I know it may seem like an odd hobby, but–for me–finding lists on the Web or in trade/specialty publications of misused words and terms is something I love to see. So, here’s PR Daily‘s list of “10 Words That Might Not Mean What you Think They Do,” which includes the real meaning of “disinterested.” It’s actually not the uncaring, uninterested insult many people think it is. It merely means “neutral, unbiased.” Aside from the legal implications of disinterested parties, sometimes we all need someone who is disinterested to provide some objective input!

http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/10698.aspx

Have a bit of fun vocabulary testing (or learning, as the case may be!) with Merriam-Webster’s free Name That Thing quizzes! http://www.merriam-webster.com/namethatthing/index.htm#quiz-top

Start the new year right with better communications. Check out PR Daily’s list of the top 25 grammar and language mistakes to be sure you’re not committing any of those infractions! http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/10475.aspx

Some of my favorite words ended up on this list of 15 “Unusual Words That Make Writers Swoon” featured in this PR Daily piece: (You can click the post title for the article link…)

From PR Daily: Put that jargon to good use: play “Word Quest” in your next meeting! http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/9866.aspx

Of course, it’s generally best to AVOID using jargon when talking to people outside your specialty area, but this lets you have some fun with it when you’re not at risk of making your listener (or reader) feel uninformed!

It’s always interesting to get the day’s word (sometimes it’s a phrase) of the day from the extremely diverse Urban Dictionary. Today’s seems particularly apropos for a holiday as many of us may find ourselves working on a day that is supposed to be a day off from labors and appreciation of the labors of others. For those of us in the communications realm, I actually recommend you check out any words or phrases you may have any question about on the www.urbandictionary.com site as you may be surprised at some of the street/urban meanings for things you thought were pretty innocuous!

Here’s the definition for today:

<snip>

September 6: workweek creep

1) Constant connectivity via your smartphone and computer blurs the boundaries between your work life and your personal life.

2) Constant connectivity at work via e-mail & chat, results in so many interruptions that you cannot get blocks of time to do any thinking, resulting in you catching up on your work at home on nights and weekends.

<end snip>

Here’s a link to an interesting content grid/graphic from Eloqua.com: http://bit.ly/czcccS

It illustrates both centralized and decentralized communications and categorizes them by whether they create/contribute to awareness or consideration while also identifying type, channel, two-way channel, or data rich.  As with all communications about your product or service, it’s critical to be clear about not only your objective but the means and language you use to convey it so that you’re differentiating yourself and using language and messaging that is appropriate for your prospective clients. And, as always, remember it’s not just about the words–it’s also spelling them right and punctuating them correctly, too, so you don’t disable your message regardless of the channel!

Eloqua’s Grand Guide premise is simple: Don’t try to boil the ocean. Instead, help marketers overcome one challenge at a time.

Here’s a piece from The Week featuring six gadgets designed to save us from ourselves, including free software that will scan your e-mail for content that might be considered impolite. It’s often suggested that we should draft our e-mails with no names filled into the “To” line until you’ve written it, reread it/proofread it, and then are sure it’s really what you want to communicate to avoid inadvertently sending something written in the heat of the moment that might be something to regret later. I’ve had clients hire me to create and document e-mail standards for use within their organizations, and adding the recipients’ names at the end is just one of my recommendations, as well. Sometimes it can just help preclude your sending something that is still in draft mode while on other occasions you may just wish to draft it, save and close it, and revisit it with a bit of a time cushion to revisit what you’ve written and how you wrote it to help minimize misunderstanding or other fallout. (Remember, as always, if you are doing a varied distribution, it is more appropriate to address the e-mail to just Undisclosed Recipients [NO hyphen after Undisclosed and Recipients should be plural, by the way--it's often used incorrectly] and have that set up in your address book to go to you and then use the BCC [blind carbon copy--a legacy from typewriting days] feature to click recipients’ names for privacy purposes unless each recipient needs to know who else received it for business purposes.)

Bad Decision Blocker is another product mentioned in the article, and it’s designed to prevent someone from calling a boss or other significant person when fatigued or a bit tipsy. Some of these may be amusing, but the overall look into the melding of technology and emotion-laden communication is somewhat intriguing–perhaps a tad like being your own Big Brother?

Dave Johnson on BNET posted a great blog piece entitled “10 Fatal Mistakes Managers Make in E-Mail” (though I feel that these caveats really apply to virtually everyone using e-mail, not just managers). Of course, gotta love that one of them is “Using poor grammar and style”! See http://bit.ly/bc94Ga

BTW, item #2 on the list refers to using Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF) and not burying the lede of your e-mail message too far into the correspondence. BTW, to clarify the “lede” reference, The New York Times blog entitled The Lede describes it as follows: “. . . a newspaper’s front page is the main story; the lede of an article is the way it begins: the statement of facts or the anecdote that the writer lays out to lead readers into a story.” You can check out that blog @ http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/about-the-lede/

If your company doesn’t already have an e-mail policy with guidelines in place, it’s a good idea to add one or have one created for you. It’s best to include guidelines regarding what font to use (this can impact how e-mail presents on mobile devices in particular), what contact or signature information should be included, and whether a disclaimer is to be used, etc., as well as what the organization feels should not be included, such as political, sports, or other non-business-related statements or logos of personal interest to the writer, to help ensure a consistent, professional appearance and impression.