STRONG WORDS

As words die out, we're more in danger of losing 'decent', 'duty' and 'punctuation' than 'dirty', 'stick' and 'guts'

Fascinating stuff from the University of Reading, which has announced that our oldest words have been in existence for an awfully long time, yet that "50% of the words we use today would be unrecognisable to our ancestors living 2500 years ago".

Mark Pagel, who is perhaps tellingly a professor of evolutionary biology and not of linguistics, added that "if a time-traveller came to us, and told us he wanted to go back to that period, we could arm him with the appropriate phrase book, and hopefully keep him out of trouble".

This statement, though in a sense unfalsifiable, does beg a few questions, but let's not worry about them just now. The more interesting item in the story is that, thanks to the power of a hugely brainy and fast supercomputer called ThamesBlue, the boffins now think they can tell us which words are going to be dying out soon. It makes interesting reading. Apparently, soon to be of historical interest only are words such as "dirty", "stick", "guts", "wipe", "stab", "turn" and "push".

Now, I am afraid I have not had the time or opportunity to consult the complete OED, which can tell us almost exactly how long these words, and indeed many others, have been around, but this seems like a counter-intuitive list, to put it mildly. Never mind that the list looks suspiciously like one that might be offered by a (slightly depraved) competition setter, asking us to construct a story using those words. They all have the feel of words that not only have been around for a long while, but suggest that they are very useful at what they do.

Stabbing, for instance, does not look as though it is going out of fashion, and if you can find a better word to describe plunging a knife into someone than "stab" then I take my hat off to you. And as for describing what spills out of you when you are stabbed, "guts" has it over "intestines" any day of the week. My own theory is that ThamesBlue has actually become self-aware, and, possibly as a result of indignation at being given a stupid name with a capital letter in the middle of it, has allowed its thoughts to turn in a sinister and vengeful direction. This list is simply its stream of consciousness, or perhaps a subtle warning to its operators not to push their luck.

Anyway, we can see in front of us, without a computer, which words are disappearing. "Your", "great" and "tomorrow" have all gone; they are now "ur", "gr8", and "tomoz". (Actually, I rather like "tomoz".) But I simply can't see how "dirty" will go while there is still the need for a word to describe the notion of something being in some sense unclean. Are we, in the not-too-distant future, going to start seeing "I wish my wife was as sniblig as this van" as an amusing graffito traced on the back of a dusty Transit? I think not.

No, the words that are on the way out are ones that refer to concepts which are becoming increasingly outmoded, including "integrity", "selfishness", "duty", "punctuation", and "decent".  

Controversial magazine covers

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/orl-controversial-magazine-covers-pictures,0,2755370.photogallery

Un recorrido por las tapas de revistas más controvertidas.

Infoxicación

Infoxicación: mejor prevenir que curar

Abres los ojos y, antes de salir de la cama, tu primer impulso escomprobar el correo desde tu smartphone. Te sientas delante del ordenador y  te encuentras con 300 artículos nuevos en tus feeds. Mientras trabajas o disfrutas de tu tiempo libre, sientes la necesidad imperante de leer tu timeline en Twitter para compartir la última noticia o aquello que, realmente, no estás haciendo ahora mismo. Por la noche, vuelves a a la cama, no sin antes comprobar el correo por si acaso (aunque hace 10 minutos que has apagado el ordenador) o mirar las últimas fotos subidas a Instagram.

¿Os suena de algo? Si la respuesta es que no, enhorabuena: (todavía) no habéis sidoinfoxicados. Si os sentís mínimamente identificados, os propongo algunas soluciones para mejorar los síntomas.

Menos es más

§                     Limpia tus suscripciones RSS. Sí, lo dice alguien con 161 suscripciones. No obstante, de todas ellas, ¿cuántas leéis, realmente? Apuesto lo que sea a que una gran parte está inactiva o, simplemente, ni nos molestamos en leer más allá del titular. Si usáis Google Reader para gestionar vuestros RSS, os recomiendo que deis un paseo por la pestaña de «Suscripciones», escondida bajo «Ajustes».

§                     Limpia tus suscripciones por e-mail. Si sois más asiduos a las suscripciones por e-mail, os propongo la misma solución: date de baja de todo aquello que no leas. Menuda obviedad, ¿no? Pero, si nos paramos a pensar: ¿a cuántas cosas estáis suscritos solo para eliminarlas cuando aparecen en vuestra bandeja de entrada? A eso me refiero. La buena noticia es que no cuesta tanto: la mayoría de estas suscripciones cuentan con un link para darse de baja (normalmente en letra pequeña, escondido al final del e-mail). ¡Clic y listo!

Gestionar contenido

El problema no está solo en el correo. De hecho, gran parte del problema se encuentra fuera de él. Sin embargo, una gestión correcta ayudará a preservar (o mejorar) nuestra salud mental. Las listas de usuarios en Twitter y los filtros de Gmail son una buena forma de empezar.

