freakin' believe that I get to write for them?! Holy shit! Writing this column is as much fun as doing Love Machine at ACME each week. I get a chance to be funny, add something pretty prestigious to my resume, and I finally have an excuse for playing so many classic video games. I mean, how many people do you know who could deduct an X-arcade Controller? :)

I did an interview with The Onion A/V Club in 2002. If you haven't seen it, you can read it here.

My first Games of Our Lives appears tomorrow. Check it out, and let me know what you think!

Collaborative Novel Writing

Collaborative Novel Writing 05/09/2004 12:45 PM
The Great Mahakali Write-A-Thon.

Writing for Google

Writing for Google 05/11/2004 04:33 PM

Tips for writing articles that answer questions posed to search engines.

Writing, Briefly

Writing, Briefly 03/29/2005 04:35 PM
Writing, Briefly:

paulgraham.com/writing44.html
track this site | 3 links

Writing a Mailbot in PHP

Writing a Mailbot in PHP 11/08/2002 11:10 AM
Interesting article on writing a mailbot in PHP. It's surprising to me that the author avoided using PHP's IMAP classes and just focused on parsing mail as sendmail files. [ Go ]

Writing Content for Your Website

Writing Content for Your Website 07/21/2004 10:54 AM
So, you've got a great design and everything is visually correct -- now how do you write content for your new web site that actually gets your message across before people hit the "back" button?

Fortunately, Sitepoint has a great guide to copy writing for the web designer.

"the movie?s bl0g that he?s writing
himself"

"the movie?s bl0g that he?s writing
himself" 08/01/2004 03:22 AM

Jim Macdonald explains writing

Jim Macdonald explains writing 02/19/2004 12:06 AM
Jim Macdonald, half of the Doyle-Macdonald writing team, has been presiding over a hundreds-posts-long running tutorial on how to write that is unbelievably good and sensible and right. If you want to write, go read this now.

Well, now, what to put in the opening?

We're going to stick with the chess game metaphor for a while here. In the opening you're trying to put yourself into a strong position for going into the midgame (where the exciting action and the exciting combinations occur), and you do this mostly by getting your pieces off the back rank as quickly as possible. The pieces are your major characters. Get them out there, and get them doing things.

Don't neglect your pawns -- your minor characters. You should cherish your minor characters. They'll save your life. If you have a selection of minor characters you can pull them out to solve problems later in the book.

Now, what to put in that first chapter? (Recall that if your readers don't finish the first chapter they'll never get to chapter two.)

To answer the question of what goes into chapter one, I'm going to grab the first stanzas from a bunch of Anglo-Scots folk ballads. These were the popular songs of earlier times, cooked by the folk process so that only the important and memorable parts remain, they're entertaining, and they tell stories.

Link (via Making Light)

Good Headline Writing

Good Headline Writing 08/05/2004 05:27 PM
U.S. stocks tumble on crude spike That's one nasty tumble with a horrific result I'd imagine.

Online writing with my sister-in-law

Online writing with my sister-in-law 07/19/2004 09:53 AM
My sister-in-law the novelist (and general prose-ist) is offering an online writing class. Here's the pitch: New Online Writing Class With Meredith Sue Willis The Back-to-School Special Are you or someone you know looking for a short online prose writing class? The Back-to-School Special, a private online writing class taught by Meredith Sue Willis, author of more than twelve books of fiction and nonfiction, is a four-session online writing class starting in September for people who would like some feedback from an experienced teacher on a prose project–fiction, memoir, or personal narrative. The cost is $160, and classes start September...

The Snowflake Process for Writing a
Novel

The Snowflake Process for Writing a
Novel 08/08/2004 05:13 AM
The Snowflake Process for Writing a Novel

rsingermanson.com/html/the_snowflake.html
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VAX Users See the Writing on the Wall

VAX Users See the Writing on the Wall 07/08/2004 03:27 PM

textpattern - writing tools for the web

textpattern - writing tools for the web 05/07/2004 03:41 AM
Textpattern: web writing tools .. TextPattern, un nouveau CMS .. content management systems .. TextPattern beta 1 .. Blogging-Software .. Textpatternin .. Text Pattern .. his new CMS .. textpattern .. Allen's

textpattern.com
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The 10 Commandments of Internet Writing

The 10 Commandments of Internet Writing 08/13/2004 04:00 PM
WebProNews Aug 13 2004 7:59PM GMT

Writing a Template System in PHP

Writing a Template System in PHP 01/17/2004 10:38 PM
Learn how to use templates in your web applications and implement them with object oriented code.

