This time next month, I’ll no doubt be feeling pretty chuffed after my Race For Life event ~ and quite possibly, indulging in a celebratory glass or two… But not because of the actual race ~ because of the money raised for Cancer Research UK.

As much as I love running/power walking/walking, and lots of lovely gym sessions, my motivation is Cancer Research. Now, okay, I’m sure you’re thinking this is pretty bloody obvious and it is, I agree ~ however, my point is this: Race For Life is the least I can do.

While I was being tortured on the cross-trainer this morning, I drifted off and started contemplating life…

Life is everywhere you look, staring you back in the face. Isn’t that fantastic?

Life is unpredictable, full of twists and turns, endless surprises. You don’t even know when that next bend is looming, never mind what’s lurking around it, ready to jump out at you and scream “I’m your one true love!” or “You just won £15,000 on the pools!” or “It’s terminal, I’m so sorry”.

Yes, life is all around us. But life has a best friend who accompanies him everywhere he goes: death. Without life there is no death and without death there is no life.

Life’s best friend serves as a reminder that life is for living. Life can be lost in the blink of an eye or the gasp of a breath. And cancer is one hell of a scary beast ~ not many of us are fortunate enough to have dodged the repercussions of its sting. So always trust your instincts, grab opportunities, and smile!

And that’s why I’m running Race For Life this year ~ it is the least I can do.

If you’ve not encountered #duncansdream on Twitter, the premise is for the followers of Duncan Bannatyne ~ entrepreneur and one of the Dragons ~ to become friends and follow one another.

It started with a tweet last Friday afternoon. This one from @DuncanBannatyne, to be precise:

I would like to #ff all of my followers so all you need do is start following each other then we will all have 90,000 follwers. Simples

This soon became #duncansdream thanks to @iancreek ~ and also became strangely addictive!

Normally, any tweets that say “do this and you’ll gain a billion followers in a nanosecond” make me want to retch ~ don’t these people realise we want to make real connections and not just pointlessly boost follower numbers? But when I stumbled upon #duncansdream, I found it interesting because I like Duncan Bannatyne and think, as a successful entrepreneur, he has a lot to impart. I figured others who followed him would likely be interesting people to get to know.

And I was right. Thanks to #duncansdream I’ve discovered some fantastic people, many of whom I may otherwise never have “met”. So, thanks, Duncan!

However, not everyone on Twitter has warmed to this hashtag. I understand why people dislike the “follow me and I’ll follow back” approach some people have taken to #duncansdream ~ and, although the original tweet was about all Duncan’s followers following one another in a bid to reach 90,000 followers, for me #duncansdream is about connecting with new and interesting people. I don’t want 90,000 followers just so I can say I’ve got 90,000 followers ~ if I ever reach that number, it’ll be because I’ve been fortunate enough to come into contact with so many interesting individuals. As Justin Hay wrote in his blog, in reference to those people who view #duncansdream purely in terms of numbers: This kind of behavior really does sadden me because I believe #DuncansDream is for more Twitter Users to interact with each other, make new friends and Network.

I couldn’t agree more.

Twitter is such a special place and should be treated as such. It’s for making connections not accumulating mammoth follower numbers.

For me, I love the banter of Twitter, the irreverent and irrelevant comments, the sharing, the endless information and news,  the RTs and #FFs (although I have to admit I’ve been hopeless recently when it comes to #FFs for my followers and I punish myself daily for this), and the endless possibilities. I’ve made some really good friends, gained new clients, and discovered exciting business opportunities through Twitter.

I absolutely love Twitter. I’ve met so many fantastic, talented, funny and kind people through this amazing social networking site, and every time I log on I’m excited to tweet old friends and curious about new people I might discover.

This is why I feel there’s no place for automated follows on Twitter. Doing this, defeats the entire point of Twitter ~ it’s all about engaging and sharing, and if you just follow people for the sake of it, there’s nothing to be gained from it. I always check a new follower’s bio and profile, reading recent tweets and looking at the website link to help me decide if this is someone I want to engage with. Sometimes, I miss new followers but the moment they begin to interact with me is the moment I start to follow.

To my mind, #duncansdream is just another way to connect with like-minded people and forge new friendships on Twitter. Having something in common ~ in this case, following Duncan Bannatyne ~ means there’s a chance you’ll click with your new followers, and if not, you can simply choose not to follow them.

And that’s why I think #duncansdream is brilliant ~ keep it personal and keep the dream alive! :0)

Facebook is often in the news at the moment ~ whether it’s because of the site’s privacy policies or celebrities with accounts. Only yesterday, George W Bush created an account on the social networking site, gaining over 20,000 “likes” in the initial few hours, for example. So I’ve been reminded of an article I read on Times Online earlier this year, about the fact not all the people on Facebook who “like” us may actually like us.

