Do you know the FULL history of Silicon Valley?

Check out this article about the history of Silicon Valley from as far back as 1890 and here’s what our founder, Melissa Kargiannakis, had to say about it on Linked In. “Easy money, win or lose, is what made Silicon Valley […] in a way that private investors would never have tolerated”. Did you know…

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We’re Hiring: Senior UI/UX Developer

Location: Waterloo, ON    |   Toronto, ON  | Sault Ste. Marie, ON Job Code: 004-222-1503 Full-Time Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. For earliest consideration apply before July 26th at 11:59pm Pacific time.                                                                                                              To Apply Please email careers@skritswap.com your: Resume Cover letter Contact information for 3 references Linked In profile + any relevant links…

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We’re Hiring: Senior Full Stack Developer

Location: Waterloo, ON    |   Toronto, ON  | Sault Ste. Marie, ON Job Code: 004-222-1502 Full-Time Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. For earliest consideration apply before July 26th at 11:59pm Pacific time.   To Apply Please email careers@skritswap.com your: Resume Cover letter Contact information for 3 references Linked In profile + any relevant links…

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We’re Hiring: Head of Engineering

Location: Waterloo, ON    |   Toronto, ON   | San Francisco, CA | Sault Ste. Marie, ON Job Code: 004-222-1501 Full-Time Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. For earliest consideration apply before July 26th at 11:59pm Pacific time.   To Apply Please email careers@skritswap.com your: Resume Cover letter Contact information for 3 references Linked In profile…

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We’re Hiring: Senior Full-Stack Developer

To Apply Please email careers@skritswap.com your: Resume Cover letter Contact information for 3 references Linked In profile + any relevant links with the subject line: “[YOUR LAST NAME] FS Dev 004-222-1502” About skritswap Looking to break new ground in a bleeding-edge development environment at one of the Top 20 Most Innovative Companies in Canada? We’ve…

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We’re Hiring: Head of Engineering

To Apply: Please email careers@skritswap.com your: Resume Cover letter Contact information for 3 references Linked In profile + any relevant links with the subject line: “[YOUR LAST NAME] Head of Eng 004-222-1501” About skritswap Looking to break new ground in a bleeding-edge development environment at one of the Top 20 Most Innovative Companies in Canada? We’ve got…

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skritswap secures nearly $1 MM CAD from Federal Government

Today, skritswap Founder & CEO, Melissa Kargiannakis joined local Sault Ste. Marie Minister of Parliament Terry Sheehan in Ottawa to announce new funding totalling nearly $1,000,000 CAD. skritswap received an interest-free loan of $800,000 CAD to commercialize its AI-powered platform through FedNor, as well as an additional grant of $100,000 CAD through the Women Entrepreneurship…

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Welcome Paras Jamil

Skritswap is pleased to announce our newest team member: Paras Jamil as a Computational Linguist. Paras joined skritswap on April 15, 2019. Her strong linguistics background and desire to do more coding makes her a perfect addition to the team. We are so glad to have her join us. Get to know Paras here: 1)…

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Integrating Plain Language in Your Corporate Culture

Integrating Plain Language in Your Corporate Culture Integrating plain language into your workplace culture means managing change. Some people may not immediately support or easily adapt to change. But, support, enthusiasm and commitment are all important aspects of becoming a plain language workplace. So how do you get people to make a long-term commitment to…

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Promote Creativity & Innovation through Award

To mark Creativity & Innovation Day today, April 21st, we encourage people to apply for the Cheryl Stephens Innovation Award that we sponsor. The award spotlights the work of inspiring members of the Plain Language Association International (PLAIN). The root of innovation is creativity. As Jeremy Johnson, co-founder & CEO of Andela, said, “Creativity is…

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Two ways to introduce and support plain language in your organization

Give people the motivation The importance of integration Adopting plain language can be a moderate change in direction or a massive switch in your methods. Either way, you will be asking colleagues to change how they do their work. To gain support integrate plain language considerations into existing methods. And promote its benefits to staff, customers, and investors.…

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Welcome Vong Vong

Skritswap is pleased to announce our newest team member: Vong Vong as Executive Assistant to our Founder & CEO, Melissa Kargiannakis. Vong joined skritswap on April 1, 2019. She brings her background from real estate with strong organization skills and we are delighted to have her join us. Get to know her here: 1) Tell…

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Make your plain language program work

Cheryl Stephens Building and keeping plain language support The importance of integration Plain language can be a moderate change in direction or a massive switch in your methods. Either way, you will be asking colleagues to do what they do differently. The best approach to get support is to integrate it into existing methods and…

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Writing for everyday: What to do instead of readability scores

Write for everybody: What to do instead of chasing grade levels Most people misunderstand the intended use for readability scoring by computer algorithm. Teachers and textbook publishers assign grade levels so that students are using materials that improve their language skills. The material is meant to be challenging. But when selecting learning materials for other…

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Who are you talking to with jargon? The cook or the customer?

Is your jargon just shorthand or is it inconsiderate? When someone criticizes the use of jargon, other people may feel threatened. Or they’ll say: It is just shorthand in our field. The problem is that people newly working in your field or students preparing to enter your field don’t know what it means. Many people…

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Start Your Spring Cleaning with a Plain Language Project

What to consider when planning a plain language project by Cheryl Stephens Keeping your project plans clear When drafting a project plan, it is important to keep it clear, concise and coherent (logically organized) so that contributors can coordinate their efforts. Project plans succeed when there are clear instructions, visible benefits, and recorded results. Here…

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Balancing Privacy and Machine Learning

If users don’t know the importance of their data and how to exercise their rights, we’re doomed Darren Redfern, CTO skritswap Machine Learning is a science that depends on algorithms. The algorithm tells the computer the exact steps needed to use data to solve a problem. The computer collects prior solutions to predict future solutions.…

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Set Your Style

Writing and Editing with Style: Sheets, Guides, and Manuals A corporate message may be crafted by a writer and reviewed by an editor or supervisor. Everyone saves time and effort when writers and editors have agreed in advance the use of a style sheet, style guide, or style manual. Each contributor brings a purpose and…

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What you mean to say is not what your customers are hearing.

A survey released by Invesco in January shows that your language matters and it affects how customers feel about retirement investment plans. The survey sought the views of millennials, Generation X and boomers. Turns out everyone prefers personalized, plain English and positive, short descriptions. “Our research found that many participants find their retirement plan to…

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The Public Speaks: Make it plain

Christopher Trudeau’s latest research, The Public Speaks, Again: An International Study of Legal Communication shows us that using plain language is what people want and what workplaces need to be more productive. The study shows that the more educated you are the more you prefer plain language: 79% of undergrad degree holders 82% of master’s…

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Stop Over-Thinking It: No-Brainer Day Feb 27

Joseph Fung, skritswap’s lead investor, shares our aim to improve information equity. Last year, he affirmed his confidence: “This is one of those no-brainer technologies that needs to exist – not only can it save billions in wasted costs, but it can make life better for millions of people around the world.” By definition, a…

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Innovation Day 2019

February 16th, is Innovation Day. At skritswap we live innovation with our product development. And we are sponsoring an innovation award with the Plain Language Association International (PLAIN). We’ll announce the first recipient at the international conference  in Oslo this September 2019. The award honours the long and valuable services of our plain language expert…

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People power with AI

Keeping People in the Loop at All Stages of Machine Learning Written By: Darren Redfern, CTO, skritswap Machine Learning (a sub-branch of the field of Artificial Intelligence) is making our lives easier, more productive, and secure. But many people misunderstand: how these types of technologies work, what computer algorithms can do, and what they should…

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