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saucylittlesmile · 5 months

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I only started watching ice dance after the move to the +5 GOE system - can you share what you mean (I know it was tongue in cheek!) by tech used to mean something?

Oh boy, let’s see if I’ve got it in me to give the kind of long and in-depth answer that I used to without getting too sidetracked lol.

To start off, let me say I think that the ISU is very happy with this turn of events - it’s a return to the shady dealings of the 6.0 with the aura of legitimacy of CoP.

Naturally, my expertise mostly comes from the VM era, which was entirely before the +5/-5 era. While the current shenanigans in ice dance cannot be completely attributed to the change in GOE, it is probably the most obvious and egregious component.

The ISU started the process of dumbing down the tech with slowly removing the compulsory dance, lessening the number of difficult steps and turns in some step sequences, reducing the number of lifts, and increasing the number of ‘choreographic’ elements (which have some basic rules and requirements but overall are based on the judge’s decisions as to what they like).

They also reduced the worth of earning a level - not the literal value, as that can change from season to season and does not matter when comparing across competitions, but between teams at the same competition, whose results could be determined by small increments. For example, a level 4 step sequence used to have a base value of 8.00, and a level 3 was a base value of 6.50 - 1.50 points difference. Now (using Worlds 2023), a base value level 4 step sequence is 8.96 and a true level 3 is 8.20 - only 0.76 points!

Not only has that important earned level been reduced in points, it used to be that both members of the team had to achieve a level 4 to get rewarded a level 4. Now, with each skater being evaluated individually, the point differential can be lessened even more if one of them achieves a higher level.

A 1.5 point base value difference between teams used to be a death knell, if they were considered to be teams fairly equal otherwise in a competition. There was simply no way to make up that deficit, and so it was crucial to be achieving the highest level on every element, to be technically impeccable.

Watching the slow motion fall of the technical side of ice dance was difficult. Watching the ISU create the +5/-5 GOE for the sport on the whole, with no regard for how it would affect ice dance, was downright painful.

In theory, singles and pairs can increase their difficulty to achieve a higher score. Of course, they are still at the mercy of what points their element is worth, but they still have the option. Ice dance, on the other hand is limited by levels - no matter how difficult an element is, they cannot increase their scores beyond a level 4. The GOE descriptions do not give extra for ‘hey that was so hard!’. Teams can get the same, or even more points for elements that just barely fulfill the requirements but are pretty and smooth and fast, as teams that stretch the imagination of what can happen while still following the rules, with great feats of strength or balance or flexibility or edges. It really does not make any difference in the points earned. Twizzles do not earn more points if they do a different edge or more revolutions - they simply fulfill level 4 requirements, or they don’t.

Being hemmed in by technical point restrictions and in which even the difference between levels is minimal, means that the judges’ GOE and PCS is almost the sole deciding factor in any event. The judges may have bullet points for the categories as to what is acceptable, but they also have an incredible amount of leeway and face little to no repercussions to hiking up their points for whatever team or country they want, and the +5/-5 GOE makes it achievable.

One of the reasons I answered this now was the results of the GPF 2023. With the understanding that I have not watched the competition and can’t speak to the details, the points speak for themselves. In particular, the top two teams were deemed to have the same technical content in the free dance. But, the sixth place team was also said to have that same technical content. The base value was the same. And yet, on the basis of GOE and PCS, all from the judges, rather than being in contention for a medal, the sixth place team was deemed to be more than 11 points behind silver. Even taking out PCS (which here was significant) there was still 6.34 points between silver and sixth place - that is over six points in GOE alone and rendered their technical accomplishments moot

To give some comparison, look at Skate Canada 2016. VM lost the FD to Chock/Bates, and almost entirely on lost levels. They had identical levels except for one step sequence and their twizzles. Overall, the judges gave the GOE edge to VM - they beat CB in every element for GOE except for one choreographic element in which they tied, and in the twizzles. (They even had higher GOE on their lower level step sequence, though factoring the level and GOE together gave them fewer points.) VM beat CB soundly in PCS (+2 points!). The overall GOE was simply not enough to make up for amount of points they lost by losing those levels.

VM had the advantage in almost every way. And they still lost the FD, because they had a twizzle error, and a single missed edge or turn in one step sequence.

And that is what I mean by tech used to mean something.

tl;dr - the ISU has created an ice dance world in which the Chosen Team will do very well and it doesn’t matter if they can’t skate.

