Sean’s Blog

I was reading a post over at the Brazen Careerist which was something I’ve been thinking about recently as well. Anybody that blogs or writes pretty much anything on the interwebs occasionally gets comments to the effect of “Learn how to spell loser” or “Your grammar sucks”. I’ve had my share. It also sounds like Penelope got one too many of those comments as well. The fact is, these comments are not only unhelpful, but they are almost saying to a writer, the only thing worth talking about in your post is how bad your grammar/spelling is.

Now don’t get me wrong, having a fundamental understanding of the rules of written English is IMPORTANT. Being able to communicate clearly through your writing is one of the most important skills you can possess. Nothing will help your career as much as being able to express your ideas clearly on paper. Blogging though, is a pretty informal way of communication and content and meaning are more important then the mechanics behind them.

When I write for my blog, or post a comment on another blog, my writing is very different then if I am writing documentation for work, or drawing up a business proposal. Wen I write, my over riding purpose is to convey an idea. If I type “your” instead of “you’re” most people will get the meaning even though technically it is an incorrect usage.

For some people though, this is apparently really distracting, so while getting my meaning across take first priority, I do make an attempt to minimize the errors (ie spellcheck, rereading, etc…). It seems to me though that for an informal medium like this, we really run into the law of diminishing returns. If it takes me half an hour to write a quick post how much more benefit do I get out of it by vigorously editing it. If you as a reader cannot understand what I am saying, then my post is meaningless without some cleanup/rewriting. If you can understand it, do we gain alot be making sure every comma is used correctly? Personally, I don’t think so. My fiancee is teaching high school English, and although she agrees with me in principle, it is still something we go round and round about.

For professional projects though informality (when it comes to grammar) can be a deal breaker. Just like you where a suit to a job interview, being strident about how correct your grammar is is something that has come to be expected. You may be the smartest guy in the room, but if you show up to an interview with stains on your shirt or unshaven, it will detract from your message. The same goes with your writing. It may be the best proposal on a companies desk, but if it comes across as amateurish because of the lack of editing the impression that will be of sloppiness. It’s not always fair, but that is how the world works.

With all that said, my main point would really be to think about the context of the writing. Did the post make sense? If so, mission accomplished (at least in my humble opinion). Feel free to tell me who wrong I am. Just don’t tell me I am a moron for typing “alot” instead of “a lot”.