Textpattern: web writing tools

Textpattern: web writing tools 05/14/2004 12:23 AM
Textpattern is a weblog publishing tool manufactured by Dean Allen .. Textpattern : A new XHTML based content manager .. Textpattern finally sees release .. Textpattern 1.10 gamma released .. find

textpattern.com
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Writing style and bl0gging

Writing style and bl0gging 01/18/2004 06:02 AM

Poor writing style, like bad manners, makes someone appear less intelligent than they are. Writing style, like manners, can be learned in many ways. Reading and writing a lot is the first step. Having people critique your writing is probably the next best thing. There are many basic writing mistakes that people make, which can easily be avoided by being aware of them.

I have never been a great writer and I am self-concious about my writing style. If you are serious about your blogging, I think that time spent polishing your writing style is well worth the investment.

My favorite reference is the Chicago Manual of Style.

Some web pages:

• G eorge Orwell : Politics and the English Language
• Ten Mistakes Writers Don't See (But Can Easily Fix When They Do)
• The Economist Magazine's Style Guide
• rebecca blood's ten tips for a better weblog

Special thanks to my editors on #joiito.

Indispensable Writing Resources

Indispensable Writing Resources 06/14/2004 11:17 AM
Indispensable Writing Resources
http://www.quint careers.com/writing/index.html

You'll find everything on and off the Net that you could possibly need in writing or researching a paper, including links to all sorts of reference material, links to writing labs, links to Web search engines, and links to writing-related Web sites. This has been added to Student Research Subject Tracer™ Information Blog.

Writing Off Grid Computing Already

Writing Off Grid Computing Already 06/11/2004 03:43 AM
Grid computing, as you may have heard, is supposed to be the next big thing. IBM, HP and Sun are all making huge efforts to try to turn your computing usage into a utility where you pay for exactly what you use. While they've been talking about it for a while, many of the pieces are finally falling into place and already some are calling it dead on arrival. It's true that the companies involved clearly are overhyping the potential of grid/utility/distributed computing, but it still seems a little early to call it dead. It won't be perfect for everyone, but some companies will find it useful for certain applications. That shift, though, won't happen overnight.

php-editors.com: Writing Classes in PHP

php-editors.com: Writing Classes in PHP 07/13/2004 08:40 AM
If you've outgrown the simple PHP (procedural programming) and want to get more into the meat of things, classes just might be the way to go. Object-oriented code can help you with speed, code reuse, and even make your code more well structured. So, with all of these advantages, what are you waiting for to learn this information? Why, the right resource, of course. php-editors.com has their own new tutorial posted to aid you in your quest.
Grok Description matches for Writing for the Web
GrokA matches for Writing for the Web

PDF2Office Personal - Microsoft Word
Plug-in to Directly Open and Convert PDF
Documents to Microsoft Word Format

PDF2Office Personal - Microsoft Word
Plug-in to Directly Open and Convert PDF
Documents to Microsoft Word Format 08/27/2004 04:07 PM
Recosoft's PDF2Office Personal, a PDF to Word converter, adds to a family of products addressing PDF document conversion. [PRWEB Aug 27, 2004]

Microsoft Word 5.1: The Apex of Word
Processing

Microsoft Word 5.1: The Apex of Word
Processing 06/18/2004 12:37 PM

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-050:
Vulnerability in Microsoft Word and
Microsoft Excel Could Allow Arbitrary
Code to Run (831527)

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-050:
Vulnerability in Microsoft Word and
Microsoft Excel Could Allow Arbitrary
Code to Run (831527) 11/13/2003 12:36 AM
A security vulnerability exists in Microsoft Word that could allow malicious code execution. This vulnerability exists due to to the way Word checks the length of a data value (Macro names) embedded in a document. If a specially crafted document were to be opened it could overflow a data value in Word and allow arbitrary code to be executed. If successfully exploited, an attacker could then take the same actions as the user had permissions to carry out, such as adding, changing or deleting data or files, communicating with a web site or formatting the hard drive.