#sorry it was such a late response #it’s not a lack of interest exactly but my busy busy schedule of late makes a choice for me as to how interested I can be #but clearly if I was watching it would be for entertainment because the idea of it being a sport #let alone objective even slightly is just not a thing anymore #edited for typos and a couple of spots for clarity

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fandomsfeelsandfanfics · 4 years

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Hair/// Draco Malfoy x Reader

SUMMARY: Draco grows out his hair. When he suddenly grows tired of it, he decides he needs it cut. Immediately.

WORD COUNT: 1,500ish

WARNING(S): i only edited half of this because I’m tired so typos maybe

A/N: The long awaited fluff I promised. Anyways, cutting a loved one’s hair is something that can be so personal. Also for the face claim I used Emil Andersson, who’s a pretty cool guy so yeah, enjoy!

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

You were attempting to read. An attempt that was made in vain after Draco had crawled on the couch to cuddle with you.

He was supposed to be taking a nap but about half an hour after you opened your book, he came slinking into the room. After the war, he struggled with sleep and you knew that was the issue as you watched him stand in front of you, stretching his arms and yawning. His hair was sticking up in every direction, pressed down here and there.

He brought his hand back down and began to rub his eye. You sat your book down for a second and watched him. “I thought you were taking a nap.”

“Couldn’t sleep.” He scratched his head absentmindedly. He looked so much like a child in that moment with his flannel pajama pants, black shirt, and pouty lips, you could’ve laughed. But the bags under his eyes told a different story

“Come lay with me,” you suggested. He didn’t have to be told twice. You picked up your blanket and let him settle on top of you on the couch, his head resting gently on your stomach. Once he was situated, you pulled the blanket over him and began to read again as his arms wrapped around your waist.

You couldn’t remember how your hand got into his hair. It just drifted there over time, slowly. You ran your hand through the pale blonde strands, pulling your fingers through the thick length. He wasn’t complaining at all. In fact, your touch was lulling him to sleep.

You also couldn’t remember how his hair had gotten that long. It became very apparent as you slowly moved your hand through his hair, that it was now past his ear.

You tucked a couple strands behind his ear and he shuffled slightly to become more comfortable. “Your hair’s getting quite long, isn’t it?”

He shrugged, not even bothering to open his eyes. “I suppose it is,” he mumbled.

His eyes , peering up at you cautiously. “Do you not like it?”

You smiled down at him, pulling your free hand up to cup his cheek. “I think you look good no matter what.” You leaned down, kissing him on the forehead. “And it suits you.”

You noticed the gentle smile on his face as his eyes closed shut again. You went back to stroking his hair and reading your book and soon enough he was fast asleep on top of you.

You heard the door close and Draco’s footsteps padding across the living room floor. “(Y/N),” he called.

“In here!” You were sat on the kitchen countertop, drinking tea and waiting for him to come home. You watched from your spot on the counter as he rounded the corner into the kitchen. His hair was pulled up out of his face in a loose bun and he still had his jacket on.

“How’s Narcissa?” He’d spent the afternoon having lunch with her. Usually, he enjoyed spending time with her but today something seemed off.

“It was fine,” he lied. Before he the answer could even slip out of his mouth, you knew he wasn’t telling the truth. He gave you a kiss on the cheek quickly, before sweeping his gaze across the kitchen. You raised an eyebrow at him but he didn’t even notice. He seemed entirely elsewhere.

Finally, his eyes landed back on you. “Say, do we have scissors?”

You paused for a moment, trying to figure out what the hell was going on in his head. “Er… yeah. Top drawer over there.” You pointed in the direction of the junk drawer in the counter opposite you.

Draco didn’t provide any clarity on what he planned to do with the scissors, he simply retrieved them and exited the room, leaving you with a quick, “Thank you.”

You sat your mug down on the countertop and followed after him. “Draco?”

He didn’t reply. “Draco,” you called again. You found him in the bathroom, hunched over the sink. He had a strand of his hair in his hand and the scissors held up to it as if he was ready to chop it off.

You leaned against the doorway with a sigh. You jutted your eyebrow up at him. “Draco?”

He looked at you through the mirror. “Yes?”

“What are you doing?” Finally, he lowered the scissors and spun around to look at you. You took a step toward him, reaching for the scissors. He allowed them to slip out of his hand and into yours.

“I’m tired of my hair. I think it’s time I get a haircut.” He turned back to the mirror, studying himself in it. You sat the scissors on the counter and stood behind him, watching as his eyes roamed over his reflection. You brought your hand up to stroke his hair. It had grown down to his shoulders, laying in thick waves across his shoulder and the top of his chest.

