A Blogger Wise on Words

Edelman has 2000+ employees who write for a living. Many of us do so publicly. Who says we have to keep all this expertise to ourselves?

Today our resident word guru Dan Santow has launched a blog packed with writing tips for PR professionals, and, well, everyone. Dan's tips, which are distributed internally by email several times each week, are a huge hit and I bet that marketers, PR pros, bloggers and maybe even journalists will get something out of the new site.

First up: those pesky commas. Does one belong before the word "and" in a series or not? Hmmm.

Comments

[paul]

Steve, we are all waiting for you or anyone from Edelman to write something about the laptops for bloggers scandal.

Ironically Microsoft hired Edelman to get better Press.

[JamesBruni]

I think Dan should be focusing on some bigger issues than just commas. Issue like -- when should you give gifts to bloggers and when shouldn't you? Did the folks who sent out the Acer Ferraris get that ethical training Rich talked about after the last blog scandal?

[Steve Rubel]

Paul, I certainly understand that but it's not needed. Microsoft has been on the record on this in numerous venues

[Shel Holtz]

According to Lynne Truss (of "Eats Shoots and Leaves"), the comma appears after each element in a series of three, but not before the final element in a series of four or more. Thus: "I went here, there, and everywhere" but "I went here, there, everywhere and even to Timbuktu."

I've been following this rule since reading the book and it has served me well.

[paul]

Even in Timbuktu they're talking about the latest Edelman blogger scandal.

I'm writing this comment on Windows Vista, can you point us to a blog post writen on a gift laptop?

[Bob O'Rella]

Soooooo. The silence on Acer-gate is stunning. How about a little info on that debacle?