Word 2003: XML Toolbox for Microsoft
Office Word 2003

Word 2003: XML Toolbox for Microsoft
Office Word 2003 12/03/2003 12:40 AM
This toolbox assists the XML content author and developer working with the new XML features of Word 2003. The Word XML Toolbox requires that .NET Programmability Support is enabled. For .NET Programmability Support to be installed during the Office 2003 setup, the PIAs require the .NET Framework 1.1 already be installed. It is recommended that you install the Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 before you install Microsoft Office 2003. With the .NET Framework 1.1 already installed, a complete installation of Office 2003 will install all of the PIAs.

Microsoft Word And "Smarter Than"

Microsoft Word And "Smarter Than" 08/30/2004 07:45 PM
What the Word team lacks, in my view, is an awareness that, when a user is trying to get his or her own work done, the user is always smarter than the technology. By Marc Hedlund, O'Reilly Network (via MyAppleMenu)

Microsoft Word 2003 Bug

Microsoft Word 2003 Bug 01/28/2004 10:17 AM

Microsoft patches latest Word

Microsoft patches latest Word 01/27/2004 02:49 PM
The software giant is advising people who use Word 2003 to download a fix for a flaw that causes the recently released word processing application to crash in certain circumstances.

Microsoft plans to stop using the word
"My"

Microsoft plans to stop using the word
"My" 06/05/2005 11:32 PM

With Word 2004, Microsoft Finally Gets
Everything Right

With Word 2004, Microsoft Finally Gets
Everything Right 09/24/2004 06:23 PM
Microsoft does seem to be making a quality product these days. By Adam Robert Guha, Low End Mac (via MyAppleMenu)

OpenOffice.org Writer vs. Microsoft Word

OpenOffice.org Writer vs. Microsoft Word 06/24/2005 09:35 PM
Several years ago, I wrote "Opening Up to OpenOffice.org: Finding an Alternative to Microsoft Word" -- my most quoted article. At that time OpenOffice.org (OOo) was barely known, so I confined myself to highlights. Now that OOo is starting to be used in business, a more detailed look seems overdue. Accordingly, I compared the beta of OOo Writer 2.0 with Microsoft Word 2003. Both are adequate for most users' purposes, so I focused on functions that power users are likely to want:

Microsoft Word Protection Bypass

Microsoft Word Protection Bypass 01/02/2004 05:02 PM
Thorsten Delbrouck-Konetzko (Jan 02 2004)

RE: Microsoft Word Protection Bypass

RE: Microsoft Word Protection Bypass 01/06/2004 01:03 PM
Jerry Shenk (Jan 03 2004)

Automate Microsoft Word using
AppleScript and VBA

Automate Microsoft Word using
AppleScript and VBA 06/28/2004 11:23 AM
In order to put together a small book for the kids' elementary school, I had to find a way to automate Microsoft Word to build web pages. I know people in the publishing industry do this frequently with QuarkXPress and AppleS...

Re: Microsoft Word Protection Bypass

Re: Microsoft Word Protection Bypass 01/07/2004 04:45 PM
Thorsten Delbrouck-Konetzko (Jan 07 2004)

Kill Microsoft Word (Ziff Davis)

Kill Microsoft Word (Ziff Davis) 08/13/2004 12:03 AM
Ziff Davis - The most widely used word processor is on its last legs and should be discarded.

Security Flaw Found in Microsoft Word

Security Flaw Found in Microsoft Word 01/11/2004 07:55 AM
Once again Microsoft is facing criticism from security experts, this time for a security flaw found in Microsoft Word. The flaw was publicized when a researcher posted instructions for circumventing a password feature in the popular word processing program. The password feature is designed to protect the content of specific elements of Word documents, such as forms or comments, from reviewers.