It suited him. You both thought so. You’d talked about how handsome you thought he looked in it and you thought that inflated his ego. But as he looked at himself in the mirror, you could see what seemed like disgust in his eyes.

You tucked a rogue strand of hair behind his ear and he leaned into your touch. His head tilted toward you and his eyes flashed toward yours.

“Can’t you just set an appointment with a barber?” He shrugged, not quite meeting your eye. “And what’s with the sudden change?”

“I dunno. I’m just tired of it.” Your eyes bore into his. You knew he wasn’t telling the truth because this change was so sudden. Something had to have happened.

He turned away from you again, watching himself in the mirror as he ran his hand through his hair, pushing it off his face. “Today when I was with my mother, she said that I’m starting to look like my dad.”

Oh. So there it was. That’s what had to have set him off.

You leaned your head on his arm, reaching down to take his hand. “Draco,” you mumbled. Your voice was sad as you peered up at him.

“I know.” He knew what you were about to say because you’d said it before. It seemed no matter how many times you told him he wasn’t his father and he wasn’t the mistakes he’d made, he tried to believe you but some part of him just wouldn’t fully allow himself to. “I just want it gone, alright?”

He reached for the scissors but you put your hand over his. He looked at you in confusion. “Let me do it. You’ll get it all uneven.”

He obliged willingly, moving to sit down on the toilet seat. You stood next to him, holding the scissors up to his head. “Are you sure about this?” His eyes were shut tightly as if he didn’t want to watch you do it. He nodded.

“Okay.” You grabbed a few strands in the front of the hair, easing the scissors up, just a couple inches from the root. And you cut.

You both heard the snip but it still didn’t seem quite real. Draco opened his eye, watching as the hair fell to the ground. You watched him carefully, looking for a reaction. Once the hair hit the floor, he exhaled slowly and then suddenly he began laughing.

He seemed almost in disbelief. “Okay...okay,” he said between giggles. “Keep going.” So you did.

It took about half an hour, most of which you both were silent. You were focused on keeping the length even and he just stared thoughtfully down at his hair. Then you were done.

You told him to look up at you so that you could make sure it looked nice and merlin, he was so handsome. He always was but now with no hair to cover his face or involuntarily slip into his eyes, you could really see him for the first time in a long time. He was all grey eyes and plush lips looking up at you expectantly.

You brushed his shoulder, pushing any stray hairs to the floor. “Come on.” You grabbed his hand and led him over to the mirror. He did a double take when he saw himself. His hair hadn’t been quite this short in years. He ran his hand through the hair in the back of his head, so close to his scalp that it easily pulled through his fingers.

“Wow.”

“Yeah.” You used your hand to ruffle his hair slightly. It was just long to flop against his forehead.

“What do you think?” You could tell he was nervous, you could hear it in his voice.

You got on your tiptoes, leaning on the counter for support, just so you could give him a kiss on the cheek. “I think you look good no matter what.”

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swipestream · 6 years

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Sensor Sweep: Han Solo, James Bond, Tarzan, Hemingway

Pulp-Rev (Pulprev.com): “While the Pulp Revolution has been around for a couple of years now, it isn’t the only literary movement focused on pulp fiction. Indeed, it’s not even the first. Before PulpRev came New Pulp, which Pro Se describes as “fiction written with the same sensibilities, beats of storytelling, patterns of conflict, and creative use of words and phrases of original Pulp, but crafted by modern writers, artists, and publishers.” PulpRev itself is attempting to define its own aesthetic, by studying the pulp classics. Reading ePulp Sampler Volume 1 by John Picha, I’m reminded of what pulp is not.”

Fiction (Howard Andrew Jones): “I’ve read an awful lot of the work of Leigh Brackett, and much of it multiple times. I thought I’d share a photo of some of my favorite of her books.

On the top there is a great short novel, one of my very favorites by her. It’s actually included in the Sea-Kings volume immediately beneath it, but the version in that collection had so many typos I went out and re-purchased another version of the paperback I sent away to Joe McCullough, because when I’m re-reading one of my favorite stories I don’t want to be distracted by errors.”

Writing (Emperor Ponders): “If you have spent more than a few seconds following the writing blogosphere, searching for writing tips and stuff like that you will have found variations of these two statements: “Write short, clear sentences“, sometimes followed by a “like Hemingway did.” Either as an example of simple, clear writing or as a description of his style, the universal, known-by-everybody message is the same: he wrote short sentences, and that’s the style to emulate.

