I knew I liked you BL. Now I know why. Great points.

thanks harry! a little over the top for some maybe. :>)

Thanks for the tips - I'm taking them into consideration as I begin to build my case to top management for a corporate blog - correction: a "totally fucking amazing" corporate blog. :-)

B.L.

I agree, short is always better. But I'm not sure 300 words are the right number or that there is a right one. In fact, I read this entire post, which I believe tops the 300 count.

thanks for a good giggle carolyn.

do get in touch if you want help making your case.

Lewis - yes, this post is longer, but it does what I suggested in the post:"Posts that are more than 300 words are never going to be read unless they consist of short sentences and paragraphs; bulleted points; subheads and plenty of white space."

99 out of 100 times, i believe shorter is better, but that's another post and also a topic that has been endlessly debated, which I am not going to do here.

Good points, B.L. I suppose, like most paths to success, there are no shortcuts.

I think it's good that you considered constant contact as the top priority.

I'm with Harry.

Not sure how I missed that headline -- because it rocks. As does the cartoon on your card.

I look forward to your posting on blog length. My hypothesis is that short and sweet doesn't really play to my strengths; constructing a good, relevant argument with a dash of wit is. It's only a hypothesis, though.

I look forward to your posting on blog length. My hypothesis is that short and sweet doesn't really play to my strengths; constructing a good, relevant argument with a dash of wit is. It's only a hypothesis, though.

Read the headline. Laughed out loud. Checked out the bio. AND THEN read the story and list of past posts. I have a new hero. Today, with one word, she reminded me of the power of words in a headline.

If you can't be "totally amazing" without using vulgar language, then you're not very good at your job.

If you can't be "totally amazing" without using vulgar language, then you're not very good at your job.

Swear words have impact value, for sure. However, the problem is that 99.9999 times out of 100 they don't stand for anything more than cheezy emphasis from a mind that cannot, or cannot be bothered, to work the same magic in real words.

For the most part vulgar language is used in two ways:
1. as a an emphatic ejaculation: an essentially wordless scream or shout such as when one slams their fingers in a car door and can barely think of any words because of pain, or
2. to denigrate by offensive choice of words...

"Fuck" is what peasants used in order to describe animals having sex... it was soon used to denigrate human sexual activity that lacked anything more than a sort of mutual masturbation, or to describe couples who's understanding of love was not much better than that of animals.

Ms Ochman has perhaps used the term here as in practice # 1, above, and is taking advantage of the shock value. It is probably no worse than other sensationalism in advertising, but is rather a shame that it should come to such a level. It can only work while it is unique, which means "one-of -a-kind. She has just made it obsolete for smart marketers!

It is perhaps OK to speak in such terms to the right audience, because speech can be quite informal, but writing is a formal expression of ideas that requires effort to prepare properly.

The usage of vulgarities in place of profound literary emphasis has little more value than a Jackson Pollock splatter painting when set beside a profound work by William Bouguereau.

It is easy to use Google Images to compare the two artists' craft, and then their subject and message.

E.g. I recommend a look at "Bouguereau's Pieta" (search images for that): the eyes of Mary, with her dead son in her arms, show that she is wracked with *anger* that *her* son was killed. A very, very radical statement for the time! No swear words and no splatters of paint!

Sure the F word has shock value because most of us can craft a message without it. I expect better from marketing professionals.

I agree with the comments on the vulgarity. I, for one, am tired of hearing and seeing more and more vulgarities in the media.

I am no angel, and I have used these words on occasion, but there is a time and place for everything. And a general public media outlet is not the place.

Have you noticed how the really good comedians don't use swear words? The ones who rely on foul language are really not that funny... they are just getting a titter out of the audience. It's a cheap way to get attention, but in the end, quite shallow.

I'm sure, with a little imagination and creativity, that BL Ochman could have come up with an amazingly powerful substitute for the f-word.

But, that might require some thought, time, and effort.

Better luck next time, BL.

Ha! Coming from a very new amateur stand-up comedian, I totally agree.

