Chris Pirillo » writing

What Do You Read?

Chris — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:05:55 +0000

What Do You Read? is a post from Chris Pirillo

Earlier today, I posted a video (and blog post) filled with tips on how to maximize your comprehension when it comes to whatever you are reading. That video made me reflect on the types of things I tend to read. I don’t often sit down with a book. When I do, though, my concentration is so absolute that I tend to tune out everything else. I let myself become absorbed by the text. This allows me to truly comprehend and digest whatever it is I’m reading.

I also spend a great deal of time reading things online. I’m constantly perusing blogs, forums, website postings, news sites – you name it, and I likely read it if it’s online. Even though it’s something I’m reading on a computer screen, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve my full attention. It doesn’t mean that it isn’t just as important as a book I can hold in my hands.

What do you read the most? Do you spend time curled up with a book, or are you like me… preferring to read what people in the world are up to, thinking, feeling and writing about? If you haven’t been keeping up with what people are doing on Lockergnome and Geeks, now is as good a time as any.

Be sure, as always, to keep your eyes on our downloads pages. We’re constantly updating it to bring you the very best and hottest software and apps at the lowest prices we can get for you!

What Role Do Blogs Play in Your Life?

Chris — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:07:21 +0000

What Role Do Blogs Play in Your Life? is a post from Chris Pirillo

Even if you’re not a blogger yourself, chances are you read a few of them. It seems like everyone is blogging these days, including my mom on occasion (so ok, maybe not recently). Heck, even when you aren’t intending to read a blog, you may end up doing so after following a link from a search engine when you’re looking for something specific. Let’s face it – blogs are everywhere.

Obviously, blogging is a central part of my life. The work I do here plays a large part in not only my work life, but my personal one, as well. I like to think I’ve found a good balance between the two, and try to keep them as “equal” as possible here on my site. My friend Robert Scoble is the same way. If you go through his blog, you’ll see that he also has managed to balance life/work/family, and wrap it all nicely into his blog.

To me, that’s the way a blog should be. I’ve seen people who have several different blogs. They may post work-related things to one, personal to another, and social things to yet another. Where’s the sense in that? Why can you not post everything in one central place? Both Robert and I – along with many, MANY others, have managed to do so. If you have more than one blog, why do you? I would like to hear from some of you “multi-bloggers”, and hear your reasons as to why you do things the way you do. Understand that I’m not putting down the way you do things. I honestly feel that maybe I am missing something, and not seeing the whole picture.

In any case, blogs are important. They can be a source of information. They can keep you current on what’s hot – and what’s not. They can give you different viewpoints on matters that you may not have otherwise thought of. And, they can make you laugh. So, I ask you…

How do reading blogs impact your life? For the blogs you go back to time and again, what attracts you? Is it the content itself, or the author’s writing style? Are you gaining information, educating yourself, or just having a good laugh? What types of blogs do you subscribe to – and how many of them?

Our Lockergnome community is devoted entirely to bloggers, with topics ranging from IT to Dogs – and everything you can think of in between. Over on Geeks, we have a large number of bloggers, as well. How many of these people are you taking the time to follow? If you aren’t checking them out, you’re missing out.

I have a team of people working hard every day to bring you updates on all of your favorite programs and apps, and let you know about the best new ones available. Keep your eyes on what’s new every day, so that you don’t miss out on anything!

Helping Writers Find the Right Words

Chris — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 09:35:32 +0000

Helping Writers Find the Right Words is a post from Chris Pirillo

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Writers often need help in choosing words. This project is working to develop tools that will help writers by showing them some of the alternative ways by which they can express their ideas.

For writers, a thesaurus can be of help, but the results are often not relevant in the context intended. For common words, the list of suggestions can be very long, yet the right word never seems to be in the list.

Microsoft has a new solution This involves a huge thesaurus that has more than 1 million keywords and key phrases! The size makes it much more likely that you will find a great alternative for pretty much any word or phrase you can think of. The tool can even attempt to rewrite an entire sentence. It will look at all the combinations of words and phrases in your sentence, and suggest replacements for each of them.

The goal of this project isn’t to improve the work of professional writers. This is geared towards everyday writers like you and I… those of us writing emails, blog posts and even term papers for college.

Wouldn’t you like some assistance with finding just the right words?