And he did write short sentences. A few. Sometimes. Not many really. In fact, the average length of his sentences is way above the contemporary writer’s. But that’s not what most people claim or know.”

RPG (Walker’s Retreat): “Remember that yesterday I said that the people making tabletop RPGs really ought to know better? Did you wonder why? Wonder no more.

It finally happened! My beliefs, expressed on Twitter, got one of my publishers an “I can no longer in good conscience buy your products” email! I HAVE ARRIVED!

I’M NOT EVEN KIDDING, I CONSIDER THIS AN EXCELLENT DEVELOPMENT!

That’s Greg Stolze, who said that here, today. He’s best known for Unknown Armies and Delta Green, which means you likely never heard of him and therefore can dismiss him as irrelevant. He writes for Atlas Games (which, for long-time readers, is also the employer of the backbiting coward and her husband I dealt with at CONvergence 2016; see here) which is the other Minnesota-based TRPG publisher.”

Cinema (Reactionary Times): “Busy day today beloved readers. The best I can do for you is repost from last year wherein I prove my miraculous psychic powers of prediction, in the last sentence. Yeah because who didn’t want more of this.There is yet another Indiana Jones movie coming down the pipe. It will be arriving in theaters in time for Harrison Fords seventy eighth birthday. Awesome. Okay the big question here is why the fuck are they making this thing? I think the answer is pride.”

Writing (Pulp Archivist): “In his 2001 “A Reader’s Manifesto”, B. R. Meyers takes five of his contemporary writers to task over how stylish affectations destroyed clarity of thought. While most of his article consists of pointing out just how the sentence cult had poor sentences in technical detail, several of his general observations merit consideration by any student of style–if not outright warnings of future pitfalls. Below are some of Meyers’ observations that resonated with me. The entire article is worth reading.”

Fiction (Glorious Trash): “The last of the early James Bond novels I never got to read as a kid, Diamonds Are Forver sort of melds the previous three books: it’s got the uneventful lassitude of Casino Royale and Moonraker in spots, but in other spots it’s a pulpy actioner along the lines of Live And Let Die. Unfortunately it’s saddled with way too much arbitrary travelogue sort of stuff, with page-filling detours about horse races and Vegas casinos and the like. But on the plus side, Bond himself has apparently taken a course in bad-assery, and you wonder where the hell this guy’s been.”

Fiction (Paul McNamee): “Over the past few years, I’ve been adding the original TARZAN novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs to my reading diet. TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR was next on my list; Albert Werper is a murderer and deserter of the Belgian army in the Congo. Fleeing into the jungle, he is captured by gang of slavers led by the Arab Achmet Zek. Werper convinces Zek of his fugitive status, and joins the troop of cutthroats. Tarzan has been running afoul of Zek, ruining his slave trade. Zek and Werper hatch a plan to kidnap Tarzan’s wife, Jane (of course,) and hold her for ransom. Werper decides to pose as a lost French gentleman, separated from his safari, to gain access to the Greystoke compound and home.”

Fiction (Swordssorcery blog): “Everybody knows (or should know) the story of sixteen year old Ramsey Campbell submitting stories set in Lovecraft Country to August Derleth. Derleth sent them back suggesting he set them in his native England instead of alien New England. Thus Campbell’s Sevren Valley was born. Instead of Arkham there’s Brichester, for Innsmouth there’s Goatswood, and for Kingsport, Temphill.

The Chaosium published tribute to Campbell’s Mythos fiction, Made in Goatswood has none of his early stories. I decided, in that case, I had better go and read them, first, for the fun of it, and then to get a better feel for what the collection authors’ were hoping to emulate and memorialize. So, I’m also reading the latest edition of Campbell’s first book, The Inhabitant of the Lake and Less Welcome Tenants.”

RPG (Reason Magazine): You might not recognize the name Gary Gygax. But even if you’ve never rolled a critical fail on a d20, you have almost certainly consumed some movie, TV show, book, comic, computer game, or music influenced by Gygax’s most famous creation: Dungeons & Dragons, the world’s first and most popular role-playing game.

The FBI certainly knew who he was. Between 1980 and 1995, agents compiled a dossier on the gaming company TSR Inc. and Gygax, its founder. In 1980, a note on TSR stationary about an assassination plot drew the FBI’s attention, leading to a search of the company’s offices in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The note turned out to be materials for an upcoming espionage game.