A study conducted at Oxford University revealed that although we are inclined to amass huge numbers of friends on Facebook, in reality we are only friends with a small proportion of these people.

Carried out by Robin Dunbar, professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at Oxford University, the findings of the study support one of his earlier theories – “Dunbar’s number”. Developed in the 1990s, this theory claimed the size of our neocortex – the section of the brain that deals with language and conscious thought – restricts us in our management of friends. Regardless of how sociable we are, our neocortex ensures we only stay in frequent (at least once a year) contact with about 150 people.

The original study was conducted on various societies from Neolithic villages to contemporary offices and showed a breakdown in social cohesion as the social groups became too large.

Dunbar is now looking at social networking sites to see if these have increased our social groupings. So far, the results imply sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Bebo have not affected how we conduct our social lives.

Dunbar said: “The interesting thing is that you can have 1,500 friends but when you actually look at traffic on sites, you see people maintain the same inner circle of around 150 people that we observe in the real world. People obviously like the kudos of having hundreds of friends but the reality is that they’re unlikely to be bigger than anyone else’s.”

Research  has found that children who regularly abbreviate text in messages ~ so-called “text speak” ~ actually enhance their ability to spell correctly. The reason for this link between texting and literacy is said to be due to the need to understand how the words sound in order to shorten them sufficiently for text messages. For example, shortening the word “great” to “gr8″ reveals an awareness of the sound and form of the original word.

The study, which involved children aged eight to twelve, was conducted earlier this year and forms part of an ongoing study at the University of Coventry.

To ensure children can write effectively in a text and convey their message in the most succinct manner, abbreviations and initials are used together with techniques like rhyming ~ which are central to the development of reading and spelling also.

Clare Wood, reader in developmental psychology, told BBC News: “If we are seeing a decline in literacy standards among young children, it is in spite of text messaging, not because of it.”

Ah, this is the life. I am in Rutland, on the Hambleton Peninsula. Ross is fishing, and Radish and I are reclining in the shade. But don’t go thinking we’re being lazy ~ we have already walked the 6 mile circuit. And the weather is so glorious that we thought we’d make a day of it, following a delicious lunch in the Finch’s Arms with a spot of ~ in my case ~ chilling, blogging and reading, and ~ in Radish’s case ~ partaking in stand-offs with sheep.

I’m not sure life gets much better than this…

Anyway, back to business ~ Race For Life, getting fit and raising money for Cancer Research UK. Despite not blogging daily as I’d originally hoped ~ too many fantastic copywriting projects on the go at the moment, and one includes my web design business (coming soon) ~ I have made time for exercise. Every day has included at least one double-march with Rads and I’ve even frequented the gym a couple of times.

Race For Life is something I’m passionate about. I want to use it as a real force for good ~ to get fit and, much more importantly, to raise money for Cancer Research. Not many people are fortunate enough to have dodged the devastation of cancer at some point in their lives. If you would like to support my race, that would be amazing ~ and thank you so much.

And returning briefly to Rutland, the day ended on a high ~ Radish discovered that swimming is fun! Previously, she’d only paddled in water but today she swam. I tried to capture this momentous moment on the iPhone but I managed to video only grass, possibly because Radish suddenly charged at me when she spotted the phone in use. She dislikes the iPhone…

I have just returned from my second walk ~ a “power” walk, really ~ with Radish, my dog and fitness trainer. Radish is a little miffed that we only marched around the block once this time, but I’ve explained to her that it’s best to build these fitness things up gradually. With two laps around the block this morning plus this evening’s exertion, it was beginning to border on the ridiculous.

Today’s stats:

I have no stats. Radish and I just walked for about 50 minutes this morning and 25 minutes this evening ~ with a bit of frisbee in the park thrown in for good measure. I was going to use my iPhone as I have a this-will-make-you-run-more app but talking while running this app doesn’t work ~ I mean, talking on the phone, not just to Radish. So…tomorrow I’ll buy one of those pedometer things so I can count the steps.

In the meantime, here’s a picture of Radish with her frisbee :0)

My third visit to the gym this year; and I almost enjoyed it. If it wasn’t for the wading-through-treacle moments or the burning-stitch event on the cross-trainer, it would have been triumphant. And I even managed to run for 60 seconds at a speed of 6.6. I know.

Today’s stats:

Cross-trainer ~ 28 minutes, 338 calories, 2.76 distance

Treadmill ~ 10 minutes, 78 calories, 0.74 distance, 4.0 speed
(1 minute’s running at 6.6 speed)

Now I’m going to get fit! And you’re going to join me! Over the next 59 days, 1416 hours, 84960 minutes and 5097600 seconds (pretending this was written at 00:00 today), I’m going to share my pain and progress with you :0)

Oh and I know that some of you may think this is a lot of fuss over a 5k race, but for me this is the equivalent of a marathon or three. And it’s all for a fantastic cause ~ so your support really would be appreciated.

