Journalese

The idea of journalese was difficult for me to wrap my mind around. Zinnser describes it as "a quilt of instant words patched together out of other parts of speech." The easiest description for me to understand was to think of it as "a mixture of cheap words, made-up words, and cliches that have become so persuasive that a writer can hardly help using them."
Journalese is most commonly seen in popular news media. One of the top gossip sights is TMZ. After looking through a couple of their top stories I think I was able to come up with some examples of journalese.

The first article is about an incident with singer Chris Brown. After the controversial release if his new song with Rihanna, media outlets are watching his every move. This short article puts him in the spotlight for stealing a phone. The article is very direct and hows his in a negative light. It simply ends with the case is under criminal investigation".
Examples:
"asked squarely for the first time"
"Brown ... was mum on the subject"
"freelance photog had some choice words"
"moments before the alleged phone jacking"

Another article highlights the show "Dancing with the Stars". It was people to get excited for the new season and the dramatic lives of possible contestants.
Examples:
"celeb contestants revealed"
"Jack and Heather got into an epic fight"
"upcoming season ... which kicks off next month"
"that deal fell through"

http://www.tmz.com/

New Words

After looking through a Thesaurus I began to find words that were not only useful but also pretty fun.

Aglet
Bumf
Flummery
Tizzy
Vicarious
Finagle
Juxtapose
Erudite
Diphthong
Maniacle

Tagline

Many taglines are 5 or less words that describe what a company/product does or what they believe in. My favorite is Disneyland's:

The happiest place on earth

This definitely promises a lot, but it also delivers. Disney has spent many years developing their brand and making their parks a dream come true for children.

Logotype

The covergirl logo is one that I see all the time on commercials and in stores. I would normally pay no attention to it. At first glance it seems very plain and almost uninteresting. Yet, I think it works effectively for the company. They used a modern sans-serif type with very distinct thick and thin lines. Some companies that target women use scripty type, but many also use this modern sans serif style.

Examples:

The typeface is elegant but also adds a strength to the brand. Its not too fluffy, like its trying to grab your attention. The focus of the brand is their cosmetics. The lipsticks and eyeshadows already come in beautiful little packages. The colors, packaging, and celebrity endorsements are what the customers remember. The simple logotype is almost a breath of fresh air!

Vision versus Mission Statement

As we develop our "good cause" we should not only think about what our organizations do, but also how we will communicate that to our audience. One of the most common ways to do this is by developing a vision and a mission statement. Many people get these two confused.

I found an article that does a great job of differentiating the two.
http://www.inc.com/resources/startup/articles/20050201/missionstatement.html

VISION
"A vision statement for a new or small firm spells out goals at a high level and should coincide with the founder's goals for the business. Simply put, the vision should state what the founder ultimately envisions the business to be, in terms of growth, values, employees, contributions to society, and the like; therefore, self-reflection by the founder is a vital activity if a meaningful vision is to be developed. "

MISSION
"The mission statement should be a concise statement of business strategy and developed from the customer's perspective and it should fit with the vision for the business. The mission should answer three questions:
What do we do?
How do we do it?
For whom do we do it? "

Coca-Cola has a great mission statement and vision on there site.
http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/ourcompany/mission_vision_values.html

"Good Cause" TWLOHA

One of my favorite good cause organizations is the "To Write Love On Her Arms" movement. Their mission is:

Presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

I first encountered this movement on Facebook. Friends of mine were writing "Love" on their arms, taking a pic, and posting it to their wall. The number of participants grew exponentially. Some of these people had no clue why they were writing love on their arms, but they wanted to be a part of the movement.

Their vision is to spread love. Simple as that. Their site is very interactive. Very busy and modern. It definitely appeals to young people, especially teens. They have plenty of events and are very active is social media.

Here is the link : http://www.twloha.com/index.php

The Happy Book...

I bought this book while in Vegas with friends a few years ago. I initially bought it as entertainment for the airport and flight but it turned out to be one of my favorite little activity books. The book is full of little exercises geared toward making you happy. This book requires a lot thinking, writing, and drawing....Just like Words & Images. The book helps you celebrate what makes you happy by helping you remember all the small things in life that you enjoy. Simple things such as fluffy clouds and ice cream with sprinkles. It is very quirky and definitely acts as "your own personal pick-me-up". Great at getting your creative juices flowing.

Writer's Block

Over the summer I had a discussion with my friends about writing college papers. Of course the topic of writer's block came up. Most of us said we had several periods of writer's block when attempting to finish a paper. However, one friend believed that writer's block is simply a figment of our imaginations. His rationale-"When you don't know what to say, it means you really have nothing to say. You need to start back at square one." I don't know if I believe this entirely but we all need to know how to get over that hump. I found an article by Ryan Duggan with some tips on how to overcome writer's block. The tips are current (he mentions social networking distractions), informative, comical, and pretty easy.

Here is the link:
http://www.dailynebraskan.com/opinion/duggan-columnist-presents-ten-ways-to-overcome-writer-s-block-1.2691729


He also provides a link to another site www.webook.com/911writersblock, which contains different scenarios to get your min back on track.

My favorite tip that Duggan offers is to get away from your paper and work on something else for a while. I do this often. You are still being productive but you are also giving your mind a much needed break. 90% of the time I come up with new ideas for the paper while I am working on something else.