Si no queréis ser tan drásticos con vuestras suscripciones (es comprensible, a mí también me cuesta desprenderme de mi dosis diaria de información) y usáis Gmail, os propongo algo alternativo: ¡filtros! Reconozco ser la primera en mirar el correo varias veces por hora, pero, la verdad, no suele ser tan urgente y tan importante como para estar pendiente con tanta asiduidad. Con los filtros de Gmail, podemos configurar nuestro correo para que ciertos elementos no vayan directamente a la bandeja de entrada, evitando así posibles distracciones.

¿Cómo? Muy sencillo: no os llevará más de cinco minutos. Aquí tenéis un par de tutoriales de Google. Algunas sugerencias:

§                     Listas de correo: si estáis suscritos a listas de correo, sabréis que el ritmo de mensajes puede ser algo abrumador. Por ello, os recomiendo crear una Etiqueta asociada a cada una de estas listas, así como un Filtro que se encargue automáticamente de etiquetar estos e-mails y trasladarlos fuera de la vista principal de la Bandeja de entrada.

Leer más tarde: también podéis usar la combinación adecuada de Filtros/Etiquetas para mandar a vuestro correo todos los artículos o tweets que queráis leer más tarde (si es que no usáis otra alternativa, como Instapaper o Read it Later).

Déjalo para más tarde

Existen muchos servicios dedicados a la gestión y «dosificación» de contenido. No te sientas mal por salir de casa, están ahí para ponerte al día cuando vuelvas.

• News.me
• Strawberry Jam (si os interesa probarlo, tengo invitaciones disponibles)
• Curate.me

A grandes males…

Si no hay manera de que te concentres, existen aplicaciones o complementos para navegadores dedicados a bloquear ciertas páginas web de forma temporal.

• SelfControl (Mac)
• Website Blocker (Google Chrome)

Friday Joke

Two people go into a room. Each has a bottle of bourbon.

They sit at leisure, drinking and talking. 

When the whiskey has been consumed, one of them stands up and walks out of the room.

The other tries to guess who left. 

Copyright © 2012, The Baltimore Sun

Body Language for Job Interviews

12 Facts About Body Language You Should Know Before Your Next Job Interview

Most of us aren't aware of our body language, especially when we're in a stressful situation — but interviewers are trained to read it.

Karl Rozemeyer at TheLadders says in a report that involuntary body language can be compared to stage fright for an actor. 

To see how actors effectively communicate with their bodies, Rozemeyer spoke to John Treacy Egan, a Broadway actor, and Jodie Bentley, an acting coach. 

“I think it is important to have body awareness before you go into an interview,” Bentley said. "There are many actions and habits that we should consider doing or avoid doing to tell the right story during the interview setting."

TheLadders gave us permission to share these 12 body tricks jobseekers should master before stepping into the interviewing room. All of the photos are modeled by Business Insider staffers.

1. Feel good about your wardrobe and wear clothes that 'show you in your best lighting'

 “I really think that the clothes that you wear impact who you are, and if you wear something that makes you feel fabulous, your body language is going to be so much more comfortable in the moment," Bentley said.

2. Hold onto a talisman to comfort yourself

“Wear a piece of jewelry or a scarf or something that has meaning to you and can ground you in the moment. If I get nervous, sometimes I will look at my wedding ring and think of my husband who supports me, and I realize I should be doing this and I am on the right path."

"When we get nervous, we feel ourselves being removed from our bodies slightly. I think that having that talisman is a great way just to keep us grounded and present in the moment.”

3. Place your feet on the floor

Keep both of your feet on the ground and try not to cross your legs, which Egan said gives off signs that you're unsure of yourself. 

4. Sit still or you'll come off as a nervous person

 “Nervous energy isn’t good,” Bentley said. “And so a lot of people cross their legs and shake their legs over and over again. Not that we need to sit with ankles crossed and be stiff.”

5. Place your hands on your knees

 “If you have to make a point,” Egan said, “you can use your hands.”

However, try not to speak with your hands, so keep them on your knees so that you'll be aware of them. 

6. Sit a bit forward to show that you're interested and serious about the interview

 “You don’t want to sit back,” Egan said. “Leaning backwards can leave the impression that you are overly relaxed and can make you look untidy.”

7. Folding your arms will make you seem unfriendly

 “I think that is a bad habit that a lot of people fall into. It definitely closes you off (from the interviewer). Not a lot of actors do it,” Bentley said.

8. Playing with your hair or cracking your knuckles can be extremely distracting to your interviewer

 “I have big, red, curly hair, and I used to twirl my curls when I got nervous,” Bentley said. “It is about really being honest with yourself and saying to yourself: ‘What are my habits when I get nervous, and how can I eliminate them?’ ”

9. Putting your hands in your pockets makes you look 'messy'

 “If you are standing at all in the interview, then hands in the pockets are a big no-no. That just looks so clumsy and messy,” Bentley said.

Instead, Egan advised to "let your hands drop to your side, and talk. When you need to use your hands, engage them.”

10. Don't invade the interviewer's space and keep your hands and body parts on your side of the desk

 “Some people just get too close for comfort,” Bentley said. “They think that they want to make a connection, so they get closer. Really knowing that boundary is really important.”