In 1983, an FBI field report about an investigation into a cocaine trafficking ring in Lake Geneva cryptically references Gygax—but whatever his alleged role was, it has since been heavily redacted by the Bureau.

Sensor Sweep: Han Solo, James Bond, Tarzan, Hemingway published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames

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makeitwithmike · 7 years

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12 Quick Editing Tips for Social Media Managers

By Curtis Foreman

JAPADOG is a wonderful little company that operates a food truck and restaurant in my hometown of Vancouver, BC with the stated mission of “making the world happy and alive through hot dogs!”

As you can imagine, some JAPADOG fans were devastated when this post appeared on Facebook:

As commenters began mourning the closing of the much-loved stores and carts and wished the owners well in their future endeavors, JAPADOG stepped in to clarify that they were just closing for the day.

This is a cute and harmless example (though the “I just had a mini heart attack” commenter might disagree) of a case where a few seconds spent editing a post for clarity could have prevented a misunderstanding. But the stakes aren’t always so low.

From accidentally tweeting images of national tragedies to unintentionally making light of domestic violence, the world of social media abounds with cautionary tales of brands reeling as slip-ups on social explode into PR disasters.

And while there have been some truly horrendous typos on social (such as Yahoo Finance’s now-legendary inadvertent racial slur), even a less cringe-worthy typo can do lasting damage to your brand. Research by Global Lingo has found that as many as 59 percent of customers won’t do business with companies that publish content with bad grammar or spelling mistakes.

A little good old-fashioned editing can save your brand—and possibly your job.

As an editor who started working back in the days when we’d print copy decks and mark them up with actual pens, I’ve seen many things change over the years. But the value of clear, precise writing hasn’t changed at all.

Here are my best tips to help you avoid the nightmares of a media manager and make editing a quick and painless part of your publishing routine on social.

Bonus: Download our free guide that shows you how to 10X your social media performance and beat your competitors. No fluff or tired tactics—features the tools, daily routines, and advanced techniques used by three world-class industry experts.

12 editing tips for social media posts

1. Edit like a trauma surgeon

Trauma surgeons use triage as a system to prioritize patient treatment and maximize the number of survivors.

As a social media manager, you might not have time to look up whether there’s one “l” or two in “traveling” (answer: it depends), but you should really spare a few seconds to ensure you and your team aren’t promoting your competitors or depicting implied sex acts in ads for a family restaurant.

Like a trauma surgeon, learn to identify life-threatening (or in your case, career-threatening) conditions and treat them first. Maximize the number of survivors.

2. Edit like Beavis and Butthead

Before posting something, read it like a junior high school kid looking for something to snicker at. If you’re not aiming for suggestive humor, fix it before the internet gets its dirty mitts on it.

For reasons that should be obvious if you’ve ever used the internet, supermarket chain @aldiaustralia soon regretted this tweet:

Photo from Facebook via Metro

3. Handle humor with care

Social media and humor make a great couple. Everyone loves a good laugh… except when they’re trying to find out how to return a defective product you sold them. Or when they can’t figure out why an error message keeps popping up in the software they bought from you.

Before cracking a joke, be aware of the emotional state of the people you’re speaking to, and of the wider context in which you’re communicating. Anyone who works in customer service will tell you that the people in the refund line are a tough crowd.

And as a social media professional, you don’t need me to tell you that it’s never a good idea to make a joke in which the punch line relates to a person’s ethnicity, gender, or economic status.

To bring this point home, here’s a now-infamous and spectacularly inappropriate #TacoTuesday tweet by Dave & Buster’s sports bar that never should have seen the light of day:

Photo from Twitter via AdAge

4. Have someone else edit your work

If I had to guess, I’d say none of the examples I’ve included so far in this article were seen by more than one pair of eyes before they were posted.

As writers, we all have our blind spots. (I’m pathologically and inexplicably incapable of remembering with confidence that gray is spelled with an “a” and have to look it up all the time. Go figure.)

Fortunately, we work with other people. Even if you’re a solo practitioner, there’s probably someone in your life with a decent sense of style and taste who wouldn’t mind glancing over your tweets before you release them into the wild. And if you’re at an agency or brand, you’ve likely got a team member (or an entire team) who will be more than happy to point out that you really should stop using commas to join independent clauses already.

5. Rewrite anything ambiguous

As the owners of JAPADOG learned, ambiguity breeds confusion. Before posting, ask yourself if what you’ve written could be misunderstood. If it could, look for a clearer way to write it.