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How to Improve Your Writing

Chris — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 02:16:22 +0000

How to Improve Your Writing is a post from Chris Pirillo

This is Outsanity’s submission for the HP Magic Giveaway. Feel free to leave comments for this article as you see fit – your feedback is certainly welcomed! If you’d like to submit your own how-to, what-is, or top-five list, you can send it to me. Views and opinions of this writer are not necessarily my own:

I chose to craft a tutorial (if you want to call it that) on how to make your articles more readable to human eyes. No, I’m not trying to insult anyone. Not yet, anyway. I wanted to write… well, type this because watching Chris read and react to poorly drafted articles is fun – then you almost start feeling sorry. Not for Chris, but the ones who wrote the essays. Oy vey! Chris is an English major, so errors are like his Kryptonite (in a way). I’m not perfect, but I’d like to think what little I can pass on will help someone else. Not just for this contest, but any time you’re going to write anything. I’m not Stephen King, but I know the best thing I can do to make my entry more error-proof.

TYPE YOUR ESSAY IN A FULL-ON WORD PROCESSOR! There is a chance you won’t have grammatical or spelling errors in your writing, but let software help you find them before someone else does. Don’t assume that you know what goes where. Yes, you could compose in a text file but then you’ll have to do the next step.
If you haven’t started, use the Spell Check feature in Microsoft Word (or whatever word processing program you use). There’s no excuse for NOT using it. Don’t have Word? You can use Google Docs or any amount of online dictionaries. Heck, there’s even www.spellcheck.net/ to use at your disposal. Too bad they don’t make punctuation and usage checkers, eh?
Have your article proofread by someone. It’s something you should do, anyway. Not just entries for contests, but for school projects (or even for work). There’s nothing wrong with asking someone to look something over – unless it’s something bad about THEM, then you’re boned.
How you type on the ‘Net should not be how you write an article. Normally, you, of all people, would more likely type like this: “i am hug fan. I need dis new computer to play mah games.” – or something worse. Please don’t do that outside of instant messages or text messages to friends.
Don’t try to use big words in your article. I never know why people do this. You know you’re not that smart to fool anyone by tossing out ten-dollar words. Just keep it simple. You’re not earning any points, Mr. Fancywords.
Always plan what you’re going to write. Never think you can just wing it if you’re not a seasoned writer. That only works in school. Oops! Ignore that last part. Write from your heart, but know where your heart is – and make sure it’s in sync with your brain (and, vicariously, your fingers).
Eat some food. All the thinking and typing will most definitely drain your energy. The best thing to eat, other than everything, is Ramen. It’s a quick meal, easy to prepare, very filling, and extremely cheap.
If your body can handle it, drink caffeine – and lots of it. Most likely, you might be writing at times when most people are asleep. Coffee, tea, soda – whatever it takes. Of course, don’t drink too much if it causes you to get jittery.
Eliminate distractions. That means no TV, DVDs, or music players. They will slow you down, even as background noise. You might think you’re a multitasker, but your brain should remain focused on the task at hand if you want it to be a quality piece of work.

That all I have for now. I hope that you’ll take these words of wisdom seriously. These tips might help you become a better writer. Well, I’m hoping they will. If you suck to begin with, then all bets are off. Anyway… good luck and godspeed, my friends.

The Top Ten Ways to Win a Writing Contest

Chris — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:55:09 +0000

The Top Ten Ways to Win a Writing Contest is a post from Chris Pirillo

This would have been swordofdestiny’s submission for the HP Magic Giveaway, but he’s a chat room moderator and ineligible. However, since I’ve received hundreds of poorly written and plagiarized articles today, I felt the need to share his list with you. If you’d like to submit your own ORIGINAL how-to, what-is, or top-five list, you can send it to me. Views and opinions of this writer are very close to my own:

