The web and stuff
language
Something that’s stuck with me in social software design is the importance of selecting verbs. This notion appeals to the linguist in me, but I truly believe that it’s a really significant step in the process of design. In Jyri Engestrom’s superb, and in some ways canonical, work on social objects, defining verbs is one [...]
The Guardian editorial this morning (“In praise of … the rule of three”) reminded me of a memorable lesson I had at school about linguistic devices used in political speeches. (It was probably this kind of lesson which prompted me to later do a degree in Linguistics.) Here’s a quick list of the patterns I [...]