“Biweekly” is a good example of an ambiguous term to avoid:

Biweekly: Twice a week Biweekly: Every two weeks

Sorry about that. http://bit.ly/2iZibc4

— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) August 6, 2016

When the dictionary apologizes for a definition, you know it’s time to look for another word.

6. Know the difference between good and bad compulsiveness

Yes, the rules of grammar and usage are important. No, every violation of these rules isn’t an error.

In The Elements of Editing (written in 1982, but still a good read), veteran editor Arthur Plotnik shares examples of bad compulsiveness (fussing over minor grammar and formatting rules) and good compulsiveness (obsessively rewriting a headline until it’s perfect).

Plotnik’s advice holds up today. When editing, keep your focus on making content as effective and engaging as possible, and on catching errors that actually affect readability and clarity.

Another editor whose take on this I love is Carol Saller, author of The Subversive Copy Editor and editor of the The Chicago Manual of Style Online Q&A. Her book is a worthwhile read on how editors can “resist compulsions, banish insecurities, and develop habits of carefulness, transparency, and flexibility.” If you’re a word nerd, follow her on Twitter at @SubvCopyEd.

“Bake for precisely 8-10 minutes.” #copyeditorbaking

— SubversiveCopyEditor (@SubvCopyEd) July 2, 2017

7. Choose your style authorities

A day in the life of a social media manager is far too short to waste debating whether to use the serial comma. (Want my opinion? Just use it.)

Decide on a few style authorities to use as a tiebreaker in these discussions (or better, to look up words and usage rules before you start arguing with anyone). If you work at an agency or in-house for a brand, your brand team may have sorted all this out for you already.

You’ll want a style and usage guide for general questions of style, plus a dictionary for spelling. Here at Hootsuite, we follow the Associated Press Stylebook for usage and style and Merriam-Webster for spelling (both have handy online versions, though you’ll pay a few bucks a month for the AP stylebook).

As your house style matures, you’ll likely diverge from at least some of the spellings and usage rules in your style authorities of choice—which is where your own style guide comes in.

8. Keep a house style guide

Every brand that publishes content should maintain a house style guide. A well-maintained style guide makes it easy for new writers on your team to get up to speed, and it ensures you’ll write content that’s consistent.

Established brands typically have more detailed and thorough style guides, especially if they’re in the publishing business. The Chicago Manual of Style is pretty much the gold standard for print, and the AP Stylebook is a popular one for journalism and general writing. I’ve long been a fan of the Mailchimp Content Style Guide, which perfectly strikes a balance between providing just enough guidance to write well without getting into overwhelming detail.

Your style guide doesn’t need to be beautifully designed or comprehensive, especially at first. Just create a document where you record style decisions as you make them, so you’ll never need to make the same decision twice. A cheat sheet of off-brand content or other words and phrases to ban is a helpful section to include.

If you’re ready to get started creating your house style guide, here’s where to start.

9. Know what works on your networks

Creating content that’s free of brand disasters, embarrassing typos, and inconsistent stylistic choices is a good baseline from which to start—but there’s not much point crafting perfectly edited content if it doesn’t inspire engagement and response from your audience.

Part of your job as an editor is to learn what resonates with your audience and do more of it. Learn how to measure the effectiveness of your content. Learn to use hashtags. Learn what works on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks. Help your team create and deliver more of what works.

10. Get help from technology

An editor’s job is to help writers deliver great content. Good old-fashioned copy editing is one way you can help, but there are a growing number of software tools that can do some of the heavy lifting for you.

Check out our list of writing tools and try using some of them with your team. I’m a fan of the Hemingway App for removing unnecessary verbiage, and of Grammarly for checking grammar, spelling, and internal consistency.

While you’re checking out Grammarly, I also recommend subscribing to their blog, if just for their cheeky editor-baiting welcome email:

11. Build editing into your social workflow

If you work at an agency or in-house for a brand, you probably already use social media management software to manage multiple social networks and accounts.

An essential feature of this type of software is the ability to manage approval workflows. Hootsuite’s Team, Business, and Enterprise plans let you set up your teams and workflows to prevent innocent errors—as well as not-so-innocent rogue posts.

HMV could have benefited from workflow and approval features during their very public Twitter meltdown:

Photo from Twitter via National Post

12. Write well

If you’re going to presume to improve the content a writer has agonized over, it’s a good idea to put yourself through a little of that agony yourself.