Choose a completely overdone topic. Don’t go out on a limb and try something new. Stick with what everyone else writes about. It works! Don’t contribute anything new to your overdone topic.
Rant about your topic. Everyone enjoys a good soapbox rant! So do it! Make it a long and boring rant that regurgitates everything you’ve ever heard about the topic. If anything is contrary to your belief, dismiss it as bias. No one can possibly oppose you! You know it all! They know nothing!
Be vulgar! Be very vulgar! Vulgarity is like the salt and pepper of a good manuscript. Your writing is useless unless it contains at least one occurrence of each word in George Carlin’s “Seven Deadly Words.”
Make references to all of your favorite movies, tv shows, and books! Who cares if the adjudicator has never seen an episode of Star Trek? If they haven’t your paper is obviously too good for them to read. They should rinse their eyeballs in vinegar for such a blasphemy!
Misuse the words “your” and “you’re.” Remember, those two words are interchangeable. Forget that one is the possessive form of you and the other a contraction of the two words “you” and “are.” Misuse “its” and “it’s” for bonus points!
Use LeetSpeak. Obviously, if the adjudicators can’t read your manuscript they are intellectually inferior to your “pwn4g1ng 0f t3h n00bz0rz.”
Don’t indent! Indentation is for people who like too many spaces! When you indent you lose precious space that you could be filling with your intellectual greatness!
Forget using the enter key! The enter key is cruise control for failing! Make your manuscript one long super paragraph. When you do, the adjudicators can smell the amazing palette of words that you are sending towards them.
Forget grammar, spelling and punctuation. Don’t let the mechanics of writing properly in English perturb you from emptying your soul onto the paper. Proper grammar, spelling and punctuation is for unintellectual baboons who should be banished back into the jungle from whence they came.
Plagiarize. Who cares if it’s illegal? At least one person, somewhere on the World Wide Web, has written about your topic before. Why put forth the effort to make something original? Why do it yourself when someone else has done it for you?

Are Punctuation, Usage, Grammar and Spelling Important?

Chris — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 08:13:08 +0000

Are Punctuation, Usage, Grammar and Spelling Important? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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PUGS is my acronym for the words punctuation, usage, grammar and spelling. Just because I have a degree in English Education doesn’t mean everyone else does. If you have any trouble with any of these things, there is a website that can help you. All of these things, in relation to the way you communicate online, are important. If you don’t have a firm grasp on any of these, how do you expect to be taken seriously? Imagine, you get an email from someone who sounds like a third-grader. You can’t help but wondering how that person got hired. That’s how people look at others who cannot communicate well in written form. Luckily, there is Spellcheck ready to help.

Spellchecker is an online spelling, grammar and thesaurus tool. It’s so simple, a third-grader would actually be able to use it, and benefit from it. Simply type or paste your text into the box, and click the “Spell Check” button. A new box will pop open with your words inside. You can now choose from one of three options: Spellcheck, Grammar and Thesaurus. The Spellcheck tab will highlight in bold red any words that you have spelled incorrectly. There will be an area under your text showing suggested replacements for the wrongly spelled word.

The next tab is the Grammar tab. Once you click on that, anything they consider to be improper use of grammar will be highlighted with blue underlined text. Again, there will be suggested replacements underneath. Clicking the Thesaurus tab will again highlight you in blue underlined words, and give you suggestions for other words you can use instead. That is very helpful, and makes it much faster to determine when you’re using any particular word too much.

The next time you write for your job, your blog, or even in an email… consider using Spellcheck.

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How do You Improve Your Writing Skills?

Chris — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 07:57:12 +0000

How do You Improve Your Writing Skills? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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I’ve developed an acronym: PUGS. It’s short for Punctuation, Usage, Grammar and Spelling. If you remember your PUGS, then you’re going to create a better piece of text. People take you more seriously, and you will come across as a professional if you are using proper Grammar. Yes, I can be forceful with my belief that you are smarter than you come across when you don’t write very well. Considering that a large part of being online is text… it’s important that you can write.

Maybe you know how to write, but you’re looking to become more creative. What resources are out there to help you? Language is a Virus won’t install malicious software on your computer. It will, however, give you a ton of new and creative ideas to get you started (or help you finish!). There are so many things on this site to help you, that I’m not even going to list everything. You need to head over there and check them all out. However, some of what you’ll find includes:

Poetry and random-line generators.
Title-o-Matic and character name generators.
Places on the site to post your own stories and poems.
Writing experiment exercises.
Poetry, Creativity, Writing and Language articles

If you’re having writer’s block, or even just need a little extra boost… this is an excellent resource for you. There are tons of widgets on the site that you can use should you choose. The creative writing exercises are truly amazing, and a lot of fun. You’ll even find articles and tutorials helping you along your path to writing a novel or screenplay!

You don’t need to have a degree in English, nor do you have to speak English as your primary language to get a lot of use out of this site. No matter how good you are (or aren’t!), you’ll get even better with practice.

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What’s the Best Way to Write a Forum or Blog Post?