11. Use props to help you look more comfortable

 “If you need a prop like a pen, use it if it makes you feel a little bit more comfortable,” Egan said. “Start with the place where you feel safest, holding your hands together or holding a prop, but give yourself the chance to step away from that during the presentation or interview. It makes you look stronger.”

12. Staring will make you look too intense and unnatural

“In a conversation, (actors) never fully lock eyes with people,” Bentley said. “We talk, we look people in the eyes, we have a thought, and we look away. We look to the right, and we look to the left.”

Egan agreed: When you start staring at them, you start "to look a little crazy. If you feel like you are looking the person in the eye too long, hold it one more second and break away.”

Email sent to wrong person! Oh My!

What To Do When Your Inappropriate Email Gets Sent To The Wrong Person

Instantaneous communication has made our lives easier, but the drawback is that you can't retrieve messages after clicking "send."

Sometimes, mis-sent emails can be amusing. But if the exchange is inappropriate and you're in a professional environment, those email errors can be job-destroying. 

So what should you do when you accidentally send an email to someone who was never supposed to receive it?  

Cynthia Good, CEO of Little Pink Book — a career resource site specifically for women — said this depends on the message itself. If it's not serious or doesn't offend anyone, feel free to move on and there's no need to even mention it. 

However, if it does offend the recipient, it's best to confront the situation immediately and as the sender, you should be the one making the first move. This way, you are not waiting for the other party to come to you, but you are bringing it up first because it's your wrongdoing.

Good told us this situation has occurred in her office several times, and it has gotten out of hand when not handled properly.

"People got hurt, so we sat around and discussed it," Good says. "I mean, no one wants to have these conversations, but sometimes, those issues have already been there and now it's finally being brought to light."

According to a study conducted by Little PINK Book and VitalSmarts, one in five women quit their jobs due to “failed crucial conversations," so by discussing these issues, Good says you have the "opportunity to get to the root of the problem."

"Use these uncomfortable situations as a catalyst to operate even better and improve on relationships between colleagues," she says. If not, these underlying feelings of resentment will potentially lead to bigger and more serious problems in the office.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/what-to-do-when-your-email-gets-sent-to-the-wrong-person-2012-5#ixzz1uOhDkr00

EXPAND YOUR TWITTER COMMUNITY

8 Tips to Help You Expand Your Twitter Community Rapidly

By Bill Miltenberg, PR News

On April 2, the @PRNews Twitter account reached a milestone of 40,000 followers. Exactly one year prior, the account had 4,400 followers. 

While brand managers shouldn't view Twitter success as a numbers game or popularity contest, building a larger following can help amplify your strategic efforts—from customer service and fundraising to building awareness for your brand. And, of course, it's just plain exciting to watch a community grow.

Here are some of our lessons learned in building the PR News Twitter community. 

1. Don't be a droid: Show that you've got a human side, and that your account is not just an automated RSS feed. Pose questions, use varied punctuation and provide a tone and voice for your account—even if it's managed by multiple people. Give your audience—and your prospective audience—a reason to follow you on Twitter.
2. Respond when people talk to you: When you receive an @ message or a direct message—with the exception of automated direct messages—respond. Simply say thank you, start a conversation and express gratitude when a connection is made. If you're worried about filling up the feed with these personal tweets and crowding the content-driven or business-goal tweets that you feel the rest of your followers would prefer, you can schedule them for off-peak times. Even then, the recipient will be notified you've responded and will be more likely to engage with you again. Speaking of scheduling tweets...
3. Schedule tweets for early mornings and later hours: The social Web is a 24/7 content-consumption beast that should be fed even after you've left the office for the day.
4. Give credit: With @PRNews we're fortunate to have a lot of stories of our own to link to, but if you don't have that option, showcasing others' work is a great way to build connections. Linking to a blog post, article, idea or any other type of content through another person on Twitter is a great way to show your audience you're a must-follow in your industry, and that you're not operating in your own company's silo. 
5. Participate in conversations at industry events: Be sure to know the hashtag of the event you're attending, and keep the tweets flowing around it before, during and after with summaries. Use direct quotes, @mentions of speakers and retweets of fellow attendees to let everyone on site know that you're worth following.  
6. Integrate paid and earned: Depending on your budget, placing ads on Twitter to promote either individual tweets or your account itself can provide high visibility for a relatively low cost. Dallas Lawrence, chief global digital strategist for Burson-Marsteller, says Twitter's sponsored campaigns are one of the best crisis management resources, and a way to gain more relevant followers. “Twitter’s targeted follower acquisition strategy is an effective way to go from 1,000 to 10,000 followers and can help amplify your messages,” says Lawrence.
7. Bookmark and use the PR News Twitter Directory. This Twitter handle directory of PR agencies/consultants, corporations, nonprofit organizations, PR professionals and media, is sortable by category and can help you find a handle within the industry in a pinch. You can also find leading individuals and companies to follow, as well as Twitter chats to participate in to make more connections.
8. Make the tweets useful. We link to useful content—both content that we create and content created by others. But not everyone has time to link through a tweet, so try to make the tweet itself valuable to your community.