At the very least, practicing the craft of writing yourself will make you a more sympathetic editor. It will also help you continue developing a nuanced feel for the finer points of language—something that’s indispensible in both writers and editors.

If you haven’t read The Elements of Style, get it and read it now. It’s a classic and a quick read that covers the elementary rules of usage and composition every writer should master.

And for guidance on writing for social media, you need look no further than the wealth of guidance on this blog. We’ve written a wealth of advice on how to write calls to action, clickable content, and content that converts. Want to write faster? Want resources for non-writers? Inspiration from people who will help you write better? Inspired tweets? It’s all here. Enjoy.

There’s a lot more to editing than being a grammar grouch. (By the way, if you’re still using the term “grammar Nazi,” please read this piece from @grammargirl on why it’s time to stop).

From saving your brand’s reputation to helping your team grow as writers, you play a key role as a steward and champion of great content. In the words of Arthur Plotnik, “You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what’s burning inside you. We edit to let the fire show through the smoke.”

The post 12 Quick Editing Tips for Social Media Managers appeared first on Hootsuite Social Media Management.

The post 12 Quick Editing Tips for Social Media Managers appeared first on Make It With Michael.

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bizmediaweb · 7 years

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12 Quick Editing Tips for Social Media Managers

JAPADOG is a wonderful little company that operates a food truck and restaurant in my hometown of Vancouver, BC with the stated mission of “making the world happy and alive through hot dogs!”

As you can imagine, some JAPADOG fans were devastated when this post appeared on Facebook:

A little good old-fashioned editing can save your brand—and possibly your job.

Here are my best tips to help you avoid the nightmares of a media manager and make editing a quick and painless part of your publishing routine on social.

12 editing tips for social media posts

1. Edit like a trauma surgeon

Trauma surgeons use triage as a system to prioritize patient treatment and maximize the number of survivors.

Like a trauma surgeon, learn to identify life-threatening (or in your case, career-threatening) conditions and treat them first. Maximize the number of survivors.

2. Edit like Beavis and Butthead

For reasons that should be obvious if you’ve ever used the internet, supermarket chain @aldiaustralia soon regretted this tweet:

Photo from Facebook via Metro

3. Handle humor with care

And as a social media professional, you don’t need me to tell you that it’s never a good idea to make a joke in which the punch line relates to a person’s ethnicity, gender, or economic status.

To bring this point home, here’s a now-infamous and spectacularly inappropriate #TacoTuesday tweet by Dave & Buster’s sports bar that never should have seen the light of day:

Photo from Twitter via AdAge

4. Have someone else edit your work

If I had to guess, I’d say none of the examples I’ve included so far in this article were seen by more than one pair of eyes before they were posted.

5. Rewrite anything ambiguous

As the owners of JAPADOG learned, ambiguity breeds confusion. Before posting, ask yourself if what you’ve written could be misunderstood. If it could, look for a clearer way to write it.

“Biweekly” is a good example of an ambiguous term to avoid:

Biweekly: Twice a week Biweekly: Every two weeks

Sorry about that. https://t.co/8FBUonz7yq

— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) August 6, 2016

When the dictionary apologizes for a definition, you know it’s time to look for another word.

6. Know the difference between good and bad compulsiveness

Yes, the rules of grammar and usage are important. No, every violation of these rules isn’t an error.

Plotnik’s advice holds up today. When editing, keep your focus on making content as effective and engaging as possible, and on catching errors that actually affect readability and clarity.

"Bake for precisely 8-10 minutes." #copyeditorbaking

— SubversiveCopyEditor (@SubvCopyEd) July 2, 2017

7. Choose your style authorities

A day in the life of a social media manager is far too short to waste debating whether to use the serial comma. (Want my opinion? Just use it.)

As your house style matures, you’ll likely diverge from at least some of the spellings and usage rules in your style authorities of choice—which is where your own style guide comes in.

8. Keep a house style guide

If you’re ready to get started creating your house style guide, here’s where to start.

9. Know what works on your networks

10. Get help from technology

While you’re checking out Grammarly, I also recommend subscribing to their blog, if just for their cheeky editor-baiting welcome email:

11. Build editing into your social workflow

If you work at an agency or in-house for a brand, you probably already use social media management software to manage multiple social networks and accounts.

HMV could have benefited from workflow and approval features during their very public Twitter meltdown:

Photo from Twitter via National Post

12. Write well

If you’re going to presume to improve the content a writer has agonized over, it’s a good idea to put yourself through a little of that agony yourself.