Chris — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 04:16:16 +0000

What’s the Best Way to Write a Forum or Blog Post? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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If you’re looking to write on Geeks or any other site, you need to make sure you create good content. There are many factors involved in this process. I’ve written out my top five points to keep in mind, to help you get started.

Lead with a strong headline. Sometimes it’s a leading question, sometimes it’s a statement that pulls people into reading what’s inside. Single words or simple phrases are to be avoided in a headline if at all possible.
Remember your PUGS. It’s short for: Punctuation, Usage, Grammar, Spelling. This isn’t a text message, and it isn’t a Twitter post.
Don’t just ask a simple question. If you want responses, spend a great degree of time crafting your position in the matter. If anything, this is why I always like to do “top 5 lists” – people love digesting well thought-out bullet points. If you’re covering a news story or product launch, what about some photos, videos, original text. Never copy someone else’s content – especially without permission. Quote your sources.
Use others If other community members have started threads that are active and/or relevant to what you’re going to write about, link to them! It’s cross-discovery, not a competition.
Own it. You can write about anything, just own what you say. Don’t treat opinions like facts, and vice versa. If something is a rumor, TREAT IT as a rumor.

Write about what you know, and what you’re passionate about. Your words equal your identity online. It’s imperative you take the time to know what you’re writing, and why. By writing well thought-out content, you will build a following. People with similar interests will gravitate to you, and want to know what you have to say.

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Can You Rhyme all the Time on a Dime?

Chris — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 04:18:26 +0000

Can You Rhyme all the Time on a Dime? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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Some of you unfortunately have had the opportunity to read some of my really bad poetry. It’s fun to do, but I’m certainly not going to quit my day job to become a poet. Back when I began writing, I played around with rhyming. I wasn’t so good at it. What do you do when you need something to rhyme? If you need a rhyme, one of the best websites I have ever seen was just passed along to me the other day.

WriteRhymes is a simple way to help you come up with words that rhyme. Simply begin typing in the box. When you need to rhyme something, hold down your Alt key, and click on the word you want to rhyme with. That’s all there is to it. When you’re finished, you can save your rhyme to your computer, print it out, or copy it to paste elsewhere.

After I had recorded this video, a community member named Seany sent me a poem he created using the WriteRhymes site. The poem is so excellent, I had to include it here!

I stopped by his website today
And had a jolly old time
Received some great advice
Didn’t have to pay a dime
They’re typically talking tech
Twenty-Four hours a day
So why don’t you stop by
You might find you’ll want to stay
Don’t worry, I’m not kidding
I ask you, please stay calm
It’s easy to remember, hard to forget
We’re at live.pirillo.com.

If you know of any other cool services or websites like this one, pass them along to me!

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10 Ways to Eliminate the Echo Chamber

Chris — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 01:32:16 +0000

10 Ways to Eliminate the Echo Chamber is a post from Chris Pirillo

These suggestions are not mutually exclusive:

Don’t live inside your news aggregator. You don’t see me getting caught up in the daily din largely because I save my favorite tech friends for “dessert” – catching up with their feeds at the end of the week. Doing this has largely kept me from commenting on commenter’s comments on commenting comments commenting on commenters.
Say something original at least once a day. Believe me, this is a tremendous challenge. I’ve been trying to do this since 1996, with the launch of Lockergnome. There are times it’s just easier to regurgitate something that somebody else said. If you think it can’t be done, you’re not thinking hard enough.
If warranted, quote an “unknown” source. Instead of going for the pundit’s line, why not elevate a non-pundit instead? There’s enough room in the ’sphere for feeding everybody’s ego.
Don’t link to the same site more than once every two weeks. If the situation is large enough to be covered by a large amount of people, then we’re going to find related perspectives easily enough. Force yourself to stop seeing and seeding the same stuff over and over and over and over again.
Wait a week before publishing your thoughts on hot topics. I realize this point could be taken as an anti-social move – but when everybody’s talking and nobody’s listening, what are we really accomplishing? Scoble (and no, I’m not trying to invoke the Pirillo effect by dropping his name) made me think about this a few weeks ago when we were talking about “me too” trends.
Create, don’t regurgitate. It’s fun to talk about new stuff, especially if everybody else is linking to it (and it’s of interest). But what about creating something new every once in a while? And if you never do something original, then how do you ever expect us to rise above the din?
Think twice before using buzzwords. There’s a time to employ jargon, and there’s a time to destroy it. My mom thinks that AJAX is a cleaning product – and so does 99% of the galaxy. Don’t merely mention a function, but how it actually makes the experience better (or worse); tell us about the features, sell us on the benefits.
Make yourself uncomfortable. I don’t do it often enough, but whenever I step outside my comfort zone – I grow. I’m an introvert at heart, and the only way I can overcome this social shortcoming is by being gregarious when my gut reaction is to retreat. When you force yourself to do something that you don’t understand, the results might be messy – but they’ll be genuine. It’s cool to swim alongside the cool kids, but it’s more cool to be in a clique of one.
Stop whining (or worrying) about what list you’re on (or not on). Dude, it’s not about lists anymore. Lists were designed to be exclusionary and are largely done for marketing purposes. I’m referring to lists of top people, places, or things – not lists like David Letterman’s Top Ten. People know who you are and where to find you – and no matter what you say or do in the future, their conceptions and misconceptions are ultimately going to cloud their judgements of who you really are.
Stop saying we need to get out of the echo chamber. We all realize that we need to get out of the echo chamber, so what are YOU doing to help us get out of the echo chamber? Just saying we need to get out is not actually going to help get us out. Many of us have similar beliefs – great. The day for blogging about blogging, and podcasting about podcasting, is long gone.

