News Source: http://www.davidnaylor.co.uk
Story Found By: danhorton 1399 Days ago
Category: Social Media
STFUGG members value your blogs.
22 Comments
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News Source: http://www.davidnaylor.co.uk
Story Found By: danhorton 1399 Days ago
Category: Social Media
STFUGG members value your blogs.
22 Comments
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Comments
I try pretty hard for good grammar. but the pioint is to express not, to impres a teacher but on the otehr hand how you speak is how much ppl will trust n respekt u!!!!
If you really want people to read it, make it as easy as possible for them to do so.<div></div><div></div><div>I hate to have to pick my way through badly spelt text, with sparse punctuation and poor capitalisation.</div><div></div><div></div><div>With "text speak", I’ll close the tab and move on.</div>
If only there was a way to vote for a post more than once without being a spammer I’d do it. few things annoy me more than grammar police taking something interesting and raining on the parade like an 11th grade english teacher.
The most important thing for me is the way the post sounds when I read it in my head. If it flows like natural speech then I can forgive grammatical errors but if I’m unable to read smoothly, then yes, that does distract me. Authors should definitely proofread posts to themselves before publishing.
@graywolfI don’t know, having Correction Chimp on Sphinn could be fun ;)
This is a subject close to my heart, as, although I would love to agree with the sentiment in the post, there are limits.After all, a wrongly placed apostophe can change the meaning of a sentence. On the most part, though, blogging is more conversational in tone and can be forgiven for adopting a more conversational style when it comes to grammar. But even here, there are certain conventions that should still be adhered to. For example, run-on sentences (where the writer fails to use a full stop, running two distinct sentences together) is rife in blog posts and can make it very confusing for the reader. If I have to read a sentence twice to glean the meaning, the writer has failed.I agree we shouldn’t split hairs over every niggle, but similarly we shouldn’t throw it all out of the window, either. Words and grammar are the tools of a writer. Some minor misuses can be forgiven and overlooked, but just as you would complain if your mechanic wrongly used his tools on your car, a reader should be able to point out an error if it distorts his enjoyment or derails the meaning of the article.
"If I have to read a sentence twice to glean the meaning, the writer has failed."A key point.Obviously, correcting the slightest grammatical mistake in a vitriolic style is just a pathetic sport for pedantic, bored people.On the other hand, calling people "grammar police/nazi" because they had the temerity to call out a lazy, careless writer’s laziness and carelessness is a kind of "best defense is attack" approach, instead of tackling a real problem at home.
It’s a question of balance between presentation and message. Everything factors in, but as long as pros outweigh the cons, there’s plenty of wiggle-room. It’s like a musician forgetting the words, playing out of sync, or hitting the wrong notes. The song may be fantastic but if the delivery sucks its crash and burn. But not everyone needs to be a technical master like Maria Carey or Celine. Joe Strummer didn’t have the greatest voice in the world, neither does Lou Reed, but some of their stuff is unforgettable.
I have never let grammar and spelling errors stand in my way. Now, several thousand pages later I am still making plenty of spelling and grammar errors. But, have gotten rather good at composition. And, I have smarten up enough to use WordPress that allows old blog posts to be re-edited.
The simple solution here is to use voice technology software to write your blog posts. That is how this response is being created. The flow of what you write will be more conversational and it does not make spelling mistakes. You may still have a very small number of grammatical problems but they are rare.
@bwelford c’mon you’ve had to have seen me speak ... commas and periods are optional and it’s all one big run on sentence ;-)going back to what @kimota says "Words and grammar are the tools of a writer."I’m going to go out ona limb but I’ll say the people who get accused of bad spelling and grammar (like myself and shoemoney) don’t consider ourselves writers. I know I started my blog as big experiment. When I started I didn’t have the goal of becoming well known, or a voice in the industry or any of that, I was just trying crazy stuff and brain dumping what was in my head.I’ll pay much more attention to setting up a sites architechture, robots or htaccess files than I ever will to my spelling and grammar.
I’ve had people send me emails complaining about the terrible spelling and grammar mistakes. So I sent back and asked if they would mind pointing them out. They sent an email back showing me one misspelled word and one grammar error. I’m no writer and barley understand English, the information I posted was in hopes of helping someone out, for free. They could have posted a comment on the blog if it bothered them so much but it is sad that these people have to run around the internet getting upset about every little misspelled word or grammar mistake.
Just throwing this out there - I sometimes wonder if terrible grammar and spelling are part of the act for some blogging celebs. It’s a very visual way of showing the audience that you have rattled off this post or thought with minimum effort. This would fall in line with the kind of Machiavellian logic you find in the "48 Laws of Power". Law 30: Make your Accomplishments Seem Effortless Your actions must seem natural and executed with ease. All the toil and practice that go into them, and also all the clever tricks, must be concealed. When you act, act effortlessly, as if you could do much more. Avoid the temptation of revealing how hard you work – it only raises questions. Teach no one your tricks or they will be used against you.
@bwelford OT but what speech software do you use? I’ve always wanted to work like that but the last time I went near voice recognition software it was as useful as a chocolate teapot. To be fair though that was about 9 years ago :)
@Nick_Wilsdon I’m using Dragon Naturally Speaking v.9. It’s much faster than typing and more relaxing. Occasionally it gets it wrong, but that improves the more you use it.
While I agree that some people get bent out of shape with grammar, it does disturb me when you see that the post is so sloppy that the guy never read it back to himself. That is all you have to do....just read what your wrote. I find many errors that way and I am sure I don’t catch them all.
I edit almost every single thing that I ever post... sometimes several times to make it read exactly right.I would hope that I leave no more than one or two spelling mistakes live on the web, per month.
actually 3 out of my 5 favorite bloggers are the worst spellers out there, but they don’t care, because they have a lot more to say than most.
@graywolf,"I’m going to go out ona limb but I’ll say the people who get accused of bad spelling and grammar (like myself and shoemoney) don’t consider ourselves writers."But you are using the same tools to write, hence the point. I’m not talking in professional terms, but in purely descriptive ones. Otherwise, following your point, because I’m not a mechanic, I should be able to assume that I can mend my car with a banana and still expect it to work. Just as a banana isn’t the right tool, failure to use the correct writing ’tools’ the way they are intended can also mean your blog post doesn’t work. ;-)
Not everyone is a writer and not everyone should be a writer. And for goodness sakes, is it so hard to do a spellcheck before you post? Spending a few bucks for a proofreader wouldn’t hurt either if it’s something important. I guess it really depends on how you feel about professionalism and credibility.
Give that girl a prize.What I find funny is that most spelling or grammar mistakes are merely symptomatic of posting in a rush and not showing enough attention to detail. Now, whether you believe you need to display a higher attention to detail or not within a blog post, most of the bloggers on Sphinn would also hope to attract customers through their online presence. Would you hire an SEO professional who let simple mistakes slip through?Best example; I’m currently advertising for a writer to work with me. I received an application on Friday with the wonderful line... " I also have excellent proofreading skills and attention to deal..."Immediately put her resume on the ’no’ pile.
Guys I agree, spellcheck yes and grammar of course. We are not talking about SEO professionals letting mistakes slip through, we are talking about essentially diluting the efforts of others by "raining on their parade" (thanksGW)As for hiring content writers hmmm not an easy task!