WWW: Let The Three W's Work For You

Today I provided some copy-editing recommendations to a client who had mentioned his website, but without the "www." part, in an advertisement.

Fact: you need not type "www" into the Internet address bar to trek from one website to another.

Reality: that fact notwithstanding, if you want to catch the reader's eye, include "www." in your writing, whether it's an advertisement, business card or news release. The three Ws help the web location stand out; they also brace the reader to the fact that a URL is about to come his or her way.

Remember, too, that we live in a world of hyperlinks.

So while typing "DogWedding.info" into your address bar will get you to the I Do, Doggone It! mass dog wedding site that I developed and maintain for Downtown Oak Park, if you're hyperlinking someone there you still need some http and www. action so you don't leave your audience scratching fruitlessly at the cyber-door.

By the way, in case this is the first you're learning of the mass dog wedding, it's a Guinness World Record attempt that's happening on Saturday, Nov. 8th, in Oak Park, Illinois. Just click on the links above to learn more.

In Dogged Pursuit of Chicago Columnist

John Kass, the Chicago Tribune columnist and a diehard Chicago White Sox fan, is dogging Chicago Cubs loyalists by nominating his brother's pooch, Little Wrigley, to be the Cubbies' mascot as they near the playoffs.

Previously, I've tried to entice Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown to make his mutt a part of I Do, Doggone It!, a Guinness Word Record "mass dog wedding" attempt that the Downtown Oak Park organization is waging.

Brown hasn't said "no," but neither has he done backflips over the idea.

But now Kass has opened wide the doghouse door for me to approach him--or, at least, his brother. I Do, Doggone It! already has its "first couple" selected, but who knows, maybe we could designate Wrigley as one-half of the record-clinching 179th canine couple.

Stay tuned as I embark on a dogged doggie-recruitment campaign.

A Doggone Break From The Usual

Amid all the seriousness and tragedy that so dominate media coverage, it's necessary refreshment to provide comic relief, silliness, and generally stuff that's off-the-beaten path.

It also helps immeasurably if it benefits a worthy cause.

That's why I'm excited to be the publicist for I Do, Doggone It!, an effort by Downtown Oak Park (www.downtownoakpark.net) to raise money for the Animal Care League in town (www.animalcareleague.org) and, in the process, set a new Guinness World Record for a mass dog wedding.

So circle Saturday, October 4 on your calendar. And if you are anywhere near Chicago, and want to take part in history--albeit a thin, peculiar slice of it--keep tabs on the blog that I've created for the event:

http://idodoggoneit.blogspot.com

And to see initial coverage of our doggone plans, go here:

http://tinyurl.com/4ea4yr