I dare you to go a full week without touching your feed reader. I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again next week. The world will still be here when you get back. And I don’t need anybody to link back to this list in order to feel validated – I’d just like everybody to start thinking about “thinking about” different things.

I Didn’t Write Anything Yesterday!

Chris — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 07:10:29 +0000

I Didn’t Write Anything Yesterday! is a post from Chris Pirillo

OMG. I totally spaced on writing something here yesterday. I’m so incredibly sorry, and intend on making it up to everyone right now. See, I’m writing something here – this is the sentence in the paragraph I’m writing because I forgot to write something before the clock struck Midnight. Where did the time go? Oh, you name it – running errands, getting ready for our trip to SF for BloggerCon, troubleshooting WordPress, troubleshooting Lockergnome, troubleshooting Gada.be, conversing with friends, chatting with Shayne, kissing Ponzi (at least once, I remember), etc. I really wanted to write something more substantial, but I guess you’ll have to settle for a fluff piece instead. Look at all the fluff! This is all fluff, I tell ya! Fluffy, fluffy, fluffy. Must go to bed now.

How to Handle Remote Tech Support

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:30:00 GMT

Using GoToAssist is the easiest way to view and control another person's computer online. Use it to provide instant technical support to family, friends and customers. Start a session with just one click, and instantly connect with the other party.

Network Tools for Windows

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

You need these network tools, no matter which operating systems and networks you have to support. SolarWinds ipMonitor: Affordable Network Monitoring for SMBs. Get turnkey network, server and application availability monitoring with SolarWinds ipMonitor v9.0. This easy-to-use, reliable solution for SMBs delivers out-of-the-box availability monitoring so you always know exactly what's up with Active Directory, DNS, Exchange, FTP, Web, IMAP, MS SQL Server, and SMTP. Download your free trial today. Or, try their totally free tools! And, through 2/29, save 20% when you purchase ipMonitor 9.0.

Get Your Own Web Site

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

Starting at just $3.99/month, web hosting from GoDaddy includes 99.9% uptime, 24/7 support and free access to GoDaddy Hosting Connection, THE place to install over 30 FREE applications sure to help you get the most from your hosting plan and Web site. Enter code CP2 at checkout, and save an additional 10% on any order.

Plus, as a friend of Chris Pirillo, enter code CHRIS7, that's C-H-R-I-S and the number 7, when you check out, and save an additional 10% on any order. Get your piece of the internet at GoDaddy.com.

VMware and Parallels for Virtual Machines

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

It doesn't matter if you're running on Windows or Mac OS X - every power user needs either Parallels or VMware (or both). There's never been an easier way to test software without destroying your primary operating system's stability. Think of how many times you wish you could press a 'reverse' button on your computer. Plus, there's no easier way to try new Linux distributions - see what all the fuss is about. Run Windows in OS X, run Linux in Windows, but the best way to do either is with VMware and/or Parallels.

Coupons for Online Shopping

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:56:13 GMT

This feed is fueled by Lockergnome Online Shopping and Coupon Codes

Before you shop next time, see if we have a coupon first.