The overboard usage of the F-word is simply confusing and raises too many questions, distracts from whatever other point you might have had...

And no matter what the clever reasons for its use, I guarantee they are not sufficient to ameliorate its other effects.

The wit here is in the ironic use of the phrase "totally fucking amazing" to describe a *corporate* blog.

I don't know about you -- when I hear the word "corporate" next to "blog" I imagine an informative-but-dull experience. But what if someone tells you it can be totally fucking amazing? Not passable. Not good. Not amazing. Totally fucking amazing.

For the right client, it's irresistible.

It may be that I had to be dragged from the Jackson Pollock exhibit at the Tate several years back. Or that all my favorite comedians (Eddie Izzard, for instance) do indeed use four-letter words. But BL's headline caught my attention for all the right reasons.

(Side note: I'm really glad Ann didn't use those silly modesty asterixes to obscure the last six letters.)

With my customers, the use of expletives would cost me their business. I don't use them and neither do they.

That said, you'd probably hit well with the teen crowd who tend to use this language in every sentence. When I over hear them, I usually say "you have a very limited vocabulary". Which gets me more of the same. But, there are better ways to express oneself

Michael

Excellent use of your point - too bad some don't get it - oh well, such is life.

A speaker at a my wife's woman's group sent this to her, she sent it to me - it doesn't stop here.

Bob Clarke

Gee, I am so glad I checked in on this post today. What a fucking riot to see this conversation. :>)

Like I said, if you don't like this headline or my business card, you may not like working with me. But several Fortune 500 companies do.
BL

"If that offends you, you probably won't like working with me."

I think you have to consider not only what the readers are comfortable with, but your fellow writers as well. The readers of your blog might be just fine with such language, but I don't think it's fair to assume that the readers here are. And you have to remember that many of DF's writers have their own blog audiences, and many of us do our best to encourage our readers to come here. If they do, and are offended when they see a writer dropping the F-Bomb, they could get ticked at me for encouraging them to come here.

I think Michael's comment is spot-on: "With my customers, the use of expletives would cost me their business. I don't use them and neither do they."

Maybe your customers are just fine with such language, but I don't think you should assume that everyone else's customers are.

B.L., who are you trying to play to? We all know the word, but those of us with even a little bit of "couth" don't go around using it for shock value. I am a story teller. I tell very funny stories, some of which contain some pretty raunchy words. However, I am very careful not to be indiscriminate in their use. You have made an assumption that everyone reading your statement is not, in the least, put off by such insensitivity as you exhibit. I would love to know which of your corporate clients embrace your infantile utterances. Grow up!

All this Sturm und Drang over a single word in a headline!

But it didn't seem to prevent many people from clicking on the link.

Christian - thanks for bringing a little levity to the conversation. I stand by every word I wrote. :>)

Richard: Wow! I am honored to be compared to Jackson Pollock. Thank you!

Pollock is widely regarded as one of the greatest of modern American painters, and Art Journal notes: "...Pollock's 1930s sketchbook drawings that reveal the artist's debt to the Old Masters..." http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0425/is_2_58/ai_55427206/pg_3

Times change. so does what is considered art, and what is considered mainstream.

If all you got out of this post and Hugh Macleod's cartoon is that I used the work fuck in it, you have completely missed the point.

BL: Everyone who commented on your post got your point and its associated irony. But the fact is that you used a vulgar word to get a rise out of people and it worked. Take the cartoon and the f-word out of it, and you have a nice little article about blog best practices. Nothing groundbreaking, but nice reminders.

I think the point of responders here is not whether your clients love your work or how cutting-edge you are. I'm sure you do very good work.

The point of those of us who dislike your post is that good marketing (or blogging) doesn't have to sink to this level. The f-word is not "mainstream" (if it were, you would not have used it).

Here's what it is: It's lowest-common-denominator marketing. It's offensive to a lot of people (especially those of us who are trying to teach our children better). And most of all it's unnecessary for marketers who are truly good at their jobs.