Statistical confusion of olympian proportions
This email about the cost of tickets for the Olympics left me shocked. Not because I clicked through to find out that a ticket for the 100m final would cost £750, but because of the utterly bizarre approach to presenting the figures.
See the full Statistical confusion of olympian proportions page
Don’t duplicate it – delete it
A comment I often make, is that ‘I get paid to delete stuff’. It’s meant to be self-deprecating but it’s largely true.
And what’s the first thing I look for when I’ve got my hatcheting head on? Duplicated information.
As a first step to making information simpler, deleting duplicated information is a great place to start, particularly because it doesn’t require any great analysis. It’s a very simple process.
See the full Don’t duplicate it – delete it page
The Plain Language Act
There has been a lot of talk in the plain language field about the forthcoming vote on the Plain Language Bill in the US. Its premise is very simple: to require the federal government to write all new publications, forms, and publicly distributed documents in a “clear, concise, well-organized” manner that follows the best practices [...]
See the full The Plain Language Act page
The Crystalmeth Mark
This was my Eureka moment in the bath – not exactly Archimedes I grant you. I think it’s time for a new standard in plain english. I give you the ‘The Crystalmeth Mark – can people understand your information while under the influence?’
Alright, so you’ve taken a look at the date and realised I’m not entirely serious, but I do have a valid point to make.
See the full The Crystalmeth Mark page
bmi baby baggage allowance text
A little while ago I picked up on a tweet from Mark Boulton about the confusing information about baggage allowance that he experienced on the bmibaby website. Having taken a look at the site in question it was easy to see why.
Having already had a go at Virgin Atlantic’s baggage information I thought I’d have a go at this too. Here’s how I got on
See the full bmi baby baggage allowance text page