Thanks and I hope you enjoy… And if you want to donate to Cancer Research UK, that would be fantastic!

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Proofreading is the art of reading written work and spotting and correcting any errors. Regardless of whether you are sending a quick email, filling in an application form, drafting a letter or writing a page of web copy, you should always check what you have written to make sure there are no typos or grammatical errors in the work before you release it to colleagues, clients or potential employers.

We are only human and so we may occasionally write “there” when we mean “their” or “it’s” when we mean “its” ~ which is why proofreading your written piece before you finalise it is imperative.

I have compiled some proofreading tips, below, to help you proofread with confidence.

1. Proofread your way
   You can choose to proofread your documents on or off-screen. Track Changes in Word is a useful tool for quick and easy proofreading on-screen but sometimes it is easier ~ or preferable ~ to print off the document and mark any changes on the paper before going back to the PC to make the amends. With larger written works like books, you will often receive a hard copy only.
   I normally use Track Changes when I am proofreading pieces for clients ~ except for long documents or super-complex work, when I prefer to make the proofreading marks on the printed version.
2. Peace and quiet
   You need to be able to concentrate when you are proofreading so make sure you are in a quiet place. If you work in an office, this probably means taking yourself off to an empty meeting room, away from ringing phones and chattering colleagues.
   I always turn my music off when I am proofreading ~ for writing creative copy, I need cheesy tracks; research and writing academic pieces require classical music.
3. Borrow a pair of eyes
   If you are close to the piece of writing you are trying to proofread, this can make it difficult to spot any mistakes. You know exactly what should be in front of you and sometimes your eyes fool you into thinking what should be there is there.  It’s surprising how even the most glaring errors can be missed when you’re proofreading your own work ~ so always ask another person (a friend, colleague, sister, business partner, anyone) to read through your written work.
4. Say it out loud
   If you are ever unsure about a word or a sentence, the best thing to do is read it out loud to yourself. Listen to the words as you speak them and this will help you to spot inconsistencies, loss of clarity in the sentence structure, spelling errors or homonyms (words that share the same spelling or pronunciation but different meanings, for example “complement” and “compliment”, “affect” and “effect”, and “air” and “heir”).
5. Divide the proofreading into sections
   When you are proofreading, it helps to separate the different mistakes you are looking for into sections and focus on them one at a time. For example, I always read through the document first very slowly and intensely, checking for any grammatical errors, spelling mistakes or misplaced punctuation marks. The second read-through is for consistency ~ does it flow? Is the style of language the same in the beginning, middle and end? The third read-through is for layout ~ font size, headings, margins, spaces etc. The final read-through is for certainty ~ has anything escaped my eye?

I hope these proofreading tips are helpful. If you have any queries or would like to discuss a proofreading project with First For Copy, please just get in touch ~ visit www.firstforcopy.co.uk, email Caroline@firstforcopy.co.uk or call First For Copy on 01162 751 982.

By Monday Madness, I simply mean that rapid, manic, possibly chaotic state that the post-weekend time induces. Or is that just me? There is always so much more to do on a Monday than any other day of the week! No matter the steps you try and take to compensate for Monday Madness, you can no more escape it than life itself.

I normally work on a Sunday and sometimes both Saturday and Sunday. I say this not as a grumble – I absolutely LOVE what I do! Well, 90% of the time I do, anyway (I detest admin…) But the copywriting, editing and proofreading are just fabulous!

I digress.

My point is thus: Whatever I do, Mondays are always sheer Madness! This is just a fact of (my) life that I have come to accept over the thirty short years I have been on this earth. And like most things in my life, I embrace the Madness now. In fact, I am worried if a Monday is not mad and think: what am I doing wrong? Did I oversleep and awake on Tuesday? Ponderous times are afoot on a Mellow Monday.

Monday Madness is my friend ~ it spurs me on to achieve great things and meet seemingly impossible deadlines. It fires me up for the week and leaves me raring to take on Thoughtful Tuesday, Wondrous Wednesday, Thumping Thursday and Fabulous Friday!

I shall cease now for fear of being OTT. But I wanted my first blog post – yes, first blog post – to be on a Monday Madness! I have wanted to start a First For Copy blog for a looonngg time but somehow all the copywriting projects have kept me away. Now I am in the midst of building a new website, alongside juggling platefuls of articles, blogs (not mine), web copy etc, and I thought – now’s the time to start my own blog!