Words Dept.: category

Since there are loads of helpful social media evangelists out there providing handy hints about what to do in order to get the most out of social networking, I thought I’d buck the trend with my own unhelpful selection of the thirteeen (deliberately Web 2.0-ish random number) things people do on Twitter and Facebook that [...]

I’ve adopted a new theme for the site, which I think looks a bit more modern and clean than the old one. If experience is anything to go by, you probably won’t like it. It should work OK in Firefox and Safari, as well as the much hated Internet Explorer. If you notice any glitches, [...]

I suppose it’s about time I confessed to the fact that I am contributing to a new blog. It’s called AdTurds and, as the name suggests, is simply about television adverts that me and (regular Words Dept. commenter) Robin think are shit. Web geeks will notice the hilarious AdWords pun, on top of the fact [...]

Release your inner geek by tittering like a child, as I did, at this Web 2.0-centric Downfall mash-up. Via the Guardian.

Just before going to sleep last night I attempted to have a US election-based multimedia experience, which involved taking the laptop to bed (my intentions were pure) and surfing various sites to do with the vote. This, I am led to believe, is the done thing among web-savvy news hunters of the 21st century. Twitter, [...]

Since drivers of 4x4s tend to be regarded as braying, selfish, middle class dummies – their penchant for oversized cars that are much too big for the school run barely disguising an inherent bullying streak – I can’t think of a better way for Land Rover to lay this image to rest than by creating [...]

Someone predicted on a forum on the Liverpool Echo website at 10.28am yesterday that Arsenal would draw Liverpool, Man Utd would get Roma and Chelsea would play Fenerbahce, leaving Barcelona v Schalke in the quarter finals of the Champions League. The idea of fixing a live cup draw seems initially ridiculous until you consider the [...]

As you will no doubt have noticed, this site looks a bit different today. I’ve got me a new super-minimalist theme called Stripped by Upstart Blogger. I’m a fan of minimal, functional design and, since the emphasis round these parts is on words, this theme is perfect because all the other distracting stuff is dumped [...]

While it’s probably advisable not to get sucked into the largely fatuous online “debate” Channel 4 is trying to stoke up, I found it a bit daft that Manchester was rated the 17th worst place to live in a “Best and Worst” list on Channel 4 last night. As is usual with this annual feast [...]

I’ve written some words in celebration of the motorway, on recently relaunched car website Motortorque, which is a fine site for petrol-heads everywhere. The piece is inspired by the recent BBC Four documentary The Secret Life of the Motorway, which sounds like the most boring three-part series ever but really wasn’t. When the Preston bypass [...]