If you haven’t read The Elements of Style, get it and read it now. It’s a classic and a quick read that covers the elementary rules of usage and composition every writer should master.

There’s a lot more to editing than being a grammar grouch. (By the way, if you’re still using the term “grammar Nazi,” please read this piece from @grammargirl on why it’s time to stop).

The post 12 Quick Editing Tips for Social Media Managers appeared first on Hootsuite Social Media Management.

12 Quick Editing Tips for Social Media Managers published first on http://ift.tt/2u73Z29

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unifiedsocialblog · 7 years

Text

12 Quick Editing Tips for Social Media Managers

JAPADOG is a wonderful little company that operates a food truck and restaurant in my hometown of Vancouver, BC with the stated mission of “making the world happy and alive through hot dogs!”

As you can imagine, some JAPADOG fans were devastated when this post appeared on Facebook:

A little good old-fashioned editing can save your brand—and possibly your job.

Here are my best tips to help you avoid the nightmares of a media manager and make editing a quick and painless part of your publishing routine on social.

12 editing tips for social media posts

1. Edit like a trauma surgeon

Trauma surgeons use triage as a system to prioritize patient treatment and maximize the number of survivors.

Like a trauma surgeon, learn to identify life-threatening (or in your case, career-threatening) conditions and treat them first. Maximize the number of survivors.

2. Edit like Beavis and Butthead

For reasons that should be obvious if you’ve ever used the internet, supermarket chain @aldiaustralia soon regretted this tweet:

Photo from Facebook via Metro

3. Handle humor with care

And as a social media professional, you don’t need me to tell you that it’s never a good idea to make a joke in which the punch line relates to a person’s ethnicity, gender, or economic status.

To bring this point home, here’s a now-infamous and spectacularly inappropriate #TacoTuesday tweet by Dave & Buster’s sports bar that never should have seen the light of day:

Photo from Twitter via AdAge

4. Have someone else edit your work

If I had to guess, I’d say none of the examples I’ve included so far in this article were seen by more than one pair of eyes before they were posted.

5. Rewrite anything ambiguous

As the owners of JAPADOG learned, ambiguity breeds confusion. Before posting, ask yourself if what you’ve written could be misunderstood. If it could, look for a clearer way to write it.

“Biweekly” is a good example of an ambiguous term to avoid:

Biweekly: Twice a week Biweekly: Every two weeks

Sorry about that. https://t.co/8FBUonz7yq

— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) August 6, 2016

When the dictionary apologizes for a definition, you know it’s time to look for another word.

6. Know the difference between good and bad compulsiveness

Yes, the rules of grammar and usage are important. No, every violation of these rules isn’t an error.

Plotnik’s advice holds up today. When editing, keep your focus on making content as effective and engaging as possible, and on catching errors that actually affect readability and clarity.

"Bake for precisely 8-10 minutes." #copyeditorbaking

— SubversiveCopyEditor (@SubvCopyEd) July 2, 2017

7. Choose your style authorities

A day in the life of a social media manager is far too short to waste debating whether to use the serial comma. (Want my opinion? Just use it.)

As your house style matures, you’ll likely diverge from at least some of the spellings and usage rules in your style authorities of choice—which is where your own style guide comes in.

8. Keep a house style guide

If you’re ready to get started creating your house style guide, here’s where to start.

9. Know what works on your networks

10. Get help from technology

While you’re checking out Grammarly, I also recommend subscribing to their blog, if just for their cheeky editor-baiting welcome email:

11. Build editing into your social workflow

If you work at an agency or in-house for a brand, you probably already use social media management software to manage multiple social networks and accounts.

HMV could have benefited from workflow and approval features during their very public Twitter meltdown:

Photo from Twitter via National Post

12. Write well

If you’re going to presume to improve the content a writer has agonized over, it’s a good idea to put yourself through a little of that agony yourself.

If you haven’t read The Elements of Style, get it and read it now. It’s a classic and a quick read that covers the elementary rules of usage and composition every writer should master.

There’s a lot more to editing than being a grammar grouch. (By the way, if you’re still using the term “grammar Nazi,” please read this piece from @grammargirl on why it’s time to stop).

The post 12 Quick Editing Tips for Social Media Managers appeared first on Hootsuite Social Media Management.

12 Quick Editing Tips for Social Media Managers published first on http://ift.tt/2rEvyAw

0 notes