Password Protection In Microsoft Word
Criticized

Password Protection In Microsoft Word
Criticized 01/09/2004 09:57 PM
Microsoft Word documents that use the software's built-in password protection to avoid unauthorized editing can easily be modified using a relatively simple hack that was recently published on a security Web site. By Munir Kotadia (CNET News.com via MyAppleMenu)

Microsoft fixes Word 2003 glitches

Microsoft fixes Word 2003 glitches 01/28/2004 12:06 AM
Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday released an update for Word 2003 to fix several glitches in the word processing application that was introduced in October last year as part of Microsoft's Office System launch.

Was Microsoft Word Used to Frame
President Bush?

Was Microsoft Word Used to Frame
President Bush? 09/10/2004 08:58 AM

Authenticity of new Bush military papers questioned: The question of whether the damaging military records on President Buish are accurate or not is coming down to a Word formatting question.

Independent document examiner Sandra Ramsey Lines said the memos looked like they had been produced on a computer using Microsoft Word software. Lines, a document expert and fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, pointed to a superscript — a smaller, raised "th" in "111th Fighter Interceptor Squadron" — as evidence indicating forgery.

Microsoft Word automatically inserts superscripts in the same style as the two on the memos obtained by CBS, she said.

"I'm virtually certain these were computer generated," Lines said after reviewing copies of the documents at her office in Paradise Valley, Ariz. She produced a nearly identical document using her computer's Microsoft Word software.

Finally there's some value for knowing the 95% of stuff in Word that no one ever uses or cares about. Who knew that knowing that could change the course of history?

I demand apologies from all the people who made fun of me for exploring all the buried submenus in Word! I have the power to bring the President down, people! Don't tempt me!

Click here to comment on this entry

Microsoft issues Word 2003 patch

Microsoft issues Word 2003 patch 01/28/2004 09:14 AM
ZDNet UK Jan 28 2004 1:48PM GMT

Password protection in Microsoft Word
criticized

Password protection in Microsoft Word
criticized 01/07/2004 06:23 PM
Word documents that use the software's built-in password protection to avoid unauthorized editing can easily be modified, a security expert maintains.

Fake Microsoft Word 2004 Demo

Fake Microsoft Word 2004 Demo 05/12/2004 05:18 PM
Making the rounds today is news of a fake/trojan Word 2004 "Demo" Application on Peer to Peer networks. The application, which appears to be a demo...

Microsoft Word Document ML Schemas
Published

Microsoft Word Document ML Schemas
Published 11/17/2003 12:49 PM

Microsoft doesn't own the word 'windows'
judge rules

Microsoft doesn't own the word 'windows'
judge rules 02/12/2004 08:04 AM
PC Pro Feb 12 2004 12:19PM GMT

Notes and Tips: Microsoft Word
Alternatives

Notes and Tips: Microsoft Word
Alternatives 06/11/2004 10:01 AM
How much choice do we have in alternatives to Word in this Microsoft-monopolized world?

"identical to a document produced in
Microsoft Word"

"identical to a document produced in
Microsoft Word" 09/10/2004 03:47 AM

Microsoft Patents XML Word-processing
Documents

Microsoft Patents XML Word-processing
Documents 01/23/2004 01:26 AM
Java Today reports on patent number 525484, granted to Microsoft in New Zealand, which relates to 'Word processing document stored in a single XML file that may be manipulated by applications that understand XML'. The New Zealand Open Source Society states this was actually filed on 24 April 2004, and has rather escaped people's attention.

Microsoft Word Forms Passwords Hacked

Microsoft Word Forms Passwords Hacked 01/07/2004 05:36 PM

Microsoft patents XML Word-processing
documents

Microsoft patents XML Word-processing
documents 01/22/2004 03:24 PM
PC Pro Jan 22 2004 7:03PM GMT

Microsoft admits Word not hacker-proof

Microsoft admits Word not hacker-proof 01/11/2004 01:36 AM

Writing for the Web

The following phrases have been identified by the grok system as matching this entry: xjournal microsoft word